New Delhi, Aug 16: Peoples Dem-ocratic Party (PDP) has sought the intervention of the Government of India for formulating a compre-hensive agriculture development strategy for Jammu and Kashmir to enhance productivity and returns in this crucial sector concerning almost 80 percent of the State’s pop-ulation.PDP President and Member Parlia-ment, Ms Mehbooba Mufti called on the Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh and raised the issues confronting the agriculture and horticulture sectors in the State. She was accompanied by se-nior PDP leader and Member Par-liament, Tariq Hameed Karra.Ms Mufti informed the Minister that the horticulture sector in J&K, which provides livelihood to more than 7 lakh families and nearly 35 lakh people, is in the throes of cri-sis as the two crucial sectors, which used to be the mainstay of State economy, are now not able to pro-vide basic subsistence and suste-nance to the people.

“Although more than 75 percent of the country’s apple production is from J&K with almost 90,000 acres of land in Kashmir are under apple cultivation., unfortunately, during the past few years not only has the

production plummeted, the input costs have increased much more than the returns. With squeezing margins and low production the business model of this crucial sec-tor has virtually collapsed,” she told the Minister.She said the sheer size and scale of horticulture and its significance, not just in the local economy but

even nationally, should wake up the government to the incipient crisis.Mehbooba said considering the growth potential of this sector, the government should plan for higher production and productivity of ma-jor cereals and fruit to achieve an annual agricultural growth rate of 3-4 percent.She called for devising both short and long term strategy to put the ag-riculture and horticulture sectors back on track. In the short term, she said, there is need for a package to give relief in the form of income support to the growers while in the long term, there is need for an or-chard replantation and restructur-ing scheme.“As such, the Centre and State gov-ernments must design a ‘Relief, Restructure and Replant’ scheme for horticulture and agriculture sectors,” she said and added that in addition to a financial package, there is need for technological and scientific interventions like setting up of soil and pesticide

see Pdp on pg 11...

Srinagar, August 16: Two Border Secu-rity Force (BSF) men were killed and four others injured after militants at-tack their vehicle near air base in Quil area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama dis-trict on Saturday afternoon.Official sources told GNS that mili-tants opened heavy fire upon a BSF Gypsy bearing registration number WB74J3708 near higher secondary school Quil Pulwama.In the attack, six BSF men of 165 bn sustained critical injuries and were immediately shifted to nearby hospital where two of them succumbed to inju-ries, sources said.The two slain BSF men have been identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Rudal Yadav and Head Constable Subedar Yadav Singh.He said that they have sustained grave bullet injuries and both succumbed to injuries on way to hospital.He identified the other four injured persons as Head Constable Jai Prassad, Constable Prabjot Singh, Constable Vinod Kumar (Driver) and Constable Amar Singh.All the injured persons were immedi-ately shifted to army’s 92 Base Hospital here in Srinagar.Soon after the attack, army, SOG and CRPF cordoned off the whole area and launched searches to nab the attackers.Meanwhile, government forces have asked to remain extra vigilant across all volatile parts of Kashmir including Srinagar city after the attack.Sources said that the

see Attack on pg 11...

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

SUNDAY 17 August | 2014 |20 Shawal, 1435 AH | PAGES 12| VOL NO: 4 | ISSUE NO: 226| 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

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(SUNDAY)SUNRISE ON (MONDAY) 05:55AM

07:18PM

15.3 C 18.0 C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Light rain/thunderstorm could occur at isolated places over the state.

Rain/Thundershower. Maximum &Minimum temperatures would be round 24°C & 14°C respectively.

inside story

See More On Pg 11

Foundation stone of CFC at Balnoi,

Mendhar laid/Sagar

ASI among 2 BSF men killed, 4 injured in Pulwama militant attack

2 persons arrested in Shopian

SDRF team fishes out body of drowned boy

Charas, cash recovered

Srinagar, Aug 16 (KNS): Shopian Police has arrested two persons and recovered charas and cash from them.Acting on specific information Police Keller headed by SHO Keller Shabir Ahmad arrested two persons Tariq Ahmad Mir son of Mohammad Maqbool Mir resident of Keller and Moham-mad Aslam Khan son of Wahab Khan resident of Bambo Pulwa-ma. 150 grams of Charas and Rs 4300-/ were recovered from them. Police has registered a case FIR number 38/2014 under section 8/20 NDPS Act and investigation has been taken up. (KNS)

CMYK

Srinagar, Aug 16: Veteran Supreme Court lawyer and former Union Law Minister Ram JethmalaniSaturday held one hour de-tailed meet with the Huriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani at latter’s Srinagar residence- asking the senior separatist leader to soften his stand with the changing times.According to the KNS correspondent, Jethmalani who is at present on family tour to Kashmir Saturday visited the residence of Syed Ali Geelani and held a detailed meet of one hour duration.Jethmalani according to the KNS correspondent discussed vari-ous issues pertaining to Kashmir with the Huriyat (G) chairman during which Geelani asked the learned lawyer

see Geelani on pg 11...

No change in principle stand: Geelani tells Jethmalani

>>>>> PG 10 >>>>> PG 10 >>>>> PG 10

India, Singapore decide to scale up trade ties

Bypolls for seats vacated by Modi, Mulayam, KCR on September 13

Uttarakhand: 27 killed as rain wreakshavoc, rescue teams on alert

NC issues 3rd list of party candidates

Srinagar, Aug 16: The chemical report of the water that made more than 1000 people sick in North Kashmir’s Tregham area on August 12, Saturday con-firmed the contaminated content into it, making police to register case against the PHE department.According to the KNS correspon-dent, CMO Kupwara Muneer

Khwaja had earlier sent the sam-ples of water for investigations as due to its consumption more than 1000 had fallen sick. On Sat-urday, the test report of the water confirmed that it contained that contaminated content that could affect the human health.Later Police station

See Fall on pg 11...

Srinagar, Aug 16 : Jammu & Kashmir National Confer-ence General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar announced the third list of 15 candidates for the Assembly Elections 2014 here today. Earlier the party had announced a list of 46 candidates.The Parliamentary Board under the Chairmanship of the President of the party Dr. Farooq Abdullah and in the presence of the Working President Shri Omar Abdullah cleared a list of 15 candidates, 11 Candidates for Kashmir region and 5 Candidates for Jammu region.The Parliamentary Board comprising of A.R. Rather, S. Harbans Singh, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Ch. Mohammad Ramzan, Qamar Ali Akhoon, Nasir Aslam Wani and De-vender Singh Rana met here and discussed the panels of candidates received from the Block and the District Com-mittees of the party.

S.No Name of the Constituency

Name of the Candidate

1. 70-Nagrota Devender Singh Rana

2. 12-Sangrama Mohammad Yaqoob

3. 13-Baramulla Ghulam Hassan Rahi

4. 29-Khansaheb Manzoor Ahmed Wani

5. 32-Pampore Yawar Masoodi

6. 34-Rajpura Ghulam M o h i - u d - D i n Mir “Muran”

7. 38-Kulgam Imran Nabi Dar

8. 41-Devsar Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed Shah

9. 42-Doru Farooq Ahmad Ganai

10. 43-Kokernag Ghulam Nabi Bhat (Adgami)

11. 44-Shangus Riaz Ahmed Khan Advocate

12. 46-Pahalgam Altaf Kaloo

13. 62-Ramnagar Raj Kapoor

14. 63-Bani Ghulam Haider Malik

15. 72-Jammu East Bimla Luthra

16. 79-Aknoor Dr. Abdul Ga-foor

see Nc on pg 11...

1000 fall ill in North Kashmir

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 16: A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) of Jammu and Kashmir Police fished out body of a boy, who got drowned while taking bath in Dood Ganga Canal at Srinagar, the other day.Giving details, Commandant SDRF 1st BN, Mr. Mehraj ud-din Shah said that on August 14, on getting information from Police Station Saddar that a boy Mu-nazar Farooq son of Farooq Ah-mad of Dildar Tanghdar Karnah while taking bath in the canal got drowned near MET School Baghat-e-Barzulla. Accordingly, a water rescue team of SDRF was swung into action

see Sdrf on pg 11...

PDP seeks comprehensive agriculture development strategy for JK

POONCH, AUGUST 16: Maintaining that the government has ensured ho-listic development in every part of the state, Minister for Rural Develop-ment & Panchayats, Ali Mohammad Sagar has said that some parties are trying hard to negate the achieve-ments registered by the present coa-lition regime but people of the state are wise enough to understand their design and would give a befitting re-ply to these divisive forces in near future.The Minister was addressing a large gathering of people after laying foun-dation stone of a Community Facility Centre(CFC) to be constructed by the department of Rural Development at Balnoi, Mendhar one of the remotest villages situated near the LoC. Deputy Chairman, Legislative Coun-

‘Attacks are being jointly

carried out by foreign, local

militants’Srinagar , August 16: In a series of at-tacks launched by militants this week in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, six people including five forces men and a civilian have been killed while 13 forces men have sustained injuries .There have been five militant attacks in six days in various parts of the dis-trict which have put security agen-cies on heightened alert.The first attack took place on the evening of August 11 in volatile Tral town of the district where a suspect-ed Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant, who was friend of a cop of police’s Special Operation Group (SOG), decamped with his rifle, and escaped. The inci-dent took place at family quarters of the SOG personal.The posters attributed to Hizb ap-peared in Tral town wherein the out-fit had claimed responsibility of the

incident.Later in the evening at around 09:45 pm on August 11, militants am-bushed a convoy of Border Security Force (BSF) at Kadlabal Pampore in the district leaving nine BSF men injured. The sources had told GNS that a group of 4 to 5 militants in an army uniform had carried out the at-tack. The attack was also claimed by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. The Hizb had reportedly said that the attack was in reaction to Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Ladakh.On the evening of August 12, mili-tants killed a railway policeman at Malangpora in the district and had also snatched his rifle. The attack was also claimed by Hizb.In a deadly attack on August 13 eve-ning which took place at Galandar in Pampore area, three people including two policemen and a civilian were killed. A team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySp) of In-dian Reserve Police (IRP) was coming from Kargil, where it was deputed on the occasion of Prime Minister Mo-di’s visit, was fired upon by militants.During the exchange of fire, two po-licemen sustained critical injuries while a civilian was also killed. The two injured cops

see Pulwama on pg 11...

Pulwama: 6 killed, 13 injured in 5 attacks in 6 days

Srinagar, Aug 16: With the state authorities making claims over the eradication of the corruption menace from the state, the details reveal that out of 113 regis-tered cases, challan against few has been submitted with rest still pending to be heard. The details informed KNS from the last three years that is since the year 2012, 113 cases against the offi-cials working in various government departments in Kashmir were registered with the figures maintaining that most of the cases are still under investigation.In the year 2012, the state vigilance received 34 cases of corruption against officials in Kashmir and the 12 were challaned in the court of law while as 22 cases are yet to be given the final verdict.In 2013, there were 19 cases registered with the challan produced against two and the investigation is so far pending in 17 cases.In 2014, so far the state vigilance has received 31 cas-es and all are pending with the investigations into the cases of corruption going on.In addition to that, in Jammu in the year 2012, 28 cases were registered with two challaned in court and two cases not proved.In the year 2013, 17 cases were registered and all are under investigation while as in the year 2014, 22 cases were registered and all are under investigation.Meanwhile, the details also informed that 79.06 lakhs have been spent by the state government here on State Vigilance Commission (JKSVC) so far and a total number of 1083 complaints of corruption have been re-ceived by the Commission, 831 cases are still pending.Reliable sources in the state vigilance commission that out till date the commission has received 1083 com-plaints out of which 250 have been disposed and 250 are under investigation. It was informed further that more than 590 complaints are pending without being looked into or investigated. The reason provided by the com-mission over this delay was the dearth of the staff in the commission.Details informed

see Khoda on pg 11...

Of 208 corruption complaints, 178 pending

since 2011 at VOWe had staff shortage, now issue resolved: Khoda

Tests confirm the contaminated content, FIR registered against PHE

State Prison’s official website

downSrinagar, Aug 16: With the chief minister Omar Abdul-lah on August 15 claiming that not more than 100 peo-ple are in jails here, the offi-cial website of the JK prisons turns defunct though inaugu-rated in the year 2012.According to the KNS re-ports, the official website of the state Prisons department namely www.jkprisons.org turns out to be not working with the webpage revealing, “The contents of this website are being updated and shall be made available soon.”Reports informed that the Principal Secretary Home Department, BR Sharma on January 15 declared 5th State Prison Duty Meet – 2012 open

at a function held at Central Jail Kot Balwal, Jammu.On the occasion, BR Shar-ma, who was chief guest, also launched the Website of J&K Prisons Department (www.jk-prisons.org) which was long pending demand of the de-partment. He emphasized the importance of the Meet and appreciated the work of Pris-ons Department particularly the programmes of Reforma-tion and Rehabilitation for changing the mindset of the deviated youth.On Saturday when the ne-tizens here tried their ut-most to open the website, the same had turned defunct leaving the people aggrieved- maintaining that there is no source wherefrom the claims made by the government and the chief minister Omar Ab-dullah could be verified.Pertinently, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah

see Prisoners on pg 11...

Day after Omar’s claim over Kashmir prisoners

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 16: Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, has greeted the people on Janamashtami and expressed hope that this auspicious occasion would be a harbinger of peace, harmony, progress and pros-perity in the State. In his message of felicitations, the Governor observed that the di-vine message of Lord Krishna, en-shrined in the Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, exhorts mankind to strive for the ultimate truth and to do one’s duty to the best of one’s ability without worrying about the ben-efits to be gained. He added that adherence to such values provides a firm foundation of a stable and harmonious society. On this

see Governer on pg 11...

Governor greets people on Janamashtami

11 Srinagar, Sunday 17 August 2014Zabarwan Times

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Owner , Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik Editor -in-Chief: Shahana Malik Legal Advisor: Syed Reyaz Hussain 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

Attack.....Geelani....

Prisoners...

Nc....

Pulwama....

Khoda....

PDP....

Fall....

unarmed policemen in Srinagar city were asked to re-main inside their cantonments while the armed cops were deployed on main roads in the city. They said that barricades have been erected at sever-al junctions across the city and all the entry and exit points with policemen frisking pedestrians and mo-torcyclists. (GNS)

later succumbed in hospital. The militants managed to escape along with a carbine rifle of police. The at-tack was claimed by Hizb while police and the mili-tant outfit blamed each other for civilian’s death.On Saturday (today) militants intercepted a BSF Gypsy and opened heavy fire on it in Koil area of Pul-wama that left two BSF men killed while four others were injured.Security sources told GNS that all these attacks were ‘sudden’ due to which forces couldn’t retaliate ‘effec-tively’. “As a result of this, militants managed to es-cape unhurt,” they said.The back-to-back attack took place even though gov-ernment forces including SOG and army intensified searches and frisking in the district. “This week, the forces conducted various search operations in Pampore, Galandar, Kadlabal areas while forces also cordoned Tral once. The forces routinely conduct searches in the outskirts of Pulwama town,” sources said.“The increase in attacks is because new militant groups in the district have gone active,” a senior counter-insurgency officer, who wished not to be named, told GNS. On being asked, he said: “These at-tacks are jointly carried out by foreign and local mili-tants," adding, it seems Lashkar-e-Toiba is behind to-day's attack on BSF. "Hizb isn't so strong in this part of the district."The Superintendent of Police Pulwama, Tajinder Singh, told GNS that militants want to increase their activities in the district by carrying out series of at-tacks. “We have tightened security,” he said. In past two years, Pulwama district has emerged as a hot bed of militants in the Kashmir region with mili-tants shifting their base from north Kashmir to south Kashmir. (GNS)

hat SVC informed the government that 82 posts need to be filled for the commission’s smooth functioning. The cabinet rejected the file- stating the number is too high and the same needs to be reduced. The commis-sion went back to the government this time with 74 posts but till date no action has been taken.SVC Chief Commissioner, Kuldeep Khoda when con-tacted told KNS that the commission has already asked the government for the filing up of the post and some persons have already joined the commission while as some are expected to join in the coming time. (KNS)

testing laboratories in each district, making SKUAST more vibrant and familiarizing farmers with latest technological advances in the field.She called for increasing the area under the horti-culture regeneration scheme from the existing 2000 hectares to 10000 hectares in the State with funding to be raised from existing Rs 30000 to Rs 1 lakh per hect-are. She also called for redefining the Saffron Mis-sion scheme in J&K with more focus on irrigation and market intervention so that the growers not only are able to cultivate good crop but also get good returns.Mehbooba also called for shifting the agriculture de-velopment strategy from food security mode to the value addition mode by growing certain products like high value fruits, vegetables and some cash crops which can give good returns to the cultivators.“There is good scope for the production of high val-ue, low volume crops like saffron, black zeera and other spices especially in Kashmir region,” she said and added that regular availability of agricultural in-puts such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, credit, etc. should be ensured.She said the state government should encourage a mix of supplementary crops in each region. Compre-hensive cost of cultivation studies needs to be con-ducted in each region/zone.Mehbooba said a comprehensive review of cropping pattern and shift in the same to fruits and vegetables is called for. “Here, the example of Punjab, which has launched a massive crop diversification plan, needs to be emulated,” she said.

Trehgham registered case against the PHE de-partment and the FIR number 64/2014 was filed with the investigations being carried under sec-tion 270,277 and also under 5/7 ESMA.Reports informed that the locals had also submit-ted the written complaint against PHE depart-ment before the police authorities. SHO Trehgham Sajjad Assad confirmed to KNS correspondent that police has registered the case and the investi-gation have been initiated. More than one thousand people had to be hospi-talized at North Kashmir’s Tregham area with the reason being the consumption of contaminated water from the nearby water supply scheme on August 12.At Zirhama area of North Kashmir’s Trehgam, af-ter consuming the water, at first around 300 locals suffered from dehydration and had to be admitted in the nearby primary health centre. The toll later reached to 1000 with the medical authorities wit-nessing tough time in handling the patients. The infected inhabitants were later admitted in four different health centres of the Kupwara.CMO Kupwara Dr Muneer Khwaja when contacted at that time told KNS that the people got infected due to the consumption of the contaminated water and that speedy measures are being taken by for their early treatment. He said that all the patients are now out of danger though some earlier were in the critical condition.He added that the samples of the water have been collected for the further investigation and that the advisory has been issued to the locals that only boiled water be used for drinking. (KNS)

to provide legal aid to the Kashmiri prisoners who are at present languishing in various jails of the capital. Geealni also stressed that various Kashmiris don’t get the fair trail at New Delhi and measures must be taken to ensure that they are being provided the satis-factory legal services.During the meet, Jethmalani asked the chairman of Huriyat’s hard-line faction that the stand must be soften as the circumstances have changed as com-pared to the past and there must be flexible approach so that Kashmir issue is addressed.Geelani according to the reports has said to the for-mer BJP leader that there would be no change in the principle stand of the Huriyat (G) and that there are some basic foundation of the Kashmir cause that can-not be undermined and ignored.When contacted Huriyat (G) spokesman AAyaz Ak-bar onfirmed Jethmalani meeting Geelani. Akbar told KNS that the Huriyat chairman has categorically stated to the former BJP leader that there will be no change in amalgam’s principle stand and that Modi is following the communal agenda in India. (KNS)

during his address on August 15 said that hardly hundred people are languishing in jails in Jammu and Kashmir. He said even 100 people in jails of J&K is a big number.He challenged separatists’ claim that thousands are languishing in jails here.Omar was addressing August 15 function at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar. “I challenge all those people who are trying to stoke passions in the state by say-ing that thousands are languishing in prisons in Jammu and Kashmir.“If 100 people are in prisons here this time, I would say that is a big number.”Omar also said that militant actions have come down by 80 per cent during his tenure and his gov-ernment was trying to reduce the presence of forces in cities and towns.“If militancy has come down by 80 per cent, time is not far when AFSPA would also have to go,” Omar said in his address. (KNS)

Ecological Vandalism and environmental degradation - a cause of great concern for the Society: KCSDS Srinagar, Aug 16: Kashmir Centre for Social and De-velopmental Studies (KCSDS) has expressed deep con-cerns for continued and sharp deterioration of general quality of environment and ecology of Jammu & Kash-mir state. In statement issued to KNS, in a round Table Confer-ence chaired by Prof. Hameedah Nayeem and attended by various state holders and civil society formations, the participants regretted the role of successive state governments whose policies or lack of proper planning led to degraded state of environment that we are face to face with.The participants stressed on the need to maintain a bal-ance has between environmental protection and devel-opmental planning. In the presentations made by Geo Scientists and oth-er experts, it was revealed that the glaciers in past two decades have shrunk at an alarming rate of 20% which adversely affects the discharge and water table for us-age. This has also badly affected the biodiversity of the state. In order to check further shrinkage, human traffic in upper Himalayan ranges needs to be considerably re-duced and regulated by the authorities. The conference stressed on promotion of Tourism in various tourist destinations only after proper environ-mental impact assessment and approval of Master plans by environmental experts and concerned civil society members. The participants urged the state government to stop the unbridled promotion of religious tourism to shrines, mosques and temples in the most sacred and eco sensi-tive spots. The participants deplored the presence of 12 out of a total 66 Field Firing Ranges in eco fragile state of Jam-mu and Kashmir. It was unanimously demanded that all these firing ranges should be shifted to some suit-able places in India. Any attempt made to relocate these ranges within the state will equally be disastrous, hence opposed tooth and nail. The participants noted with concern the attempts of the security forces for unbridled construction of tem-ples on forest land along Jammu- Srinagar Highway. It is intriguing that many places in Kashmir are being renamed in sync with Hindu mythology like “Somnath Deevar” near Athwajan. It was unanimously agreed that a PIL will be filed by the Civil Society vis a vis Tosamaidan environmental degradation due to artillery exercises over a period of time and the compensation thereof. The conference was attended, inter alia, by various civ-il society formations, tourist bodies, trade chambers, legal luminaries, environmental experts, geologists, columnist, prominent journalists, economic and finan-cial experts.

Sdrf....

Governer....

along with rescue vehicle and other equipments. The team put their constant and strenuous efforts and succeeded in fishing out the body of boy from a deep portion of Canal on August 15 morning.The deceased was putting up at Armirabad Bemina with his uncle and was a student of class 8th at MET School Bagat-e-Barzulla.The ADGP Armed, S. M. Sahai, who is also hold-ing the additional charge of ADGP (Home Guards/SDRF) has hailed the effort of SDRF personnel and maintained that the team has done a commendable job. He hoped that the officials will continue their best service to the people, particularly in the times of emergencies and disasters.

auspicious occasion, the Governor prayed for the well-being of the people of the State.

Foundation stone of CFC at Balnoi,Mendhar laid:-SagarPOONCH, AUGUST 16: Maintaining that the gov-ernment has ensured holistic development in every part of the state, Minister for Rural Development & Panchayats, Ali Mohammad Sagar has said that some parties are trying hard to negate the achievements registered by the present coalition regime but people of the state are wise enough to understand their de-sign and would give a befitting reply to these divisive

forces in near future.The Minister was addressing a large gathering of people after laying foundation stone of a Community Facility Centre(CFC) to be constructed by the depart-ment of Rural Development at Balnoi, Mendhar one of the remotest villages situated near the LoC. Deputy Chairman, Legislative Council, Javed Rana, District Development Commissioner, Poonch, M. H. Malik and other senior officers of the district admin-istration were present on the occasion.“The Government has also ensured the massive par-ticipation of people at grass root level in day to day governance by putting in place a vibrant and empow-ered Panchayati Raj System, whereby the masses are also involved in formulation and implementation of various welfare programmes. The concept of partici-patory democracy and governance has been ensured and implemented by the government in letter and spirit on ground”, said the Minister”.Referring to the several initiatives undertaken by the government for ensuring need based and sustained development of the rural and far flung areas, the Min-ister said that special emphasis has been laid on road connectivity, infrastructural development and cre-ating job opportunities to the people living in these areas, so that they do not migrate to other areas for want of requisite and basic facilities. Besides these the schemes of rural development department like MGNREGA, IAY and NBA have also ensured the so-cio- economic transformation of people living in these areas and providing the much needed employment opportunities to the people at their door steps.Deputy Chairman Legislative Council, Mr. Javed Rana also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the various developmental initiatives undertaken by the government for ensuring holistic and sustained de-velopment of the state.

Massacre' in Iraq as Strikes Hit Near

Key DamIslamic extremists in Iraq killed 80 Yazidi men and abducted their wives and children, officials and eye-witnesses said Saturday, insisting the religious com-munity is still at risk after a week of U.S. and Iraqi airstrikes on the militants.Airstrikes meanwhile targeted insurgents around Iraq's largest dam, which was captured by the Islamic State extremist group earlier this month, according to nearby residents. It was not immediately clear who carried out the strikes.The U.S. began launching airstrikes against the Is-lamic State extremist group a week ago, in part to prevent the massacre of tens of thousands of Yazidis stranded on a northern mountaintop. After most were able to escape with the help of Kurdish fighters, Pres-ident Barack Obama took credit for alleviating the threat of genocide.But on Friday afternoon Islamic State fighters who had surrounded the nearby village of Kocho 12 days ago, demanding its Yazidi residents convert or die, moved in.The militants took the men away in groups of a few dozen and shot them dead with assault rifles on the edge of the village, according to a wounded man who escaped by feigning death.The fighters then walked among the bodies, finish-ing off any who appeared to still be alive with their pistols, the 42-year-old man told the Associated Press by phone from an area where he was hiding out. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safe-ty."They thought we were dead, and when they went away, we ran away. We hid in a valley until sundown, and then we fled to the mountains," he said.A Yazidi lawmaker, a Kurdish security official and an Iraqi official from the nearby city of Sinjar gave similar accounts, saying Islamic State fighters had massacred scores of Yazidi men Friday afternoon af-ter seizing Kocho.All said they based their information on the accounts of survivors and warned that the minority group re-mains in danger despite the U.S. intervention. Their accounts matched those of two other Yazidi men, Qa-ssim Hussein and Nayef Jassem, who said they spoke to other survivors.The Yazidis are a centuries-old religious minority viewed as apostates by the extremist Islamic State group, which has claimed mass killings of its oppo-nents in Syria and Iraq, often posting grisly photos on the Internet.

Yazidi lawmaker Mahma Khalil said the Yazidis in Kocho were given the choice to convert or die. "When the residents refused to do this, the massacre took place," he said.Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman for Kurdish security forces, said the militants took the women and chil-dren of Kocho to the nearby city of Tal Afar, which is controlled by the Islamic State group.Elsewhere in northern Iraq, residents living near the Mosul Dam told The Associated Press that the area was being targeted by airstrikes, but it was not imme-diately clear whether the attacks were being carried out by Iraq's air force or the United States.A Pentagon spokeswoman said the Defense Depart-ment, for the safety and security of American person-nel, would not discuss reports of ongoing or future operations. Iraqi military spokesmen could not im-mediately be reached for comment.

Tilbury Docks: Man dies after 35 found

in containerA man has died after 35 people - including children - were found in a shipping container at Tilbury Docks.The survivors - believed to be from the Indian sub-continent and suffering from severe dehydration and hypothermia - are being treated at nearby hospitals.They were discovered after a freighter arrived from Zeebrugge, Belgium at about 06:00 BST and was being unloaded.Essex Police has launched a homicide investigation

and officers are being assisted by their Belgian coun-terparts.Police Supt Trevor Roe said staff at the docks were alerted to the container by "screaming and banging" from inside.He said about 50 other containers on the freighter called the Norstream had been searched and no other people were discovered inside.Speaking at a press conference, Mr Roe told journal-ists the survivors were being held under immigration powers and would be taken to an immigration recep-tion centre.It is not known where the container, one of 64 aboard the P&O vessel, originated. Mr Roe also said he did not know where the survivors had been going.He said the survivors would eventually be inter-viewed through interpreters.Mr Roe said the police investigation would look into "the gangs or whoever may be involved in this con-spiracy to bring these people in this way over to this

country".Meanwhile, Belgian police say they believe the lorry which delivered the container in Zeebrugge has been identified through CCTV footage. They do not, how-ever, have information yet about where it originated from.The East of England Ambulance service, which was called to the docks at 06:37 BST, sent seven ambulanc-es, two rapid response cars, two doctors and a hazard-ous area response team to the scene.Assistant Chief Officer Daniel Gore from east of England Ambulance Service said none of the peo-ple being treated in hospital were thought to have life-threatening conditions.Part of Basildon Hospital, where 18 people from the container were taken for treatment, was taped off ear-lier.On its website, the hospital said its accident and emergency department was "responding to a major incident".Seven patients were taken to Southend Hospital while nine were taken to the Royal London Hospital, Whi-techapel. South Basildon and East Thurrock MP Ste-phen Metcalfe described the incident as “tragic”.Mr Metcalfe told the BBC: “The fact that so many peo-ple appear to have travelled so far and are so desper-ate to get into the UK - either on their own or being trafficked is really very sad.”The Conservative MP said it was important “to get to the root causes of what is motivating people to go to such extreme lengths to travel from other parts of the world to get into the UK” and tackle people-traffick-ing.The container was loaded on to the P&O freighter at about 21:30 BST on Friday at Zeebrugge.A P&O spokeswoman said the Norstream, which was scheduled to leave Zeebrugge at 22:00 BST on Friday, was also carrying 72 trailers and five lorries and their drivers.

Landslides, floods kill 109, displace thousands

in Nepal, IndiaKATHMANDU: The death toll from landslides and flooding triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Ne-pal and northern India climbed to at least 109 on Sat-urday (Aug 16) as tides of water, mud and rocks swept away houses, officials said.The downpours also displaced thousands of people in the scenic Himalayan region and revived memories of a deadly deluge last year that killed more than 5,000 people in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.The rains in Nepal over the past three days have killed 85 people and left more than 100 others unaccounted for, said national disaster management chief Yadav Prasad Koirala. "We have recovered 85 bodies so far, 54 people have suffered injuries due to landslides and flooding over the last three days and 113 are still miss-ing," Koirala told AFP.The rains have damaged roads across the country's western plains bordering India, with poor visibility hindering helicopter rescue efforts to evacuate some 1,500 people stranded in waterlogged homes, said home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal. "Because of the damage to roads in the area, we can only deliver relief supplies like tents and medicines by helicopter," Dhakal told AFP.Army officials rescued some 300 people on Saturday, while hundreds more awaited help in the worst-hit districts of Surkhet and Bardiya, where electricity lines snapped, leaving thousands without power. "We have had no power all day and we are struggling to reach affected people," said Bardiya district official Tej Prasad Paudel.In neighbouring Banke district, flooding caused by heavy rain washed away homes, district official Je-evan Oli said. "We've recovered four bodies, includ-ing two children. We've looking for four more people whose hut was swept away last night," Oli told AFP.The deaths come two weeks after the worst landslide in over a decade smashed into hamlets in northeast-ern Nepal, killing 156 people. Monsoon rains have also forced officials to close a major bridge along the country's longest highway after it developed cracks and caved in.Meanwhile, heavy downpours in neighbouring India triggered landslides and flooding that have claimed at least 24 lives since Friday, according to government officials.In Uttarakhand state, seven people were killed in their sleep by a landslide as monsoon rains pounded the hilly region this week. "Seven people were killed while one woman was pulled alive by rescue work-ers from the debris of a house which collapsed due to overnight rain," district magistrate Chandresh Yadav told AFP, adding the total death toll was now 24.According to officials in Pauri district, at least 50 fam-ilies were stranded and the army was being deployed to evacuate them. With more rain predicted in the next 24 hours, state authorities have sought reinforce-ments from the army and the air force, said Indian government spokesman Surendra Kumar.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief on Twitter over the loss of lives in the state.Hundreds of people die every year in floods and land-slides during the monsoon season in South Asia. While annual rains are a lifeline for the region's farm-ers, flooding, landslides and building collapses are frequent during the monsoon season.

Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS SRINAGAR | SUNDAY 17. 08 .2014

LUCKNOW: In a major re-shuffle, Uttar Pradesh government transferred 33 IPS and 11 PPS offi-cers on Saturday.

DIG Agra Vijay Singh Meena has been replaced by DIG PAC Meerut Lax-mi Singh, a home de-partment spokesman said here.

DIG Devipatan (Gonda) Vijay Kumar Garg has been trans-ferred on the post of DIG personnel Luc-know and he has been replaced by DIG Police Training College (Gora-khpur) Jitendra Pratap Singh, the spokesman said.

Gorakhpur SSP Akash Kulhari and commandant PAC 20 battalion Azamgarh Ram Krishna Bharadwaj swap postings while Piyush Srivastava attached

to the DGP headquarters here has been made the new SP of Banda dis-trict.

Ravidas Nagar SP Subhash Chanda Dubey has been trans-

ferred to Intelligence Lucknow in the same capacity and SP Intelli-gence (Gorakhpur) Vikramaditya Sachan comes to Ravidas Nagar in

his place, the spokesman said. Commandant 49 battalion PAC

Noida Manjil Saini has been made the new SSP of Mathura in place of Nitin Tewari who has been at-

tached to the DGP headquar-ter in Lucknow.

SP Bijnore Umesh Kumar Srivasatav has been shifted to Ambedkarnagar on the same post and Satyenda Ku-mar Singh, attached to the DGP headquarter in Luc-know, goes to Bijnore as SP, he said.

SP Ambedkarnagar Kiran S has been made the new SP of Lalitpur from where SP Vijay Yadav was removed three days ago by the chief minister after a police chow-ki incharge reportedly forced

a farmer to drink urine. The government has also trans-

ferred 11 Provincial Police Service (PPS) officers.

Twenty-seven people have died in separate incidents of landslide, cloudburst and flood in ecological-ly fragile Uttarakhand in the past 24 hours as heavy mon-soon rain continues to lash the state, according to the disaster manage-ment control room.

Fourteen deaths due to cloudbursts at four places were reported in Pauri district on Fri-day. Seven people were killed after heavy rain triggered a landslide in Dehradun’s Rajpur area in the wee hours of Sat-urday.

Prime Minister Na-rendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the state, where a mid-June del-uge had wreaked havoc and killed more than five thousand people in-cluding pilgrims last year.

According to the Pauri district administration, several people are

stranded in Kotdwar block due to floods. A rescue operation is un-derway, even as the weather de-partment forecast heavy rainfall in

the next 24 hours.Rescue forces including local

police and teams of Indo-Tibetian Border Police and National Disas-ter Response Force have been de-ployed at affected places in differ-

ent parts of the state. This monsoon, 57 people have

died in Uttarakhand between June 1 and August 16 afternoon.

The state’s economy, which is largely depen-dent on the tourism sec-tor, had suffered a huge loss last year following the mid-June disaster that left the hill state in tatters. Rehabilitation and relief work emerged as the key issues in Ut-tarakhand in the run-up to the April-May Lok Sabha elections.

Rampant and un-planned construction of human settlement and industry is viewed as one of the prime rea-

sons behind the rain-related inci-dents in Uttarakhand.Seven people from three families died in the wee hours of Saturday in Dehradun fol-lowing a landslide triggered by the incessant rain.

Bypolls to be held for Vadodara, Mainpuri and Medak Lok Sabha seats and 33 Assembly seats in six States; EC yet to announce bypoll for Beed LS seat which fell vacant following Gopinath Munde’s death.

Bypolls to the Lok Sabha seats vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will be held on September 13, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.

Bypolls will also be held to Medak Lok Sabha seat vacated by TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao after he became the first Chief Minister of Telan-gana.While Mr. Modi had retained Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, he vacated Vadodra in Gujarat. Similarly, Mr. Yadav had vacated Mainpuri and retained Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.

The poll body also announced bypolls to 33 As-sembly seats in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.

Filing of nominations will start from August 20. The last date of filing nomination is August 27. The scrutiny of papers will be held the next day on Au-gust 28 and August 30 has been decided as the last date of withdrawing from the electoral race.

Uttarakhand: 27 killed as rain wreaks havoc, rescue teams on alert

Bypolls for seats vacated by Modi, Mulayam, KCR on

September 13

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Saturday announced his new team with 11 vice-presidents and eight general secre-taries and 14 secretaries.

Shah, who took over as the BJP president in July, has tried to keep his team members young and inducted those who are have experience too.

Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddy-urappa and former Mum-bai police commissioner Satyapal Malik found a place in the team as the party’s vice-presidents.

Apart from Yeddy-

urappa and Malik, the new vice-presidents are Bandaru Dattatreya, MA Naqvi, P Ruppala, Prab-hat Jha, Raghuvar Das, Kiran Maheswari, Renu Devi and Dinesh Sharma.

While Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi was dropped as general sec-retary, Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Bhupen-dra Yadav was brought in as new general secretary.

Rashtriya wayamse-vak Sangh leader Ram Madhav and former MP Saroj Pandey too were made general secretary of the saffron party.

Shah retained JP

Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Murlidhar Rao and Ramlal as general secre-taries and has named 10 new spokespersons.

Anurag Thakur will continue as BJYM chief while the BJP Mahila Morcha chief will be Vi-jaya Rahatkar.

Abdul Rashid Ansari is BJP’s Minority Mor-cha chief.

“Team formed by Amit bhai is excellent, full of youth and experi-ence. We will work with enthusiasm,” senior party leader Shahnawaz Hussain was quoted as saying by ANI.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (in picture) and her Singapor-ean counterpart K. Shanmugam held extensive talks on entire gamut of bi-lateral relations and discussed ways to speed up air and mari-time connectivity and coastal development. File photo

The Hindu External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (in picture) and her Singaporean coun-terpart K. Shanmugam held extensive talks on entire gamut of bilateral relations and discussed ways to speed up air and maritime connectivity and coastal de-velopment.

India and Singapore on Saturday decided to scale up ties in key areas of investment and trade which has wit-

nessed a huge surge from $4.2 billion to about $19.4 billion in the last one de-cade.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Singaporean coun-

terpart K. Shanmugam held extensive talks on entire gamut of bilateral relations and discussed ways to speed up air and maritime connectiv-ity and coastal develop-ment.

During their talks spread over a working lunch hosted by Mr. Shanmugam, the two leaders agreed to work

towards a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the earliest possible op-portunity.

BJP chief Amit Shah announces new team, Varun Gandhi dropped

as general secretary

India, Singapore decide to scale up trade ties

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help in re-storing peace in the violence-hit Uriamghat, near the Assam-Nagaland border, which led to the death of 11 persons. File photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help in re-storing peace in the violence-hit Uriamghat, near the Assam-Nagaland border, which led to the death of 11 persons. File photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene in restoring peace at the violence affected Uriamghat near Assam—Nagaland border which led to the death of 11 persons.

Gogoi, in a letter to the Prime Minister, requested him for additional ten companies of CRPF personnel in the area for rapid reinforcement of security along with setting up of security pickets in the affected vil-lages so that violence does not spread to other areas.

The Chief Minister alleged that CRPF personnel deployed in the disputed area had failed miserably in protecting the poor villagers of Assam.

“The personnel deployed should be directed to take stern action proactively against the miscreants/ex-tremists in an unbiased manner,” he said in the letter.

Gogoi seeks Modi help to resolve border dispute

The new Indian Naval ship (INS) Kolkata anchored at the navy dock during its media pre-view in Mumbai (AFP Photo)

It is an advanced version, but significantly more versa-tile, of the Delhi-Class ships – INS Delhi, INS Mysore and INS Mumbai – which will add con-siderable teeth to India’s mari-time warfare capabilities with all-round capabilities against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft.

Defence minister Arun Jait-ley and chief of naval staff Ad-miral RK Dhowan were also present during the ceremony.

“INS Kolkata is entirely built in India and it is a sym-bol of self-reliance,” said Modi while addressing the sailors at the commissioning ceremony.

Watch: PM lauds Navy, ded-icates INS Kolkata to nation

Terming military might as the biggest deterrent to war, Modi said the defence forces will be modernised to ensure that “nobody casts an evil eye” on the nation.

“Fighting a war and win-ning it has now become less difficult these days. But a mod-ern military, armed with state of the arm weaponry alone is a guarantee against war. When we are capable, no one can dare challenge us,” Modi said ad-

dressing a gathering after dedi-cating the largest indigenously built warship INS Kolkata to the nation.

“When people have a sense

of our military capability, no-body will ever dare to cast an evil eye on our nation,” he said.

Stressing the importance of maritime security in fast ex-panding global trade and com-merce, the Prime Minister said India, with its vast coastline,

was playing a major role in it.“In the coming days, INS

Kolkata will inspire confidence to those involved in maritime trade,” he said.

Describing the building of the destroyer ship as a big achievement by India’s techni-cians, engineers and defence experts, Modi said the govern-ment was committed to mod-ernising the defence forces so “our jawans don’t feel they are lagging behind in defending our nation.

“When I dedicate INS Kol-kata to the nation, I am confi-dent it will boost our military prowess and give confidence to our soldiers.”The warship, constructed by the Mazagon Dockyards Limited, has been designed by Navy’s design bu-reau. The 6,800 tonne warship is a technology demonstrator and will showcase a giant leap in shipbuilding technology in the country.The Prime Minis-ter had dedicated India’s larg-est warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation in June in his first outing after taking charge.

Modi said that the govern-ment has taken important de-cisions in its budget and has given priority to “defence up-

grade”.Referring to the decision of

allowing 49% FDI in defence, Modi said, “We have to import (military hardware)... Because of this one decision, India can become self-reliant in this sec-tor.Our youth will become in-novative and a day will come when India will export in this sector.

Defence minister Jaitley said the commissioning of INS Kolkata gives an impetus to the Indian Navy.Constructed by the Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL), the 6,800-tonne Kolkata-class stealth destroyer has been de-signed by the Indian Navy’s design bureau.Its keel was laid down in September 2003 and the ship was launched in March 2006. It is the first of three such ships planned in this class - the other two being Kochi and Chennai.Fitted with the most advanced weapons systems, including anti-subma-rine technology, this is the larg-est stealth destroyer construct-ed by the MDL and delivered to Indian Navy last month.

PM Modi inducts INS Kolkata, says it will boost our military prowess

Akhilesh government takes action: 33 IPS officers transferred in UP

Consider making some plans for a vacation or short getaway, Libra. Looking forward to something fun can make even the tough-est of days far easier to handle. You’ll be amazed how much you can manage when there’s an end in plain sight. Your entire attitude can lighten. So take the bull by the horns and create an incentive for yourself. Do something special to reward the hard work you do day after day.

Don’t judge someone if he or she has a different lifestyle than what you consider to be OK, Scorpio. You probably lean toward the traditional, yet not everyone feels this way about re-lationships, working, or lifestyle. While it may seem impossible to understand and even frighten you, try not to be too harsh on those you deem odd. You’d be better off using that energy to keep your own life on track.

Friends seeking advice or a shoulder to cry on could be plentiful today, Sagittarius. You’re one of best people to give them the support and care they need. Just be sure that you don’t give so much to others that you don’t have anything left for yourself. True friendship is about sharing and the exchange of problems and help. Running yourself down will leave you in a place where you aren’t going to be much help to anyone.

Getting through today shouldn’t pose too big a problem for you, Capricorn. You may feel a huge second wind that can give you the drive and determination to see your chores and projects through. Make some plans for this evening, such as getting to-gether with friends or taking in an event that really intrigues you. Until then, go about your tasks bit by bit. You’ll get things finished before you know it.

Working within boundaries and restrictions could really get to you today, Aquarius. Yours is an independent spirit and your best achievements are often born of doing things your own way. Yet like it or not, we all have to follow guidelines and rules. Do your best to follow suit and finish what needs to be done. Afterward, you may find more freedom to act independently without consequences. Exercise patience and diligence as needed today.

Chances are that you’ll feel upbeat and positive today, Pisces. Consider sharing this energy with those around you who are feel-ing less than content. Your attitude can have a profound effect on friends, partners, spouses, and children. Even neighbors and ex-tended family can pick up on your spirit without you even real-izing it. Share your optimism with everyone you can today. If you see someone hurt or angry.

Feeling the effects of today’s energies, Virgo? Take heart if this is the case, because the end of the tunnel isn’t as far away as it seems. Do your best to take things one step at a time and see about making some plans for a little fun this evening. Get together with friends or take in a movie. Help yourself feel better by staying busy and focused and follow up with some recreation. Before you know it, the aspect will pass and you’ll be back to normal.

Don’t discount your ability to be extremely resourceful if you need to be, Aries. If you don’t have everything you need or all of the required information, take time to think. Who can you ask? What places can you access? Who might know where you can find what you need? Rather than panic because the pieces aren’t all there, instead make a list of contacts and go for it. Trust in yourself.

Try not to let today’s blues get you down, Taurus. While it’s true that some days can seem to drag on, the busier you are the faster time will pass. Get down to finishing any work still before you and then make plans for tonight. If there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, not only will things seem to speed up but you’ll feel better knowing it’s coming.

Dare to be different, Gemini. It can be so easy to fall into a drill. Sleeping at the same time, eating at the same time, wearing the same style, and going about work the same way day after day. Be-fore you know it, you feel like you’re in a rut. The only way to get away from this is to make a decision to break free by doing some-thing unique. Try a new haircut. Wear colors that are unusual for you. If the need is there, consider a new career. Pursue expansion.

If your lifestyle is considerably different than that of others, re-sist feeling self-conscience about it today, Cancer. Try to remember that you chose the life you have for specific reasons. Even if you’ve come to a point where you’re considering a change, there’s no need to feel badly, ashamed, or embarrassed about where you are now. Everyone has to make his or her own way. If this conforms to the norm, that’s fine. If it doesn’t, that’s fine, too.

An enhanced feeling of determination could motivate you today, Leo. Finish the things that aren’t complete and make some plans for this evening. Don’t hesitate to take on something that feels compli-cated or big. Chances are you’ll be able to handle most anything and it will feel great when it’s finished. Enjoy your day by making the most of opportunity.

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINION

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

It was in 1999 when the then Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Ab-dullah while addressing All

India Kashmiri Writers Confer-ence organized by Lel Ded Foun-dation announced that Kashmi-ri language will be introduced in schools at primary level and if any body tries to create hurdles, heads will roll. Amid cheers, he said that Kashmiri has to be an important part of curriculum and should be taught from primary to master’s level. Later on this language was introduced but shortage of teach-ers and disinterest shown by bu-reaucrats made the announce-ment and the subsequent decision almost ineffective, though some schools started the work on its own. However, after continuous pressures, some teachers were trained in batches but this too did not help the cause of the language. The main problem with Kashmiri language is that it can get its due when there are enough teachers available in schools. The bureau-cracy has so far not done anything in this direction and this language continues to suffer. When the posts of teachers, junior lecturers and faculty announced, one hard-ly finds any vacancy earmarked for Kashmiri teachers. There is no dearth of Kashmiri knowing qual-ified persons but who will con-vince the bureaucracy and the po-litical govt. on this account. There have been many individuals and organizations thriving and tak-ing undue benefits in the name of propagating the cause of this language but in reality these ex-ploiters have contributed nothing for the development of the lan-guage. These exploiters have used the Mantra of being sympathizers and well wishers of Kashmiri lan-guage for getting plum postings, promotions, undue appointments and employments for their wards. In fact, they have done the max-imum damage to this language as they have done every thing to harm it with in and outside the state. The govt. of Jammu&Kash-mir has to initiate concrete steps if in reality, it is serious to devel-op the Kashmiri language and the first and foremost step is to re-cruit sufficient number of teach-ers at primary and high school level. The second step should be to make it compulsory for all gov-ernment and private schools to teach Kashmiri as a compulso-ry subject which is not being fol-lowed right now. These steps will definitely help in promoting our mother tongue which deserves its right place in our educational in-stitutions and in our society.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Does not Kashmiri Language deserve its

right place?

Srinagar, Sunday 17 July 2014

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Sunday 03 August 2014

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

Dwindling forest cover

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

Quote of the day

Marcus Tullius Cicero

The rice production in Jammu and Kashmir is decreasing day by day because the agri-cultural land is being

used legally or illegally for oth-er purposes such as residential and commercial. This has creat-ed lots of problems and the extra burden on the economy has also increased and is leaving adverse effects on the overall financial health of the state. Similarly the illegal felling of trees and the timber smuggling has caused enormous damages to the ecol-ogy of the state as it has turned a lot of forest land into a barren and unproductive one. Though a force called forest protection force was created many years back for safeguarding the forest wealth but this organization has not been able to control the ille-gal felling of precious trees and the smuggling of timber within and outside the state. Not only this, some forest land is being utilized by tribal community for residential and agricultural pur-poses as envisaged under Forest Dwellers Act. This has not been defined to this purpose only but some land is being taken over by expansionists and used for com-mercial purposes. Nobody cares as to what is happening to our forests which are being devas-tated with every passing year. Some unscrupulous and greedy people are setting portions of forest on fire so that the green trees which ultimately get burnt or half burnt are used in differ-ent ways without being caught for illegal usage of the precious wood. There are no checks or hurdles for these vested inter-ests as some forest employees are in hand in glove with smug-glers and those elements who for their petty interests damage this natural wealth. The forest department except issuing some statements is not doing enough to get these smugglers caught and take action as per the law of the land. Unless there are strin-gent laws and well meaning and sincere forest officials in abun-dance, the forest wealth will be disappearing with every passing day and the time will not be far away when Jammu and Kash-mir State will become a cold des-ert. The ecological balance will get destroyed to such a level that nothing will grow in our lands and it will be impossible for human life to survive in such a hostile atmosphere and weather conditions.