STATE VISIONVol No: 7 Issue No: 45 Postal Registration No. JK/ 506/ 16-18, RNI Registration no. JKENG/ 2013/ 53908

WHERE THESTORY COMESFIRST. STATE

VISION Daily English News Paper | Samba (J&K)

PAGE-8 Epaper:- www.statevision.in Rs: 2/ Thursday, February 21, 2019

In a nutshell

No Kashmiri studentattacked, no threat tothem: HRD ministerJavadekar

SINAGAR, FEB 20: UnionHuman Resources andDevelopment Minister,Prakash JavadekarWednesday denied thatstudents hailing fromKashmir were targeted inthe aftermath of thePulwama attack.

Addressing reporters inDelhi, Javadekar said,“There is no threat toKashmiri students as it isbeing made out to be.Countrymen are angrybecause of Pulwamaattack, but no Kashmiristudent has been assaulted(as a result)”.

Following the attack inPulwama which killed 40CRPF personnel onFebruary 14, Hindutvagroups in Dehradunincluding Bajrang Dal andVishwa Hindu Parishadbeat-up 12 Kashmiri stu-dents. The Dehradunpolice denied any

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Budgam manbeaten in Kolkata,video goes viralSINAGAR, FEB 20: Aman from Astanpora areaof Suibugh was allegedlybeaten by a mob inKolkata on Tuesdayevening.

Javaid Ahmad Khan - a28-year old man who is ashopkeeper by professionwas beaten ruthlesslyalong with his brother by amob and was forced tochant “Vande Mahtaram”slogans .

The family said that thisincident came to theirnotice after they saw avideo on social media andwhen they video in

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Pakistan governmentmother of terrorists:Ravinder Raina

SINAGAR, FEB 20:Instead of giving proof toPakistan, India will give abefitting reply, chief ofJ&K BJP Ravinder RainaTuesday said.

The Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) leader accusedPakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan of "sheddingcrocodile tears" over thedeaths of 40 CRPF menwho died in the attack car-ried out by Pakistan-basedJaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

Imran Khan had in avideo message assuredIndia that he would actagainst the perpetrators ofthe Pulwama attack ifNew Delhi shares "action-able intelligence", butwarned against any"revenge" retaliatoryaction”.

Pakistan by carrying outthe attack in Pulwama hasstarted the war and Indiawill give a befittingresponse to end this war,"Raina said. "We will notgive proof but a befittingresponse to end the warstarted by it (Pakistan)," headded. India will avengethe blood of its CPRF menwho were killed

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AGENCYSRINAGAR, FEB 20:Former ambassador toSaudi Arabia TalmizAhmad today said thatIndia need to discuss theKashmir issue with thePakistani armed forces.

Talmiz Ahmad said, “Acivilian government inPakistan makes no differ-ence. We need to discussthe Kashmir issue withthe Pakistani armedforces. And we know thatSaudi kingdom has goodties with the Pakistaniarmed forces".

He further added thatthis is an importantaspect which should belooked at. "We have to

see how to go to the rootcause, which is Pakistaniarmed forces’ affiliationwith jihad as state policy.It is the source of insecu-rity and instability acrossthe region", he added.

The former ambassadorwas also of the view thatit was time for both coun-tries to work together inAfghanistan. "We havenever partnered withSaudi in Afghanistan.Saudi is playing a veryimportant back-channelrole when it comes toAfghanistan. Indianauthorities should set upan engagement platformwith Saudi when it comesto Afghanistan. We have

the same position — thatwe want a unitedAfghanistan that has atpeace with itself and ispoised for prosperity,"Ahmad elaborated.

"All visits are part of aprocess. This particularvisit, if it is to have anyvalue, should mark thebeginning of India-Saudicollaboration in main-taining regional securityand stability. It is some-thing that we have notexplored before. Theprocess needs to start andthe leadership should beconvinced that this issomething that needs tobe explored," Ahmadsaid.

Uttarakhand Govt tointroduce 'Stringent'rules for Kashmiristudents seekingadmission

AGENCYSRINAGAR, FEB 20: Following the Pulwama attack,the Uttarakhand government has decided to introducenew ‘stringent’ rules for Kashmiri students seekingadmission in state universities.

Uttarakhand attracts a large number of students fromJammu and Kashmir. Close to 3,500 students are cur-rently enrolled in private colleges across Dehradun andsome are studying in other cities.

Dhan Singh Rawat, higher education minister saidthat officials have been instructed to frame a set of newrules. “We will seek full details from the Jammu andKashmir authorities about the prospective students –their past and family history etc.,” he said, adding

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AGENCYSRINAGAR: In yet anoth-er case of violence againstKashmiris after Pulwamaattack, two shawl vendorsfrom the state wereallegedly thrashed on atrain in Delhi by two menon Tuesday.

The vendors, who werecarrying three bags full ofKashmiri shawls andsuits, were travelling toSampla in Haryana forbusiness when they wereassaulted as per media

reported.After the attack, the men

de-boarded the train atNangloi railway station,leaving behind their bagscontaining goods worthRs 2 lakh.

A case has been regis-tered with the Delhi rail-way police and investiga-tion is underway, thereport said.

Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) leaderBrinda Karat, who assist-ed the injured Kashmiri

men in filing an FIR, saidthe two men who claimedto be from the armedforces were behind theattack.

“They said you are thepeople who killed ourmen and started beatingthem. About 15 more pas-sengers joined the twomen in assaulting themand also started hurlingabuses”, they were quotedas saying.

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AGENCYSINAGAR, FEB 20:Describing the currentsituation in Jammu andelsewhere in the Countryin the wake of recentPulwama episode asextremely disturbing,the J&K PradeshCongress Committee(JKPCC) has expressedgrave concern over theintimidation of studentsand other citizens fromthe valley putting up indifferent States.

He also said that BJP isbrazenly trying to gainelectoral mileage out ofthe unfortunatePulwama incident.

In a Statement G.A.Mir reiterated that Govtof India has miserablyfailed to restore sense ofsecurity among the peo-ple, urging that moreeffective measures needto be taken to ensuresafety of people especial-ly the students and busi-nessmen living in otherparts of the valley.

The Centre Govt hasmiserably failed torestore calm, rather thelack of interest in dis-persing the crisis on it’spart has added problemsto the already complexsituation in Jammu andother parts of the

Country, for which BJPfirst then Centre Govt isdirectly responsible, hesaid.

He lashed out at BJPfor fishing in troubledwaters, saying that it isthe BJP RSS which is fan-ning the fire aiming toserve their dirty politicalends, but at the same-time, G.A Mir felt confi-dent that handful oftroublemaking forceswon’t be able to controlthe entire democraticsystem in the country, hewarned of serious conse-quences in case they donot mend their ways.

He said the security of

people should be of aparamount importancefor the Centre and noone should have beenallowed to intimidate theinnocent people espe-cially students who arestudying in differentparts of the country,emphasizing that sternaction must be initiatedagainst those vitiatingpeaceful atmospheres inthe country to serve theirvested interests.

Hundreds of studentsfrom the State havealmost completed theirstudies and were prepar-ing for final

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CCAK to offer free admission toexpelled students in various subjects

AGENCYSRINAGAR: The Coaching Centres Association ofKashmir has decided to offer free admission to the stu-dents who were expelled from other states during therecent days, so as to prevent their academic loss.

The Association said that the students fleeing fromoutside states due to harassment and physical attacksare in no position to return back immediately, whichwill threaten their academic career. “We have facultyand means to provide them the education in the majori-ty of subjects. Be it BBA, BCA, B.Tech, MBA or any othersubjects, we have the requisite faculty,” said Dr B AShah Spokesperson of CCAK. “Some of the stories wehave learnt from the students are harrowing and theexperience will haunt them for a long time. We want tominimise their loss and also prevent them going

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AGENCYSRINAGAR: TheNational InvestigationAgency (NIA) onWednesday took over theprobe into the February 14terror attack on a CRPFconvoy in Pulwama fromthe Jammu and Kashmirpolice, officials said.

The suicide bombingkilled 40 CRPF troopersand injured five atLethpora Pulwama lastweek.

An NIA spokesman con-firmed that the NIA hastransferred the Pulwamasuicide bombing case. TopNIA officials including its

Director General NIA, Y CModi also visited the spoton Wednesday.

“The Director General ofNIA along with a team ofofficers including two IGs,DIG and SP visited theplace of occurrence of theFeb 14 incident. He wasbriefed by the officersabout the progress madein investigation so far,’’the spokesman said.

On Thursday, a 22-year-old Adil Ahmad Dar fromGundibagh Pulwamarammed an explosiveladen Maruti Eeco vaninto a bus in the CRPFconvoy. Since then police

and NIA has jointly beeninvestigating the case.Officials said that soonafter the suicide attack,police had registered acase before it was trans-ferred to the NIA onWednesday.

The place where the sui-cide bomber rammed thevehicle into the convoy isstill closed for the trafficand forces are not allow-ing anybody to go near thespot. DG NIA also met toparmy, police and CRPFofficials.

Soon after the attack,Forensic

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NIA takes over Pulwama suicidebombing probe from J-K Police

AGENCYNEW DELHI: PeoplesDemocratic Party chiefMehbooba Mufti has beenfacing non-stop criticismfrom leaders of former allyBJP. Union ministerGiriraj Singh joined theattack on Wednesday,telling the former Jammuand Kashmir chief minis-ter that she must stoppraising Imran Khan, thePakistan prime minister.But Mehbooba Muftistood her ground andcalled for giving ImranKhan a chance to provethat he sincerely intend tocombat terror emanatingfrom Pakistani soil.

Mehbooba Muft’s com-

ment came in the wake ofImran Khan’s statementon Pulwama terror attacksaying that under his gov-ernment Pakistan is work-ing with a “new mindset”towards terrorism. ImranKhan promised to takeaction against the perpe-trators of Pulwama terrorattack if there is proof thatthey acted from Pakistanisoil.

“It’s true that whether itwas Pathankot attack orMumbai attack they(Pakistan) were givenproof but they didn’t takeaction. But because ImranKhan is a new prime min-ister and he is talkingabout a new start, he

should be given a chance.We should give proof andsee what they do,”Mehbooba Mufti wasquoted as saying by newsagency ANI.

However, it appears thatMehbooba Mufti’s call togive new Pakistan primeminister a chance did notgo down well with the BJPleader and Union ministerGiriraj Singh. Accordingto ANI, he said, “I wouldlike to tell MehboobaMufti that she must put anend to her love forPakistan.”

“Bharat ka khaati hain,Bharat ka gayein. Aasteenka saanp na bane

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Hotel in Agrasays no roomsfor Kashmirisafter Pulwamaattack

AGENCYAGRA: A hotel in UttarPradesh’s Agra has said itwill not give rooms toKashmiris in their estab-lishment, days after thePulwama attack, drawingcriticism from representa-tives of tourism bodieswho have sought inter-vention by the police andadministration against thestep.

The decision of the hotelcame after the attack onFebruary 14 by a 22-year-old Pulwama residentAdil Ahmad Dar, whoblew up his car bomb nextto a CRPF bus, killing

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AGENCYAGRA: Seven peoplewere killed while half adozen were injuredwhen an ambulancerammed into a dividerand later collided with acar on the other side ofthe road on the YamunaExpressway in Mathuraon Tuesday morning.

According to police,the accident took placearound 7am nearSukhdev Burj villageafter the driver of theambulance apparentlydozed off and lost con-trol over the vehicle,which was also carryinga corpse. All the seven

persons — four men,two women and aneight-year-old girl —died on the spot. Six ofthe deceased were in theambulance while onewas travelling in the car,police said.

“The ambulance wasgoing from Jammu toPatna and carrying thebody of one ZakirAnsari. The driver, HariSingh from Jammu, waskilled in the accident,”said SP Sharma, in-charge of Baldeo policestation in Mathura.

Police have been ableto identify five of thedeceased. These includ-

ed Jehangir Alam 36,Mohd Tahir Ansari, 32,Suhail Ahmad, 30, andambulance driver HariSingh, police said.

“Those in the car onthe other side of dividerwere from Tundla townin Firozabad. They weremoving towards Delhiwhen their car wasrammed by the ambu-lance. Saroj Devi, 67, oneof those travelling in thecar, died on the spot,”Sharma stated.

Family members ofthose coming fromTundla had arrived inMathura while

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Seven killed on Yamunaexpressway in Mathura asambulance driver ‘dozes off’

Supreme Court judge recusesfrom hearing contempt pleain Saradha chit fund probe

AGENCYNEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge, Justice LNageswara Rao, on Wednesday recused himselffrom hearing a contempt plea by CBI against threeBengal officials alleging obstruction in its probeinto the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.

Justice Rao said he had appeared for Bengal as alawyer and therefore cannot hear the case. TheSupreme Court has now posted the matter forhearing on February 27.

The court had issued the contempt noticesagainst West Bengal Chief secretary Malay KumarDe, DGP Virendera Kumar and then KolkataPolice Commissioner Rajeev Kumar on the CBI’sallegations that electronic evidence was

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Avalanche: Sixjawans fearedkilled, onebody traced

AGENCYSHIMLA/KINNAUR, FEB 20: As many as sixjawans of Armed Forces were feared killed whenthey came under the spate of a strong avalancheon Wednesday near Chhipkala pass on India-China border.

Deputy Commissioner of Kinnaur Gopal Chandconfirmed that the avalanche hit the post of J&KRifles on Nambgia border area this morningaround 1100 hrs and destroyed it.

Till the reports last came in, body of one IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan was recoveredwhile five still missing,

The DC said there was a “high probability” thatrest five missing jawans have died in the ava-lanche as bodies could not be traced out tillevening.

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‘India need to discuss Kashmirissue with Pakistani armed forces:Former ambassador to Saudi Arabia

BJP brazenly trying to gain politicalmileage out of Pulwama attack: G.A. Mir

Mehbooba Mufti wants to givePakistan PM Imran Khan a chanceon terror; gets panned by minister

Two Kashmiri shawl vendorsallegedly thrashed in Delhi train

Samba (J&K) | Thursday, February 21, 2019 Daily State Vision

02

Avalanche: Six...He said that few other ITBP jawans, who came under the

spate of avalanche, were rescued safely. As per the Army, around 16 soldiers were patrolling at

Namgia Dogri, when the avalanche struck. Around 150 people are on the search of missing jawans.

Uttarakhand Govt...that it will be compulsory for the concerning colleges to

get the students’ verification done by the local police News18 reported.

After Pulwama attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama,which killed 44 CRPF men, a student from a private uni-versity in Dehradun was suspended by a private universityafter he allegedly commented during Facebook chat: “Aajto real PUBG ho gaya (PUBG turned real today)" hoursafter CRPF men were killed in the attack.

He was later arrested under IPC section 505(2). Twomore Kashmiris, including a woman student, from differ-ent colleges were suspended for their comments express-ing solidarity with the terrorists.

Seven more Kashmiri students were suspended by a pri-vate university in Roorkee for allegedly posting pro-Pakistan comments in their social media accounts. Theuniversity is owned by a relative of the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP).

“A committee will seek a reply from the Kashmiri stu-dents about their comments on social media,” said RohanTyagi from the media cell of Quantum University.

Dehradun has witnessed fierce protests against theKashmiris, forcing police to provide shelter to the stu-dents. Nivedita Kukreti, SSP, Dehradun, has said that peo-ple should refrain from taking law into their hands.

Both the major parties of Kashmir – NationalConference and People's Democratic Party (PDP) – havealso raised their voice in support of the students. A PDPdelegation headed by Fayaz Ahamd Peer met the studentsin Dehradun on Tuesday and expressed ‘satisfaction’ onthe support provided by the local administration.

BJP brazenly...examination, but the intimidation is forcing them to

leave their studies, which is a matter of grave concern, headded and urged upon both State & Centre Govt to takemore effective measures to restore confidence among thestudents and businessmen from valley, besides the Collegeauthorities in different be directed to ensure every facilityenabling them (students) to complete their studies.

NIA takes...Science Laboratory (FSL)? and NIA teams visited the

spot and collected crucial evidences about the attack andalso came to conclusion that militants had used RDX in thevehicle which was the main reason for the high causalities.In a joint press conference, Army, Police and CRPF offi-cials on Tuesday said that they have got certain leads intothe attack.

After the attack, police and army started rounding uppeople in south Kashmir and police sources said that morethan two dozen youths were picked up from different partsof the region.

A team from automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki isalso helping the NIA to determine the model and year ofproduction of the Maruti Eeco vehicle that was used in thesuicide bombing, officials said.

On Tuesday, 15 Corps commander, Lieutenant GeneralKanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon said that in less than 100 hours(from Thursday’s attack), the forces had eliminated theJaish e Mohammad leadership, mostly Pakistanis, in theValley which was being handled by JeM from Pakistan.

Seven killed...those related to the occupants of the ambulance were yet

to turn up, police said. The injured were admitted to differ-ent hospitals, Sharma said.

“The exact reason behind the accident is yet to be ascer-tained. But it is believed that the ambulance hit the dividerafter driver Hari Singh apparently fell asleep and lost con-trol over the vehicle. The ambulance landed on other sideof the divider leading to a collision with the car,” the policeofficer said.

Hotel in...40 troopers in the deadliest terrorist incident in the

region in decades.Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group claimed

responsibility within hours of the attack, triggering callsfor India to take tough measures against the neighbour.Jaish founder Masood Azhar lives in Pakistan and Indiahas repeatedly sought his custody.

Manager of the hotel Firdaus Ali justified the pamphletsissuing the restriction and said he took the step asKashmiris were against India’s defence forces and peltthem with stones in Kashmir.

“How can we welcome those who attack our armyjawans? We are open to them if they change their attitudetowards our army men in Kashmir,” Ali, who runs thehotel at Idgah area in the city of the Taj Mahal with hisbother, said.

Ali said he was not the only one as about a dozen hotelsin the area had taken similar decisions.

Rakesh Chauhan, the president of the Hotel andRestaurant Association of Agra, condemned the move.Chauhan admitted he had come to know about two hotelsin Idgah area which had decided to deny rooms toKashmiris.

He said he has asked the local police and district admin-istration to intervene.

“Kashmiris are our brothers and in no way, the move canbe justified. Terrorism is affecting Kashmir but residents

there cannot be blamed for violence. We have to actagainst terrorists and not against Kashmiris there,”Chauhan said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.

Agra Sadar’s additional superintendent of police, who isresponsible for the Idgah area, Uday Raj Singh he isunaware of the pamphlets.

”We are yet to come across any such restriction placedby hotels,” Singh said.

The police official said he was not clear if police couldintervene in such a matter.

Kashmiris in some parts of the country have reportedthreats and intimidation since the attack. Several Kashmiristudents have been arrested and suspended from their col-leges for alleged “anti-national” activities. Some haveeven alleged they were harassed and asked by their land-lords to vacate accommodations, fearing attacks on theirproperties after the strike in Pulwama.

Mehbooba Mufti...(You eat here, so praise this land. Don’t be a backstab-

ber),” ANI quoted Gririaj Singh as responding toMehbooba Mufti’s comment.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mehbooba Mufti had rejected ImranKhan’s claims that Pakistan was ready to act against theperpetrators of terror. Responding to Pakistan prime min-ister’s televised statement, she wrote on Twitter:“Disagree. Pathankot dossier was given to them but noaction was taken to punish the perpetrators. Time to walkthe talk.”

She, however, stated that Pakistan PM deserved a chanceto prove that in the wake of Pulwama terror incident, theImran Khan government would punish the culprits respon-sible for attack on a CRPF convoy carrying more than2,500 soldiers. At least 40 jawans were killed in the terrorattack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The convoy came under attack by of a suicide bomber,who rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the CRPFconvoy. The impact was such that one of the buses of theconvoy was reduced to a heap of mangled iron on theJammu-Srinagar highway.

Supreme Court...tampered with in the Saradha chit fund case.The three officers have refuted the CBI’s allegations in

their affidavits. The tendered “unconditional apology” tothe court but said that the Bengal government and the statepolice never denied cooperation to CBI or obstructedprobe.

The Bengal police has said that the CBI forcefully triedto enter the then Kolkata police commissioner RajeevKumar’s residence on February 3 without valid papers.

The Supreme Court had Tuesday decided not to pass anyorder directing personal presence of the chief secretary,DGP and Rajeev Kumar.

Rajeev Kumar was on Monday shifted as AdditionalDirector General of Police (ADG) and Inspector Generalof Police (IGP), Criminal Investigation Department (CID),West Bengal.

Two Kashmiri...on Kashmiris in various parts of the country are on the

rise.Deputy Commissioner of police (railways and metro)

Dinesh Kumar Gupta, however, said it was not clear if theattackers were from armed forces as they donned civilianclothes.

Police said the complainants said two unidentified mencornered them and accused them of being “stone-pelters”from Kashmir. When the Kashmiri men objected, the twomen began assaulting them, the report said.

CCAK to...into a situation like Post Traumatic stress.”The Association said that it will ensure the studies are

not affected. Terming the expelling of students as a con-spiracy, the Association said that various steps are beingtaken to mitigate the situation. “Together with like mindededucationists and academicians, we are finding the solu-tion to the problem. According to our estimates, we haveenough trained faculty and infrastructure to accommodatemajority of the students. We can provide the facility formajority of subjects which the students have been study-ing.”

The Association sought removal of barriers for entrepre-neurs to establish world class educational institutes ofhigher learning in Kashmir. “Not only the students will beprovided safe and quality education, but it will also createemployment for at least 50000 unemployed persons,” saidShah. “We can truly create a vibrant knowledge sectorhere.”

Meanwhile taking strong note of failing to provide secu-rity to thousands of students the Association is teaming upwith legal experts to take the culprits to court. “Our stu-dents pay crores of rupees in fee and even the landlords aregiven rent in advance for the year. And when the need ofhour comes, all of them conspire to throw the Kashmiristudents out,” said Shah. “We are mulling to sue all suchcolleges and landlords who evicted the Kashmiri students.We will ensure that all students are adequately compensat-ed because some of the students are from middle class oreven poor families who sold their belongings to give bet-ter education to their wards.”

The association has called all students who havereturned to contact:

Paul's Cambridge, Parraypora, Mob. No 9469888444(Mr Mehraj), 9469888555 (Mr Arshid) or visit CoachingCentres Association office Opp Hotel Broad View behindCivil Secretariat Srinagar for further details.

No Kashmiri...incident of violence against the Kashmiri students, but

videos of the students being beaten up in front of the policewent viral over social media on Saturday. Two institutesfrom Dehradun have stated that they will not admit anystudent from Kashmir in the new academic session.

An estimated 3,000 students from Kashmir attend col-leges and institutes in Dehradun. Fearing a backlash, manyhave already left the city.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry issued an adviso-ry to States and Union territories to ensure safety and secu-rity of students and people from Jammu and Kashmirresiding in their area after reports of threats to them insome parts of the country.

Budgam man...which they found their son was injured.Family sources confirmed News agency Press Trust of

Kashmir that Javaid has his shawl business in Tahiraporarea of Kolkata and was earning his bread from since last

ten years there.“It was for the first time that such a incident happened

with him”, a family member of Javaid told News AgencyPress Trust of Kashmir.

“We are worried about him as he is injured and has lostvery much of his blood. We seek help from administrationto bring him back,” said mother of Javaid.

The family members alleged that his shop was alsoattacked and shawls in his shop were also thrown on theroad.

The family requested governor administration to helpthem in bringing back their son to home.

Pakistan government...along with "interest", he said further."Pakistan government is the mother of terrorists," he

said.

From Page-1

Samba (J&K) | Thursday, February 21, 2019 Jammu 03

Daily State Vision

Colleges to establishCocoon Clubs under 'EarnWhile You Learn' initiativeClubs to inculcate vocationalism among

students: Director SericultureSV NEWS SERVICE

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 20: The Department ofSericulture in collaboration with Higher EducationDepartment is setting up Cocoon Clubs in the DegreeColleges, one each in every district, of Kashmir andJammu divisions.

The objective of setting up these Cocoon Clubs is toengage the student community in silkworm rearing asa part time profession under the initiative of "EarnWhile You Learn".

The decision was taken in a meeting held here todayunder the chairmanship of Director Colleges, ZahoorAhmad Chat and Director Sericulture, Gulzar AhmadShabnum, Senior officers of Higher Education andSericulture Departments also attended the meeting.

The meeting decided that the colleges shall pro-vide the housing facilities to these Clubs for the silk-worm rearing, while as the Department of Sericultureshall provide silkworm seeds, disinfectants, greenmulberry leaves, rearing kits and marketing facilitiesfree of cost, besides extending the technical and otherlogistic support.

These Cocoon Clubs shall start silkworm rearingactivities during the commencing season for which allarrangements have been put in place. The concernedDistrict Sericulture Officer shall be the nodal officerfor monitoring the silkworm activities by these Clubsin coordination with the Nodal Officer of the college.

Director Sericulture informed the meeting that theDepartment of Sericulture has taken a number of ini-tiatives for extending the mulberry plantation andsilkworm rearing activities with the involvement ofmore sections of society and other departments.

The establishment of Cocoon Clubs in the educa-tional institutions shall provide an opportunity to thestudents to engage themselves in the silkworm rear-ing without any investment and to earn while learn-ing, the Director said and added that this shall alsohelp to inculcate a sense of professionalism and voca-tionalism among the student Community for becom-ing future entrepreneurs in silk sector.

He said to ensure the availability of the green foliagefor silkworm rearing in the premises of the colleges,the department of sericulture is also setting up mul-berry gardens in these colleges. He said that once thispilot project kicks off successfully, more institutions ofhigher learning shall be adopted and even higher sec-ondary schools shall also be covered under CocoonClubs programme.

Director Colleges while appreciating the initiativetaken by Sericulture Development Department saidthat it shall prove very beneficial for the students. Hesaid it shall also provide a platform to the youths foradopting sericulture activities as a full-time job aftercompletion of studies. He assured all support from theHigher Education Department and said thatPrincipals of the colleges shall be asked to ensure thatsilkworm rearing activities by these Clubs are carriedout smoothly and successfully.

The 20 colleges where the Cocoon Clubs are beingset up for silkworm rearing include Govt. Degree col-lege, Poonch, Govt. Degree college, Rajouri, Govt.Women Degree College, Kathua, Govt, DegreeCollege, Udhampur Govt. Degree College, Reasi,Govt. Degree College, Ramban, Govt. Degree College,Doda, Govt. Degree College, Kishtwar, Govt. DegreeCollege, Samba, Govt. Degree college, Jindrah,Jammu, Govt. Degree College, Bemina, Srinagar,Govt. College for Women, Pulwama, Govt. DegreeCollege, Kilam, Kulgam, Govt. DegreeCollege,Budgam, Govt. Degree College, Kangan,Ganderbal, Govt. Degree College, Sogam, Lolab, Govt.Degree College, Shopian, Govt. Degree College,Bandipora, Govt. Degree College, Kukarnag andGovt. Degree College, Baramulla.

Red Cross mela postponedSV NEWS SERVICE

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 20: Due to inclement weatherand imposition of curfew in Jammu, the Red Crossmela-cum-raffle draw earlier scheduled for 23rd and24th February, 2019 has been postponed and shallnow be held on 23rd and 24th March, 2019.

Accordingly, the sale of raffle Draw Tickets has alsobeen extended upto 22nd March, 2019 and draw forthe prizes shall take place on 24th March, 2019 at 4 pmat Gulshan Grounds Jammu.

Rohit Khajuria takescharge as DC Udhampur

SV NEWS SERVICEUDHAMPUR, FEBRUARY 20: Rohit Khajuria todaytook over charge of District DevelopmentCommissioner, Udhampur.

After assuming the charge of office, he interactedwith staff members. The DDC reviewed the progressof Pradhan Mantri Kissan Nidhi Yojana and directedthe Chief Agriculture Officer, to gear up and uploadthe data of eligible beneficiaries on the portal immedi-ately.

SV NEWS SERVICEKATRA, FEBRUARY 20: The25th meeting of the GoverningCouncil (GC) for Shri MataVaishno Devi Gurukul, CharanPaduka, Katra, was held at theSpiritual Growth Centre heretoday in which a number ofimportant decisions were takenfor the future growth of thisinstitution as a centre of excel-lence. Dr. Ashok Bhan, Memberof the Shri Mata Vaishno DeviShrine Board, chaired the meet-ing, which was attended by Mr.Simrandeep Singh, ChiefExecutive Officer, Shri MataVaishno Devi Shrine Board; Mr.Vivek Verma, Additional CEO;Prof. Yugal Kishore Mishra;Prof. Vishwamurti Shastri; Dr.Arvind Karwani, Deputy ChiefExecutive Officer of the ShrineBoard and Administrator ofGurukul; Mr. Gopal DassSharma, Head Pujari, Bhawan;and Dr. Devendra Rijal, VicePrincipal of the Gurukul.

Dr. Bhan and other Membersof the Governing Councilexpressed satisfaction at thefunctioning of the Gurukul andemphasised the need for makingcontinuing endeavours to devel-op it as a centre of excellence.

The meeting also noted the out-standing achievements of thestudents of the Gurukul in aca-demics and co-curricular activi-ties every year besides at thevarious state and national levelcompetitions. In this context, theGoverning Council congratulat-ed five students of this Gurukulwho won medals in their respec-tive events in the Akhil BhartiyaShastriya Sparda held recentlyat the Rashtriya SanskritSansthan, Ekalavya Campus,Agartala, Tripura. They areMaster Gotam Sharma, MasterAnkit Sharma, Master Udhit

Narayan Jasyal, Master ShubamSharma and Master AnishSharma. The Governing Councilalso congratulated MasterMadhav Sharma, a student ofthe Gurukul who stood 1st in theClass 8th Annual Examinationconducted by theSampurnanand SanskritVishwavidyalaya, Varanasi inthe session 2017-18 for which hewas awarded Gold Medal bythis varsity with which theGurukul is affiliated. It may berecalled that the students of theGurukul have been winningGold Medals in Class 8th

Annual Examination every yearsince 2012.

The GC decided to take up thematter with the SampurnanandSanskrit Vishwavidyalaya forissuance of Shastri Degree inbilingual language i.e. Sanskritand English. It was also decidedthat possibilities will beexplored for organising short-term capsule courses in Yogaand Karam Kand etc., for theShastri Part-III students of theGurukul to enhance theiremployability. In this context,Dr. Bhan emphasised the needfor reviewing the progress in

regard to organising of function-al courses for the Gurukul stu-dents periodically so that theyare in better stead vis-à-viscareer prospects. He also sug-gested for arranging educationaltours for the students of theGurukul to various places ofspiritual, educational, culturaland historical interest as alsofacilitating their participation invarious workshops.

The meeting, interalia, tookstock of the functioning of thetwo Smart Classrooms whichhave been made functional atthe Gurukul recently.

The Vice Principal of Gurukulapprised that presently 162 stu-dents are studying from class6th to Shastri Class Part-II in thisfully residential institutionwhich was established by theShrine Board in 2010. Education,boarding, lodging, books, uni-forms etc. are being provided tothe students by the Shrine Boardtotally free of cost. The Boardhas also made elaborate arrange-ments for indoor and outdoorgames at the Gurukul, besidesorganising debating competi-tions and other extra-curricularactivities for overall personalitydevelopment of the students.

SV NEWS SERVICEJAMMU, FEBRUARY 20:Advisor to Governor, KVijay Kumar today direct-ed the senior officers ofthe Forest department toconduct frequent fieldvisits especially to theremote places to takestock of the functioning ofthe subordinate units andto meet the people toresolve their issues relat-ing to the department.

The Advisor said thiswhile addressing theConservators of Forestfrom Kashmir and Jammudivision. The officersincluding CCF Kashmirand others attended the

meeting through video-conferencing.

The meeting was alsoattended byCommissioner SecretaryForests M K Dwivedi,PCCF J&K Suresh Chugh,Chief Conservator ofForests Jammu SameerBharti and other seniorofficers.

Stressing on the need ofshowing their presence inthe field rather than sit-ting at the headquarters,the Advisor said that allConservator of Forestsshould be required to con-duct regular visits to thefield to inspect the activi-ties taken up and to

review the performanceof their subordinate staff.

He said that it is equallyimportant sitting atoffices but visiting theirfield areas to get the realground report is some-thing that cannot beignored. If the senior offi-cers spend their timetouring the forest areasunder their jurisdiction, itgives a strong message totheir subordinates to per-form well and achieve thegiven targets, he added.

The Advisor also direct-ed the officers for main-taining tour diaries andsubmits the report to thesenior office. This exercise

would surely help get toknow the activities goingon at the ground level andperformance of concernedofficers.

He asked theConservator of Forests tomentor the DivisionalForest Officers (DFOs)working under their con-trol in a way that it wouldfurther add to their per-formance. Your personalexperience and otherexpertise in the field mustbe shared with your sub-ordinates for betterresults on the ground, theAdvisor said.

The Advisor askedCCFs for making the

DFOs more active in theirjob and encourages, moti-vate them for contribut-ing to the department inan effective manner. Hesaid that whatever sup-port is required at groundlevel for strengtheningthe department, should beprovided to them.

To have a strong com-munication system toreport daily reports, KVijay Kumar asked forcreating Whatsappgroups for the purpose sothat every single informa-tion is shared among oth-ers.

The Conservator ofForests from both the

divisions was asked tosubmit detailed reportincluding action plan ofactivities to be carried outby them. He directedthem to work out the planof plantation drive, anti-encroachment drive andforest fire preparationsespecially in Jammu divi-sion and submit the sameto their senior office.

Commissioner SecretaryForests M K Dwivediwhile addressing the offi-cers asked them to spendnight during their fieldvisits and interact withstaff and people to knowthe issues and to resolvethem there only.

SV NEWS SERVICEKUPWARA, FEBRUARY20: District DevelopmentCommissioner Kupwara,Khalid Jahangir alongwith various officerstoday conducted an exten-sive tour of various areasof Lolab to get first handappraisal of ongoingdevelopmental works exe-cuted by various agenciesand availability of essen-tials like drinking water,electricity, health care androad connectivity. Duringthe tour, the DDC paid avisit to under constructionKhantpora bridge to checkthe pace of work. It wasinformed by executingagency JKPCC that thebridge is 92 metres long

and is being built at anestimated cost of Rs 6crore. The DDC directedthe executing agency togear up men and machin-ery and complete thebridge within the stipulat-ed time frame so the peo-ple of the area will not suf-fer more. The DDC alsopaid surprise visit tomany health centers tocheck the facilities beingprovided to the people ofthe area, He visited Healthand Wellness centreWavoora Lolab where hedirected the concernedagencies for constructionof fencing for convenienceof the residents. He alsovisited PHC Lalpora, andexhorted the employees to

ensure punctuality for thewelfare of the people. TheDDC visited differentblocks of the of PHCincluding OPD, X-ray Laband interacted with num-ber of patients to havefirsthand feedback fromthem about the quality ofservices being provided.

He also directed the con-cerned to ensure doctorsand other staff is punctualand the duty roster is fol-lowed properly.

DDC also visitedCommunity HealthCentre Sogam and tookstock on pace of work onnew building and directedconcerned to speed up thework for the benefit ofpeople.

SV NEWS SERVICEJAMMU: In a major steptoday, the Government ofJammu & Kashmir down-graded and withdrew thesecurity of 18 Hurriyatleaders in the state.According to thespokesperson of HomeDepartment, it was feltthat providing security tothese separatist leaders isa wastage of scarce stateresources which could bebetter utilised elsewhere.

Among the leaderswhose security has been

downgraded and with-drawn are SAS Geelani,Aga Syed Mosvi, MaulviAbbas Ansari, YaseenMalik, Saleem Geelani,Shahid ul Islam, ZaffarAkbar Bhat, NayeemAhmed Khan, MukhtarAhmad Waza, FarooqAhmed Kichloo, MasroorAbbas Ansari, Aga SyedAbul Hussain, AbdulGani Shah and MohdMusadiq Bhat.

This is in addition the 4persons whose securitywas withdrawn on

Sunday.In addition, the security

of 155 political personsand activists, who didnot require the securityprovided to them basedon their threat assess-ment and their activities,was also withdrawn. Thisincludes Shah Faesal,who resigned from theIAS and Wahid Parray.

Through this, over 1000police personnel andover 100 vehicles arefreed to do regular policework.

Sensitisation camp onJJ Act held in Ganderbal

SV NEWS SERVICEGANDERBAL, FEBRUARY 20: District ChildProtection Officer Ganderbal today organised aware-ness cum sensitisation programme regarding imple-mentation of Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act in the conferencehall of Mini Secretariat Ganderbal. The programmewas organised under the Chairmanship of PrincipleDistrict & Session Judge Mohammad Yousuf Wani andAdditional District Development CommissionerGanderbal Shafqat Iqbal. Among other dignitariesChief Judicial Magistrate, DCPO and officers of variousdepartments participated in the workshop. The mainaim and objective of the workshop was to sensitivevarious departments regarding the child protectionservice for convergence and working together for thechild Rights. Speaking on the occasion, PrincipleDistrict and Session Judge highlighted the importanceof JJ Act, role of Juvenile Justice Board and stated thatthe public should be more vigilant and aware ofassault or harassment cases and such awareness pro-gramme can help the people combat such cases.

SV NEWS SERVICEJAMMU: Bharatiya JanataParty, Jammu & Kashmirled by its State PresidentRavinder Raina accompa-nied by State GeneralSecretary (Org.) AshokKaul and State GeneralSecretary Dr. NarinderSingh held a meeting of itssenior leaders at partyheadquarter, TrikutaNagar, Jammu and decid-ed that BJP will observe“Ek Deep-Shaheedon KeNaam” on February 26.

BJP State All MorchaIncharge Mnish Sharma,State IT & Social MediaIncharge Jaidev Rajwaland State Addl. PublicitySecretary Ajay Vaid werealso present in the meet-ing. Ravinder Raina, while

addressing the meeting,said that the BJP salutesthe Indian Forces, whichhas a long history of sacri-fices made for securing thecountry both within ourown borders as well as onthe border. The valiantsoldiers have always faced

the death but they neverhave ever shown theirback. But our neighborcountry Pakistan which isa rogue Nation, has neverdared to face us since itsinception in 1947 andresorted to proxy meansfor its devilish motives, he

said.The mischief of Pakistan

has touched new low,when the terrorism nur-tured by it as its state poli-cy has challenged us bytaking the precious lives ofour brave warriors in mostinhumane way. BJPalways stands to supportour forces in every way. Inorder to pay our respect tothe martyred soldiers ofPulwama attack on the13th day of tragedy, theBJP has decided to lightearthen lamps at thehomes of our party work-ers and all sympathizersfrom 06:00 p.m. to 09:30p.m., while observing “EkDeep-Shaheedon KeNaam”, Ravinder Rainasaid.

25TH MEETING OF GOVERNING COUNCIL FOR SMVD GURUKUL

Gurukul being developed as a centre of excellence

DC Kupwara visits LolabGovernment downgrades andwithdraws the security of all18 Hurriyat leaders and 155other political persons

BJP to observe Feb 26 as “Ek Deep, Shaheedon Ke Naam”

Advisor Kumar interacts with Conservators of Forest'Senior officers to encourage, motivate subordinates for better performance'

EDITORIAL & OPINION

Editor, Printer, Pubilsher and Owner Akhileshwar Sharma, Published From VPO Purmandal, District SambaPrinted at:- Devika Offset Printing Press, VPO Purmandal, Tehsil and District, Samba

Mobile No. 9469211589, 9906121102, E-Mail:- statevision10@gmail.com info@statevision.in Editor@statevision.in

Samba (J&K) | Thursday, February 21, 2019 Daily State Vision

04

The decision of the central board of theReserve Bank of India to transfer an interimsurplus of ` 28,000 crore to the Centre

should come as a big relief to the Modi govern-ment. Together with the ` 40,000-crore final sur-plus share for 2017-18, which the Centre receivedin the first half, the total receipts from the RBI thisfiscal will be a tidy ` 68,000 crore. For a govern-ment strapped for finances and struggling to meetthe revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4% of GDP, theRBI’s largesse will be handy. The total surplusreceived by the Centre for 2018-19 is substantiallyhigher than the ` 50,000 crore it got from the RBIin 2017-18, and this is the second successive yearthe central bank is making an interim transfer: lastyear it transferred ` 10,000 crore. Though there isnothing wrong in a shareholder demanding aninterim dividend payout, the fact is that the Centreis advancing a receipt from the next fiscal to bailitself out in the current one. Should the RBI decidenot to repeat this practice, the government’s rev-enues will suffer because as much as ` 82,911crore has been budgeted on this count for the nextfiscal. Again, the central bank is not like a corpo-rate enterprise, nor can the government compareitself with a company shareholder. The RBI’sincome and surplus growth cannot be measured incommercial terms since a large part of it comesfrom statutory functions it has to perform as a reg-ulator. The large payout this fiscal is bound to raiseeyebrows, especially because of the recent historyof conflict between the RBI and the Centre overthe sharing of the former’s accumulated reserves asdividend with the Centre. Pressure on this countwas said to be a major reason for the resignation ofUrjit Patel as RBI Governor. Though the practiceof an interim payout started under Mr. Patel, thereare inevitable questions over whether there waspressure from the Centre now for the transfer of ahigher sum than last year. This is because theCentre had in the Interim Budget bumped upreceipts under this head from the central bank,nationalised banks and other financial institutionsto ` 74,140 crore from the original estimate of `54,817 crore made in the 2018-19 Budget. Clearly,the Finance Ministry knew what it wanted. Therewill, hopefully, be a system and a structure in placeonce the committee under former RBI GovernorBimal Jalan, that is now reviewing the economiccapital framework for the RBI, submits its report. Itwas constituted to de-personalise and institution-alise a system for the sharing of the RBI’s surplus-es with the government, and is expected to comeout with its recommendations by the end of thenext month.

FromEditor’sDesk.....

Interim bailout:RBI surplus to govt

AVIJIT PATHAKThey are Kashmiri students — young, dreamy anddriven by educational quest and vocational pursuits.But then, it is because of our collective decadencethat we stereotype them. And, with the mob mental-ity and mass psychology of revenge after thePulwama tragedy, our ‘nationalist’ gaze classifiesthem as ‘conspirators’ or ‘potential terrorists’. Asthey are targeted and attacked, and the story repeatsitself from Dehradun to Delhi, I realise the impor-tance of being a teacher. I must raise my dissentingvoice, a voice emanating from the therapeutic powerof a dialogic relationship with the young.

If you look at JNU, AMU and now the Kashmiristudents, you see a pattern; and it exists because ofthe emotionally charged narrative of the nation — anation in danger because of the ‘enemy’ out there —constructed by the ruling regime and sanctified bythe noisy television channels.

Yes, I have no hesitation in saying that there isimmense violence in the monolithic discourse ofnationalism, and its urge to transform young mindsinto ‘resources’ for the nation, or ‘loyal’ citizenswith what Michel Foucault would have regarded as‘docile’ bodies/minds adhering to the rules of ‘disci-pline’ the state sanctifies. Hence, with the practice of‘hierarchical observation’, the ruling regime identi-fies those who are not ‘normal’: those interrogatingthe dominant discourse of nationalism, or its politicsof knowledge. No wonder, for the Establishment,even the chorus of azadi — a reflection on patri-archy, casteism, crony capitalism and militaristicnationalism, and a quest for egalitarianism and cul-tural pluralism — looks problematic. The likes of‘JNU radicals’, the vocal students of AligarhMuslim University (a gaze activated by the propo-nents of the Hindu rashtra has already stigmatisedthe ‘identity’ of the majority of the inhabitants ofthis place), or, for that matter, a young professor inAssam reminding us of the intensity of fear andalienation ordinary Kashmiris experience in theValley are, therefore, seen as ‘anti-national’. Amonolithic discourse backed by the coercivemachinery of the state annihilates the possibility ofany conversation with the young. What exists isonly the instantaneity of filing sedition chargesagainst them, or, isolating, assaulting and stigmatis-ing the Kashmiri students.

Second, something has gone terribly wrong withthe way the ruling regime (and this time because ofits affinity with neoliberalism) perceives higher edu-cation. Become a ‘nationalist’, celebrate the mili-tarisation of the consciousness and hate the ‘enemy’nation. Or, learn the ‘skills’, adjust yourself to thedemands of the market, and join the workforce. Inthis agenda, there is no scope for self-reflection,philosophic wonder or critical/passionate thinking.Yes, many of our private universities or institutes oftechnology and management have no ‘politics’; in

these super-hygienic campuses, a teacher as a pro-fessional ‘skill provider’ engages with the student asa ‘client’. No, the regime does not have any problemwith these shops. However, what it cannot bear isthe presence of some public universities where sometradition of critical thinking, political churning orengaged learning is still alive. JNU is ‘bad’ becauseits students and teachers speak of Marx andAmbedkar, and Gandhi and Tagore; HCU is prob-lematic because here the voice of the subaltern inter-rogates the status quo; and AMU is not ‘nationalist’enough, particularly when the lieutenants of YogiAdityanath are observing it. In a way, this is the timefor destroying public universities; this is the time forrobbing education of critical pedagogy.

And third, the propaganda machinery — say, anews channel burdened with the conscience of the‘republic’ — is working for destroying the reputa-tion of public universities. These ‘troubled’ campus-es are seen as ‘war zones’ and it would appear thatterrorists, anti-national conspirators and Maoists arestaying in hostels, and nothing else takes place here.I feel its pain and absurdity every day. My students(and some of them are from Kashmir), I know, arebright, sensitive, civilised and politically articulate.Yet, when I see cops at the university gate, I feel thatthe system is transforming everything into its oppo-site: critical thinking into deviance, scholarship intowaste of time (or that of the taxpayer's money), andpositive youth energy into anti-national conspiracy.

It would be a tragedy if we fail to understand and

converse with the youth, if we destroy the possibili-ty of a dignified communion with the Kashmiriyouth. We need enabling Vice Chancellors to illu-mine the universities. It is becoming increasinglydifficult to find VCs who are true educators andcapable of engaging with the youth — the spectrumof worldviews or dissenting voices they represent. Ifa VC feels annoyed, or calls the police when hehears a slogan like ‘Smash Patriarchy’ or ‘Downwith Fascism’, or fines the students if he sees atorchlight demonstration by them expressing soli-darity with farmers, or students of Kashmir whohave been harassed by the militant ‘nationalists’ orthe cops, you can imagine the intensity of the dam-age caused by him.

Yet, concerned citizens and critical pedagogueshave to come together, and put pressure on society.A society that suspects the youth, encourages mobmentality and abhors critical voice can fall into thetrap of a potentially fascist regime. At this crucialjuncture, sensitive minds have to fight a battle forreclaiming universities as sites for engaged learning,critical thinking and non-violent debate. We oughtto nurture a cosmopolitan mind — not limited to acaste, an exclusionary class, a territory, or a reli-gious dogma. Regionalism, parochialism, saffroni-sation, religious nationalism and lumpenism havealready destroyed many of our universities. Its vic-tims are those who — like Tagore — remind us ofthe discontent of militant nationalism.

It is time we stopped this madness.

...and now, Kashmiri students

VAPPALA BALACHANDRANINTELLIGENCE professionals are always puzzledwhen charges of intelligence failure are hurled atthem even when they had already reported broadtrends of subversive activities to the executivebranches. A day after the Pulwama attack, Jammuand Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said therewas no intelligence “about any of them (the youth)being trained as a suicide bomber”. The Governor’sadviser, K Vijay Kumar, also told the media that“there was no specific intelligence input” (about thesuicide car bomb attack).

Exact and timely alerts are rare. The 9/11Commission found that the CIA had sent 40 highlysensitive President’s Daily Briefs (PDB) betweenJanuary 20 and September 10, 2001, to then USPresident George W Bush on Osama bin Laden’sterror preparations. The June 12, 2001, alert evenmentioned Khalid Sheikh Mohammed recruitingpeople to travel to the US to meet colleagues. It wasonly known later that he was the chief 9/11 conspir-ator. Similarly, there were about 16 alerts from 2006onwards on the possibility of a major attack onMumbai, some of these mentioning sea-borne routeand targets. Yet these attacks could not be preventeddue to different reasons, including what the 9/11Commission had called ‘failure of imagination’ onthe part of the executive departments which did notconvert ‘trends’ into local preventive measures.While airline security was neglected in the US,coastal protection measures were ignored in India.

Things are more difficult in prolonged insurgencysituations such as in Kashmir that are sustained withforeign help; the battle of attrition comes in waves,interspersed with periods of calm. One of the rea-sons for the impression of intelligence failure is theinability of the ground action groups to convertnational or tactical intelligence inputs into localaction. This is aggravated by the practice of seg-menting terrorists or groups by ground action unitsor even by analysis branches, pigeonholing them onthe basis of features of past terrorist acts.

Intelligence analysts and supervisory officersshould not have pre-determined assessments basedonly on past experience. For example, a retired DGP(J&K) was quoted as saying that Kashmiris were notknown to prefer suicide bombing, like what AdilAhmad Dar had done, due to their religious orienta-tion. He should have known that the emergence of

Islamic State (IS) altered the game all over theworld. He should also have known that the IS or itsideology was eyeing the Kashmir Valley as a ripeplace to enter. Another report said that the authori-ties were surprised that Dar used a car-borne impro-vised explosive device (IED), which was discontin-ued by Hizbul Mujahideen after 2005 due to civiliancasualties.

All these impressions were unwarranted had thelocal authorities studied global terrorist trends. Thiswriter had concluded his article on the Islamic State(The Tribune, January 7, 2019) by mentioning anincident that took place on December 28, 2018,when some Kashmiri youths had hoisted the IS flagon the pulpit of the 14th-century Jama Masjid, indi-cating their intent to jump on the IS bandwagon. Ihad also mentioned how IS had influenced threeIndonesian families to sacrifice their children in achurch suicide bombing in Surabaya on May 13,2018. In Indonesia, too, this was shocking as localterror outfit Jemaah Islamiyah had permitted onlymen to carry out suicide bombing.

A report from Mumbai, quoting the IntelligenceBureau, said Dar was detained six times betweenSeptember 2016 and March 2018, but was notcharged. This indicates that we are entering a phaseexperienced by Western agencies. Sixteen terroristsresponsible for seven vehicle-mowing incidents —from Nice (France) on July 14, 2016, to New Yorkon November 1, 2017, killing 140 — had been onthe radar of local law enforcement agencies. The

perpetrators of the January 2015 Charlie Hebdokillings and the November 2015 Paris killings wereon the police radar. In the UK, information onKhalid Masood (Westminster Bridge incident),Salman Abedi (Manchester Arena), Khuram Butt &Youssef Zaghba (London Bridge) was availablewith the police. Yet these incidents could not be pre-vented.

How then do we meet the challenge? Human intel-ligence has always been an issue in J&K. We try toresolve it with technical methods. In my lecture tothe Singapore Police officers on November 7, 2017,I had quoted the European experience that ‘bulk’in-terception was not producing results as analysis wasnot catching up with the huge volume of informa-tion due to a shortage of analysts. Speculation thatArtificial Intelligence (AI) would solve the problemof the technical information glut has not yet beenproved correct. It is still at a nascent stage. On theother hand, experts such as John Chirhart, federaltechnical director of US security firm Tenable, quot-ed by The Guardian, had warned that the humantouch should never be underestimated when assess-ing intelligence: “Humans are still a vital part of theprocess because they provide something computerscan’t.” Tragically, this is ruled out in J&K due to thealienation of the youth after the NDA assumedpower in 2014, treating protesters throwing stonesas Pakistani terrorists. Former NDA ministerYashwant Sinha, who led the Concerned CitizensGroup (CCG) to the Valley a number of times, hasbeen talking about the ‘dismay and despondency’growing among the public. “Even people who usedto talk reasonably earlier were using the language ofthe militants and separatists... The proximate rea-sons for this not only seemed to be lack of dialoguewith Kashmiris, but also because tourism had plum-meted, the hotel business was in dire straits, therewas flight of capital and an overall economic down-turn leading to greater unemployment,” he said. Inthe process, Kashmir became a classic case ofhome-grown insurgency when the public startedobstructing security forces during their operations,facilitating easier access to foreign-based jihadigroups. One recalls how in 1947 our army wasgreatly helped by the local people, includingNational Conference cadres, who lent their man-power and vehicles to chase away the Pakistaniinvaders.

Intel inputs rarely specific,but action a must

NATIONSamba (J&K) | Thursday, February 21, 2019 05Daily State Vision

AgencyHAROLD ALDERMAN,S H R A Y A N ABHATTACHARYA, UGOGENTILINI, AND RAGHAVPURI: The 2019 budget hassparked debate on the increas-ing centrality of cash transfersand direct income support inIndia’s welfare and social pro-tection architecture. ThePradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-KSN) hasbeen announced, expected tocover 120 million small andmarginal farmers with a totalannual budget outlay of nearly$10.7 billion. Yet, the incomesupport scheme is dwarfed bythe $26.1 billion allocation forfood subsidies, as per 20192020budget estimates.

In fact, India’s food subsidyprogramme continues to beone of the largest safety nets inthe world: the PublicDistribution System (PDS)provides for nearly 800 millionpeople, receiving nearly 1% ofGDP consistently in the pastdecade.

What role does the PDS playin India’s social protection sys-tem? The PDS is a core aspectof social protection measuresin the country. According todata from the National SampleSurvey, Indian householdsspend 45% of their income onfood. Poor households, in par-ticular, rely on governmentsubsidized grains.

Thus, programmes to miti-gate losses from food priceshocks are an important part ofIndia’s social protection sys-tem. What’s more, the PDS haswitnessed a large scale “turn-around”, especially in poorstates. The numbers tell thestory. In 2004-05, just 22.4% ofIndian households reportedbuying food grains from fairprice shops. This doubled to44.5% in 2011-12, the highestsince 1997, when the targetedPDS— expanded and reorient-ed to target the poor was intro-duced. By 2012 nearly six outof 10 poor households pur-chased grains from the PDS.While country-wide decline inleakage has been moderate —from 58% in 2004-05 to 43% in2012 — the breakthrough wasparticularly strong, in lowincome states with historicallyweak administrative capabili-ties such as Bihar Odisha,Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.Following the implementationof the National Food SecurityAct in 2016, coverage has fur-ther expanded. Administrativedata for 2016 shows that 74%of Indian households possessration cards.

Micro-surveys in select lowincome states conducted in2016 and 2017 found that citi-zens received nearly 90% ofthe subsidized grains to whichthey were entitled. Theseimprovements protected poor

households from food priceincreases and alleviated pover-ty during times of drought andhigh food inflation.

However, challenges remain.Critics highlight that the in-kind delivery of food subsidiesis far too costly and distor-tionary . Cash transfers aresuggested as an alternative.

Where markets functionwell, cash assistance wouldignite demand-basedapproaches that could helpuphold consumer sovereignty,spark efficiency gains, andignite competition amongretailers. Another proposal toreform the PDS includes thesuggestion that beneficiariesmust choose for themselves —

cash, in-kind food or evenvouchers.

However, we observe twokey constraints in rolling out achoice-based PDS.

For one, a cash-or-kind sys-tem would place a large bet ontechnology: at any point intime, the system needs to beable to provide people whatthey want, anywhere. Whetherthe current system can accom-modate the simultaneous,multiple and real-timedemand of nearly 800 millionis an open question. Deliveryof cash instead of food remainsfar more complex than is oftenimagined, even in urban areas.So much so, that Puducherry,which experimented with cash

delivery in the PDS starting2015, has decided to revert toin-kind delivery. Activistshave also highlighted howtechnology like electronicpoint of sale devices and bio-metrics may trigger delays andexclusion in food delivery,thereby eroding gains made inthe recent past.

These may be challenges oftransition and resolvable in thelong run, but that is preciselywhat a learning-based reformhas to address. Bolstering thecapacity of local governmentsto adapt, test and use technolo-gy effectively maybe moreimportant than complexchanges in the PDS deliverychain.

Second, and more funda-mentally, a choice-basedapproach cannot sidestep theintricate political economyquestion facing procurementreform in the PDS. Allowingbeneficiaries to choose food orcash only kicks the can downthe line and doesn’t fullyaddress the inherent tension inthe PDS — that is, its dualobjectives of protecting fami-lies from price rise and at thesame time, stabilizing farmerincomes. As we all know,grains procured through theMinimum Support Price (MSP)policy are distributed and soldthrough the PDS. Even if citi-zens choose cash, this begs thequestion of how the govern-ment would release procuredgrains under current policiesinto the market without simul-taneously dismantling theMSP and procurement system.Even the PMKSN scheme isnot enough to replace the needfor MSP given that the benefitamount is a minor share ofhousehold income. In addi-tion, it only targets a subset offarmers.

An enhanced farmer supportscheme can ideally create aroadmap for reducing govern-ment involvement in procure-ment and farmer price sup-port. But these are challengingand complex reforms whichrequire careful study andsequencing as the social pro-

tection system is linked withagricultural policies.

Moving forward, theNational Food Security Act,which came into force in 2013,empowers states to decide themodality of delivering foodsubsidies — in cash or kind.Urbanized Union Territoriesare testing the use of cash inplace of grains. States likeMadhya Pradesh have testedprice-differential schemes tocompensate for the gapbetween market prices andMSP. Farmer income supportschemes can serve as impetusfor further national procure-ment reforms. In the mean-time, each state governmentcan be assisted in making moreinformed decisions on howbest to protect farmers andconsumers from food priceshocks based on diagnosticsand feedback loops. This is agradual and sequenced pathfor PDS reform, based onlearning and local require-ments.

At the national level, reformwill need to be underpinnedby a clear understanding ofhow food transfers coordinateand interact with otherschemes such as farmerincome support in the socialprotection system. “Choice” isnot an immediate antidote forthe tough political and admin-istrative challenges facing PDSreforms.

Is India ready for choice-based PDS?

AgencyMUMBAI: Thousands offarmers will once againstage an eight-day marchfrom Nashik to Mumbaito protest, what they say,the failure of the BJP gov-ernment in Maharashtrain keeping the promises itmade after their last agita-tion. Farmers’ outfit AllIndia Kisan Sabha (AIKS)had held a similar protestin March last year to pressfor the same demands.Nearly 30,000 farmers,including children,women and the elderly,had started from Nashikon March 6 and walkedsix days to reach Mumbaito highlight theirdemands. They ended

their protest over loanwaivers, prices and landrights after the state gov-ernment agreed to meettheir demands.

And this time, the marchwill start on February 20from Nashik and end inMumbai’s iconic AzadMaidan on February 27.They have been demand-ing a revision of the riverlinking agreement toensure that water is notdiverted to Gujarat,implementation of theS w a m i n a t h a nCommission recommen-dations, transfer of forestland to tribals and pen-sion scheme for farmers.

AIKS’ state secretaryAjit Navale said the BJP

government seems insen-sitive to the demands ofthe farmers. The organisa-tion is affiliated to theCommunist Party of India(Marxist).

“We have no option butto agitate and secure our

rights. It is better thancommitting suicide.Farmers are currently inbad shape, especially dueto the drought,” saidNavale.

He said that the assur-ances that were given to

farmers during the lastmarch remained on paperand were not implement-ed by the state govern-ment. He said one of themain issue this timewould be to force the gov-ernment to revise the riverlinking agreement, whereit is proposed to divertwater to Gujarat.

“How can we divert ourstate water to Gujaratwhen we ourselves arefacing drought?” Navaleasked.

The AIKS has alsodemanded the construc-tion of small catchmentdams to ensure water tothe drought-affected areasof the state.

The AIKS also expressed

fear that the governmentwill crack down on themarch especially when theparliamentary electionsare all set to be held in thenext few months.

In November last year,Lok Sangharsh Morcha –an outfit that works forthe rights of tribals andfarmers in Maharashtraand Gujarat - held a simi-lar march to demand,among other things, trans-fer of land rights to 2.31lakh eligible tribals andrelief to drought-affectedfarmers. They withdrewtheir protest following awritten assurance fromthe state government thattheir demands would bemet within three months.

Farmers to march to Mumbai again to press for unfulfilled promises

AgencyBENGALURU: American Defencegiant Lockheed Martin Wednesdayunveiled the F-21 multi-role fighterjet for India, to be produced locally,as it eyed a multi-billion dollar mili-tary order.

Specifically configured for the IAF,the F-21 provides “unmatched”Make in India opportunities andstrengthens India’s path to anadvanced airpower future, the firmsaid announcing the plan on theopening day at the Aero-India 2019air show here.

Lockheed Martin and TataAdvanced Systems would producethe F-21 in India, for India, it said ina statement.

The US Defence major, which hadearlier offered its F-16 fighter to

India, said the F-21 addresses theIAF’s unique requirements and inte-grates India into the world’s largestfighter aircraft ecosystem.

“The F-21 is different, inside andout,” said Dr Vivek Lall, vice presi-dent of Strategy and BusinessDevelopment for Lockheed MartinAeronautics.

“The new [F-21] designation high-lights our commitment to deliveringan advanced, scalable fighter aircraft

to the Indian Air Force that also pro-vides unrivaled industrial opportu-nities and accelerates closer India-US cooperation on advanced tech-nologies,” he said.

This “unprecedented” Make inIndia opportunity combines thestrength of the world’s largestdefence contractor with India’s pre-mier industrial house to deliver “ahistoric win-win” for India and theUnited States, the statement said.

Lockheed Martin is a global securi-ty and aerospace company thatemploys approximately 1,05,000people worldwide. It is principallyengaged in the research, design,development, manufacture, integra-tion and sustainment of advancedtechnology systems, products andservices.

Lockheed Martin unveils new combatjet F-21, to be made in India

AgencyNEW DELHI: Researchersfrom Indian Institute ofTechnology, Hyderabad, andNational Centre for Polar andOcean Research, Goa, have iso-lated a fungus from Antarcticsoil and moss that can producean anti-cancer drug used totreat Acute LymphoblasticLeukemia (ALL), which is acommon form of childhoodcancer. The drug producedfrom the Antarctic fungi will becheaper and lead to fewer sideeffects than the ones currentlyavailable in the market, accord-ing to researchers whose find-ings were published in the jour-nal Scientific Reports thismonth. ALL is a type of bloodcancer where immature whiteblood cells are produced inexcess. The chemotherapeutic

enzyme currently in use to testALL, L-Asparaginaseis, isolat-ed from bacteria such as E.Coliand E. Chrysanthemi grown ina liquid medium.

“The Antarctic fungus, onother hand, can be grown onsolid mediums, mostly agricul-tural waste like rice husk andwheat bran and does not needspecialised medium, whichbrings down the cost of pro-duction,” said Dr DevaraiSanthosh Kumar, principalinvestigator and associate pro-fessor in the department ofchemical engineering at IITHyderabad.

“The method can be easilyscaled up. We already have thefungus stored in a frozen stateso that we would not have to goback to collect samples forexpansion of production,” he

added.The National Cancer Registry

programme puts the incidenceof ALL in various parts of Indiabetween 16.9 and 61.3 per mil-lion for boys and between 10.3and 45.8 per million for girlsunder the age of 15. At present,the drug costs around ?2,000for a vial of 10,000 units, andthe monthly cost of treatment

ranges between ?10,000 and?20,000.

“The dosage depends on theheight and weight of thepatient. ALL patients have totake it from at least six monthsto several years, depending onwhen cancer goes into remis-sion. Most people - six or sevenof 10 in India - are not able toafford it. Hence, there is anurgent need to develop andmake cancer drugs in India tobring down the costs,” saidrenowned oncologist Dr PKJhulka.

The enzyme blocks the sup-ply of asparagine, an aminoacid needed for synthesis ofproteins, to cancer cells pre-venting its growth and prolifer-ation.

“However, L-Asparaginase isalways found in amalgamation

with glutaminase and urease,which cause the serious sideeffects.

There has been ongoingresearch to eliminate these pro-teins during purification. Inthis case, we found that thefungi actually produces pureL-Asparaginase, meaning therewill be fewer sideeffects,” saidDr Kumar. Of the 55 samplescollected fromSchirmacherHills, Dronning Maud Land,Antarctica, 30 isolates had pureL-Asparaginase.

“Another advantage is thatfungi are eukaryotic just likehuman cells, which makes iteasily usable and long lastingon humans,” said Dr Kumar.

All organisms, except for bac-teria and archaea, are eukaryot-ic, meaning they have a nucleusenclosed within membranes.

Antarctic fungus can bring cheaper cancer drugs

AgencyMUMBAI: A five-year-old male leopard waskilled after being hit by aspeeding car on theM u m b a i -A h m ed a b a dNational Highway inMaharashtra’s Palghardistrict on Tuesday night,forest department officialssaid on Wednesday.

Harikumar JagjivandasPrajapati, a resident ofSanjan in Gujarat, wasgoing to the MahalaxmiTemple in Dahanu withhis wife and their son inhis Maruti Dzire car whenit collided with the leop-ard near Gotipada village

in Udhwa of Talasari area,leading to its instantdeath, range forest officer(RFO) of Udhva ReshmaVarkate said.

Prajapati has beenarrested by the forestdepartment in Dahanudivision and wife and hisson, who were injured inthe accident, were taken toa hospital. “We havearrested Prajapati underSections 9 and 36 of theWildlife ProtectionAct,1972 and will producehim before the Dahanucourt on Thursday,”Varkate said.

Varkate said locals con-

tacted Dhawal Kansara, ananimal rights activist, whoreached the accident spot.“Kansara informed us andwe reached the spot,” shesaid. The leopard was hiton the right shoulder andmay have died due to acardiac arrest due to trau-ma.

“We have sent the leop-ard’s body for a post-mortem at the SanjayGandhi National Park(SGNP) Borivali and thereport is awaited,” shesaid.

She said the spot is anactive leopard crossingarea and that the depart-

ment had put up sign-boards on the highwaycautioning motorists to goslow and be alert for theanimals crossing the high-way in search of prey.

“But motorists ignorethe warnings and continueto speed up on the high-way, resulting in suchdeaths,” said Varkate.

WPSI said the rise indeaths can be attributed togrowing conflicts andaccidents as a result of lin-ear infrastructure projects.The group collates datafrom their field represen-tatives and different stateforests departments.

Leopard killed in Maharashtra’sPalghar by speeding car, driver held

‘Imran Khan’s friendshipcomes first for him’, Kejriwaltakes a swipe at Navjot Sidhu

AgencyNEW DELHI: Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu wasmore concerned about his friendship with PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan than the well-being of India,Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed Tuesday.

Slamming the Congress leader for his “utterances” inthe wake of the Pulwama attack, in which around 40CRPF personnel were killed, Kejriwal said Sidhu’s state-ment had “hurt the sentiments” of the nation.

Following the audacious attack carried out byPakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the cricketer-turned-politician had said that an entire nation couldnot be blamed for the actions of “a handful of people”.

“Sidhu’s statement has hurt the sentiments of entirenation,” Kejriwal, who arrived here to attend the mar-riage reception of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLABaljinder Kaur tld media persons.

“It seems for Sidhu, friendship (with Khan) comes firstand then the nation,” the AAP national convener said ashe condemned Sidhu for the “irresponsible” statement.

Leopard spotted at Thanemall, caught from basementof nearby hotel

AgencyTHANE: The forest department officials on Wednesdaymanaged to capture a leopard that was seen leaving theKorum Mall in Thane around 5.30 am. The leopard isbelieved to have entered the mall complex after scalingthe perimeter wall.

CCTV footage showed the wild cat leaving the mallpremises around 5.30 am.

A search operation was initiated after the leopard wasseen moving towards the Vasant Vihar residential areain the vicinity.

After searching the adjacent areas, the forest depart-ment officials managed to trace the leopard to the base-ment of the nearby Hotel Satkar Residency at CadburyJunction in Thane.

“The forest team that carried out the nearly 5-hour-long operation managed to catch it around 11:30 amafter tranquilising it,” informed a police official.

SPORTS / BUSINESSSamba (J&K) | Thursday, February 21, 2019 Daily State Vision 06

AgencyLIVERPOOL: BayernMunich’s time has passed.This incarnation of BayernMunich, anyway, thisteam with Manuel Neuerat one end of the field andRobert Lewandowski atthe other, this team thathas taken up residency atthe summit of theBundesliga, this team thathas been such a fixtureand a force in the finalrounds of the ChampionsLeague. The wear and tearhas been showing a littlemore with every passingseason: Pep Guardiola left,and Jupp Heynckes couldnot be persuaded to stay;Philipp Lahm and XabiAlonso retired. Bayern,this Bayern, was creaking,though it was not always

possible to hear, not withthe pop of Champagnecorks as another title wassealed, or the roar of thecrowd as anotherChampions League semi-final sailed into view.

And then, this season, asthese things tend to do, theslow burn caught light,and it all unraveled, all atonce. Too many compo-nents had degraded orbeen replaced, and all of asudden the mechanismground to a halt. In thesilence, what had been abackground hum ofunease, of discontent,came rushing to the ears,loud and clear.

Bayern’s coach, NikoKovac, was not goodenough, appointed to thejob with an air of anticli-

max and living up to hisbilling. The squad he wasbequeathed was a shadowof its former self, too vul-nerable to the ticking ofthe clock, its stoliddependability renderedobsolete by the obscenewealth of the PremierLeague, of Paris St.-Germain, of Real Madridand Barcelona.

The cadre of formerplayers that serve as theclub’s power brokers —Uli Hoeness, the presi-dent; Karl-HeinzRummenigge, the chiefexecutive; and the sport-ing director, HasanSalihamidzic — stoodaccused of overseeing thatdecline, and doing noth-ing, or not enough, to stopit.

In December, at theclub’s annual generalmeeting, Hoeness wasbooed by a sample ofBayern’s members; one,Johannes Bachmayr, wasbold enough to take themicrophone and lambastthose on stage for every-thing from their failure tosign Kevin De Bruyne toBayern’s commercial rela-tionship with QatarAirways.

Change, everyoneagreed, was not only nec-essary but overdue. Theseason itself bore witnessto that: Bayern, winner ofthe last six German cham-pionships, has spent muchof the season behindBorussia Dortmund, atone point dropping as lowas sixth in the Bundesliga

table.Results have ticked

upward since the winterbreak, though perform-ances have been sluggishto follow suit. Dortmund’slead is down to only 3points; it is a measure ofBayern’s competitive spir-it — and proof of how con-cerned the club has been— that when news ofDortmund’s 0-0 draw atNürnburg on Mondaymade it to the Liverpoolrestaurant where Hoenessand the board were diningthat night, there was arousing cheer, and a littlesinging.

They stood there, lacon-ic, as they took theirapplause and offered itback, as they have donehundreds of times before.

Champions League: Bayern Munich hold backLiverpool, and the inevitable, for one more night

AgencyMADRID: Roger Federerconfirmed his participa-tion for this year’s MadridOpen on Wednesday,marking his return to theEuropean clay court sea-son after two years away.

The 20-times GrandSlam champion has notplayed this year since hisAustralian Open round of16 defeat by GreekStefanos Tsitsipas inJanuary.

Federer, whose soleFrench Open title came in2009, has preferred to skipthe European clay seasonover the last two seasonsto manage his schedule.

The 37-year-old Swiss isthe second most successfulplayer at the Caja Magicabehind Rafa Nadal, win-

ning three titles in 2006,2009 and 2012.

“Federer is one of thebest players of all time, it’sno secret,” tournamentdirector Feliciano Lopezsaid in a statement.

“We are happy because

his return to Madrid is agift to the tournament, butabove all the fans will beable to see a unique playerin the Caja Magica.Having the Swiss playerback on clay withDjokovic and Nadal is

going to be unmissable.”World number one

Novak Djokovic and 11-times French Open winnerNadal are also expected tofeature at the MadridOpen, which will beplayed from May 3-12.

Roger Federer to make claycourt return at Madrid Open Agency

NEW DELHI: FormerIndian opener and currentminister in the UttarP r a d e sh - g o v e r nm e ntChetan Chauhan has saidthat it was not easy forcricketing boards to pullout of global events likethe World Cup. He alsobelieves that if India doactually forfeit the match,it would be detrimentalfor the side in the WorldCup. “Not participating inglobal tournaments is noteasy as every tournamenthas its rules and manyparticipating nations. Ifwe pull out, we may haveto face consequences,could be fined or banned, Ithink Government andBCCI will consider this,”Chauhan told ANI.

In the wake of Pulwamaattacks, there have been

scattered voices callingIndia to boycott all cricket-ing ties with Pakistan andto forfeit the proposedWorld Cup fixture.

However, the BCCI istreading the path withcaution and have said thatthey will do whatever thegovernment of the dayasks them to do.

“Situation will get clear-er after some time, a littlecloser to the World Cup.ICC has nothing to dowith it. If the governmentat that point in time feelswe shouldn’t play, it’sobvious that we won’tplay”, ANI quoted a BCCIsource as saying.

Speaking to Hindustan

Times, BCCI treasurerAnirudhChaudhrycitedthe Special GeneralMeeting of the board onJune 22, 2018 and said thatthe Indian board was yetto sign the MPA and thatgave the BCCI right todecide on whether it willplay the arch-rivals in theWorld Cup.

“The BCCI had resolvedat the Special GeneralMeeting that the membersparticipation agreementshall not be executed with-out the authorization ofthe general body of theBCCI and the BCCIreserves all its rightsregarding the MPA andregarding its participationin any other multi-nationtournament or games notcovered by the MPA. Thatanswers your question,”he said.

India vs Pakistan: India could face consequences if theypull out of match against Pakistan - Chetan Chauhan

AgencyNEW DELHI:Commonwealth Gamesgold medallist SanjeevRajput believes that withthe 2019 Shooting WorldCup being held in India,shooters have got a “bighome advantage” to grabthe 2020 Tokyo Olympicsquota spots.

There are 16 Olympicquota spots that are up forgrabs, the competition forwhich will start from theShooting World Cup thatcommences Wednesday.

“Quota competitions aregoing to start this yearwith the World Cup. Insuch scenario, if theShooting World Cup isbeing held in India, then itis a big advantage for us.When we go out for com-petition, our schedule andtiming gets disturbed. Buthere, we are training in

home conditions andhome range, which is a bigadvantage,” Sanjeev toldANI. The 2018 AsianGames silver medallistalso backed the idea ofgiving more facilities tothe younger generation ofshooters so that they canperform well in interna-tional competitions.

When asked to commenton the deadly terror attack

in Pulwama in which 40CRPF personnel lost theirlives, Sanjeev, a soldierhimself, opined “It is dueto our soldiers that we liveour lives peacefully. Ibelieve that being a soldieris a matter of pride and wesupport you.”

The shooting WorldCup, which officially start-ed today, will conclude onFebruary 28 in New Delhi.

Shooting World Cup: Indian shooters have ‘homeadvantage’ to seal Olympic quota spot - Sanjeev Rajput

AgencyNEW DELHI: The HondaCB300R was recently launchedin India and the Japanese bike-maker plans to follow it up bybringing the 2019 HondaCBR650R to our shores.ZigWheels has learnt that a fewHonda dealerships are alreadyaccepting bookings for the fully-faired 650cc motorcycle for atoken sum between Rs 25,000and Rs 50,000. Deliveries of themotorcycle will begin fromApril 2019 onwards. TheCBR650R will replace theCBR650F and if you havebooked the old bike, your namewill be updated in the list for thenew one. However, due to theextensive number of updates,expect the CBR650R to com-mand a relatively higher pricethan the CBR650F.

Select Honda dealerships havestarted accepting bookings forthe upcoming CBR650R.

Booking amount ranges from

Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000, depend-ing on the dealership.

The CBR650R will replace theCBR650F in India.

It gets a completely newdesign; looks like a smaller ver-sion of the new CBR1000RR.

Deliveries expected to begin inApril.

The CB650R is likely to bepriced between Rs 9 lakh to Rs10 lakh (on-road).

Honda recently launched theCB300R via the CKD route is setto follow it up with yet anotheroffering in the form of the 2019Honda CBR650R. Zigwheels haslearnt that a few Honda dealer-ships have started acceptingbookings for the 650cc, fully-faired bike for a booking amountthat ranges between Rs 25,000 toRs 50,000, depending on thelocation. According to oursources, deliveries of the newbike is likely to begin from Aprilonwards. The Honda CBR650Rwill replace the ageing CBR650F

and customers who havealready booked the latter neednot worry since their names willbe updated in the new bookinglist and they will receive the newCBR650R instead. However,considering the number ofupdates the new bike hasreceived, it is likely to be pricedhigher than the CBR650F.

Without further ado, let’s takea look at what the new bike hasto offer. For starters, the fully-faired motorcycle gets a com-plete makeover and looks like asmaller version of Honda’s flag-ship litre-class superbike, theCBR1000RR. It gets new twinLED headlamps and a fully-dig-ital instrument console thatreplaces the dated twin-pod dig-ital instrument cluster seen onthe CBR650F. Additionally, italso gets new, modern-lookingcast aluminium alloy wheels aswell. There will be two colourson offer - red and black.

It isn't just the design that has

gotten sportier. The ‘R’ in thenew bike’s name points towardsa shift in focus from touring tosporty. To that end, it gets amore committed riding positionby the way of clip-on handlebarsthat are now set 30mm forwardand lower and footpegs thathave now been relocated rear-wards by 3mm back and higherby 6mm. However, owing to theshape of the new fuel tank, thecapacity has dropped from theCBR650F’s 17.3 litres to 15.4litres. So expect a drop in theoverall range.

Meanwhile, the 649cc, liquid-cooled, inline-four engine hasbeen fettled with and gets newintake and exhaust ports, updat-ed cam timing and a higher com-pression ratio. This has led to apower hike of 3PS which is pro-duced 1000rpm higher in the revrange. Torque has gone up by1Nm and arrives 500rpm earlierthan on the older motor. The revceiling has also been increased

from the previous 11,000rpm to12,000rpm. With these newchanges, the new outputs standat 95PS at 12,000rpm and 64Nmat 8500rpm. In the real world,this translates to a stronger mid-range and a higher revvingmotor. Given all these updates,we can expect the new bike to bepriced close to Rs 8 lakh, whichis around Rs 70,000 more thanthe now-discontinuedCBR650F’s ex-showroom priceof Rs 7.3 lakh. Although theHonda CBR650R does not havea direct rival, the KawasakiNinja 650, which is priced waylower at Rs 5.49 lakh (ex-show-room India), is the closest it canget. The CBR650R will beHonda’s second new CKD prod-uct to come to India this yearafter the CB300R. The latestdevelopment suggests that theJapanese manufacturer is keento get more performance-orient-ed and premium products toIndia. Stay tuned for more info.

Unofficial bookings for 2019 Honda CBR650R Commence

AgencyNEW DELHI: The com-merce and industry min-istry on Wednesday said ithas started the exercise forranking states and unionterritories for 2019 basedon initiatives taken forstartups.

The exercise aims toevaluate measures takenby states/UTs to bootstartup ecosystem duringthe period from May 1,2018 to June 30, 2019, theministry said.

"Ranking framework2019 comprises seven pil-lars and 30 action points,"it said in a statement.

The pillars will assessefforts of states/UTsacross institutional sup-port, simplifying regula-tions, easing public pro-curement, incubation,

seed funding, venturefunding and awarenessand outreach related activ-ities.

"The startup rankingframework aims to rankstates/UTs for establish-ing a robust ecosystem forsupporting startups. Theframework also encour-ages states and UTs toidentify, learn and repli-cate good practices from

each other," it added.The Department for

Promotion of Industry andInternal Trade (DPIIT),under the ministry, hasprepared the frameworkafter several rounds ofconsultations.

It said the frameworkhas evolved distinctly ascompared to last year withmajor emphasis on collect-ing feedback from start-

ups and other importantstakeholders.

"As part of the 2019 exer-cise, DPIIT will recognizeinnovative startup pro-grammes and initiativesfrom state/UT govern-ments," it said.

Till date, 25 states andUTs have launched theirdedicated startup policiesto incentivise buddingentrepreneurs in theirjurisdiction.

"The startup ranking2019 is expected to takeforward the ecosystem inthe country and giveimpetus to the vision ofIndia becoming a startupnation," it said.

In 2018, Gujaratemerged as the best per-former in developingstartup ecosystem for bud-ding entrepreneurs.

DPIIT begins work on rankingstates/UTs on startup initiatives

AgencyLONDON: LloydsBanking Group shruggedoff mounting concernsover Brexit to unveil a 4billion pounds dividendand share buyback bonan-za for investors onWednesday, despite book-ing weaker-than-expectedgrowth in profits for 2018.

Britain’s biggest mort-gage lender posted a 24per cent rise in net profitsto 4.4 billion pounds,below expectations of 4.6billion pounds, accordingto a company-providedaverage of analyst fore-casts. It pledged to pay a3.21 pence total dividenceand unveiled a 1.75 billionpound (USD 2.28 billion)share buyback, whichwould still leave the

bank’s core capital ratio - akey measure of financialstrength - at 13.9 per cent.

The bank also said it hadmade 1 billion pounds ofstrategic investment indigitising its business andbulking up its wealthmanagement operations.

Chief executive AntónioHorta Osório insistedBritain’s economy

remained fundamentallystrong despite widespreadwarnings of potential eco-nomic turmoil aheadsparked by Britain’s with-drawal from the EuropeanUnion.

“Over 2018 the UK econ-omy has proven itself to beresilient with recordemployment and contin-ued GDP growth,” he

said.“Although the near term

outlook for the UK econo-my remains uncertain, ourstrategy continues todeliver for our cus-tomers.”

Despite Lloyds’ bullishtone on the economy,impairments for the yearincreased by 18 percent to937 million pounds but itdid not make a provisionfor a potential hit fromBrexit, unlike its rivalsHSBC and Royal Bank ofScotland.

Lloyds also set aside afurther 200 millionpounds to compensatecustomers missold pay-ment protection insur-ance, taking its total provi-sion to 750 million poundsin 2018.

Lloyds Bank brushes off Brexit fearswith bumper dividend, buyback plan

AgencyNEW DELHI: Swedishtelecom gear makerEricsson on Wednesdaysaid it has started deploy-ing 5G-ready equipmenton Vodafone Idea net-work.

The equipment will beused for 4G services atpresent and can beupgraded to provide 5Gservices as per businessrequirement of VodafoneIdea Ltd (VIL), Ericssonsaid.

"We have been strategicpartners to both Vodafoneand Idea Cellular and nowwe enter a new phase ofpartnership with this dealwith VIL. "The 5G-readysolutions in the EricssonRadio System portfoliowill help boost the capaci-ty of VIL's LTE (4G) net-work and broaden theavailability of high qualitymobile broadband servic-es for its customers,"Ericsson India ManagingDirector Nitin Bansal said.

Ericsson starts deploying5G-ready telecom equipmenton Voda Idea network

Samba (J&K) | Thursday, February 21, 2019 Entertainment/Health Daily State Vision

07

Agency

SS pider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is nominated in theBest Animated Feature

Oscar category and it should, Ibelieve, take the trophy. Its closestcontender is Incredibles 2, which isalso really enjoyable, but it doesnot quite match the love-letter tocomic-books that is Spider-Verse,nor is it nearly as inventive.

When Spider-Man: Into theSpider-Verse was announced, evenhardcore Spidey fans, this scribeincluded, were perplexed. Sony,sans Marvel Studios’ intervention,did not have a good track recordwith some of the recent Spider-Man films. In fact, after 2004, therewas not a single decent film thatSpidey fans could really love. TomHolland’s Homecoming was good,

but it was made in association withMarvel Studios, a unit without asingle failure to its name.

And now, it seemed, Sony wasbuilding a cinematic universe of itsown with Spider-Man and its sup-porting characters. AlthoughSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Versehas lots of Spider-People (and aSpider-Animal), it is mainly thestory of Miles Morales, a Latino-Afro teen that is a fairly recentaddition to the Spider-Man canon.

I rarely see movies twice in the-aters, unless they are truly excep-tional. I went and saw Spider-Man:Into the Spider-verse four times.This movie is a staggering achieve-ment, a rare film that is nearlywithout flaw.

First of all, the visual style isabsolutely stunning. It is like psy-

chedelia of Thor: Ragnarok multi-plied by 10. There are intendedimperfections (like the colour bleedin the skylines to mimic the classicCMYK printing process) that some-how works to enhance everything.Every single frame appears like it ishandcrafted, every scene whether itis action-packed or sombre, has dis-tinctive touches that make the visu-al experience unique. The actionscenes in the movie are some of themost well-choreographed I haveseen — animated or live-action.

2D marries 3D so seamlessly inthis film that you will notice thatonly on subsequent viewings (or atleast I did). Some of the dialogueappears in comic-book style andthis is just one of the meta momentsthat give the viewer an impressionthat they are following this story,

panel by panel — just like a graph-ic novel.

Spider-Verse boasts of a phenom-enally sharp script. Phil Lord, whoalong with his partner ChristopherMiller is probably one of the mostcreative screenwriters today inHollywood, has crafted a storywith Rodney Rothman that isfunny, heartfelt, poignant, and stillthe classic Spider-Man story. Thereare loving homages to earlier itera-tions of live-action Spider-Men(echoing Lord and Miller’s TheLego Batman Movie).

Multiple Spider-People fromother dimensions enter Miles’world, and everybody gets theirdue, even as the focus remains onMiles Morales. All this and thefilm’s blazing fast pace should havemade the story over-stuffed, but

the film clocks less than two hours.This is unbelievably impressive.Spider-Verse was not just the bestanimated movie of 2018, it was alsothe best superhero movie of theyear. Incredibles 2, another Oscarcontender, is not nearly as good asThe Incredibles, its predecessor,but it is still entertaining and a feastto the eyes with those actionsequences that would either be tooexpensive or impossible to do inlive-action. In this regard, it is likeSpider-Verse in that it uses themedium’s strengths to its fullest.Pixar’s animation remains impec-cable and improves considerablyevery year. Overall, Incredibles 2 isa very enjoyable animated familysuperhero film, but Spider-Man:Into the Spider-Verse blows every-thing out of the water this year.

Road to Oscars 2019: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verseshould take home the Best Animated Feature trophy

Agency

DD irectorTigmanshuDhulia on

Wednesday announcedthat Milan Talkies, star-ring Ali Fazal, SikanderKher and ShraddhaSrinath, will not release inPakistan.The decision comes justdays after a suicidebomber rammed an SUVladen with explosives intoa bus in Pulwama, killing40 CRPF jawans andinjuring several others.Speaking at the trailerlaunch of Milan Talkies,Tigmanshu Dhulia said,“No, it will not be releas-ing in Pakistan. For tworeasons. First, we stand insolidarity. Second, piracyoriginates from Pakistan.So we should neverrelease our films there,irrespective of any rea-sons.”

The film’s team was laterasked about the way civil-ians are reacting to theattack.Ali Fazal said, “Duringdemonetisation, we allhad become economists.Now this time also, we allhave ‘solutions’. But, Ithink we should trust thearmy. They are doingtheir job. We have a greatarmy and we shouldstand in solidaritybecause our countrycomes first.”

Sikander Kher tooexpressed similar senti-ments. He said, “It is easyfor me to stand here andsay, go and kill, because Iam not going and killing,right? So again we aresending the jawans only.So as Ali rightly said, thearmy knows what theyare going to do. We allstand in solidarity. Weneed to let the armydecide. We should stopbeing ‘gyanis’. I am notgoing to say ‘go go, kill

kill,’ because I am notgoing to go there and doit. We are with them (thearmed forces). We com-pletely condone what hashappened, but let themdo what they have to do.”Shraddha Srinath, whohas predominantlyappeared in Kannada andTamil films, is making herBollywood debut withMilan Talkies.She said, “My fatherserved in the army for 30years. I have heard thesenews since I was a child.There were times whenwe were afraid for myfather. We would just bewaiting for his call, tohear his voice to knowthat he is okay. We haveseen death very closely.We have seen dad’scoursemates dying on thefield. We have seenfriends becoming orphansin a matter of minutes.

Milan Talkies will not release in PakistanAgency

EE arly reactions toCaptain Marvel areout, and nearly all

of them are highly posi-tive. Although early reac-tions should be taken witha grain of salt, things dolook great for the firstfemale-led superheromovie in the MarvelCinematic Universe.

Starring Brie Larson inthe title role, CaptainMarvel is set in the 1990sand traces the journey of aUS Air Force pilot whorises to become one of thestrongest superheroes inthe universe (MarvelStudio boss Kevin Feigesaid she will be the mostpowerful superhero in theMCU). Captain Marvel ishelmed by indie directorsAnna Boden and Ryan

Fleck. Old MCU charac-ters like Nick Fury(Samuel L Jackson), PhilCoulson (Clark Gregg),Ronan the Accuser (LeePace), Korath (DjimonHounsou) and others alsofeature in Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel willintroduce the extraterres-trial races Skrull and theKree in the MCU. Theirconflict in Marvel Comicsmake up one of Marvel

Universe’s most famousstories.

The superhero film,"Avengers: Infinity War"shattered a stack of boxoffice records in its globalpremiere over the week-end.

Many reviews. interest-ingly, singled out BenMendelsohn’s perform-ance as the Skrull Talos forpraise.

Uproxx’s Mike Ryan

wrote, “CAPTAIN MAR-VEL isn’t what I expectedbased on marketing. It’spretty much an “all in”cosmic space movie. Also,it’s a lot weirder than Iexpected. BenMendelsohn is awesomeas Talos.”

Collider’s StevenWeintraub said,“#CaptainMarvel is a wel-come addition to the#MCU. The movie is real-ly well done with somegreat moments. #ben-mendelsohn steals almostevery scene he’s in.@brielarson literallyshines in the role. So readyfor #AvengersEndGame.”

Slashfilm’s Peter Scirettawas also all praise for themovie. He tweeted,“#CaptainMarvel is agreat origin story.

Captain Marvel early reviews: Brie Larson’s firstfemale-led Marvel film earns appreciation

Agency

Bacteria and othermicroorganisms liv-ing in your gut,

known as the microbiome,play a big role in keepingyou healthy.

They help you digestfood, provide essentialvitamins and other nutri-ents, and help control yourimmune system.

But when the intestinalcommunities are out ofbalance, they may con-tribute to health problems,including autoimmunediseases such as inflam-matory bowel disease,type 1 diabetes, multiplesclerosis, and rheumatoidarthritis. A new study inwomen now suggests thatsystemic lupus erythe-matosus, also known aslupus or SLE, is linked tothe overgrowth of certain

bacteria in the intestines.Lupus is a chronic dis-

ease that results in inflam-mation in many parts ofthe body, including thekidneys, heart, and brain.This disease, which ismore common in women,is potentially life-threaten-ing.

Like other autoimmunediseases, lupus is causedby the immune systemmistakenly attacking aperson’s own tissues,rather than foreign germs.

In the study, researchersfound that 61 womendiagnosed with lupus hadhigher amounts of a gutbacterium known asRuminococcus gnavus,compared to 17 healthywomen.

The bacterium was alsopresent in healthy women,but at much lower levels.

“The results showed thatlupus patients have gutmicrobiome patterns dif-ferent from healthy indi-viduals, and these changescorrelated with diseaseactivity,” said JessyAlexander, PhD, aresearch professor in thedepartment of medicine atthe University at Buffalo,who was not involved inthe study.

The paper was pub-lished February 19 in theAnnals of the RheumaticDiseases.

Most people with lupushave times when their dis-ease is mostly quiet,known as a remission. Inbetween, symptoms canincrease, or “flare.”

The study found that R.gnavus levels increased inthe gut during flares.Blood tests also showed a

rise in antibodies —immune proteins — thatbind to the bacterium dur-ing these times.

Alexander said “theantibodies generated bythe patient against thisbacteria was directly pro-portional to the severity ofthe disease.”

The authors of the papercaution that their resultscan’t show whether theovergrowth of R. gnavuscauses or triggers lupus,or if disease flares allowthe bacterium to thrive inthe gut.

Dr. Martin Kriegel, PhD,an assistant professor ofimmunobiology andrheumatology at YaleSchool of Medicine, whowas not involved in thestudy, said it’s likely a“two-way street.”

Alexander said the study

strengthens the idea “thatgut bacteria affect the dis-ease lupus, and opens thedoor to developing prog-nostic tests that reveal thedisease status of the lupusnephritis patient.”

“However, a lot morework remains to be done,”she added.

In a study published lastmonth in Cell Host &Microbe, Kriegel and hiscolleagues found that acertain gut bacteriumworsened the disease inlupus-prone mice.

This bacterium,Lactobacillus reuteri, isnot the same as the oneidentified in women withlupus by the authors of therecent study.

Kriegel said the “sheernumber of bacteria in thegut makes it likely that notjust one bacterium plays a

role in lupus.”Nor do they all have the

same impact on the dis-ease.

“There are some over-lapping effects of certainbacteria,” said Kriegel,“but for the most part wefound that different bacte-ria induce differentaspects of the disease.”

Lupus is a complex dis-ease with a lot driving it.Even the “bad” bacteriainvolved in triggering thedisease can be “good” insome people.

“There are definitelygenetic and other factorsinvolved,” said Kriegel,“because the bacteriumthat we found — L. reuteri— is actually quite innocu-ous. It’s even promoted asa probiotic.”

Preliminary studies withanimal models point to

possible treatments forlupus and other autoim-mune diseases.

One approach would beto alter the gut microbio-me.

This could be done byeliminating bad bacteria,such as with an antibiotic.However, antibiotics —which Kriegel describedas “an atomic bomb to themicrobiome” — can alsokill good bacteria.

In a study published lastyear in Science, Kriegeland his team developed avaccine against a bacteri-um involved in lupus inmice. The vaccine primesthe immune system toattack one specific bacteri-um while leaving otherbacteria alone.

Another option wouldbe to increase the goodbacteria, such as with pro-

biotics — live bacteriaingested in pill form. Orwith fecal transplants, inwhich gut bacteria aretransferred from the gut ofa healthy donor to a per-son with lupus.

In the 2019 study,Kriegel’s lab gave resistantstarch to lupus-pronemice, after which their dis-ease symptoms lessened.

“The diet change that wegave to the mice shiftedthe microbiome, so thatgood bacteria grew andproduced factors that sup-pressed the bad bacteria,”said Kriegel.

Resistant starch is a car-bohydrate found in foodslike green bananas, whole-grain oats, lentils, andcooked and cooled rice. Itis fermented in the largeintestine, where it feedsgood bacteria in the gut.

How Gut Bacteria May Be Linked to Lupus

Agency

Influenza A, B, and Cviruses are widespreadglobally and infect a

significant number of chil-dren and adults each year.

For example, during the2017–2018 flu season,there were 30,453 cases ofhospitalization due toinfluenza, according to theCenters for DiseaseControl and Prevention(CDC).

During the same period,185 children died as aresult of the flu, approxi-mately 80 percent ofwhom had not received aflu shot that season.

Estimates place theeffectiveness of current fluvaccines at 40 percent,which means that the shotcuts the risk of someoneseeking influenza-relatedmedical help by two-

fifths.Current flu shots are not

effective against allinfluenza strains, so peo-ple need to have anothervaccine each year.However, new researchmay soon change this, asscientists have found thata particular type ofimmune cell can protectagainst all influenza types.

Katherine Kedzierska, aprofessor at the Universityof Melbourne in Australiaand laboratory head at thePeter Doherty Institute forInfection and Immunity(Doherty Institute) inMelbourne is the study'ssenior and correspondingauthor.

Prof. Kedzierskaexplains the motivationfor the research, sayingthat there has been insuffi-cient research on certain

strains of influenza."Influenza B immunolo-

gy particularly hasremained largely under-studied because it doesn'thave pandemic potential,"she says. "However, it is aserious virus that can leadto death and severe ill-ness, mostly in children,and was one of the miss-ing pieces of the universalflu protection puzzle."

To examine the com-monalities between differ-ent flu strains, theresearchers collaboratedwith scientists in thePurcell laboratory at theMonash BiomedicineDiscovery Institute inClayton, Australia.

The Purcell laboratory,which professor AnthonyPurcell leads, specializesin discovering epitopesusing mass spectrometry.

Flu breakthrough: Universalvaccine may be in sight Agency

In 2003, Star Jonesdecided to take controlof her weight and

health by undergoingweight loss surgery. Overthe next two years, shewent on to lose 160pounds. “I was feelingreally good. I was eatingcorrectly and exercisingregularly and doing all thethings I was supposed to,”Jones told Healthline.

So, it took her by sur-prise when she startedfeeling shortness ofbreath, lightheadedness,extreme fatigue, andintense heart palpitationsin 2010. “I knew some-thing was wrong so I wentto my cardiologist. Aftertwo days of testing, Ilearned that I had an aorticvalve malfunction,” saidJones. “If I didn’t movequickly it would ultimate-ly need to be replaced, and

if it could not be replaced,I’d ultimately need a hearttransplant.”

Jones decided to havepreemptive open-heartsurgery to stave off a car-diac event.

“I took control of myown health. I was my ownadvocate. I was scared outof my mind, too,” she said.“Six days after open-heartsurgery, I walked out ofthe hospital fully recov-ered except that I neededto get my life back, so forthree months I did intensecardio-rehab.”

During recovery, Jonesfelt the urge to spread theword about heart health.

“I should have beenaware [of my risks].However, I was not awarethat heart disease is thenumber one killer of allAmericans and numberone killer of AfricanAmericans and number

one killer of women,” shesaid. “I should have beenon notice because I’mthree for three.”

Heart disease also runsin her family on her moth-er’s side, making Jones afifth-generation heart dis-ease survivor. The fact thatshe was obese for themajority of her adult lifeand that she lived a seden-tary lifestyle also put herat risk.

“I really and truly wasthe walking epitome ofheart disease without evenknowing about it,” Jonessaid.

Jones teamed up withthe American HeartAssociation and its GoRed for Women move-ment in 2011 to share herstory and to spread aware-ness about heart disease.

“I was one of the mil-lions of women whothought heart disease was

an old white man’s dis-ease,” she said.

The American HeartAssociation reports thatcardiovascular diseaseskill one woman aboutevery 80 seconds, yet 80percent of cardiovasculardiseases can be preventedthrough education andlifestyle changes.

“When it happened tome, I called the AmericanHeart Association almostright out of the hospital tosay there is a new face ofheart disease and I want toshare what I havelearned,” said Jones. “Thisis my life’s work and pur-pose in life, to really pushforward the mission oferadicating cardiovasculardisease and stroke in ourcountry.”

Jones stresses preven-tion, which starts with“Knowing YourNumbers” to help under-

stand your risk for heartdisease.

The American HeartAssociation says the fivekey personal health num-bers you want to know aretotal cholesterol, HDL(good) cholesterol, bloodpressure, blood sugar, andbody mass index.

“Knowing these willhelp you put a game planin place with your doc-tor,” Jones said. “While 1in [38] women will diefrom breast cancer, 1 in 3women, if we don’t makechanges, will die fromheart disease.”

Getting women to real-ize the importance of thesenumbers is key, says Dr.Suzanne Steinbaum, cardi-ologist at Mount SinaiHospital in New York andmedical expert for theAmerican HeartAssociation’s Go Red forWomen movement.

Star Jones: I Was the Epitome of Heart Disease and Didn’t Know It

www.statevision.in - that’s all you need to know

Thursday, February 21, 2019

State VisionVISION OF JK

Page 8Samba (J&K)

Legal litracy programmeheld at D H Pora

SV NEWS SERVICEKULGAM, FEBRUARY 20: Under the directives ofexecutive chairman National Legal Service Authority(NLSA) a legal awareness camp was organized atcommunity hall D H Pora in collaboration with co-ordinator super 50 coaching institute D H Pora andZonal Education Office D H Pora.

The programme was held under the supervision ofChairman District Legal Services Authority, PrSessions Judge Kulgam.

On the occassion the students were made awareabout drug abuse, traffic regulation and present chal-lenges of environment pollution.

Speakers of the programme which includes MunsifD H Pora Muzamil Ahmad Wani, Advocate RoufGeelani, representatives of Bar association D H Porawho stressed for better awareness of law and legal ini-tiatives for better future and dignified life of studentswho are the future of every nation.

Secretary DLSA Kulgam Shafeeq AhmadCoodinated the arrangements and overall supervisionof the programme.

The participants include SDM D.H.Pora, ZEO, D. H.Pora, BDO, D. H. Pora and SHO D. H. Pora and repre-sentatives from the education department in additiona large number of students participated in the pro-gramme.

Tehsil Legal services commitee promised the audi-ence that under the leadership of Cheif justice judici-ary is now at the door steps of people to realize theirbasic social needs to bring positive change.

ICPS Establishes Help Deskfor abandoned, unwantedbabies at Lal Ded

SV NEWS SERVICESRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 20: Chairman of JuvenileJustice Board and Selection Cum Over SightCommittee, Justice (Retd) Hassnain Masoodi onWednesday inaugurated help desk and launchedhelpline number of Integrated Child ProtectionSociety (ICPS), Jammu and Kashmir Social WelfareDepartment for abandoned, unwanted, shelter lessbabies at premier maternity hospital, Lala Ded, here.

In the wake of recent increase in crime against chil-dren, ICPS under Integrated Child ProtectionScheme/Juvenile justice established help desk andhelpline for abandoned babies who usually end up ininsecure, unprotected and shelter less places.

While urging the need to increase sensitivity withchild issues he said, 'the help desk shall provide allassistance regarding the rescue of abandoned,unwanted and shelter less babies.'

J&K State Mission Director ICPS, G A Sofi said, 'thehelp desk shall provide round the clock facility to thepersons who wish to handover the child to ICPSDepartment. The department shall provide health carefacility, education, nutrition, shelter to the abandonedbabies.' He further said, 'we have set up district wisechild care institutions, both Government and NonGovernment, in order to facilitate these children, insti-tutionalise essential service and strengthen structurein order to provide community level protection andall round development.'

'We appeal to the civil society, professionals, healthdepartment, education department and police to comeforward and help create bridge between these aban-doned babies and genuine guardians for rehabilita-tion.' said MD, ICPS.

Superintendent of Lala Ded Maternity Hospital, DrShabir Ahmad said that abandoned babies shall betaken due care and provided facility to protect themfrom various infections and other risks.

Assistant Director, ICPS, Syed Farhana Asgar on theoccasion said.'

SV NEWS SERVICESRINAGAR, FEBRUARY20: The capital city ofSrinagar is all set to get anew Mechanized car park-ing which will greatly helpin decongestion of traffic.This was informed in ameeting which was con-vened by the DivisionalCommissioner KashmirBaseer Ahmad Khan toreview the traffic decon-gestion measures acrossthe city.

The government hasalready approved Rs 10crores under AMRUTscheme to SrinagarDevelopment Authority

(SDA) for the execution ofthe construction work. Tostart immediate construc-tion work on the newMechanized car parking inthe city, Div Com directedSDA to submit the com-plete report of the identi-fied location and othernecessary measures to theDivisional Commissionerimmediately for the neces-sary course of action.

In order to minimizetraffic jams across city, theDivisional Commissionerdirected CommissionerSMC to start intense drivealong with Police, trafficpersonnel to remove all

road side vendors fromHari Singh High Street,Batmaloo and other placesand shift them to designat-ed Vendor Zones whichwere already developedfor them.

Police, Traffic Police andChief Enforcement OfficerSMC were directed tokeep 24X7 tight vigil on allcity roads and ensure thatno vendor can displaytheir goods on roads or carparking sides. Violatorswill be dealt strictly as perprescribed law.

Traffic department wasasked to start intense andstrict document checking

of every type of vehiclesand immediately seizethose vehicles which lackrequisite vehicle docu-ments.

For seized vehicles, SDAwas directed to provideRTC yard to traffic depart-ment immediately.

The meeting was furtherinformed that the newtwin Multi-Level parkingprojects in old State MotorGarages and Sheikh baghat Lal Chowk are underconstruction at an estimat-ed cost of Rs 30 crores andRs 25 crores respectivelythrough AMRUT scheme.Under the AMRUT

scheme, Rs 5 crores hadbeen approved for parkingat Bus TerminalPanthachowk which isalso under construction.

The DivisionalCommissioner directedSDA to expedite the con-struction works on presti-gious parking projects sothat they will be complet-ed in a stipulated timeframe.

On the occasion, Khansaid that these parkingprojects will help todecongest traffic in thecity and ease the move-ment of commutersbesides large chunk of

population will get relieffrom regular traffic jams.

The DivisionalCommissioner reiteratedthat government is work-ing round the clock forsmooth and hassle freetraffic movement acrossthe city for the benefit ofcity habitants and tourists.

The meeting was attend-ed by Additional DeputyCommissioner SrinagarK.K. Sidha, RTO Kashmir,VC SDA, SSP Traffic,Commissioner SMC,Assistant Commissioner,Police officers and otherconcerned officials werepresent in the meeting.

Inclement weather:Winter vacations inKashmir collegesextended up to Feb 22

SV NEWS SERVICESRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 20: In view of the inclementweather conditions, the Divisional administration inKashmir has ordered further extension in winter vaca-tions in colleges across the division. DivisionalCommissioner Baseer Ahmad Khan said all collegesacross the Kashmir division scheduled to reopen tomor-row after winter vacations will now reopen on SaturdayFebruary 23.

He said the decision has been taken in view of theinclement weather conditions prevalent in the division.

JD DIPR Kashmir shifts toDrabu House, Rambagh

SV NEWS SERVICESRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 20: The Joint Director,Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR),Kashmir today informed that the office is in the processof relocating to Drabu House, opposite Zam Zam build-ing in Rambagh.

All the concerned are therefore requested to send theirofficial communication, which includes press releases orrequests for coverage of official functions, or relatedactivity, onddiprs@gmail.com or call Bilal AhmedRather on 9906578463till the office establishes necessaryfacilities including telephone and internet, and faxrequired for the smooth operations at the new place.

Likewise, with regard to advertisement relatedqueries, the concerned are requested to contact us oninfkadvt@gmail.com or call Rouf Ahmed Sofi on9906507517

Regretted the inconvenience caused to the concerneddue to the relocation, the Joint Director DIPR, Kashmirassured that the things will be soon streamlined at thenew place.

SV NEWS SERVICESRINAGAR, FEBRU-ARY 20: A review meet-ing on Forest protection,working and on-goingdevelopment works andother allied issues of FiveForest TerritorialDivisions falling underthe jurisdiction ofSrinagar Forest Circlewas held under the chair-manship of Conservatorof Forests, SrinagarCircle Irfan Ali Shah, atForest Headquarters,Sheikhbagh Srinagar.

Various issues relatingto Forest Protection andanti-smuggling measuresincluding establishmentof new Check Posts,strengthening patrolling

in vulnerable forest areasand establishment ofNakas to ensure propercheck on the movementof timber and Non timberforest produce, bookingof offenders involved inforest offences were dis-cussed threadbare. It wasinformed that during thecurrent year 50 FIRshave been lodged againsttimber smugglers/dam-age doers, 2928 cfts oftimber and 4.59 Qtls offirewood seized, besides24 Vehicles carrying illic-it timber/MFP have beenseized.

During the meeting,emphasis was laid onchecking of forestencroachment on forest

lands and need for con-certed action involvingcivil administration andpolice for eviction ofexisting encroachmentson forest land. It wasinformed that 175.60Kanals of Forest landstands retrieved duringcurrent year. The DFOswere further directed tocoordinate with DistrictAdministration, Policeand Forest ProtectionForce in forest encroach-ment related offencesand to show/exhibit zerotolerance to suchoffences.

While taking review ofon-going Developmentworks, it was informedthat 6.22 lakh Plants are

being planted duringcurrent fiscal over anarea of 378 Ha of degrad-ed forest lands includingRestoration of degradedforest landscapes inTosamaindan and BaltalAreas. Construction ofForest Buildings atSheikhbagh under PrimeMinisters DevelopmentPackage (PMDP) andDevelopment of first everBiodiversity Park atHaran Ganderbal werealso discussed thread-bare.

The meeting, amongothers was attended byall Territorial DFOs ofSrinagar Circle,Information Officer andother forest officials.

SV NEWS SERVICERAJOURI, FEBRUARY20: With an aim to providerelevant information onEVM and VVPAT amongvoters in view of forth-coming general election2019 in the state, 4 voterawareness vans under thebanner of 'Shaan eJamhuriyyat' were flaggedoff by District ElectionOfficer RajouriMohammad Aijaz fromthe DC office complextoday.

DEO said the objectiveof the awareness van tomake potential votersaware of the EVM andVVPAT. The staffers of the

voter awareness vanwould explain the variousmode of operation of EVMand VVPAT among peo-ple who would use theirvoting right.

He said this awarenessvan would venture in theirassigned constituency forthe next 20 days. Voterawareness van would con-tinue to venture for 20days in all assembly seg-ments of the district. Thestaffers accompanying thevan would enumerateupon the working of EVMand VVPAT to voters andalso would distribute pub-licity material among peo-ple belonging to all sec-

tions of society. Thesevans are equipped with allthe relevant material,machines and publicaddress system.

The chief objectivebehind the movement ofvoter awareness van is toeducate potential voters asmock voting at optimalplaces would be carriedout to make voter compre-hend the system of votingthrough EVM and VVPATin assembly elections. Thevoter awareness van hasbeen sent to make votersaware and learn about themode of use of EVM andVVPAT during voting.

The public will be able

to use the VVPATattached with the EVM inthe vehicle to see if theirvote has been registeredproperly. After pressingthe button for a particularcandidate on the EVM, theuser will be able to see apaper slip is generated inthe VVPAT for seven sec-onds to verify the vote.The slip will show a serialnumber, and the nameand symbol of the candi-date selected, beforefalling into a bin. It is per-tinent to mention here thatthe VVIP (voters verifica-tion and informationProgramme) has beenlaunched in the district.

CITY TO GET NEW MECHANIZED CAR PARKING

Div Com reviews traffic decongestion measures

Functioning of forest departmentreviewed in Srinagar

DC Rajouri launches 'Shaan-e-JamhuriyyatExpress' to create awareness among voters