CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

TUESDAY 06 May | 2014 | 06 Rajab, 1435 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 4 | ISSUE NO: 125 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 Paisa)Pen For Justice Largely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&Khttp://www.zabarwantimes.com

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Inside story

On Edit Page

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Power sector- a matter of concern

The rivers, the nallas and the streams in the valley are over flowing with abundance of water but unfortunate-ly the electricity supply is still erratic. The urban areas have still the load shedding schedule in place where as most of the rural areas are not getting more than 8 to 10 hours of electrici-ty mostly during daytime plunging a major chunk of population into dark-ness every evening. Now as elections are almost over, there is urgent need to attend to this important field as the whole economic development is

PDP willing to allow dilution of Article 370: Farooq

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7 commoners injured by pelters

in last week

Srinagar, May 05: National Confer-ence has expressed solidarity with the victims of ethnic violence in As-sam and condemned the repeated attempts to vitiate the atmosphere against minorities in the country.National Conference Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu has said that the ethnic carnage in Assam was tragic and heart rending and NC condemns the assault on the lives, properties and psyche of Muslims in Assam in the strongest possible terms. “We ex-press solidarity with the families of

Assam carnage conse-quence of Modi’s venom:

National Conference

Will participate if fitness allows Secured win over SRH

Will not allow harassment of Kashmiri Students: Omar

4 persons arrested for anti-election

posters

Srinagar, May 05: The Civil Secretariat and oth-er moving offices opened here on Monday after An-nual Darbar Move from Jammu the Winter Capi-tal of the State.Chief Minister, Omar Ab-dullah attended his office in Civil Secretariat this morning. On his arrival he was accorded guard of honour by the J&K Po-lice Contingent. Various

Ministers and senior of-ficers besides employees of the Civil Secretariat welcomed the Chief Min-ister. The Presidents and other office bearers of Non-Gazetted Employees Union and Low Paid Em-ployees Union presented boutiques to the Chief Minister and greeted him on the first day of opening of offices in Srinagar.

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Offices open at Srinagar after Darbar Move

Srinagar, May 05: Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday arrested four persons for pasting anti-election posters at Singpora area in north Kashmir’s Baramu-lla district.Mehraj-ud-Din Mir son of Ghu-lam Hassan, Mohammad Jamal Dar son of Ghulam Mohammad, both hailing from Karhama Kunzer, Abdul Rehman Gogree of Hardaboora and Abdul Hamid son of Abdul Gaffar of Archan-derhama were arrested after they were pasting election-boy-cott posters at Singpora area of Pattan.Meanwhile, police have registered a case

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Srinagar, May 05: (GNS) Lambasting Narendra Modi for his anti-Kashmiri campaign and instigating university students against Kashmiri boys and girls seeking education in various uni-versities of the Country, Chief Minis-ter, Omar Abdullah who is also Work-ing President of National Conference described it most unfortunate and an act of highest disregard. He said that for mere political gain Narendra Modi is playing with the fire. He said Mo-di’s this uncalled for and dangerous act would create distress and dismay in the minds of young generation. He cautioned Narendra Modi against the fall-out and consequences of such an-ti-Kashmiri utterances.While addressing election rallies at Bandipora, Handwara and Pattan on Monday, Omar Abdullah urged the Chief Ministers of all the States of the Country to ensure safety of Kashmiri students and debarred such politicians to address university students who flair up communal and regional tension and generate hatred against Kashmiri stu-dents.Omar Abdullah said that Narendra

Modi and his agents should learn a les-son or two from the Kashmiris about the trait of mutual brotherhood, secu-larism, love and dignified treatment to the guests.“The people of Kashmir receive lakhs of visitors and Yatris every year and are extending highest degree of hospitality and love to them”, he said and asked all the Chief Ministers of the Country to take a leaf from this book of people of Kashmir and ensure protection, safety

and smooth imparting of education to Kashmiri youth studying in various universities in the Country.The Working President National Con-ference hit PDP left, right and centre describing the party an amalgam of power hungry lot whose track record is sufficient proof of betray, opportunism, deception and double-face of its leader-ship. “Power hungry PDP leadership is known for political

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‘Slogan of ‘Change’ raised by opponents a hoax’

Such incidents add to alienation of Kashmiri youth: Waheed-ur-Rehman

Srinagar, May 5: Reacting sharply to the news reports about the harass-ment of Kashmiri students at a private university in Noida in Uttar Pradesh Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mon-day said reoccurrence of such unfor-tunate incidents are shameful and

against the very idea of humanity and democracy.In a statement issued to KNS, the party’s youth wing in charge, Wa-heed-ur-Rehman Parra castigated the university authorities and UP admin-istration for not acting tough against the fringe elements who have brazen-ly abused the Kashmiri students.

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PDP condemns harassment of Kashmiri youth at UP varsity

Kupwara, May 5 : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti Monday appealed people of North Kash-mir to give a final push to the movement for change set into motion by the people in south and central Kashmir.“As the people were yearning for ‘Azadi’ from the devious politics of the Nation-al Conference, they used the democratic means to bring about the change in south and Central Kashmir,” Mehbooba said while addressing various roadside meetings at Kupwara on the last leg of her campaign for the Baramulla parliamen-tary constituency. According to a statement issued to KNS, on this occasion Fayaz Ah-mad Mir, Mohammad Afzal Wani, Deen Mohammad Chee-tah, Choudhry Salamudin, Choudhry Sirajudin , youth leader Tahir Sayeed, Mehrajudin Shah, Mohammad Maqbool Dar, Fayaz Ahmad Wani, Reyaz Ahmad Peer, Mohammad Afzal, Khur-shid Ahmad, Fayaz Ahmad and others were also present.Urging people of North Kashmir to vote and support, PDP candidate Muzaffar

Hussain Baig, Mehbooba said Baig has achieved a distinction for himself both in the public and professional life as a politician and lawyer and it is only be-cause of his sheer talent, determination and maturity of thought he has proved to be an asset for the state of which we all should be proud of. She said his achieve-

ments and contribution for the welfare of the state has been exemplary and his win is important, not only for the PDP but for the entire society, to make the nation understand about the sen-sibilities of the people and prevailing ground realities in Kashmir.Mehbooba said Baig has contributed immensely to the state as deputy chief minister by holding charge

of Finance, Planning and Tourism minis-tries and it is also because of experience and discipline he brought in these im-portant ministries J&K could see a robust growth during PDP-led coalition govern-ment. She said he, as an authoritative representative of

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North Kashmir will give final push to movement for change: Mehbooba‘People yearn for Azadi from NC’s deceitful politics’ Uri, May 5 (KNS): Peoples Con-

ference chairman Sajad Gani Lone today said electoral gim-micks employed by both the Delhi sweethearts-National Conference and Peoples Dem-ocratic Party - have lost their shelf life.According to a statement is-sued to KNS, while addressing a series of election meetings in Uri town of Baramulla, Lone said:“It will be naïve on the part of both NC and PDP to think that the people of Kash-mir have forgotten the roles played by the patrons of both the Delhi favoured Blue-eyed Parties.” Expressing his dis-may Lone said “The continued practice of a political system followed by NC and PDP is holding hostage the interests and well being of an entire peo-ples to the whims of a ‘select’ few. These Select few in return mortgage their political will and ideology to the powers that be. Rather than address-ing the aspirations and griev-ances of the people of the state there was put into place, very early on, a system wherein by

extending a scheme of patron-age - both financial and polit-ical to a few blue-eyed indi-viduals of the state New Delhi was able to proxy-manage the state.”Lone said the PC is not only fighting NC and PDP but also the false perception created by propaganda machinery of these two parties. “These par-ties have money; they have resources; they have enjoyed power for decades and they utilize this to create myths and false perception, “he said. Sajad said Kashmiris deserve a chance that two sides of the story be present in the Parlia-ment and it is high time for the people to kindly introspect what difference it will make whether NC orPDP sends its member to the parliament.“What NC-PDP twinship has done for the last 60 years? When they have expressed pain and anguish of Kash-miris in the parliament? Why should we send those to the Parliament whose hands are drenched with

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NC-PDP poll gimmicks have lost shelf life: Sajad

Srinagar, May 5: President of Awami National Confer-ence (ANC), Begum Khalida Shah has said that the Chief Minister of Gujarat and BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi must desist from doing emotional poli-tics based on farces and lies and should instead be pub-licly sorry for the deeds that were rendered in Gujarat against Muslims in 2002.According to a statement issued to KNS, Begum Shah said: “He should shun his unleaderly approach of distorting the history on one hand and not changing his communal approach on the other hand.” She further maintained that Modi should change his perspec-tive of looking at the history from the prism of RSS rath-er see what in reality hap-pened in Kashmir especially in 1947. She further main-tained that in 1947 when the entire country was

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Desist from doing emotional

politics: ANC to Modi

Srinagar, May 5 : A special court has issued arrest warrants against four persons for manufacturing and supplying sub standard bandage to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).According to Advocate Musavir Joo, the standing counsel of food and drug control organization, the spe-cial TADA court issued the arrest warrants against Sanjay Ahuja, Syed Ahmad, Saghir Bhaksh and Mo-hammad Amin who are proprietors, manufacturers and suppliers of Aroma surgical house and standard surgical dressing company based in Prthviraj Gunj Cant.

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Shutdown in Pulwama, Police refutes self-immolation claim

Pulwama, May 5: Locals on Monday foiled the self-immo-lation bid of family members of youth who has been booked under Public Safety Act on charges of stone-pleting in South Kashmir’s Pulwama town. An 8th class student Waseem Sofi son of Bashir Sofi resident of Dangarpora Pulwama had been booked by police under PSA on charges of stone-pelt-ing. The accused has already been shifted to Khutua jail. Eyewitnesses told CNS that the family members of the ac-cused appeared near Rajpora chowk on Monday morning and staged a protest there. They were demanding the im-mediate revocation of PSA and release of the youth. Reports said that some of the family members tried to set them-selves on fire after sprinkling kerosene on their bodies, a self-immolation bid foiled by the passersby. “People foiled the bid while some of the agitated youth soon after the incident dam-aged more than six vehicles

after pelting stones on them. Youth pelted stones on the shops as well and forced shop-keepers to down their shut-ters. As a result, all the shops in the town got closed while traffic disappeared from the roads,” an eyewitness Sajad Ahmed told CNS adding that the damaged vehicles were all the private ones. Reports said that top police officials reached on spot and tried to pacify the protestors who claimed that the youth Waseem Sofi was implicated in a false case, a claim refuted by police. DySP Headquarters asked protestors that they can approach court as it is not in their hands to revoke PSA. Reports said that police and CRPF personnel were de-ployed in large numbers in the town to thwart any kind of pro-tests. A police official told CNS that PSA had been slapped on the accused as he is a notori-ous stone-pelters and not the first time offender while fami-ly members said that Waseem is immature and doesn’t even know what stone-pelting is. Meanwhile, a top police offi-cial told CNS that no

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Srinagar, May 5: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) se-nior leader and former dep-uty chief minister, Muzzafar Hussain Baig has said Jam-mu and Kashmir is heading for better times as the rout of the National Conference is imminent from the entire state. He also appealed the people of North Kashmir to give him a chance to repre-sent the state in the highest democratic forum of the coun-try.Addressing vari-ous wayside meet-ings in Baramula segment of North Kashmir parlia-mentary constitu-ency he said there is a huge urge of change prevailing on the ground and the people have understood the impor-tance of electoral process to make their lives better. He said besides getting a man-date to prove itself the ruling coalition led by the National Conference has badly failed to solve the issues of people and make any solid progress to change the political and

security situation on the ground.Terming NC as the designer of all problems in Kashmir Baig said till it is not margin-alized politically there could be no significance change in the overall situation on ground. “People need to give PDP a decisive mandate so that it could complete its un-finished agenda of political

resolution and good governance in the state,” he said.Baig said the rea-son for the NC leadership to feel jittery is under-standable as the change in public mood around is not in their favor. “Crushing defeat

is in the offing for the NC which has always taken peo-ple for granted and worked against their interests, sen-timents.”He said the NC has not only lost its ground but its iden-tity too as it made power its only choice and never worked seriously

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.......... PSA row ........Self-immolation bid of family members of accused foiled

Rout of NC imminent from entire state: Baig

Appeals people to give him chance to represent state

Bandage supplied to SKIMS found sub standard

Court issues arrest warrant against 4 traders

13 ‘stone-pelters’ released in Pulwama

Pulwama, May 5: Taking a lenient view of youth from Pulwama district detained for first time on charges of stone pelting, police on the instruction of Inspector General of Police Kashmir zone released at least 13 ‘stone-pelters’ in South Kashmir’s Pulwama town. The development came after a team of experts held counseling session with the detained youth in Pulwa-ma.. Scores of youth have been detained in the district for allegedly pelting stones during last some days. A police official told CNS that all the released stone-pelters were first time offenders and they had no record of stone-pelting in the past. “We hope that these youth will not indulge in violence in future and concentrate on their carrier and education,” he said adding that parents of these youth assured the police these wards will never try to disrupt the peace in the town or elsewhere. (CNS)

Srinagar, May 05: Seven common-ers including two blind school children received sever injuries after being hit by stones hurled by miscreants at different places in the valley in previous week. Seven commoners were seri-ously injured during last week by stone pelting miscreants. The injured include two students of blind school who were injured in Ganderbal yesterday when their picnic bus was pelted upon by the miscreants. An ambulance driver Javed Ahmad Mir received head injury and ambulance was damages when pelters resorted to stone pelting at Sheikh Mohalla Bandipora on 2nd May. In Kangan two persons Chaderkant

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11 Srinagar, Tuesday 06 May 2014 Zabarwan Times

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Omar

PDP

Mehbooba

PSA

BAig

SKIMS

Week

Posters

Sajad

ANC

Darbar

Owner , Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik Editor -in-Chief: Shahana Malik RNI NO. JKBII/2011/39764, Email: zabarwantimes@gmail.com Publised at Govt. Quarters , M-13 Magarmal Bagh Srinagar-190001 J&K, Printed at:- Sangarmal Offset Press Humhama Sheikhpora Tele/Fax: 2478370 Cell No. 09999964750, 9796 787844

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somersaulting and making alliances for their con-venience”, he said and reminded the people of the broken promises made by this party to the people on providing ‘two employments’ to each household and giving ‘healing touch’ to their wounds. “All are aware that on employment front Mufti Mo-hammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti got themselves employed as the Chief Minister of the State and the Member of the Parliament, and instead of giving heal-ing touch to the people the leadership of PDP gave them killing touch and indulged in highest degree of nepotism, malpractices and misgovernance. So much so that they dislodged the government of their coali-tion partner for power thrust”, he said and cautioned the people of the habitual tactics of PDP leadership to blow its own trumpet and mislead the people by rais-ing sentimental and false slogans.Omar Abdullah said that presently PDP leadership is misleading the masses by carrying the bogus pro-paganda bogie of ‘Badlau’ (Change) in the current election campaign despite the fact that Lok Sabha Election has nothing to do with the election of Chief Minister or the MLAs.“They are doing this to deceive the people otherwise by ‘Badlau’ they want to bring Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India and they are extending all tactical and hidden support to him”, he said and add-ed that the PDP leadership lacks guts and has no cour-age to openly support Narendra Modi. “They are in hidden league with BJP which has actually founded this party in the State to carry forward its anti-Jam-mu and Kashmir agenda and divide the society here through its PDP agents”, he maintained and referred to the fielding of candidates by PDP in Jammu Divi-sion tactfully to divide the voters and help BJP.Omar Abdullah said that ‘Badlau’ (Change) has al-ready been affected by his government in the State in peace scenario, public empowerment and in the development process during the last over five years through the implementation of people-friendly pol-icies, holding of Panchayat Elections, enactment of Public Services Guarantee Act, Right to Information Act, Reconstitution of Accountability Commission, constitution of Vigilance Commission and putting in place various measures to empower people bring transparency in the administrative affairs giving good governance to the people.The Working President National Conference said that presently voters have to cast their vote to elect the Prime Minister of the Country and Parliament. He said Lok Sabha Polls have nothing to do with the State Assembly elections or the election of the Chief Minister. “When that time will come I will return to you with the performance card of my government. We will give you the detailed account of our work done in all sectors and all areas of the State and then ask you to judge us on our performance”, he said asking the people not to get led astray by the propaganda of ‘change’ being carried by the PDP to deceive the peo-ple. He told the voters to vote in large numbers in fa-vour of NC-Congress coalition candidate Sharief-ud-Din Shariq in the Baramulla-Kupwara Parliamentary Constituency going to Polls on 7th of May 2014.“You have to decide between communal forces led by BJP and supported by PDP in the State and secular democratic society led by Rahul Gandhi and support-ed by NC-Congress alliance”, he told the people and said that Jammu and Kashmir has always been abode of secular and pluralistic credentials. “We the people of Jammu and Kashmir have always rejected commu-nal forces and the track record in this regard partic-ularly of Kashmir Valley is glaring and unblemished. We have to understand the game being played by PDP to divide us and garner support for its tutor Narendra Modi”, he asserted.Omar Abdullah asked the people to vote and support NC-Congress joint candidate from Baramulla-Kup-wara Parliamentary Constituency and strengthens the hands of Rahul Gandhi in the Centre.Omar Abdullah said that coalition government in the State is committed for holistic, equitable and inclu-sive development of the State besides strengthening secular-democratic trait. “We are fighting the com-munal and divisive forces”, he said and appealed to the people to stand with the NC-Congress alliance and contribute positively to keep communal forces away from power in New Delhi.Omar Abdullah was accorded heartiest welcome by thousands of people at the venues of rallies who were chanting slogans in favour of Omar Abdullah, his government and his party. They welcomed the Chief Minister by showering flower petals and offering bou-tiques to him. At Handwara the Working President National Conference was carried in a long procession upto to the site of election meeting in which thou-sands of enthusiastic crowd participated extending their support to Omar Abdullah and NC-Congress joint candidate, Sharief-ud-Din Shariq. The conspic-uous among the participants in the procession were the youth of the area.President National Conference, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister Ch. Mohammad Ramzan, National Confer-ence Provincial President, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani, NC-Congress joint candidate, Sharief-ud-Din Shariq and NC spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu be-sides various NC, Congress leaders addressed and participated in the rallies. (GNS)

He said such sickening incidents only add to the alienation of Kashmiri youth who have already gone through tough times because of the bad politics played around here. Parra said jingoism and ultra-na-tionalistic attitude being played in some campuses in the country to harass Kashmiri students is a danger-ous trend and it indicates that we have landed in the bad times. He also condemned the slapping of PSA against Waseem Ahmad Sofi of Pulwama.Criticizing the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, Parra said it is, actually, he (Omar) who has create a neg-ative image about Kashmiri youth by demonizing them as stone pelters drug addicts, anti-nationals, criminals, for which they are paying heavy price both in and outside the state. “Omar Abdullah has created a new stereotype Kashmiri image that is seen with suspicion everywhere” he said and added Omar Ab-dullah is left with no moral authority to speak on be-half of Kashmiri youth. (KNS)

The Governor’s Secretariat, which had closed at Jammu on 25th April’s evening, reopened at Raj Bha-van, Srinagar, Monday morning.

N. N. Vohra, Governor, went around the various wings of the Raj Bhavan Secretariat and met all the officers and staff. The Governor asked all the func-tionaries to ensure prompt disposal of all references and ensure effective maintenance of all official re-cords. He also went around the Raj Bhavan estate and gave instructions for ensuring cleanliness and proper upkeep of the gardensRakesh K. Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Gover-nor, accompanied the Governor during his rounds of the offices and the estate.Director General of Police (DGP) inspected Police Headquarters (PHQ) and other moving police estab-lishments, which started functioning in the summer capital here this morning, following bi-annual office move.DGP was received at the PHQ lawns by senior police officers and was presented guard of honour by the contingent of armed police. Accompanied by Special DGP and other senior police officers, the DGP visited various sections of PHQ and enquired from the offi-cials about the working of their respective branches.Expressing his satisfaction over the advance arrange-ments made for smooth re-opening of the offices, the DGP said that efforts need to be followed continuous-ly to bring more efficiency in day-to-day working. He said that quick disposal of the matters related to the strengthening of subordinate units should be ensured at PHQ level which would help to bring fruitful im-provements in their working also. While visiting other moving police establishments, DGP interacted with the officers of these wings. He stressed upon the officers to render their duties with zeal, enthusiasm and dedication. During the visit of various establishments, he discussed different mat-ters and gave on the spot instructions for creating better working environment. He enquired about the progress achieved on the updating of office records and emphasised for complete computerization of ser-vice records which would help in saving time and la-bour. Later, the DGP held a meeting of senior police offi-cers at PHQ and discussed various issues related to the professional policing. He was briefed about the progress achieved on different fronts of policing in the State. He instructed the officers to maintain close rapport at all levels to keep the law and order main-tained.Urging the officers to work with greater zeal for achieving desired results in different areas of polic-ing, DGP asked for major thrust to be given to public service and all matters related to the common people. He said that while making police bandubast, it should be ensured that people do not face any inconvenience during their day-to-day activities.During the inspection, the DGP was accompanied by ADsGP, Mr. SP Vaid, Smt. DR Doley, Mr. VK Singh and SM Sahai, IsGP, Dr. B Srinivas, Mr. AK Choud-hary, Mr. HK Lohia, Mr. Deepak Kumar, Mr. AG Mir, Mr MS Salaria, Mr. MA Khan, Mr. AS Bali, Mr. SL Sharma, Mr. MA Ganai and Mr. Sunil Kumar, DIsGP, Mr. Johney William, Mr. MM Sadiq, Mr. Ali Moham-mad, Mr. Nissar Ahmed and Mr. Hilal Ahmed and other police officers. (GNS)

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, along with the Prime Min-ister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is the architect of the Common Minimum Programme between PDP and Congress in 2002 which paved a way for streamlining the things in the state.The PDP chief said Baig has a role in determining the objectives of PDP as a party that would strive for safeguarding the rights and interests of the state and make a difference in lives of ordinary man whose voices have always been got trampled under the dev-astating politics played by the National Conference over the last many decades.She said it is a high time he goes to the parliament at a time when the PDP has laid out a roadmap for engag-ing the public opinion in-and-outside of the parlia-ment throughout the country for taking the state out of the difficulties and its immense problems that has accumulated as a result of insecurity, uncertainty and economic backwardness of last nearly seven decades. “PDP is going to the national level not for power but to make the country clear that people of J&K would no longer take injustices and denial of rights,” she said and added that we will make serious and sincere ef-forts to set a new institutionalized Kashmir policy at the national level to get it out the present quagmire and mess.She said the NC, which has always won elections from J&K, has never represented us in an honest and true sense at the national level. “They have always used votes that people cast for them as bargaining chip for getting luxuries of power to Abdullah family no mat-ter who is elected as MP and MLA,” Mehbooba said adding it is always the members of the ‘first family’ of NC that have benefited out of it as ministers in the Central government and in the state as chief minis-ters.Making a fervent appeal to the North Kashmir elec-torate Mehbooba said this is an occasion that people must utilize and rise above their ideological and tra-ditional likings, like people of Anantnag and Srinagar parliamentary constituencies, and give a wholeheart-ed support to PDP and elect Baig to the parliament. (KNS)

blood of Kashmiris?” Lone said. Sajad assured the people that PC would give the biggest surprise of 2014 and “we will convince the people to pack off NC, PDP to New Delhi where they were stationed in 90’s when atrocities were perpetrated on Kashmiris. Lone added, “The winds of Change sweep across the region and it is the responsibility of every Kashmiri to be a part of this change and dismantle the icons of (modern) slavery and contribute towards an era of true empowerment of the voiceless Kashmiri.” Sajad expressed gratitude to the people for participating in large numbers in the party rallies to be part of the Carvan of Change. (KNS)

burning in communal violence it was the state of J&K only which under the ace leadership of late Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah was breathing in peaceful and brotherly atmosphere and represented an epitome of communal harmony as ever. She said it was this propensity only which compelled the father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi to say that he saw a light of peace and harmony in Kashmir that the entire nation should emulate.Begum Shah further said that in the recent past when Kashmir was boiling under tension and vio-lence it affected not even a single or specific commu-nity but the entire state and all the communities in general. She lamented that the exodus of the Pandit

Brethren was done out of political motives and not communal vulnerabilities and it was not only Pan-dits who exoded but also a large number of Muslim population too but this fact has never been highlight-ed due to political gimmicking.Begum Shah lamented that Modi should shun his tall and polished claims of saving India and moving it towards betterment as the memories of annihilation of Muslims in 2002 in Gujarat were still fresh in the minds of the people were Muslims were callously cowed down and butchered at the hands of the state.Begum Shah, further maintained that India which is known as the temple of democracy and an epitome of unity in diversity will be doomed of its attributes if a person like Narendra Modi comes to power who look at India from the prism of RSS which totally believes that the land should belong to Hindus and the non-Hindu population should have no space in the country. She stated that it is high time that the common masses of the country realize his true colors and agendas and vote with sensibility as the coming to power of a person like Modi will be nothing but a blot on the democratic and communally harmonious image of India. (KNS)

member of family of the accused tried self-immolation bid. “We were present on spot and no family member tried to sprinkle kerosene on his body,” he said add-ing that PSA was slapped on the accused as he was involved in number of stone-pelting incidents. (CNS)

for the welfare of the state. He said the NC focused only on personal luxury and positions of power and never stood up for the rights of the people who have been voting them and the people have now decided to drive the state for a bigger change. He said after committing huge frauds, deceit with the people and selling the interests of the state, the NC has lost its re-gional character unlike other regional parties of the country which don’t shy away from agitating when they feel the interests of their people have been com-promised, but NC can’t to do that, because power has made it blind to see anything beyond that.Baig said by way of performance the ruling party, though, has nothing to show to the people and now it is in search ways and means to create a fear on ground so that people will not come out to vote. He said, “People need to understand the tricks and pro-paganda of NC which it has been employing to keep electorate away from polling booths.” (GNS)

The court has fixed the next date of hearing on May 31.According to Adv Joo, three samples of bandages lifted from SKIMS were sent to laboratory for analy-sis and the report has declared them ‘sub standard’. Pertinently, the drug control officials had lifted sam-ples of many dressing items in SKIMS for analytical procedures. The drug department had also directed the SKIMS officials not to use the material till the analytical reports come, official sources had revealed to KNS. But, instead implementing the directive the hospital authorities had distributed all sub standard material among the hapless patients. (KNS)

Doshi and a local were injured when they were hit by stones pelted by miscreants at Kangan on 3rd May. Today a 9 year old girl Tanzeela daughter of Ghulam Jeelani Kosgar resident of Rehbab Sahib, M.R Gunj received head injury when she was hit by stones hurled by pelters at Nawa Kadal area of Srinagar.

and started investigations in this regard.Pertinently, police on Saturday last arrested Dr Ghulam Qadir, a scholar and a noted writer after ad-dressing a congregation at local Mosque at Rafiabad asked people to stay away from elections.On April 30, police arrested Bashir Ahmad Wani, alias Qureshi son of Ghulam Mohidin of Kernah, Tanghdar for running anti-election campaign in Lolab area of Kupwara district.The Kupwara district - which falls under Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency - is going for polls on May 07. (GNS)

PDP willing to allow dilution of

Article 370: FarooqSrinagar, May 05: National Conference Party Presi-dent Dr. Farooq Abdullah has said that PDP and its top leaders were willing to allow a dilution of Article 370 as a price for coming to power in the State. "Mufti Sayeed's open support to Narendra Modi's declara-tion of abrogating Article 370 has exposed PDP's hol-low slogans and rhetoric. The party has gone straight from advocating 'Healing Touch' to supporting 'Modi Touch' despite Modi's communal and anti-Muslim mindset", Dr. Farooq said.Addressing election rallies and public meetings in Bandipora, Pattan and Handwara in North Kashmir today, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that PDP's tactical support to Modi's BJP candidates in Jammu-Poonch and Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary Seats had exposed the electoral and political alliance between BJP and PDP. "Mufti Sayeed fielded candidates in the two seats in Jammu Province tactically to divide the anti-Modi, secular vote in these areas to directly help the BJP candidates. Not even once did Mufti Sayeed think about Modi's destructive plans for J&K before jumping into his lap", Dr. Farooq said.Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that Narendra Modi was out to disrupt India's harmony and peace and posed a grave challenge to the secular forces and institutions of this country. "Modi's speeches are full of venom and threats to minorities nowadays. His speeches in West Bengal and Assam have communalized the atmosphere and just day before yesterday we heard of the terrible, tragic ethnic carnage of Muslims in Assam. Modi is out to set fire and divide the country on religous lines and it was a challenge to all secu-lar forces in the country to unite and defeat Modi in these parliamentary elections", Dr. Farooq said while stating that Jammu and Kashmir and its people would support National Conference and its resis-tance against Narendra Modi's communal, poisonous politics.Speaking at various venues, Dr. Farooq Abdullah asked the people to vote in large numbers in favour of the NC-Congress Alliance Candidate from Baram-ulla-Kupwara-Bandipora Seat, Sharief-ud-din Shariq. "A vote for National Conference would be a vote of protest and resistance against Narendra Modi. It would be a vote to embolden and empower secular forces and defeat communal powers. In contrast, a vote for PDP candidate would be a vote for Narendra Modi, his divisive and communal agenda and would pace way for his plans to dilute the State's special status", Dr. Farooq Abdullah said. (GNS)

Assam carnage consequence of Modi’s venom:

National ConferenceNC expresses solidarity with victims of violence

Srinagar, May 05: National Conference has expressed solidarity with the victims of ethnic violence in As-sam and condemned the repeated attempts to vitiate the atmosphere against minorities in the country.National Conference Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu has said that the ethnic carnage in Assam was tragic and heart rending and NC condemns the assault on the lives, properties and psyche of Mus-lims in Assam in the strongest possible terms. "We express solidarity with the families of the victims and register our strong protest at the ease with which communal forces are trying to vitiate and commu-nalize the atmosphere in the country for ruthless electoral gains", Junaid Mattu said.Junaid Mattu said the Assam carnage was a conse-quence of Narendra Modi's venemous and vitriolic speeches that he made in West Bengal and Assam recently. "Modi's finger-snapping, open threats to Muslim immigrants have endangered the lives of all Muslims in that region and what happened in Assam is perhaps the first cost of those speeches made by Modi. One can only hope and pray that it is the last cost", Junaid Mattu said.The National Conference Spokesperson said that Narendra Modi posed a "great, grave challenge" to secular parties and institutions in the country. "The need of the hour is that all secular parties and forces in the country should unite in their resolve to defeat Modi and his communal, hate-mongering politics. Modi poses a risk to the country's communal harmo-ny and peace and is getting emboldened by the day as is seen by the consistent, dangerous radicaliza-tion of his rhetoric now. The talk of development has predictably taken a back seat now as Modi focuses all his might on polarizing the country of religious lines", Mattu added.Junaid Mattu said that National Conference would continue to take Modi head on and op-pose his divisive, communal polities. "National Conference will continue to play a frontal role in opposing Narendra Modi and all that he rep-resents in politics. We have a glorious history of secularism and amity in the State and we will not allow that history to be disrupted by the likes of Modi. Our alliance with Congress is based on the common ideology of secularism and we will continue to ensure that Modi's communal march is defeated", Mattu said.The National Conference Spokesperson said that there were serious indications that Narendra Modi had infiltrated some 'Trojan Horses' into Jammu and Kashmir to make communal, divisive in-roads into the State. "Some of these Modi allies are overt and others are covert proxies. Both need to be exposed be-fore the people and confronted. National Conference is committed to protect the secular ethos of the State against such ploys", Mattu said. (GNS)

7 IEDs meant for poll disruption recovered

in Tanghdar: ArmySrinagar, May 05: Army on Monday averted a major tragedy by recovering seven Improvised Explo-sive Devices in frontier area of Tangdhar in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district during searches in the area.Army’s Srinagar based defence spokesperson in a statement issued to GNS said that during early morning on 04 May 14, based on a series of recent intelligence input received by the Army about mil-itants planning to disrupt polling process in Tang-dhar area, a search operation was launched by the Army in area around village Tod and Gabra. When the search resumed on 05 May 14, Army recovered seven IEDs hidden in a hollow tree trunk close to village Gabra in Tangdhar.Earlier, Army and JKP had recovered eight pistols along with eight magazines and 32 rounds of ammu-nition on 04 May 2014 in a joint search operation in district Bandipora.These recoveries assume importance as the final round of general elections in Kashmir is scheduled to be held on 07 May. (GNS)

Srinagar, May 05: Kash-mir University students today held a protest against the detention of noted schol-ar and writer and against the Old City youth’s killing.Eyewitnesses told GNS that around 40-50 youth assem-bled outside Allama Iqbal

Library in the campus and shouted pro-freedom and anti-India slogans.The stu-dents demanded release of Dr Ghulam Qadir, a PhD scholar and a noted writer, who was detained by po-lice last week for instigat-ing youth in his village.

KU students protest scholar's detention, youth’s killing

‘Hunt launched to nab the militant’

Srinagar, May 05: Police on Monday claimed to have arrested two Hiz-bul-Mujahdeen activists from Awantipora area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir involved in the killing of 85 years old Ghu-lam Mohammad, father of Dugripora Sarpanch.A police spokesman in a statement issued to GNS said that Awantipora po-lice arrested 2 HM OGW’s

, Ishfaq Ahmed Dar son of Abdul Hameed and Lateef Ahmed Dar son of Ghu-lam Hassan residents of Dugripora involved in the killing of 85 years old Ghulam Moham-mad, father of Dugri-pora Sarpanch on 8th March.The duo along with a local HM militant Riyaz Naikoo killed the old aged Haji Ghulam Mohammad Dar when he was coming out of Masjid after offer-ing Isha prayers, he said.

Dugripora Killing solved, 2 Hizb activists held: Police

SRINAGAR | TUESDAY, MAY | 07 | 2014Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS

Take a break from your routine, Libra. You might feel like you’re leading an army into battle as you strive for new adven-tures and conquer new realms. Make sure you take a bit of time out today to stop and let your troops rest. You deserve a little rest yourself. Use this moment of stillness to form your plan of attack so you’re sure about how to proceed.

The key for you is to minimize your daily drama as much as possible, Scorpio. You may not realize how much you cripple your-self by the way you exaggerate every aspect of your life. Try not to give so much of your attention to things that really don’t matter much. Petty jealousy and gossip about other people’s lives are es-pecially irrelevant in your world.

Be careful of advertising yourself as someone who is so strong and mentally competent that you’re capable of handling every-thing, Sagittarius. Take note that the strongest mule on the trail usually ends up carrying the most weight. Your emotions are more sensitive than you may think, and certainly more than you demonstrate to others. Be honest about the way you feel and not just the way you think.

Things should flow well for you today with very little ef-fort on your part, Capricorn. Take note that if any quarrel arises, it’s an indication that the person you’re arguing with isn’t nec-essarily the right person to deal with or confide in. Emotional issues are likely to be the hardest ones to overcome, but this shouldn’t be a problem for you. You have the ability to work through these like a pro.

This is meant to be a nice, relaxing day, so treat it as such, Aquarius. There’s no need for you to plan any great strategy at this time. Try to take it easy and not indulge in any unnecessary stress. This is your time to enjoy the moment. Don’t tax your mind by overanalyzing everything that comes your way. Go with the flow and have a great time regardless of what you end up doing.

Your sensual nature is heightened, Pisces, and you’ll find yourself engaged in tender moments and languid peacefulness in the company of others. Soothe your soul by letting yourself slip into situations that give you the emotional freedom to do or say whatever comes to mind. Life should be like a love poem written by a great master. Accept the good energy that comes your way.

Your sixth sense is right on target, Virgo, so trust your instincts today. You’re likely to connect with someone in a wonderful partnership that will help you foster the very plan you want to develop now. Stay close to those things that resonate strongly with your morals. The answer is in front of you; you don’t have to search too far afield in order to find it.

Allow your eager and restless nature to express itself in ways other than through the spoken word, Aries. Show someone that you care through your gentle touch or a big bear hug. Hold on a little bit more tightly than you might normally. There’s an unspo-ken understanding that comes when you communicate through nothing but pure silence. Work on developing this kind of connec-tion with those closest to you.

This is a terrific day for you, Taurus. You should find that your relationships, especially with men, go exceptionally well. Your tender and extremely sensitive nature is finally being recognized as the treasure chest it is. There are many times in which this type of personality is seen as weak, yet today is one of those times in which you’re given the full credit you deserve.

A selfish attitude on your part won’t be tolerated today, re-gardless of the circumstances, Gemini. Don’t make it worse for yourself by pretending that you don’t notice others’ hurt feelings. People are likely to be extra sensitive today, so be careful about trying to impose your will on someone who really wants nothing more than an ear to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.

You could find the hardest person to face is you, Cancer. You tend toward introspection, and you may find yourself shrinking into self-recrimination. You could analyze the important people in your life and yet fail to address the one you really need to look at – you. As you continually strive for perfection, give yourself proper credit. Do something nice for yourself today.

Take advantage of the creative energy in the air today, Leo. Keep your hands moving and your imagination flowing toward something fun and artistic. If you begin to doubt your work, you may fall down a spiral of creative blockage. Don’t get into the habit of constantly judging the quality or outcome of your work. Give yourself free rein to open up and explore whatever comes to mind.

SRINAGAR, MAY 5: Soon after the Civil Secretariat resumed its work Monday morning here, Chief Secretary Moham-mad Iqbal Khandey visited various de-partmental offices and sections and took ap-praisal of the readiness in these offices to start normal official work.

Chief Secretary took stock of the vari-ous renovation works that have been carried out in various blocks of the Secretariat besides interacted with the staff members of various of-fices and enquired about the new and improved facilities provided in these offices. He also enquired about the ac-commodation facilities of moving em-

ployees here at Srinagar. He was informed that LAN/In-

ternet facilities have been extended to all offices besides remodeling of various

clerical halls has been done and neces-sary facilities have been extended to them for smooth discharge of their re-spective official duties.

Chief Secretary was accom-panied by Principal Secretary Planning and Development Mr B R Sharma, Prin-cipal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr B B

Vyas, Secretary GAD Mr M A Bukhari, Director Information Mr Tasaduq Jee-lani, Director Estates Sheikh Fayaz and other senior officers.

Governor’s Secretariat reopens in Srinagar

SRINAGAR, MAY 5: The Governor’s Secretariat, which had closed at Jammu on 25th April’s evening, reopened at Raj Bhavan, Srinagar, today morning.Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, went around the various wings of the Raj Bhavan Secretariat and met all the officers and staff. The Governor asked all the functionaries to ensure prompt disposal of all references and ensure effective maintenance of all official records. He also went around the Raj Bhavan estate and gave instructions for ensuring cleanliness and proper upkeep of the gardensMr. Rakesh K. Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Governor, accom-panied the Governor during his rounds of the offices and the estate.

Govt drops move to name judge to head snoopgate probe

NEW DELHI: Hot on the heels of a stiff opposition from allies, government on Monday decided to drop its move to name a judge to head the commission set up to probe the snooping of a young woman by Gujarat police allegedly at the instance of chief minister Narendra Modi. “We have left the decision on appointing a judge to the next government,” government sources said a day after two UPA constituents NCP and National Conference openly opposed the move in the “dying days” of UPA-2. A controversy had broken out last week when senior ministers — Kapil Sibal (law) and Sushil-kumar Shinde (home) — told the media that a judge would be named into the surveillance.

CS interacts with staff, takes appraisal of facilities in offices

SRINAGAR, MAY 05: Director Gen-eral of Police (DGP), Ashok Prasad inspected Police Headquarters (PHQ) and other moving police es-tablishments, which started func-tioning in the summer capital here this morning, following bi-annual office move.

Prasad was received at the PHQ lawns by senior police officers and was presented guard of honour by the contingent of armed police. Accompanied by Special DGP K Rajendra Kumar and other senior police officers, the DGP visited var-ious sections of PHQ and enquired from the officials about the work-ing of their respective branches.

Expressing his satisfaction over the advance arrangements made for smooth re-opening of the of-fices, the DGP said that efforts need to be followed continuously to bring more efficiency in day-to-day working. He said that quick disposal of the matters related to the strengthening of subordinate units should be ensured at PHQ level which would help to bring fruitful improvements in their

working also. While visiting other moving po-

lice establishments, DGP interact-ed with the officers of these wings. He stressed upon the officers to render their duties with zeal, en-thusiasm and dedication. During the visit of various establishments, he discussed different matters and gave on the spot instructions for creating better working environ-ment. He enquired about the prog-ress achieved on the updating of office records and emphasised for complete computerization of ser-vice records which would help in saving time and labour.

Later, the DGP held a meeting of senior police officers at PHQ and discussed various issues re-lated to the professional policing. He was briefed about the progress achieved on different fronts of po-licing in the State. He instructed the officers to maintain close rap-port at all levels to keep the law and order maintained.

Urging the officers to work with greater zeal for achieving desired results in different areas of polic-

ing, DGP asked for major thrust to be given to public service and all matters related to the common people. He said that while making police bandubast, it should be en-sured that people do not face any inconvenience during their day-

to-day activities.During the inspection, the DGP

was accompanied by ADsGP, Mr. SP Vaid, Smt. DR Doley, Mr. VK Singh and SM Sahai, IsGP, Dr. B Srinivas, Mr. AK Choudhary, Mr. HK Lohia, Mr. Deepak Kumar, Mr. AG Mir, Mr

MS Salaria, Mr. MA Khan, Mr. AS Bali, Mr. SL Sharma, Mr. MA Ganai and Mr. Sunil Kumar, DIsGP, Mr. Johney William, Mr. MM Sadiq, Mr. Ali Mohammad, Mr. Nissar Ahmed and Mr. Hilal Ahmed and other po-lice officers.

DGP inspects police establishments, stresses for better public service

Restaurant boom in Bangalore, thanks to unending appetite of young professionals

Narendra Modi invokes Lord Ram at Faizabad rally, EC seeks report BANGALORE: While Bangalore is still

some way from being dubbed the res-taurant capital of the country, it is trying very hard indeed to get there. The price-conscious Bangalorean may not spend too much on each visit, but is valiantly trying to make up by the sheer number of meals consumed outside the house.

And this is reflected by the growth in the number of restaurants. Across catego-ries and pricing levels, the city has seen a phenomenal number of restaurants open doors in the past few years - 1400 new eat-eries across categories in the past six years by some estimates. From quickservice res-taurants (QSR), a category that has argu-ably seen the maximum jump in numbers, to casual and semi-formal dining, finding an eatery that hits the right spot in terms of taste, ambience and budget has never been easier. So whether you want to tuck into a burger from Five Star Chicken - a Thai QSR chain that is expanding rapidly in the city thanks to an aggressive franchise model and a seemingly insatiable appetite

among consumers for deep-fried chick-en, or hop across to Church Street Social, where despite the chic industrial decor and funky crockery, you can eat and drink without keeping an anxious eye on the tab - the options are practically endless.

In 2008, the country’s IT capital saw an individual eat out once in eight days on average. Today, that’s changed to eat-ing out once in three days. Three months ago, brand consultant Harish Bijoor ran a proprietary research for a client on the eating-out habits of Bangaloreans. Some very interesting conclusions can be drawn from the data he shared with STOI. “If you take various sub-sets of the overall popu-lation, these eating out numbers deepen and throw more light on why a place like Indiranagar has emerged as the country’s F&B hub,” says Bijoor.As per Bijoor’s chart, a ‘junior techie’ with an annual income of Rs 3.6 lakh eats out 23 times a month, or almost six days a week. A ‘senior techie’ with a salary of above Rs 10 lakh a year eats out 21 times a month.

FAIZABAD: With the portrait of Lord Ram providing the backdrop, Narendra Modi on Monday asked people “living” in the birthplace of the Hindu deity to teach Congress and those who support it a lesson for not fulfilling electoral promises.

Modi skirted any reference to his party’s pet theme of building Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, which is part of the district and epicentre of Ram Mandir movement, but made several references to Lord Ram to exhort people to defeat Con-gress, SP and BSP and support BJP.

“This is the land of Lord Ram where people believed in ‘pran jaye par vachan na jaye’ (one may lose life but cannot break promise). Can you pardon those who broke their promises?,” the BJP prime ministerial candidate said at the rally, referring to the ruling party’s unfulfilled promise of provid-ing 10 crore jobs to people.

He also took on SP, which is in power in

UP, and Mayawati-led BSP, saying they are enemies in Lucknow but friends in Delhi.

“They save the government of ‘maa-beta (Sonia-Rahul)’. The Congress saves them from CBI. It protects netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) from CBI. They believe in you scratch my back, I scratch yours.

The SP and BSP governments spend their time in settling scores with each other. “Law and order is so bad that people prefer buying guns to providing medical care to their parents and good education to their children,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, Modi said, “I assure you from Bhagwan Ram’s land, I will fight corruption throughout my life. I have seen poverty, that’s why I have the courage to say this.” He also invoked Ram’s name while making a pitch for the BJP. He said that the people of Faizabad should allow a lotus to bloom in the “land of Shri Ram”.

Speaker inspects various sections in Assembly Secretariat

SRINAGAR, MAY 5: The Speaker, Jammu and Kash-mir Legislative Assembly Mr. Mubarak Gul inspected various sections in Assem-bly Secretariat and took stock of the arrangements made for smooth office functioning on re-opening of offices here today in Summer Capital after annul Darbar Move. The sections include Assurance Section, hospitality and protocol, stationary, translation, ac-counts and administration.

The Speaker instructed the Secretary, Assembly Secretariat to sort out the problems of Assembly em-ployees, if any, being faced by any official on priority enabling them to discharge

their duties without any inconvenience.

Earlier, Mr. Gul while chairing an officers meet-ing directed the con-cerned to obtain Action Taken Reports of the questions raised during Zero Hour in Budget ses-sion held in February this year. He said that the re-ports were normally to be obtained in the month of March and April but has not been received in view of Lok Sabha Elections and imposition of Model Code of Conduct.

Secretary Assembly, Mr. M. Ramzan and other officers accompanied the Speaker during his in-spection.

PHQ resumes functioning in summer capital

Offices resume work at Srinagar Secretariat

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer

Power sector- a matter of concern

The rivers, the nallas and the streams in the valley are over flowing with

abundance of water but unfor-tunately the electricity sup-ply is still erratic. The urban areas have still the load shed-ding schedule in place where as most of the rural areas are not getting more than 8 to 10 hours of electricity mostly during daytime plunging a major chunk of population into darkness every evening. Now as elections are almost over, there is urgent need to attend to this important field as the whole economic devel-opment is totally dependent on the availability of power supply. No nation or state can dream of achieving any mile stone if it is lagging behind in power generation and does not have enough electricity supply to its industrial estab-lishments ranging from small to large ones. The state of Jam-mu and Kashmir is very un-fortunate because the various governments never addressed this issue but despite having capacity of producing more than 26,000 MW of electricity, the state including all micro, medium and large power sta-tions does not produce even 5000 MW of electricity. The Uri, the Salal, the Dul Hasti Hydle power projects all are just beyond the reach of peo-ple of the Jammu and Kash-mir as these projects despite earning huge sums which are several times bigger than their basic investment are not being transferred to the state sector. Though different state government have been demanding their return but no positive signals have been received from the central government which is in no way in the best interest of the state. It will be in the fitness of the things if the state gov-ernment instead of depending on centre pools resources and construct some viable pow-er stations so that the elec-tricity potentials of the state are tapped to some extent for the benefit of the people. The state government can also take the help of international agencies like World Bank and NABARD at national level. There is no doubt that State Govt. has limited economic resources but it can cut other expenditures and divert the funds towards the construc-tion of power houses which in turn will tremendously boost the poor state economy.

Sam Bahadur - The Indefatigable Field Marshal

and his Tryst with Death

Panchavadyams and Poorams: Spectacles of North Kerala

The months of April and May, when the tem-peratures soar and the country side is soaked daily in the brightest of sunlight, villages and

small towns in the Malabar region (Northern parts) of Kerala reverberate to the exciting rhythms of var-ious instruments. The colorful and musical festivals of Poorams are held during this period. The pooram festivals are conducted with the local temple as the centre. The biggest and most colorful festival takes place at Vadakkumnathan temple in Thrissur and is called Thrissur Pooram. It happens during the Malayalam month of Medam (April/May). Another important festival not far from Thrissur is the Arattupuzha Pooram, which has around 60 elephants. This year the Arattupuzha pooram is being celebrated on April 11.Arattupuzha is a village located near Puthukkad in Thrissur district of Kerala, in South India about 12 kilometres south of the town of Thrissur, the cultur-al capital of Kerala. It is located on the banks of the Karuvannur River. The temple at Arattupuzha is the central site of the annual Arattupuzha Pooram that stages the grand spectacle of scores of capari-soned elephants lined up in a row to the accompani-ment of ethnic percussion concerts.Thrissur pooram, the grandest spectacle of all has its beginnings during the reign of Sakthan Tham-puran – one of the strongest rulers of the erstwhile kingdom of Kochi. He is said to have started the sys-tem of staging a grand pooram festival in repentance of having accidently beheaded an oracle (what is lo-cally known as a velichappadu – one who acts as a spokesperson for the local deity).Rhythm orchestrasPanchavadyam, a rhythmic orchestra, that may feature more than 100 artists, playing five (pancha) different kind of instruments, is one of the major ingredients of the Pooram festivals. The term pan-chavadyam literally means an orchestra of five in-

struments. It is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth, the kombu, is a wind instrument.Much like any chenda melam, panchavadyam is characterized by a pyramid-like rhythmic structure with a constantly increasing tempo coupled with a proportional decrease in the number of beats in cycles. However, in contrast to a chenda melam, panchavadyam uses different instruments (though ilathalam and kompu are common to both), is not re-lated very closely to any temple ritual and, most importantly, permits a lot of personal improvi-sation while filling up the rhythmic beats on the timila maddalam and idakka.Panchavadyam bases itself on the 7-beat thri-puda (also spelt thripuda) thaalam (taal) but amusingly sticks to the pattern of the eight-beat chempata thaalam — at least until its last parts. Its rhythmic structure calls for 896 beats in the first tempo and halves itself with each stage, making it 448 in the second, 224 in the third, 112 in the fourth and 56 in the fifth. After this, panchavadyam has a relatively loose sec-ond half with as many stages, the rhythm beats scaling down to 28, 14, 7, and so on! Whether the panchavadyam was origi-nally a feudal art or was it a rhthym ensemble that evolved out of the temple practices over a period of time is still a matter of debate among scholars. However, recorded history indicates that its elaborate form in vogue today came into existence in the 1930s. This was primarily the brainchild of late maddalam artistes Venkichan Swami (Thiru-villwamala Venkateswara Iyer) and his disci-ple Madhava Warrier in association with late timila masters Annamanada Achutha Marar

and Chengamanad Sekhara Kurup. They have been credited with evolving the pancha vady-am into a five-stage concert, using five time tempos and with an intelligent mixture of com-posed and improvised parts. Spanning about two hours, it has several phrases where each set of the instruments complement the others.Visual AestheicsThe panchavadyam and other rhythm ensem-ble of Kerala temples also have a pleasing appearance. In these art forms, the artistes line up in two oval-shaped halves, facing each other. However, unlike any classical chenda melam, panchavadyam seemingly gains pace in the early stages itself, thereby tending to sound more casual and breezy right from its start, beginning after three lengthy, stylised blows on the conch (shankhu).A panchavadyam is anchored and led by the timila artist at the centre of his band of instru-mentalists. Behind him the ilathalam players can be seen to be lined up. Opposite them stand the maddalam players in a row, and behind them are the kompu players. Idakka players, usually two, stand on both sides of the aisle separating the timila and maddalam line-up.The maddalam and thimila are hide covered per-cussion instruments. The maddalam is played using both the hands, while the thimila is a more difficult instrument played on one side alone with the fingers and palms of both hands, the ilathalam is basically a set of metal shields that are clashed together in rhythmic sequences to mark the time and indicate the changes in tem-po.The Kompu is a wind instrument. However in the pancha vadyam the kompu also functions as a rhythm instrument using the same solfa syllables used by maddalam and thimilla artistes.

Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jam-shedji Manekshaw remains one of the most enigmatic personas of our times. Popularly known as Sam Bahadur -- a name purportedly uttered by a Gorkha soldier af-

ter failing to recall his tongue-twister Parsi name, literally means - Sam, the fearless; and remains his most easily remembered name till date. Sam cheated death on a few occasions, both in a bat-tlefield and away from it. He, however, lived on to be nonagenarian. Sam wanted to be a doctor much like his military-doctor father but ended being a field marshal.https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/imag-es/cleardot.gif As a young Captain, while posted in Burma and fight-ing a war with the Japanese in 1942, he was critically wounded with as many as nine bullets lodged in his body. While battling for life, his valiant Sikh orderly Sepoy Sher Singh came to his rescue and saved him from certain death. The valiant Sikh soldiers of his platoon had pro-claimed: “Captain Manekshaw is the crown of our head and has to be rescued at any cost”. Sam's order-ly, Sher Singh, carried him on his back a good dis-tance to the medical aid post where the army doctors treated him on priority. Sam Manekshaw was decorated with Military Cross (MC) for his exemplary courage and lived upto the age of 94. Sam eventually left all his admirers on June 27, 2008, peacefully in his sleep in his Conoor home - Stavka - in the Nilgiris hills, surrounded by family members and well-wishers. Towards the later years of his life, Sam Manekshaw, who otherwise enjoyed robust health despite his grave injuries early in life, needed medical help to overcome some respiratory problems that began sur-facing. That was when an army doctor, Major General BNBM Prasad, a pulmonary specialist, was assigned to attend to the Field Marshal. The two eventually shared a bond beyond the usual doctor-patient relationship that lasted till the end, and curiously enough even beyond his death. Major General Prasad who was until recently Com-mandant, Eastern Command Hospital at Kolkata was with the Field Marshal until his passing away. He offers rare insight of the gritty Sam, the fearless, even moments before his passing away. Sam Manekshaw would often relate many tales from his life to his doctor as they spent considerable time together during recuperation. He often spoke fondly of his wife Silloo, who preceded him on February 13, 2001, after a brief illness. He would also speak of his doting daughters Sherry and Maja, son-in-laws Dinky Batliwala and Dhun Daruwalla, and grandchildren who also called him 'Sam' lovingly. Above all, the Field Marshal's favourite talk would invariably revolve around his dear Gorkha soldiers who were more than just a family to him. Such was his endearment with them that the household and the pristine elegance at Stavka are preserved as Sam would have loved it by the trusted Gorkha families residing at his quarters.

Major General Prasad easily reminisces 1971, the year when he was a student at Mysore Medical Col-lege as a period charged with patriotic fervor. "Many like me were motivated during our formative years to join the armed forces instead of seeking a lucra-tive career elsewhere," alluding to the enigmatic Sam Bahadur aura. "Though I joined army as a doctor in 1977, I got the first opportunity to see him in person and listen to him in early nineties during the passing out parade at Indian Military Academy in Dehradun when he was invited to address the young officers," states Prasad. It, however, took Major General Prasad a whole de-cade before meeting up his all-time hero. The year was 2003, when the Field Marshal first visited Army Hospital (Research and Referral) in New Delhi for his respiratory ailment. "What impressed me the most on my first personal meeting with him was his magnetic charm. He was a star attraction as he slowly walked in the corridors of the hospital. People in the vicinity used to look at him with bated breath and admire him silently de-spite his age and ill health," recalls Major General Prasad. "As a doctor serving in the Indian Armed forces for past three decades, I have come across all types of patients. Some of them are very demanding while some are very humble who readily follow my advice without any murmur. The Field Marshal was an ex-ception." A gritty fighter till the end. A year later while staying in a Mumbai hotel, the Field Marshal developed acute chest infection due to exposure to chill from the air conditioner. He was air dashed to Delhi and was brought to Army Hospital (R&R). "When I examined him on his arrival, I found him quite sick and weak, barely able to walk.” Despite his illness he politely declined to sit on a wheel chair and walked all the way to the radiolo-gy department for a chest x-ray. He was found to be suffering from a severe chest infection and required immediate hospitalization. "As he was not inclined for an immediate hospital-ization, I took the risk of treating him at his younger daughter’s residence in Delhi after convincing the hospital authorities to permit domiciliary care" re-calls Major General Prasad. To his doctor, Sam Manekshaw would recount his father Dr. Hormusji Manekshaw's concern for his health and of the letter his father wrote asking him to give up smoking and drinking with a stern warn-ing “Son, if you drink and smoke any more you will be dead soon.” Sam joked: “Doctor, had I listened to my father and stopped drinking and smoking as I did initially while I was in the hospital, I would have died long time back.” He would never let his illness come in the way of humouring all those who looked after him. Both advancing age and weak lungs by now began to progressively decline his health. He wished to spend the last part of his life in his favorite house - Stavka - in Connoor. He was relatively at ease in his own surroundings

amidst Gorkha orderlies, pets, garden and local peo-ple. Final days with his doctor "The last time I saw him was on an emergency visit from Delhi at Military Hospital Wellington, Nilgiris following sudden deterioration of his condition on June 22, 2008." This time I found a pale self of the ageing Field Mar-shal. He was gasping for breath and was bedridden and was barely able to open his eye lids. "My long experience of dealing such cases, who have chronic lung disease complicated by a deadly broncho-pneumonia which the frail and 94-years old Field Marshal was suffering from, made me sound alarm bells and alert all concerned expecting an in-evitable in next few hours," recalls Major General Prasad. Given his condition, Major General Prasad feared that their most illustrious patient would not possi-bly survive the next 24 hours. Killer pneumonia was getting the better of the gritty warrior. Grandson Jehan and son-in-law Dhun Daruwala had lost hopes and were praying at his bedside for a miracle. His daughters, Sherry and Maja were on their way from Chennai and Delhi. All were fervently praying and hoping he held on till their arrival. Defying odds as he did in the past, the wily Field Marshal held his own against the deadly infection for the next few days till his affectionate daughters were at his side before end came. When his daughters came, he recognized them and spoke to them for the last time. He timed his death like his famous military operations at his will, and emerged triumphant in both - his life and in death. Moments before the end, those present around him witnessed an amazing happening. Sam Manekshaw's younger daughter, Maja Daru-wala, while trying to control herself, spoke about the life and times of her illustrious father to her near comatose father, acknowledging her love for him. The moment she mentioned the name of her mother Silloo, he responded despite his state. The monitor which showed his oxygen saturation pre-cipitously low and falling, suddenly shot up briefly while his breathing and pulse remained stable. He passed away peacefully on June 27, 2008 during the wee hours, while his daughters held his hand and prayed. He perhaps had the premonition of his death. He told an attending doctor few days before his death point-ing at a skin rash on his forearm that he will be dead once the rash disappears. Sure enough the rash dis-appeared, and so did the iconic legend. Despite debilitating illness, the Field Marshal had once asked: “Doctor, why can’t you have a scotch in my name? My sincere apologies that I just can’t give you company for the reasons better known to you.” A week after he passed away, Major General Prasad had a surprise visitor. The Field Marshal 's grand-son, Jehan, dropped by his office in Delhi to deliver a small gift - a bottle of scotch under instructions from his grandfather with the following note: "COL Prasad, FM sent his apologies that he could not drink this with you..."