18 December 2015

SRINAGAR | 18 December 2015 | 06 Rabi ul Awwal 1437 AH Vol: 3 | Issue No: 300 | Pages: 08 | Rs 3/- 

FRIDAY 

3rd 

PRECIOUS KASHMIR 

Journalism With A Human Heart 

C 

M 

Y 

K 

http//www.preciouskashmir.com | email: preciouskashmir@gmail.com 

New beginning made by 

India and Pakistan: Swaraj 

No representation from JK police 

for annual security meet 

New Delhi, Dec 17: A new beginning 

has been made by India and Pakistan 

as the two countries have agreed on 

a new bilateral comprehensive dialogue 

to address all outstanding issues 

through peaceful means, External 

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said 

today. To a question in Rajya Sabha 

on whether India has raised the issue 

of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in 

international fora, Swaraj replied in 

affirmative and said government's 

principled and consistent position on 

the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has 

been that the entire state is an integral 

part of India. 

"A new beginning has been made 

in the form of the agreement of the 

two countries on a new bilateral 

comprehensive dialogue to address 

all outstanding issues between them 

through peaceful means," she said. 

During her visit to Islamabad earlier 

this month to attend a multilateral 

meet on Afghanistan, both India and 

Pakistan announced that they have 

decided to engage in a "comprehensive" 

dialogue. 

Replying to a query, she said the 

Permanent representative of Pakistan 

to the UN has recently written three 

letters to the President of the UN Security 

Council which referred to the issue 

of Jammu and Kashmir and asked 

the top decision making body to take 

note of situation along the Line of Control. 

To a separate question, Swaraj, 

who is also Overseas Indian Affairs 

Minister, said it was aware of an Amnesty 

International report which said 

that 279 Indian migrant workers died 

in Qatar in 2014. 

"The report also states that 

these figures are of migrant workers 

deaths from all causes, including fatalities, 

not directly related to labour 

conditions," she said. 

Let’s not be frozen in past: Pak NSA on ties with India 

New Delhi, Dec 17: Pakistan’s national 

security adviser Lieutenant- 

General (R) Naseer Khan Janjua has 

termed his recent meeting with his 

Indian counterpart Ajit Doval a “good 

beginning”, saying it is important for 

both countries to “not be frozen in 

the past”. 

“Let’s think of the future. Let us 

do it ourselves. Let us not leave it to 

US hopes Indo-Pak 

comprehensive dialogue 

would boost trade 

Washington, Dec 17: Describing the 

resumption of Indo-Pak comprehensive 

dialogue as a "significant" 

move, the US hoped that it would 

result in increased trade between 

the two neighbours. 

"The recent upturn in relations 

between India and Pakistan is quite 

significant," Richard Olson, Special 

US Representative for Afghanistan 

and Pakistan, told lawmakers during 

a hearing on Pakistan convened 

by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

"The National Security Advisers 

(of India and Pakistan) met in Bangkok 

and then Foreign (sic) Minister 

(Sushma) Swaraj attended the Heart 

of Asia Conference and extended a 

hand of friendship to Pakistan, and 

that was very well received," he said. 

"They have agreed to launch a 

comprehensive dialogue which will 

hopefully improve the relationship," 

said Olson who was also present in 

Islamabad to attend the Heart of 

Asia conference. 

"One of the emphasises that we 

have placed in our assistance programmes 

has been to build regional 

Precious Kashmir News 

Srinagar, Dec 17: Stressing for the 

involvement of Kashmiri resistance 

leadership in dialogue process, senior 

Hurriyat Conference (G) leader 

the and Chairman of the Democratic 

Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmad 

Shah said Indian leadership should 

play much role in this regard. 

"Indian Prime Minister should 

initiate the process of involving all 

the stakeholders of the Kashmir dispute," 

Shah said in a statement issued 

to press. 

He said all the Confidence Building 

Measures between the two countries 

will prove futile if the issue 

connectivity, and so the re-launch 

of a comprehensive dialogue will 

hopefully, lead to the possibility of 

increased trade, for instance, between 

India and Pakistan," Olson 

said. 

This would be beneficial to both 

sides, and particularly help Pakistan, 

the US official said adding that it 

could do more than the US assistance 

programmes to raise the level 

of prosperity and stability. 

Olson was responding to a question 

from Congressman Ami Bera, 

the only Indian-American lawmaker 

in the current Congress. 

"As an Indian-American and the 

only Indian American member of 

Congress the stability of the region 

is incredibly important to me. And 

it's one that I've spent a lot of time 

thinking about, and very much interconnected 

when you think about 

India, Pakistan and Afghanistan," 

Bera said. 

On the counter-terrorism side 

post-Mumbai in 2008, India demonstrated 

incredible restraints in its 

approach to Pakistan. 

See US on Pg 6 

related to peace in the region is not 

addressed.Shah also urged Narendra 

Modi to release all the political prisoners 

who are languishing in different 

Indian jails and were arrested on one 

our children,” Lt-Gen Janjua told the 

Hindustan Times via telephone from 

Islamabad in his first interview since 

the secret meeting between the NSAs 

in Bangkok on December 6. 

“Let us not be dogged about 

our disputes. We understand that 

we have to move forward,” urging a 

positive continuation of dialogue and 

forward movement in the India-Pakistan 

engagement process. 

The secret meeting between the 

security advisers, which came a week 

after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 

and Indian counterpart Narendra 

Modi met in Paris on the sidelines of 

COP21 summit, was termed an important 

breakthrough for a thaw in 

bilateral relations between the two 

neighbouring countries. 

No role for 

Hurriyat in 

Indo-Pak FS 

talks: New Delhi 

New Delhi, Dec 17: India today said 

the date and venue for next month's 

meeting between Indo-Pak Foreign 

Secretaries are yet to be finalised and 

asserted that all bilateral issues are to 

be addressed mutually between the 

two countries. 

"Two Foreign Secretaries are in 

touch with each other but the date 

and venue are yet to be finalised. 

"All the bilateral issues are to be 

addressed mutually between India 

and Pakistan and this was recently 

reiterated in a joint statement issued 

after the External Affairs Minister's 

meeting with the Pakistan Prime 

Minister and his Foreign Affairs Advisor 

in Islamabad," External Affairs 

Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup 

said. 

He was asked if Pakistani delegation 

again met Hurriyat separatists or 

the Kashmiri separatist leaders tried 

to meet them here. 

In August, the NSA-level talks 

were called off after New Delhi had 

made it clear that the then Pakistan 

National Security Advisor Sartaz Aziz 

would not be allowed to meet Kashmiri 

separatist leaders here. 

CBMs futile if core issue not addressed: Shah 

pretext or other. 

"Most of these people were arrested 

when they were visiting Indian 

states to pursue education or were 

travelling for medical checkup. They 

were fabricated in false cases and continue 

to languish in jails among which 

many have served more than 10 years 

and some even crossed 20 years of 

imprisonment," he said. 

Shah said there is AFSPA and PSA 

"ruling the roost in J&K and barriers 

are being created between the people 

and the pro-freedom leadership by 

keeping the latter under continuous 

house arrest or behind bars." 

Commenting on the Indo-Pak 

See Shah on Pg 6 

Following the meeting, Indian 

External Affairs Minister Sushma 

Swaraj visited Islamabad where the 

two countries announced the beginning 

of a ‘comprehensive bilateral dialogue’ 

which would include all pillars 

from the previous ‘composite dialogue’ 

and the later ‘resumed dialogue’ sessions 

between the two sides. 

See Pak NSA on Pg 6 

New Delhi, Dec 17: Jammu 

and Kashmir Police will have 

no representation at the prestigious 

annual conference 

of country's top police brass 

which will be inaugurated 

by Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi tomorrow in Kutch district 

of Gujarat. 

It is learnt that permission 

for state Police Chief K 

Rajendra and Inspector General 

(CID) A G Mir to leave for 

the conference was not given 

by Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed, 

who is in-charge of the 

Home Department. 

This is for the first time 

that the sensitive border 

state will not be having any 

representation to the annual 

conference of Directors General 

and Inspectors General of 

Police being organised by the 

Intelligence Bureau. 

During the three-day conference, 

the top police brass 

will be staying in make-shift 

tents erected in the district 

Grenade 

hurled on 

CRPF bunker 


Srinagar, Dec 17: Several 

private vehicles suffered 

damage after unknown 

persons hurled a grenade at a 

CRPF bunker near Seki Dafar 

area of old city in Srinagar on 

Thursday morning. 

A police official said that 

Unknown persons today 

hurled a grenade on CRPF 

bunker of 161 bn at Seki 

Dafar chowk; however the 

grenade missed the intended 

target and exploded meters 

away with bang from the 

para-military bunker. 

“In the incident four 

private vehicles suffered 

damage”, the official said. 

See Grenade on Pg 6 

that shares the international 

border with Pakistan. 

The event is likely to be 

attended by over 100 top police 

officers from the country. 

On Saturday, the prime minister, 

who will be present 

on all the three days, will be 

leading the police chiefs for 

a session of yoga and 'surya 

namaskar'. 

The reason for the two 

top security officials from J 

and K being not allowed to 

proceed was not immediately 

known and no one from police 

or from the state government 

was willing to speak on 

the issue today. 

It is believed that the 

Chief Minister was apparently 

not happy over certain developments 

on the law and order 

front that included disappearance 

of three youths from 

Kupwara in North Kashmir. 

A meeting of the J and K 

Cabinet is scheduled to be 

held tomorrow during which 

a reshuffle of top police officials 

is expected to be discussed. 

The Kutch conference 

is a platform where police 

chiefs, para-military top brass 

and intelligence heads share 

their experience and discuss 

threats from across the 

border as well as from other 

countries. 

During conference, various 

sessions will be held on 

radicalisation of youths, a 

problem that J and K is facing 

in a big way since start of 

this year. An estimated 60 to 

70 youths, mainly from South 

Kashmir, have disappeared 

and are believed to have 

joined ranks with various terror 

groups. 

Besides this, issues like 

attempts to lure Indians to 

the dreaded terrorist group 

ISIS, cross-border terrorism 

and activities of Pakistanbased 

terror outfits will top 

the agenda. 

In 2016, Govt to 

plant 12,000 Chinar 

saplings in Valley 


Srinagar, Dec 17: The state 

government has planned to 

plant in the Valley 12,000 

saplings of the majestic Chinar 

tree, known for its majestic 

foliage and longevity that 

may extend up to over four 

centuries. 

According to official data, 

there are 38,401 Chinar trees 

as per census carried out in 

2007 in Kashmir valley. 

"These include 5,306 Chinar 

trees which are above the 

age of 400 years," an official 

spokesman said today. 

The spokesman, however, 

did not give the timeline for 

completion of the plantation 

drive which is likely to begin 

on March 21, the Arbour Day, 

next year. 

"The Floriculture Department 

has a proposal to plant 

12,000 chinar saplings in the 

Valley," the spokesman said. 

The crimson-coloured 

leaves of the Chinar are a major 

tourist attraction towards the 

end of autumn in Kashmir. 

The Forest Department is 

also planning to plant of 19 

lakh saplings of Deodar and 

Fir trees across the state, he 

said. 

Divisional Commissioner 

Kashmir Asgar Samoon yesterday 

convened a meeting 

regarding census of Chinar 

trees in the Valley. 

Samoon directed deputy 

commissioners of all the districts 

in the Valley and the line 

officers to update the census 

of Chinar trees and submit 

the report to his office. 

Felling of Chinar tree, 

which grows at a very slow 

rate, is illegal in Jammu and 

Kashmir and can attract penal 

provisions under the state 

law. 

Chinar has also been 

source of inspiration for 

See Chinar on Pg 6 

Embezzlement complaints in JU 

SVC puts authorities on 

notice over 'malpractices' 

Jammu, Dec 17: The State 

Vigilance Commission today 

issued a notice and called for a 

detailed report from the Registrar 

University of Jammu, in 

connection with complaints, 

regarding malpractices and 

other irregularities allegedly 

committed by the varsity authorities. 

SVC has issued a notice 

and called for a detailed 

report from the Registrar 

University of Jammu, in connection 

with complaints, 

regarding malpractices and 

other irregularities allegedly 

committed by the University 

authorities, SVC spokesman 

said here. 

The State Vigilance Commission 

while proceeding on 

a complaint titled Narinder 

Singh Raina, General Secretary, 

Secular Forum, Sarwal, 

Jammu against Authorities of 

Jammu University, in which 

the President of the said Forum 

along-with his counsel 

appeared before the Commission 

and made submission 

that a number of malpractices, 

favoritism, and other 

gross irregularities viz appointments. 

He complained that illegal 

cancellation of interviews 

for the selection of Assistant 

Registrars, purchasing of 

Medical Surgery Books, illegal 

order for printing of study 

material, embezzlement in 

distribution of CM relief fund, 

shutdown of PG courses in 

violation of rules, diversion 

of funds worth 2 crores of Directorate 

of Distance Education, 

hushing up of evaluation 

scam in Directorate of Distance 

Education, the spokesman 

said. 

Other complaints included 

the persuasion of B.Ed & 

M.Ed Courses by University 

employees without approval, 

illegal withholding of University 

funds by Deputy Registrar, 

Nepotism in selection 

of lecturer in Department 

of Remote Sensing & GIS are 

some examples of malpractices 

and bungling prevailing 

at University of Jammu, the 

spokesman said. 

The President of said Forum 

further stated that university 

authorities are trying 

See SVC on Pg 6 

Protests against NFSA continue in Srinagar 


Srinagar, Dec 17: The proposed implementation 

of National Security 

Bill sparked protests in Srinagar city 

for the fifth consecutive day. Protesters 

who took to roads blocked 

boulevard road for hours near Brein 

Nishat appealing government not 

to implement the bill in the state. 

Police diverted the traffic near 

Obroi Place after protesters did not 

allow vehicular movement on the 

road. The protesters said that Food 

Security Bill is good for states like 

Uttar Pradesh or Bihar as majority 

of the consumers in these states 

kive Below Poverty Line (BPL) while 

in Jammu and Kashmir more than 

70 per cent population fall under 

the category of Above Poverty Line 

(APL). “If this bill is introduced in 

Jammu and Kashmir, people will be 

forced to buy ration from markets 

on higher rates. If the Bill is implemented, 

it would lead to inflation,” 

a protester said. 

Protest against the implementation 

of the Food Security Bill was 

also reported from Rajbagh area of 

Srinagar city. Protesters mostly females 

amid anti-government slogans 

warned if the proposed bill is implemented 

in State, they will stir an agitation 

against the government. (CNS) 

Govt kept people in dark: Omar 

‘3 lakh people to be affected in city alone’ 


Srinagar, Dec 17: Criticizing 

the PDP-BJP Government's 

move to implement National 

Food Security Act in Jammu 

and Kashmir, former Chief 

Minister and National conference 

working President Omar 

Abdullah Thursday said that 

almost 30 lakh people will be 

deprived of ration in the state 

due to the implementation of 

the bill. 

“Implementation of 

National Food Security Act 

(NFSA) is the worst gift given 

by the PDP- BJP coalition government 

to the people of Jammu 

and Kashmir. It would directly 

affect the lives of people 

of the state,” Omar said while 

speaking on a party convention 

at Shangus Anantnag. 

According to a local correspondent, 

Omar said “Though 

we could have also implemented 

the bill but we were 

aware about the fact that a 

huge number of people will be 

deprived of the ration. At that 

time we had asked the centre 

government to provide the ration 

to the people who were 

to be deprived of the ration 

but the centre government 

showed reluctance and that 

is why we dropped the matter,” 

he said and added that 

alone in Srinagar city around 

3 lakh people will be affected 

due to the implementation of 

the bill. 

He accused that Mufti 

government kept the people 

in dark till act was implemented. 

“Almost 20 to 25 lakh 

people will be disadvantaged 

due to the execution of this 

bill in the state,” Omar said 

and adding that Jammu and 

Kashmir is only state, where 

this Food security bill, would 

have resulted in loss to the 

people rather than benefit. 

He said that the coalition 

government was showing immense 

degree of insensitivity 

by ignoring the urges and aspirations 

of the people. “The 

past months performance 

stands testimony to the fact 

that this dispensation has 

failed on all fronts and was 

therefore indulging in diversionary 

tactics.” 

“Mufti Sahab is either in 

Gulmarg or Pahalgam or sipping 

tea with the rich and the 

business elite. Rules are being 

bent for crony capitalists while 

the common man is suffering 

without his woes being heard 

by the Government. 

See Omar on Pg 6 

Public anger 

genuine: Hurriyat (G) 


Srinagar, Dec 17: While commenting over the imposition 

of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 

Jammu & Kashmir, All Parties Hurriyat Conference 

said that whatever are the reasons and purpose 

of the implementation of this act in the state but 

the reservations of the public in this regard cannot 

be taken as meaningless and secondary and until 

these reservations are not clarified or removed, 

the public reaction against this act is genuine and 

use of force against these protests is every way a 

condemnable act. 

Hurriyat said that the government “follows 

different policies in India and in Jammu & Kashmir 

and their every action in this disputed state has a 

deeper and secret aspect and they every time try to 

strengthen their forced occupation in this state.” 

In a statement on Thursday, Hurriyat spokesman 

said that the policy makers are very much 

scared and upset with the ongoing resistance 

movement in Kashmir and for this they want to 

punish its citizens in every possible ways. 

“They not only want to suppress the Kashmiri 

people with the barrel of gun but they are also 

working on a plan to cripple the Kashmiris people 

in every respect. For this purpose on the one hand 

if they are looting the natural resources of the state 

See Anger on Pg 6 

C 

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Jammu, Dec 17: Minister for Health 

and Medical Education, ARI and 

Trainings Choudhary Lal Singh today 

reviewed the physical and financial 

achievements of Health Department 

and National Health Mission 

(NHM) at a meeting of officers here 

this morning. 

Director Health Services Dr. 

Baljeet Singh Pathania, Director Family 

Welfare Dr. Baldev Raj Sharma, Mission 

Director NHM Dr. Mohan Singh, 

besides Medical Superintendents, 

Chief Medical Officers, Block Medical 

Officers of Jammu province were present 

on the occasion. 

The Minister directed the officers 

that the funds meant for purchase of 

drugs be immediately transferred to 

Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies 

Corporation Ltd without delay 

so that purchase process of medicines 

be started for the convenience 

of the patient care. He asked CMOs 

and BMOs for early submission of list 

of requirement of equipments in the 

hospitals. 

Choudhary Lal Singh directed 

the BMOs who have not spent funds 

available in village Health and Sanitation 

Committees (VH&SC) to utilise 

the funds for the welfare of the health 

News 

Friday 

2 

18.12.2015 

Conference on ‘Digital India’ held 

E-governance is an effective tool to improve delivery of govt services: Ansari 


Jammu, Dec 17: A daylong conference 

on ‘Digital India – Social and 

Financial Inclusion, Best Practices 

& E-Start-ups ’was held here today. 

Minister for Information Technology, 

Technical Education and 

Youth Services & Sports, Molvi 

Imran Raza Ansari was the Chief 

Guest on the occasion. 

Minister of State for Information 

Technology and Finance, 

Pawan Kumar Gupta was the 

Guest of Honour. 

The conference was organized 

by RHD Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry in collaboration with 

Department of Information Technology 

and JK Bank. 

Speaking on the occasion, 

Molvi Imran Raza Ansari said that 

coalition Government is committed 

to provide good governance to 

citizens of the state. He said e-governance 

is an effective tool which 

is improving delivery of services 

and also helps in curbing menace 

of corruption and procedural delay 

from day today administrative 

working. 

“The people of the State now 

want a Digital J&K. Mobile have 

already made place in rural, pahari 

and backward areas of the 

state.”, the Minister said ,adding 

that the objective of Digital India 

is to take Government from Government 

offices right into the 

palms of people. 

Molvi Ansari said Government 

is ensuring that in coming years 

many more services from the 

Government shall be available to 

the people through e-governance. 

He said, “We are also working to 

create a transparent, accountable, 

efficient and effective IT enabled 

service delivery system for our 

citizens”. 

Referring to the initiatives and 

achievements of IT Department, 

the Minister said that the department 

has established the servers 

and secure environment for 

hosting of Government websites, 

e-services and data of various 

government departments. “The 

Data Centre is operational since 

March 2013 and as of today, over 

30 websites of various departments 

and web applications have 

been hosted in J&K State Data Centre 

(SDC)”, he said and added that 

seven e-services for three Departments 

Health, Social Welfare and 

Employment Exchange of Labour 

& Employment Department have 

Abdul Haq chairs 

ADDC’s meet 

Asks them for early execution of RDD schemes 

Walnut traders 

call on Veeri 


Jammu, Dec 17: A Deputation 

of Walnut growers and 

traders today met Minister 

for Horticulture, Haj and 

Aquaf, Abdul Rehman Veeri. 

The Deputation 

apprised the minister 

about the problems being 

faced by the growers 

and traders. 

While expressing his 

concern over the declining 

prices of the walnut, Veeri 

said that there should be no 

compromise on the quality 

of grading and packing of 

walnuts and its kernels. The 

Minister asked the Growers 

to maintain the quality of 

the walnuts for increasing 

its market acceptability. He 

also stressed on planting 

new variety of walnut trees. 

Jammu, Dec 17: To ensure 

that RDD schemes are 

implemented properly in 

Jammu division , Minister 

for Rural Development and 

Panchayati Raj, Abdul Haq 

Khan today chaired a meeting 

of Additional District 

Development Commissioners 

here today. 

While addressing the 

meeting, the Minister directed 

the ADDCs to ensure 

that all the developmental 

schemes are executed properly 

for the betterment of 

common masses. 

The Minister informed 

that District Heads would 

be asked to monitor and execute 

RDD schemes including 

IAY, MGNREGA, RHS, 

SGSY, Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, 

IWDP-Haryali and 

“My Village, My World” at 

district levels. He directed 

that the quality of work 

should be visible on the 

ground . 

The Minister said that 

Monitoring Information 

System of the Department 

should be updated 

regularly for providing 

information to the people 

about welfare schemes being 

executed by the Government. 

The Minister directed 

Secretary RDD to inform all 

the Deputy Commissioners 

to spare ADDCs for implementation 

of development 

schemes in a time bound 

manner. 

It was also discussed in 

the meeting that 1,200 data 

entry operators would be 

engaged at Panchayat levels 

within two months for 

smooth functioning of the 

Department. 

Secretary, RDD & Panchayati 

Raj Khurshid Ahmed 

Shah, CEO, State Level Nodal 

Agency for Watershed, 

B A Khan, Director RDD, 

Jammu M L Raina, Director 

RDD, Kashmir Tasaduq 

Jeelani, Mission Director, 

NRLM G N Qasba, Director 

Panchayati Raj R K Bhat, 

Director Rural Sanitation 

Shoukat Beig and ADDCs of 

Jammu division were present 

in the meeting. 

Jammu, Dec 17: Minister 

for Transport, Abdul Gani 

Kohli paid a surprise visit to 

Toll Post of Excise and Taxation 

Department and Trucks 

Loading Point (TLP) Railway 

Station, Jammu, today. 

MLC Charanjeet Singh 

and RTO Jammu Ashwani 

Kumar Khajuria accompanied 

the Minister. 

The Minister seized 

more than 40 over loaded 

trucks loaded with IPL Urea, 

Cement, Sugar and Iron. He 

found on spot that the trucks 

were overloaded with more 

than double load. While 

checking the records of the 

Excise and Taxation Department 

Toll Plaza, it was found 

that 9 ton capacity trucks 

were loaded with 18 ton load 

against two different challans 

in violation of rules. He 

been developed in Mission Mode 

Project of State Services Delivery 

Gateway (SSDG),besides, identifying 

50 more services of various 

departments which would be 

rolled out in a phased manner in 

near future. 

Ansari said Information Technology 

Department has created 

a State Portal (jk.gov.in) which is 

providing the front end interface 

to all the existing services and 

the upcoming services in future 

of various departments of J&K. He 

also said that setting up of 1109 

common service Centre, locally 

known as Khidmat Centres are 

helping in bringing government 

services to the grass root level. 

These centres have also been instrumental 

in taking Government 

services to the remotest part of 

J&K and are acting as the e-hands 

of the government departments. 

Referring to the rigorous work 

of IT on AADHAR project, the Minister 

said J & K is among the few 

states which are following National 

Population Register (NPR) for 

enrolment of citizens. He said out 

of total population of 1.25 crore, 

1.09 crore have been digitized by 

the Census department till date. 

He informed that 80.67 lakh people 

have been enrolled at NPR/ 

AADHAR Camps across the state 

institutions. 

The Minister asked the CMOs to 

immediately transfer funds meant 

for blocks so that BMOs could utilise 

for the purpose for which there were 

meant. 

Choudhary Lal Singh directed the 

officers to utilise development funds 

of hospitals for maintenance of the 

hospital, not for salary purpose. He 

said hiring of manpower will not be 

done at the expenses of the Hospital 

Development Fund. 

The Minister asked the health 

authorities to utilise funds provided 

by the Government to raise the infrastructural 

facilities in the hospitals. 

He asked for preparing Detailed Project 

Reports (DPRs) for upgradation 

and improvement of all the healthcare 

institutions in Jammu region. 

He also asked the officers to ensure 

hygienic atmosphere and cleanliness 

out of which 64.40 lakh have been 

issued Aadhar Cards. 

“We are in process of establishing 

IT parks in our State at Ompora, 

Budgam”, the Minister asserted, 

adding that Chief Minister 

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is personally 

taking interest in development 

of IT parks. This, he said 

would not only give major boost 

to IT industry but also create jobs 

for hundreds of uneducated unemployed 

youth. 

Minister of State for IT and 

Finance, Pawan Gupta said that 

the vision of Digital India programme 

is to transform India into 

a digitally empowered society and 

in and around the health institutions. 

Choudhary Lal Singh asked the 

CMOs and BMOs to intensify their 

surprise visits to health institutions 

especially in rural and far-off areas in 

odd hours so that people do not face 

any inconvenience due to healthcare 

facilities and submit weekly basis report 

to the higher authorities. 

Choudhary Lal Singh said two 

mobile health teams have been put 

in place in all the medical blocks of 

the State for screening of children. All 

the children in the 6 weeks to 6 years 

age enrolled in anganwadis are being 

screened at least twice a year, he said. 

Choudhary Lal Singh informed 

that children diagnosed with illnesses 

shall receive follow up including 

surgeries at tertiary level, 

free-of-cost under National Health 

Mission (NHM). 

The Minister directed the CMOs 

knowledge economy. He said the 

aim of the Digital India is to ensure 

that the Government Services are 

made available to citizens electronically. 

He said Government 

emphasises on providing high 

speed internet connectivity across 

the length and breadth of the 

country by deploying information 

and communication technologies 

infrastructure, optical fiber 

and last-mile connectivity offered 

by the wireless technologies in a 

manner that is affordable, reliable 

and competitive. 

Both the Minister’s complimented 

the PHD Chamber of 

Commerce for holding such a conference 

in the State. 

Earlier, Chairman Jammu and 

Kashmir Committee, PHD Chamber, 

Vikram Kuthiala presented the welcome 

address while as Co-Chairman 

ICT Committee, PHD Chamber, 

Atul Anand delivered the speech on 

theme of the Digital India. 

They informed that Digital 

India is an ambitious programme 

of Government of India with projected 

value of Rs 1, 13,000 crore. 

The vision for Digital India programme 

is to transform India into 

a digitally empowered society and 

knowledge economy. 

Lal Singh reviews physical, financial 

achievements of Health Services, NHM 

Kohli pays surprise visit to 

Toll Plaza, TLP Railway Station 

instructed the RTO to ensure 

that no vehicle shall leave towards 

its destination without 

proper checking. 

The Minister directed 

setting up of two naka points 

one each at Toll Plaza and 

Trucks Loading Point Railway 

Station immediately to check 

that no truck is over loaded in 

any case. He said that double 

loading in trucks is not only 

Ganga for overall personality 

development of students 

Samba, Dec 17: Minister for Industries 

and Commerce Chander 

Prakash Ganga has said that 

the overall personality development 

of students is necessary 

for making them capable to 

face future challenges. The Minister 

said this during the Annual 

Day function of a school at Bassi 

Kalan in Bari Brahmana. 

Former Minister, Gulchain 

Singh Charak, SSP Samba, 

Joginder Singh, prominent citizens, 

parents and students were 

present on the occasion. 

Equating sports and extracircular 

activities as a means 

of transformation of students, 

Ganga said by these activities, 

the overall personality development 

of these young minds 

takes place, which also infuses 

into them a concept of perseverance 

and discipline. He said 

since these young minds are 

instrumental in shaping our 

tomorrow, proper care should 

be taken for their mental and 

physical development. 

The Minister also distributed 

prizes among the best 

performers of the school in academics 

as well as in extracurricular 

activities. Various cultural 

programmes were showcased 

by the students on the occasion. 

Earlier the Minister distributed 

blankets among poor at a 

function organized by an NGO 

at Dholian in Bari Brahmna. 

Ganga said that the service 

to humanity is a noble cause 

and also appreciated the efforts 

of the NGO for providing 

blankets for needy. Responding 

to the demands of the locals, 

Ganga said that a park would 

be developed in the area. He also 

assured the people for the upgradation 

of Government School 

Bari Brahmana so that modern 

facilities including smart classes, 

computer labs etc. would be 

provided to the students. 

huge loss to state exchequer 

but it is loss to the drivers also 

who wait for their turn for 

weeks together. 

Interacting with the 

truck drivers the Minister 

said necessary steps shall 

be taken to stop overloading 

system adding that anyone 

found in this practice in future 

shall be dealt with in 

accordance with law. 


Jammu, Dec 17: Deputy Chief Minister, 

Dr. Nirmal SinghThursday 

termed J&K as an abode of mutual 

co-existence, a virtue which 

has been handed down to us from 

centuries. He said State is known 

world over for its plurality, tolerance 

and respect towards other 

faiths and communities. 

The Deputy Chief Minister was 

speaking after attending an annual 

Bhandara at Jal Vir, Varun Devta 

at Ludera, Ujh Bridge, Billawar 

in Kathua district in which more 

than 50,000 people from all communities 

and sections of society 

participated. The annual Bhandara 

is a symbol of brotherhood and 

Samba, Dec 17: Minister of 

State for Information, Education 

and Culture, Priya Sethi 

today asked the functionaries 

of the Education Department 

to get the new technologydriven 

initiatives rolling in the 

educational institutions to improve 

the quality of teaching 

and learning. She said J&K has 

already started setting new 

standards in education. 

Interacting with the functionaries 

of the Education 

Department during her visit 

to various schools in district 

Samba today, the Minister 

said that the Government has 

initiated various measures 

to transform the education 

sector so that the students 

from J&K can compete with 

their counterparts in other 

states of the country. She 

said the initiatives like smart 

classrooms, Model Schools, 

Cluster Universities and other 

such measures are going to 

unity in the area and the place of 

worship was established way back 

in the earlier part of the 20th Century. 

The Deputy Chief Minister said 

that our country is known for its 

inclusive nature and the same has 

been ratified by the people since 

times immemorial. He said it is a 

recorded fact that India has been 

the abode of different faiths and 

schools of thought which have 

grown together side by side each 

enriching the other. “We have to 

carry forward the idea of India 

which is based on inclusiveness 

and tolerance enshrined in our religious 

texts”, he added. 

Dr. Singh while referring to the 

recent initiatives undertaken by 

go a long way in improving 

the quality of teaching and 

learning. 

During her visit, the 

Minister took stock of the 

facilities in educational institutions 

of Samba including 

checking the quality of the 

mid-day meals being given to 

the students. 

The Minister was accompanied 

by MLA Samba, 

to take measures for encouraging institutional 

deliveries. He expressed 

concern about rising number of caesarean 

sections being done in various 

health institutions. He stressed on 

normal deliveries and suggested rate 

of caesarean sections should not be 

more than the permissible 20 percent 

of all the deliveries in the hospitals. 

Choudhary Lal Singh directed the 

CMOs to send monthly done report of 

each Gynaecologist and deliveries as 

well as number of caesarean sections 

and referrals. He said referrals of obstetric 

patients should be tabled separately 

with reason of referral cases. He 

directed that no male sweeper should 

be allowed to enter the labour room 

while delivery is in process. 

The Minister asked that neonatal 

jaundice patients should be treated at 

sick newborn care unit level and need 

not to be referred unnecessarily. He 

said all newborns in the hospital will 

be given Hepatitis-B vaccine with 24 

hours. He said any delay in immunization 

will be sternly dealt with. 

The Minister directed for timely 

release for salary of staff engaged 

under NHM and incentives of ASHA 

workers without any delay. He said 

salary for family welfare staff be released 

as funds have been made available 

in all districts. 

Dr Devinder Kumar Manyal, 

Director School Education 

Jammu, Smita Sethi, ADC 

Samba, Pawan Sharma, CEO 

Samba, O P Bhagat and other 

officers of Education Department 

Samba. 

During the visit the Minister 

inspected GHSS Boys 

Samba, GHSS Girls Samba, 

Government Middle School 

Kehli Mandi, Government 

the Government said that these 

are historical in nature and people 

of all the three regions would get 

benefitted from these programmes 

undertaken in various sectors. He 

said the package announced by the 

Prime Minister is a comprehensive 

one and would go a long way in accelerating 

development scenario 

of the State. 

The Deputy Chief Minister also 

visited the Mela ground and interacted 

with the locals, assuring 

them that all their problems would 

be redressed in time bound manner. 

He also directed the administration 

to prepare a comprehensive 

plan so that the annual Mela 

can also be put under the ambit of 

heritage and religious tourism. 

www.preciouskashmir.com 

Deputations 

call on CM 

Jammu, Dec 17: Several 

deputations called on the 

Chief Minister, Mufti 

Mohammad Sayeed, here 

this morning and presented 

memoranda relating to their 

concerns. 

During his meeting with 

a delegation of Kashmir 

Houseboat Owners’ Association 

(KHBOA), led by Hamid 

Wangnoo, the Chief Minister 

stressed upon the need to 

take steps for realignment 

of houseboats at Doldum 

which, inter alia, will also 

facilitate proper sewerage 

and drainage disposal. He 

also stressed upon the delegation 

to work on offering 

attractive tour packages to 

increase occupancy levels. 

The Cabinet has recently 

sanctioned Rs.29.50 crore 

for realignment of houseboats 

in the Dal Lake. Under 

the plan, 380 houseboats 

will be shifted and aligned 

at Doldum with 76 adjusted 

in each of the five bays 

by undertaking land and 

shoreline development as 

well as providing sewer connectivity. 

In his meeting with a 

delegation of Centaur Hotel 

Employees’ Union, Mufti 

Sayeed said he has taken 

up the issue of optimally 

utilizing the property at 

such a prime location with 

the Union Tourism & Civil 

Aviation Minister, Mahesh 

Sharma. He said the revival 

of Centaur Lakeview Hotel 

will go a long way in creating 

additional accommodation 

for high-end tourists in 

the summer capital. 

The delegation, which 

was led by Peer Mohammad 

Ismail, also presented 

a memorandum to the Chief 

Minister in which it listed 

some of the demands of the 

union. 

Situated on the banks of 

famed Dal Lake, the Centaur 

Lakeview Hotel has a bed capacity 

of 1200 and is ideally 

located to attract upmarket 

travellers. 

A deputation from Kastigarh, 

Doda, led by Chuni 

Lal, also called on the Chief 

Minister and requested for 

creating opportunities of 

employment for educated 

and skilled youth by starting 

development projects in the 

region. It also demanded 

up-gradation of six-km road 

stretch from Kastigarh to 

Shamthi which will provide 

much-needed connectivity 

to the people in a far-flung 

and remote area of the state. 

The Chief Minister 

assured the delegations to 

have their demands looked 

into for appropriate action. 

JK setting new standards in education: Priya 

Middle School Budwani and 

Government High School Diani. 

She interacted with students 

and staff members and 

stressed upon developing good 

reading and writing skills. 

At GHSS Girls Samba, the 

Minister enquired from CEO 

about steps being taken to 

make it a model school. The 

School Principal was directed 

to install internet connection 

in school and make sure that 

every the teachers follow a 

lesson plan and check the 

notebooks of students regularly. 

At GHSS Boys Samba, the 

Minister directed the Principal 

to work in convergence 

with Rural Development 

Department and complete 

earth filling of the playground. 

She took serious 

note of dilapidated condition 

of GMS Boys Kehli Mandi 

and passed directions for 

its immediate repairs. 

JK an abode of mutual co-existence: Dy CM 

Later, the Deputy Chief Minister 

reviewed the developmental 

works being undertaken in the 

Billawar Municipal Committee and 

directed the officers for ensuring 

timely completion of the works. 

He also reviewed the pace of work 

on the rest house Billawar which is 

being renovated along with an additional 

block at an estimated cost 

of Rs. 1.7 crore. 

Dr. Singh also interacted with 

the members of the civil society 

and prominent personalities of 

the area. He asked them to actively 

participate in various developmental 

initiatives being undertaken 

by the government by way 

monitoring the works on ground 

and giving effective feedback.

Precious Kashmir 

NEWS 

Govt a mute spectator 

as coaching centres 

charge hefty fee 


Srinagar, Dec 17: Amid Government 

failure to regulate private 

coaching centres in the State, 

these institutes continue to 

charging hefty fees from students 

in Kashmir Valley.A group of parents 

alleged that coaching centres 

located in Parry Pora area like 

Kashmir institute of excellence 

(KIE) and Nature coaching centre 

are charging huge tuition fees 

from students, Rs 10000 for each 

subject. Hefty amount is turning 

out to be headache for parents. 

“I was asked to pay hefty 

amount by these coaching centres 

which is unaffordable for me as 

I am a middle class person with 

meager source of income. If the 

regulations were ordered by 

the government, they should be 

implemented on ground” Ghulam 

Mohammad, a Parent said. 

Aaqib Ahmad a student said 

that “The coaching centres located 

in Parry Pora area asking us to 

pay Rs 10000 per subject, which 

is a big amount for our family as I 

belong to middle class family, so 

how can I study and get a better 

coaching at the same time”. 

Ghulam Rasool of Mehjoor 

Nagar a cart-vendor by profession 

said that, “our wards are not 

ready to get enrolled in alternate 

coaching centres citing reasons of 

sub-standard education facilities”. 

While owners of the coaching 

centres could not be contacted 

for comment, chairman Coaching 

Centers Association, GN Var, 

said that there is no fixed rate for 

coaching centers. 

When contacted Chairman 

Coaching Centers Association, GN 

Var, said that there is no fixed rate 

for coaching centers. 

“The rates are as per experience, 

standing and quality of education 

in the centers,” Var said, 

adding, “It is not a social service 

but completely a business.” 

“Market is open, one coaching 

center is charging Rs 8 thousand 

and another one is charging Rs 10 

thousand per subject. But student 

is having his own choice which 

one to choose”, Var said. 

He said that it was up to 

the students to choose such 

coaching centers to opt.“Secondly, 

the Government has recently 

announced a scheme ‘super 50’ 

and has opened free coaching 

in all districts of the state. 

Those who can’t afford (poor 

students) should prefer to enroll 

themselves in these coaching 

centers.” 

However, he said that if 

government was sincere, then it 

should make the coaching as social 

service so as to accommodate 

the poor students. 

Kashmir is a minority state 

and ordinarily every poor student 

should be eligible to get 23 thousand 

scholarships from government. 

“This scheme has not been 

unraveled by government so far”. 

Director Shah Faisal said that 

no complaint had been received 

so far. He, however, said that there 

is no fee regulation in coaching 

centers. 

“Coaching is purely a commercial 

industry”, he said, adding 

that a PIL—Ahsan Untoo v/s State 

was pending before the High 

court. 

“Under this PIL regulation 

of coaching centre is carried out 

which include Registration, safety, 

infrastructure.” 

Regarding hefty fee in coaching 

centers, he said, “We have not 

so far received any direction from 

high court.” (GNS) 

Srinagar,Friday 


3 

Srinagar-Jammu 

Highway in shambles, 

admin unmoved 


Srinagar, Dec 17: Commuters 

passing through 

Srinagar-Jammu National 

Highway have expressed resentment 

over its dilapidated 

conditions at many places. 

Those traveling on the 

road regularly attribute the 

frequent occurring of accidents 

to the dilapidated condition 

of the road right from 

Pantha-Chowk in Srinagar 

outskirts up to the Nagrota 

Police Check post. 

“The continued accidents 

that have taken place 

during the past few months 

claiming several precious 

lives and injuries to many 

others have been unfortunate 

and tragic and what is even 

more shocking is the explanation 

offered to such tragic 

accidents,” said a Tata sumo 

driver adding that it is actually 

the dilapidated condition 

of the road which causes the 

frequent accidents. 

A delegation of commuters 

on Wednesday said that 

the highway is completely 

damaged at various places. 

Though crores of rupees 

are allocated annually for 

maintenance of 300 KM NHI 

by the Government of India, 

physically, the road is completely 

in shambles which is 

likely to take a heavy toll in 

the coming months. 

As on today National 

Highway Authority of India 

(NHAI) and its concessionaires 

are entrusted the job 

of maintaining the existing 

road, however, they are little 

bothered about the same, 

instead, they are more concerned 

by the new alignment 

at the cost of the existing one. 

They said, the road leading 

from Banihal to Patnitop 

have developed deep potholes 

at several places thus 

pose serious concern to the 

commuters. “Due to dilapidated 

roads our journey to 

Jammu remains always uncomfortable 

and we never 

reach Jammu on time,” One 

of the Sumo Driver said. 

Despite several appeals 

to concerned authorities to 

repair the roads, the concerned 

authorities have 

failed to eradicate the problems 

faces by commuters on 

daily basis. 

The Sumo drivers and 

Truck Drivers have appealed 

the concerned authorities 

and government to repair 

the road as early as possible 

which has been irksome for 

them and has been causing 

great inconvenience. (KNS) 

Under pressure for ignoring 

Urdu, SSB defers Patwari exam 


Srinagar, Dec 17: Facing severe criticism 

for dropping Urdu for Revenue 

department job tests, the Service 

Selection Board has postponed the 

proposed exams of Patwari which was 

scheduled on 25th of this month. 

SSB Secretary Shabir A Raina said 

that the board authorities Thursday 

called an urgent meeting in which 

it was decided that the job test for 

Patwari posts was cancelled. 

“The Board will compulsorily 

include Urdu language for the Patwari 

exams which will be held soon. However, 

the scheduled exam for the posts 

has been postponed,” Raina said. 

Remove encroachments 

from Kahcharai on fast 

track basis: Div Com 

The SSB also posted a notification 

on its official website saying that the 

exams have been cancelled. 

“Pursuant to the communication 

received from Revenue Department, 

Civil Secretariat vide No Rev/ 

NG/206/2015-II dated 17-12- 2015; 

the written test for the post of 

Patwari, (Revenue Department) for 

district Cadre for Kulgam, Kupwara, 

Srinagar, Doda, Jammu, Kathua, 

Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, 

Reasi, Samba, Udhampur, Anantnag, 

Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam and 

Ganderbal, vide Advertisement 

Notice No 06 of 2015, Item No’s 

398, 415, 465, 481, 506, 528, 550, 

566, 585, 604, 622, 641, 654, 306, 


Srinagar, Dec 17: Expressing 

deep concern over 

so-called ‘Sadbhawna’ 

tours of Kashmiri 

students, molvies and 

sarpanchs, president 

Awami Ittihaad Party 

(AIP) and MLA Langate 

Er Rasheed has asked 

army not to indulge in 

creating psychological 

divide within Kashmiri 

society and avoid 

cosmetic measures to 

improve its image. 

In a statement, Er 

Rasheed reminded designs 

behind such tours 

and said that army had 

itself made its intentions 

regarding ‘Sadbhawna’ 

public just few 

days back, when a top 

army official revealed 

that ‘Sadbhawana’ 

operation helps army 

in creating sources for 

various operations. 

Er Rasheed said,“Before 

sending Kashmiri 

students to cultural and 

other tours army should 

327, 346, 364, and 381 respectively, 

scheduled to be conducted on 25th 

of December 2015, are hereby postponed 

and the next date of written 

test for the above said posts shall be 

notified separately,” the notification 

No. SSB/ /Sel/Secy/2015/ 16357-71, 

said. 

Not only the job aspirants, but 

Urdu lovers also critisised the SSB’s 

the Board’s decision. 

JK Urdu Mahaz, an amalgam of 

12 Udru organisations, formed today 

have announced to protest against 

the government and SSB for ignoring 

Urdu, which is the official language of 

the state, a spokesman of the Mahaz 

said in a statement. (KNS) 

Removing Urdu language for Patwari exams unacceptable: Geelani 


Srinagar, Dec 17: While terming the removal of Urdu language from the recently issued 

syllabus for Patwari examination by the Jammu & Kashmir Service Selection Board (SSB) 

as unacceptable and intolerable act, Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali 

Geelani cautioned that if this decision is not immediately revisited, a strong protest will 

be held against that and a disciplined movement would be initiated to protect the Urdu 

language. 

He said that although Urdu has been accepted as an official language of the Jammu 

& Kashmir but the present PDP government on the directions of RSS are working on a 

dangerous plan to eliminate this language from the entire state and the actions of SSB 

are open and clear proof of that. 

In a statement to KNS, Geelani said that the Urdu language has been an important 

language of this sub-Continent before and after the partition and this language is 

not only an important language of the Muslims but it is a vital communication link 

between the different communities in India also. 


Baramulla, Dec 17: Calling 

for community oriented 

governance, Divisional Commissioner, 

Kashmir Dr. Asgar 

Samoon today stressed on 

revenue officers to ensure 

efficient service delivery to 

the public. Div Com issued 

strict directions to remove 

encroachments from State 

and Khascharai land during 

a review meeting of revenue 

department, here today. 

District Development 

Commissioner, Baramulla 

Yasha Mudgal, Additional 

Deputy Commissioner, 

Assistant Commissioner, 

Revenue, Sub-Divisional 

Magistrate and Tehsildars 

were present in the meeting. 

A thorough review of functioning 

of revenue department 

in district Baramulla 

was taken during the meeting. 

Tehsildars informed the 

Divisional Commissioner 

about progress on removal 

of encroachments from State 

and Kahcharai land in the 

district. 

During the meeting 

discussion was also held on 

four laning of Srinagar-Baramulla 

highway and solid 

waste management. A review 

of Gulmarg master Plan, Land 

settlement and electoral 

registration was also held. 

Meanwhile, Div Com 

directed revenue officers to 

carry out eviction from State 

and Khascharai land in a 

targeted manner. 

explain and let know 

that, did the three persons 

of Dardpora Kupwara 

disappeared in air. 

Those who want to take 

credit of operation ‘Sadbhawna’ 

need to answer 

with which ‘Bhawana’ 

(sentiment) common 

Kashmiris are being 

harassed and humiliated 

on daily basis. Under 

which ‘Bhawana’ army 

carried out the longest 

crake down in Manigah 

which ended just few 

days back. Let army tell 

what it achieved except 

making lives of dozens 

of villagers miserable 

from Manigah operation.” 

“In fact it is not 

operation ‘Sadbhawana’ 

but ‘Sad Bhawana’ 

as the bad intentions 

of taking Kashmiris to 

tours is just an act to 

hide army’s misdeeds in 

the State.” 

He further said, “If 

army really believes 

in improving its image 

among Kashmiris then it 

CRPF vacates 

25-year old 

bunker from 

Srinagar 

Srinagar, Dec 17: On directions 

of the Chief Minister 

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, 

Central Reserve Police 

Force (CRPF) vacated a 

25 year-old bunker from 

Kawdara area of Srinagar 

city. 

MLC Khursheed Alam 

who was present on the 

occasion said the government 

is committed to provide 

relief to people of the 

state. "Removing bunkers 

from residential areas is 

one such move as promised 

by the Chief Minister," 

he said while interacting 

with the locals. 

He, however, sought 

active support from locals 

in maintaining peace and 

tranquillity in the area. 

Terming removal 

of the bunker as fulfilment 

of Chief Minister’s 

commitment, Alam said 

more such bunkers will be 

removed in future if situation 

remains peaceful. He 

maintained that the improvement 

in the situation 

would help government 

to focus on welfare and 

development of the state. 

Meanwhile local residents 

appreciated government’s 

move to remove the bunker 

from the area. (GNS) 

Anti-corruption court awards 

3 yr jail for Govt employees 


Srinagar, Dec 17: An 

anti-corruption court has 

awarded three year imprisonment 

to employees of 

education department in 

Pulwama district for making 

illegal appointments. 

Additional Judge 

Anti-Corruption, Pulwama, 

Virinder Singh 

Bhou convicted accused 

Mohammad Akbar Dar, 

Shahnaza Akhter and Abdul 

Aziz Shah, in Case FIR No. 

105/1997 of Police Station 

VOK. 

The court sentenced 

directed the convicted 

persons to undergo simple 

three year imprisonment 

for the commission of 

offence under section 5(2) 

J&K P.C Act and imposed 

fine of Rs. 10,000 on them 

and further imprisonment 

of one year in default of 

payment of fine. 

A VOK official told KNS 

the instant case owes its 

origin to an enquiry that illegal 

appointment order in 

favour of Shahzada Akhter, 

Mahmooda Banu, Saleema 

Akhter, Bashir Ahmad 

Ganai, Shahnaza Akhter, 

Fayaz Ahmad Shah, Wahida 

Akhter and Suraya Asaim 

were fraudulently issued 

in violation of Recruitment 

Not operation Sadbhawana 

but Sad Bhawana: Er Rasheed 

Srinagar, 

must punish those officers 

the same way Afzal 

Guru and Ajmal Kasab 

were dealt with. Can 

army give a justification 

if Afzal Guru could be 

hanged just for satisfying 

the so called collective 

conscience of people 

of India despite not 

being directly involved 

in Parliament attack, 

why should those bound 

to be protectors of lives 

and properties of people 

involved in Machil fake 

encounter, be given just 

life imprisonment. 

Army top brasses 

like common masses 

are not unaware of the 

fact that army officers 

butchered and tortured 

innocents in every nook 

and corner of Kashmir 

during last 25 years 

and as such taking few 

Kashmiri students or 

sponsored Molvies will 

never heal the wounds 

of the masses. 

“It was army which 

forced thousands of 

villagers to humiliating 

and terrible forced 

labour in Langate for 13 

years and is not allowing 

State Human Rights 

Commission to proceed 

in the case, despite the 

fact that state police has 

confessed the charges. If 

army really wants to improve 

its image, rather 

diverting attention, 

through ‘Sadbhawana’, 

it must compensate 

and apologise the innocent 

masses of Langate 

and elsewhere for the 

forced labour.” 

Dec 17: A day after 

Srinagar witnessed the 

coldest night of the season, 

the minimum temperature 

increased at most places in 

Kashmir today providing 

some relief to the residents, 

even as the MeT Office here 

has forecast mainly dry 

weather over the next few 

days. 

Srinagar, the summer 

capital of Jammu and Kashmir, 

recorded a minimum 

temperature of minus 0.6 

degree Celsius, an increase 

of over three degrees from 

the previous night’s minus 

3.7 degrees Celsius, an official 

of the MeT Department 

said. 

The city had witnessed 

the season’s lowest temperature 

last night. 

The mercury in Qazigund, 

the gateway town to 

Kashmir Valley, went up 

from the previous night’s 

low of minus 3.3 degrees 

Celsius to settle at a low of 

minus 1.3 degree Celsius, 

the official said. 

He said the tourist resort 

of Pahalgam which 

serves as a base camp for 

the annual Amarnath Yatra 

in south Kashmir, registered 

a low of minus 2.7 degrees 

Rules by DEO Pulwama 

Ali Mohammad Mir and 

the then Chief Education 

Officer Haleema Mufti. 

It was further revealed 

that another Chief Education 

Officer Ab. Majid Bhat 

in connivance with then Dy. 

Commissioner Pulwama 

yameam Qureshi have 

made some appointments 

of Craft Teachers, Laboratory 

Bearers , peons etc. 

Following complaints 

to VOK, FIR No. 105/97 

under section 5(2) J&K 

Prevention of Corruption 

Act r/w Section 120-BRPC 

was registered against the 

accused in Police Station 

Vigilance Organization 

Kashmir in the year 1997. 

“The investigating Officer 

after thorough investigation 

established Criminal 

Misconduct in terms of section 

5(2) J&K P.C Act under 

Sections 420,468,120B, 204 

RPC against the accused 

persons and after completion 

of investigation, charge 

sheet was produced against 

the accused persons before 

the Court of Special Judge 

Anti-corruption Kashmir 

by vigilance Organization 

on 06.03.2003,” the official 

said. 

He added that for conspiring 

the offence abetted 

under Section 5 (1)(d) of PC 

Act read with section 5(2) 

of PC Act for offence under 

section 120-B RPC is again 

convicted and sentenced to 

undergo simple imprisonment 

for three years and 

pay a fine of Rs. 10,000 and 

in default of payment of 

fine accused shall further 

undergo simple imprisonment 

for one year. 

Slight respite from cold 

as minimum temp rises 

Celsius, an increase of over 

four degrees from the previous 

night’s minus 7.3 degrees 

Celsius. 

The minimum temperature 

also increased in 

Kupwara and Kokernag 

towns where the mercury 

settled at minus 1.5 degree 

Celsius and minus 1.9 degree 

Celsius respectively. 

The famous ski-resort of 

Gulmarg recorded a low of 

minus 10.2 degrees Celsius 

and was the only place in 

Kashmir division where the 

night temperature dropped. 

The resort had registered 

a low of minus 10 degrees 

Celsius the previous 

night, the official said. 

Leh, in the frontier 

region of Ladakh, also 

witnessed an increase of 

over a degree in the night 

temperature as the mercury 

there settled at minus 

12.6 degrees Celsius 

compared to the previous 

night’s 13.8 degrees Celsius. 

The nearby Kargil town 

recorded a low of minus 

14.2 degrees Celsius same 

as the previous night, the 

official said, adding Kargil 

was the coldest place in 

the state.

Precious Kashmir 

Edit 

Srinagar,Thursday 

17.12.2015 

Friday 

18.12.2015 4 

Health care 

sans specialists 

he wealth of nation depends on the health of 

families. And thinking about healthy people in 

absence of proper healthcare system is a fool’s 

domain. Kashmir fares terribly in its healthcare 

infrastructure, particularly the primary 

healthcare. The primary mandate of the State 

Health Department is to ensure that primary 

healthcare system gets further boost and every 

person is able to access quality healthcare. 

There should be a primary healthcare centre 

within one kilometre distance of every citizen 

in rural and urban areas. This will bring about 

a dramatic improvement in the health status 

of the citizens, especially those who are living 

in the rural areas. The idea should be to provide 

access to equitable, affordable and quality 

healthcare to all. Being a geographically difficult 

state, Jammu and Kashmir can’t afford to have 

a shabby healthcare system. Need of the better 

healthcare system is necessitated by the fact 

that people from distant swatches have to travel 

hundreds or less kilometers to get treated for 

ailments, which can be cured in well-equipped 

primary healthcare centers in these rural areas. 

But the situation on ground is totally unsatisfactory, 

if not hopeless. So the health of J&K’s 

families can be easily guessed, so the wealth. 

And in an era when clinical medicine is fast losing 

its place to laboratory medicine, Kashmir’s 

doctors, particularly those seeing patients in 

government hospitals, don’t seem to have time 

or interest to examine a patient through proper 

laboratory analysis. In a result, the duration 

of a patient getting cured prolongs. And when 

Kashmir is in bad news for being a huge market 

of counterfeit drugs, hope that a patient gets 

well through medication has already faded. 

Adding to this is the attitude of majority of 

doctors with the poor patients. Doctors seem 

to have turned immune to the sufferings of patients, 

and so the doctor-patient relationship in 

Kashmir is strained. A patient is never difficult; 

it is the illness that makes the patient difficult, 

says an expert. A doctor patient relationship, if 

it stretches beyond a limit, can cause difficulties 

both for doctor as well as the patient. 

In this dismal scenario of state’s healthcare system, 

government has not been able to achieve 

any substantial success in reducing infant mortality 

rate and maternal mortality rate, stabilising 

the population and ensuring that the gender 

and demographic balance is maintained. This is 

what government should have tried to achieve 

at the primary level, and upgraded the quality 

healthcare at the secondary and tertiary level. 

All the parameters of healthcare that are the indicators 

of the quality of healthcare, that is, the 

overall fatality rate, birth rate should be taken 

into account, to develop better methodologies 

for healthcare delivery. 

Printer, Publisher, Owner : Afaq Ahmad Bhat 

Editor: Afaq Ahmad Bhat 

Legal Advisor: Hakim Sami Yaqoob (Advocate) 

Published From: Rajbagh Opposite Radio Colony Srinagar J&K 

Printed At: Alsafa Printing Press Hazuri Bagh Srinagar 

RNI No: JKENG/2013/55310 

Cell No: 9419081703 

Other Opinion 

Change juvenile 

justice laws 

I 

f the boy involved in the brutal gangrape of a Delhi 

woman on a moving bus three years ago walks out 

in a few days a free man (he became an adult within 

a year of the crime), the law would have been 

upheld. However, if he does leave the observation 

home a totally free man it would symbolise the national 

failure caused by procrastination. Why is it 

that we are unable to decide anything in time, even 

in the light of such a traumatic experience? 

So paralysed are we that save for knee-jerk reactions 

to any emergent situation we are unable to 

arm ourselves with laws to prevent such events 

recurring. The Justice J.S. Verma Committee suggested 

many changes to the juvenile laws and some 

were incorporated in an October 2013 ordinance. 

Even so, it has taken too long to get our act together 

on the need for a permanent change in laws to 

deal with juveniles who commit serious crimes like 

rape, murder and acts of terror. 

Three years have passed since “Nirbhaya” died a 

victim of the bestial nature of five men and a boy. 

Only if the Delhi high court comes out with an order 

on how the juvenile, who has become an adult, 

will be watched from now to know if he has reformed 

will the women of India gain some reassurance 

that such “animals” will not be allowed a free 

run of the land. The need to legislate prospectively 

to deter young people from a life of crime is immediate 

and our lethargy should give way for that to 

happen. We owe “Nirbhaya” that much. 

Email: preciouskashmir@gmail.com 

Website: www.preciouskashmir.com 

Cleanliness is Half Faith 

Basharat Saleem Ahanger 

1437 AH. Years before (Hijri/Lunar Calendar 

of Muslims began with the Migration 

of Supreme Prophet (PBUH) from Mecca to 

Madina) People in General and Muslims in 

particular were taught by the Revered Prophet 

(P.B.U.H) to be clean and polite. Five times a 

day before going for prayers, it is mandatory 

for Muslims to wash and clean vital parts of 

their body. 

It is apt to mention here that during Prophet’s 

(P.B.U.H) time, a Doctor/Tabib from Persia/ 

Iran came to Madina for treating sick. After 

waiting for over a month he has to windup his 

holldolls as no patient came to him for treatment. 

On enquiring the secret behind it,he 

came to know that People(R.A) were taught 

by the revered Prophet(P.B.U.H) to perform 

Miswak/tooth brushing. As mouth is entry to 

every disease, once the buckle cavity is clean, 

it is enough certificate that the whole body 

will remain disease free. 

Gone are the days when doctors in valley used 

to diagnose and feel the pulse of patients at 

first sight and treat them accordingly. Now 

the vagaries of time in the said field are that, 

even for a trifling disease a doctor suggests 

multiple diagnostic tests.And more worrying 

thing is that the persons running these diagnostic 

centres extract more fluid in particular 

Blood of a patient actually required for carrying 

a particular test. 

Both the doctors at their private clinics prescribe 

costly medicines/drugs and people running 

these diagnostic centres charge extraordinary 

high remuneration from a patient, 

thereby practically, totally ,completely , fully 

and absolutely commercializing this Angelic, 

holy and sacred Medical profession. This is 

one aspect of cleanliness. 

Another aspect of cleanliness, now-a -days 

is being talked in terms of “Swacch Bharat” 

perspective. Talking of our state still in rural 

areas, one can observe latrines being erected 

on water bodies, cowdung and human feces 

thrown out in open. In urban side talking 

of Srinagar city Popularly called as city 

of gardens,lakes and shrines which is still 

considered as one of the dirtiest cities, which 

is direct attribute of the uncivic behaviour 

of people living throughout the length and 

breadth of the state and also due to unaccountable 

and negligent attitude of the 

authorities at the helm of affairs. 

In nutshell Quoting Allama Iqbal(R.A) 

“PANI TERE CHASHMU KA TADAPTA HUO 

SEEMAB 

MURGANI SEHAR TERI FIZOUN ME HAI 

BETAB 

AAJ WOH KASHMIR HAI MAHKOOM –O- 

MAJBOOR 

KAL JISSE AHLI NAZAR KEHTE THEY 

IRAN-E-SAGIR “ 

The Author is practicing advocate at High 

Court of J&K, Srinagar Wing and can be 

reached at advbasharat@yahoo.in. 

Turkish-Russian economic 

ties: Down but not out 

Dimitar Bechev 

What is the damage to economic relations 

of the ongoing spat between 

Russia and Turkey? Not insignificant, 

one should think. Moscow implemented 

many measures to punish 

Ankara for the downing of its fighter jet earlier in 

November. 

It has blacklisted certain agricultural products, 

suspended visa-free travel, annulled charter flights 

bringing Russian tourists to Turkey’s Mediterranean 

and Aegean resorts, harassed lorry drivers at border 

crossings, signalled that the number of transport 

permits will be slashed, and imposed restrictions on 

Turkish citizens employed or living in its territory. 

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, 

even threatened to pull the plug on “major projects”. 

Soon after Aleksandr Novak, the energy minister, 

announced that negotiations on the Turkish Stream 

natural gas pipeline were halted. Rumours have 

spread that the pre-construction work for the Russiancontracted 

Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey is 

off. Turkish construction companiesdoing lucrative 

business in Russia are at risk too. 

Mutual loss 

Turkey has good reasons for concern. Having 

failed to reap significant trade benefits from the Western 

sanctions on Russia, it is now taking a blow. Like 

hotel owners in Antalya or fruit and vegetable growers 

in the next-door Adana province, Russian consumers 

are sure to share the pain. 

Shoppers in Yekaterinburg or Pskov will soon 

be paying more for the tomatoes in the local supermarket 

as up to 20 percent come from Turkey. But as 

losses will be spread thinly across millions of consumers 

Russia, Turkish exporters are the more vulnerable 

party. 

There is a fair reason to expect that energy, the 

backbone of Russian-Turkish trade links, will continue 

to go strong. 

Let’s start with Turkish Stream. The decision to call 

it off is less significant than it appears. The project was 

announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in an 

off the cuff remark during a visit to Turkey in December 

2014, much to the surprise of both Turkey and the 

Gazprom management. But the natural gas pipeline 

has not been making much progress. 

Moscow and Ankara have been locked in a 

protracted dispute over the price of natural gas. In 

late October, BOTAS, the Turkish natural gas utility, 

announced it was taking Gazprom to international 

arbitration. 

Russia had already backtracked on its commitment, 

scaling down the pipeline’s annual capacity 

from 63 to 32 billion cubic metres (bcm). Turkish decision-makers 

were taken aback when Novak signed 

a memorandum of understanding with Panagiotis 

Lafazanis, Greece’s energy minister, in June to extend 

the Turkish Stream pipeline into Greece, leading to a 

trading terminal on the Greek side of the border. 

Dating back to the 1980s, the extensive natural gas 

trade between Russia and Turkey cannot be simply 

swept aside. Turkey takes about one fifth of Russian 

deliveries to Europe, and is Gazprom’s second largest 

market after Germany. 

Erdogan (L) and Putin’s last personal contact was 

at the G-20 summit in Antalya, in November 2015 [AP] 

Unlike the European Union, demand in Turkey is 

growing robustly thanks to factors such as demography, 

industrial growth and the expanding gasification 

of households. 

Consumption might soar 1.5 times early in the 

next decade. Between 1990 and 2012, power generation 

from natural gas rose tenfold and the upward 

trend is projected to go on at least until 2030. 

For all the political meddling in Gazprom’s commercial 

decisions, the company will cling to the 60 

percent share it has on Turkish market as long as 

possible. A typical example of how interdependence 

Russia had already backtracked on its 

commitment, scaling down the pipeline's 

annual capacity from 63 to 32 

billion cubic metres (bcm). Turkish decision-makers 

were taken aback when 

Novak signed a memorandum of understanding 

with Panagiotis Lafazanis, 

Greece's energy minister, in June to extend 

the Turkish Stream pipeline into 

Greece, leading to a trading terminal on 

the Greek side of the border. 

constrains not only buyers, but also exporters. 

Energy dependence 

Can Turkey wean itself from dependence on 

Russian natural gas? Perhaps yes. There has been 

feisty talk about shifting away from Russia and Iran 

(Turkey’s second largest supplier) and towards the 

Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, Azerbaijan, 

Turkmenistan, and the Eastern Mediterranean. 

Turkey and Russia are playing cat and mouse; 

neither wants to be the spoiler and face indemnity. 

Liquefied Natural Gas from Qatar, Algeria and 

even Nigeria is on offer too. In recent days, Ahmet Davutoglu, 

the Turkish prime minister, visited Azerbaijan 

while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Doha to 

contract additional liquified natural gas volumes. 

Thanks to its geographical location, Turkey aspires 

to become a transit country or even a trading hub 

along the so-called Southern Corridor linking Europe 

with the Caspian and Central Asia. 

In Baku, Davutoglu announced that the Transanatolian 

Pipeline (TANAP) will be completed in 2018, a 

year ahead of schedule. However, the inflow of 6bcm 

of Caspian gas will hardly overhaul the Turkish market 

and squeeze Gazprom out, though it could certainly 

drive prices down. 

Only if TANAP’s overall capacity goes from 16 

to 31bcm - something that the Turkish government 

insists - could it turn into a bona fide game-changer. 

Nuclear power 

What of the Akkuyu nuclear plant? The $20bn 

project has never had a smooth ride because of the 

financial model it is based upon and its sheer scale. 

The Turkish government has been reluctant to 

provide financial guarantees or tax breaks to Rosatom, 

which owns 100 percent of the company that will 

build and operate the facility. If the project is cancelled, 

the party in breach would need to pay hefty 

compensation of up to $15bn. 

Turkey and Russia are therefore playing cat and 

mouse; neither wants to be the spoiler and face indemnity. 

Rosatom has made a substantial investment 

in Akkuyu, having already spent $1bn - or considerably 

more, according to Turkish officials. 

At the same time, contrary to its rhetoric, Turkey 

might struggle to find another company to take over 

the project. In other words, It is too early to write the 

deal off. There is an ironic twist too, that the nuclear 

energy will reduce demand for electricity from power 

stations burning (Russian) gas. 

Finally, when it comes to oil, Turkey is not dependent 

on Russia. Imports of Russian crude account for 

a mere three percent of the overall volume. What’s 

more, Russian exports have largely been diverted from 

the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits to the Baltic. 

Certainly, Russian-Turkish economic ties are going 

through a rough patch. Yet, the fundamentals have not 

changed that much. Do not believe those who tell it is 

all over. It isn’t. 

Dimitar Bechev is a visiting scholar at 

Harvard University, and a senior fellow at 

Al Sharq Forum. 

>>>>>>>>> Please send your articles and letters on preciouskashmir@gmail.com >>>>>>>>>


Sensex Nifty Gold 

Business/ International 

Friday 

5 



Silver Dollar J&K Bank Yes Bank SBI ICICI Bank HDFC Bank 

309.41 

93.45 

453.00 

613.00 

0.31 

0.20 

22.55 

3.60 

1.10 

12.95 

25803.78 

7844.35 

25,015.00 

33,787.00 

66.42 

75.40 

721.10 

230.90 

253.15 

1,080.25 

US Fed rate hike boosts Sensex by 309 points 

Mumbai, Dec 17: Benchmark 

share indices gained for the 

fourth straight session tracking a 

rally in global stocks after the US 

Federal Reserve on Wednesday 

raised its Federal Funds Rate by 

25 basis points signalling that the 

world’s largest economy is picking 

up pace. 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended up 

309 points at 25,804 and the Nifty50 

gained 93 points to close at 

7,844. In the broader market, the 

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices 

ended up 1.6%-1.7% each. Market 

breadth was strong with 1,768 

gainers and 756 losers on the BSE. 

“The markets have considered 

the first rate hike by the US 

Fed in a decade in a positive sense 

taking it as the central bank’s confirmation 

of recovery in the US 

economy. We believe emerging 

market currencies are likely to remain 

under pressure on account 

of the strengthening dollar and 

yuan depreciation. Sector-wise we 

would prefer sectors exposed to 

global over local,” said Tirthankar 

Patnaik, Head of Research and 

Chief Strategist, Mizuho Bank. 

The US Federal Reserve’s 

Federal Open Market Committee 

on Wednesday raised its Federal 

Funds Rate by 25 basis points 

ending its zero interest rate policy, 

the first increase in nearly a 

decade, thereby ending the uncertainty 

which enveloped global 

sentiment. 

With the uncertainty around 

the Fed interest rate hike out of 

the path, markets participants 

would keenly watch out for developments 

in the ongoing winter 

session of the Parliament particularly 

the passage of the crucial 

GST bill. 

STOCKS IN FOCUS 

Oil majors ended mixed with 

index heavyweight Reliance Industries 

rising 3% to end above Rs 

1,000 while ONGC ended down 

1%. A one-man committee was 

constituted to look into acts of 

omission and commission and 

Govt defers plan to impose 2% 

levy on air tickets from Jan 1 

recommend compensation to 

ONGC whose natural gas from the 

Bay of Bengal block had flowed to 

adjoining fields of Reliance Industries 

Ltd. 

In the financial pack, HDFC 

Bank, HDFC and SBI were the top 

gainers up 1.2%-1.6% each. 

IT exporters gained after the 

rate hike by the US Federal Reserve 

signalled signs on an improving 

economy. Infosys and 

TCS ended up over 1.5% each. 

Pharmaceutical shares ended 

New Delhi, Dec 17: The government has deferred 

its plan to impose two per cent levy 

on domestic and international air tickets 

from January 1 next year as the Draft Aviation 

Policy is expected to go for Cabinet approval 

only around mid-January. 

The Ministry is preparing the draft 

note for the Cabinet at present, which is 

likely to be ready by December 25, following 

which it will be sent for inter-ministerial 

comments, Civil Aviation Ministry 

sources said today. 

The Government in the revised draft 

policy, unveiled on October 30, has proposed 

2 per cent levy on all domestic and 

international air tickets to raise funds for 

boosting regional air connectivity. 

The proposal earlier was to come into effect 

from January 1. 

“As per procedure, various ministries 

concerned including Finance, Home, Defence, 

Law, MEA among others will be 

given 15 days time for their comments,” 

they said. 

“In all likelihood, the draft note will be 

sent to the Cabinet for its approval around 

January 15 next year,” they said, adding that 

the proposed levy is part of draft policy and 

hence it can’t be implemented without Cabinet 

approval. 

In the draft policy, the Civil Aviation 

Ministry had proposed a raft of measures to 

bolster regional air connectivity, including 

by way of levying additional cess and providing 

viability gap funding. 

“RCF (Regional Connectivity Fund) will 

be funded by a levy of 2 per cent on all domestic 

and international tickets from January 

1, 2016 onwards under...The Aircraft 

Act 1934. The RCF levy will be applied on 

all routes other than Cat IIA routes and RCS 

routes,” according to the draft policy. 

The government expects to mop up 

about Rs 1,500 crore annually from imposition 

of the levy. 

New York Dec 17: India has 

been ranked a low 97th out of 

144 nations, behind Kazakhstan 

and Ghana, on Forbes’ annual 

list of the best countries 

for doing business in 2015, 

scoring poorly on metrics like 

trade and monetary freedom 

and tackling challenges like 

corruption and violence. 

Denmark topped the list 

of the 144 nations on the Best 

Countries of Business in 2015 

list by Forbes. 

The US has dropped four 

spots to number 22, continuing 

a six-year descent since 

2009 when it had ranked second 

overall. 

The US is the financial 

capital of the world and 

its largest economy at USD 

17.4 trillion (China is second 

at USD 10.4 trillion), but it 

scores poorly on monetary 

freedom and bureaucracy/ 

red tape, Forbes said. 

higher in today’s trade with Glenmark 

Pharma, Sun Pharma, Dr 

Reddy’s Lab, Aurobindo Pharma, 

Cipla, Natco Pharma and Wockhardt 

gained between 0.6%-3%. 

Steel stocks gained following 

the recent government’s move on 

Friday to impose anti-dumping 

duty ranging from five to 57 per 

cent on import of cold-rolled flat 

products of stainless steel for five 

years. Tata Steel, SAIL and JSW 

Steel ended up 2.6%-6.5% each. 

SBI surged 1.6% after the bank 

India is ranked 97th on 

the list, with Forbes saying 

that while the country 

is developing into an openmarket 

economy, traces of 

its “past autarkic policies” 

remain. 

“The outlook for India’s 

long-term growth is moderately 

positive due to a young 

population and corresponding 

low dependency ratio, healthy 

savings and investment rates, 

said in a notice to BSE that its 

board will meet on 21 December 

to discuss the modalities of raising 

equity capital, either in the 

domestic or overseas markets or 

both, and also for mopping up 

additional non-equity capital by 

way of bonds denominated either 

in dollars or rupees. 

NTPC rose 1.3% after the Ministry 

of Environment and Forests 

gave ‘green signal’ to a power project 

being set up by the company 

in Telangana while it has deferred 

another project of the PSU in 

Andhra Pradesh. 

M&M rebounded from its 

day’s low to end 2.3% higher. The 

Supreme Court recently ordered 

on ban on registration of new 

diesel vehicles in Delhi until 31 

March 2016. 

Among other shares, TD 

Power Systems ended up nearly 

6% after Reliance Mutual Fund 

bought nearly two percentage 

point’s stake in heavy electrical 

equipment maker through open 

and increasing integration 

into the global economy. 

“However, India has many 

challenges that it has yet to 

fully address, including poverty, 

corruption, violence and 

discrimination against women 

and girls, an inefficient power 

generation and distribution 

system, ineffective enforcement 

of intellectual property 

rights, decades-long civil 

litigation dockets, inadequate 

market. 

Anuh Pharma rallied nearly 

6% after the pharmaceutical company 

said that it has received 

World Health Organization 

(WHO) prequalification for the 

product Sulfadoxine. 

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asian markets ended higher 

on Thursday tracking overnight 

gains on Wall Street after the interest 

rate hike announced by 

the US Federal Reserve even as 

the continued sluggishness in 

global crude oil prices weighed. 

Japanese and Chinese shares 

were among the top gainers in 

the region. The benchmark Nikkei 

ended up 1.6% while Shanghai 

Composite gained 1.8%. Further, 

Hang Seng rose 0.8% while Straits 

Times ended up 0.9%. 

European shares surged amid 

strong cues from Asia and overnight 

gains in US stocks post the 

US Federal Reserve rate hike signalling 

that the world’s largest 

economy is picking up pace. 

India ranks 97 th on Forbes’ best 

countries for business list 

transport and agricultural 

infrastructure, limited nonagricultural 

employment opportunities,” 

Forbes said. 

The publication added 

that India faces other challenges 

like high spending and 

poorly-targeted subsidies, inadequate 

availability of quality 

basic and higher education, 

and accommodating rural-tourban 

migration. 

Forbes further said that 

growth in India last year fell to 

a decade low, as its economic 

leaders struggled to improve 

the country’s wide fiscal and 

current account deficits. 

“However, investors’ perceptions 

of India improved in 

early 2014, due to a reduction 

of the current account deficit 

and expectations of postelection 

economic reform, 

resulting in a surge of inbound 

capital flows and stabilisation 

of the rupee,” it said. 

NTPC,TERI sign 

agreement on 

collaborative 

research 

New Delhi, Dec 17: NTPC Ltd 

and TERI signed an Agreement 

for collaborative research on 

“Optimizing resource use and 

reducing water footprints of 

electricity generation in India” 

on 15th December, 2015 in 

New Delhi. The agreement 

marks a remarkable initiative 

by the two organizations in the 

field of water use optimization. 

The output of joint research 

will provide a way forward for 

the corporate sector to follow 

and play a responsible role in 

achieving water and energy 

security for the country. 

The MoU was signed by 

Shri R.K. Srivastava, Executive 

Director, NTPC-NETRA, and 

Shri Dinesh Varma, Director- 

Finance & Administration 

TERI in the presence of Shri 

A.K. Jha, CMD, NTPC and Dr 

R.K. Pachauri, DG-TERI and 

other senior officials of NTPC 

and TERI. 

Fed hike: Govt 

sees little impact 

on ‘fortressed’ 

markets 

New Delhi, Dec 17: Asserting 

that Indian markets is well ‘fortressed’ 

to deal with any major 

volatility, the government 

today said the long-awaited 

rate hike by the US Federal 

Reserve will have minimal 

impact here and should not 

lead to any large-scale outflow 

of foreign funds. 

The Federal Reserve last 

night decided to hike the rate 

by 25 basis points after keeping 

them at near zero levels for 

a prolonged period — its first 

hike since 2006. 

While the move was 

widely expected, there were 

concerns that Fed hiking 

interest rate could result in 

increased outflow of foreign 

funds from emerging markets 

like India. 

US announces $1.8 billion arms sale to Taiwan 

Washington, Dec 17: The 

Obama administration announced 

a $1.83 billion 

arms sale to Taiwan, the 

first offered by the US to the 

self-governing island in four 

years. 

China regards Taiwan as 

part of its territory and has 

said the sale, which was expected, 

should be canceled 

to avoid harming its relations 

across the Taiwan 

Strait and between China 

and the US 

The US maintained 

there’s no need for it to hurt 

the relationship, which has 

also been strained by China’s 

island-building in the 

South China Sea and alleged 

cybertheft. 

The administration 

notified Congress that the 

proposed arms package 

includes two decommissioned 

US Navy frigates, 

anti-tank missiles, amphibious 

assault vehicles and 

Stinger surface-to-air missiles. 

There’s also support 

for Taiwan’s capabilities in 

intelligence, surveillance 

and reconnaissance and a 

weapons system to defend 

against anti-ship missiles. 

Congress has 30 days 

to review the sale, but it’s 

unlikely to raise objections. 

There’s been mounting bipartisan 

concern that Taiwan 

is inadequately armed 

to defend itself against an 

increasingly powerful mainland 

China. 

US lawmakers welcomed 

the announcement. 

There were calls from both 

parties for more frequent 

arms sales to Taiwan. 

New York Rep. Eliot Engel, 

the top-ranking Democrat 

on the house foreign 

affairs committee, said the 

sale would contribute to 

peace and stability across 

the strait. “I wish we would 

see them on a regular basis,” 

he said. 

The committee’s Republican 

chairman, California 

Rep. Ed Royce, said 

the administration had 

“needlessly dragged out” 

the approval process, and 

‘No plan to stop surveillance 

flights over South China Sea’ 

Sydney, Dec 17: Australia will not bow to 

Chinese pressure to halt surveillance flights 

over disputed islands in the South China Sea 

at the centre of territorial spats between 

China and its regional neighbours, Defence 

Minister Marise Payne said on Thursday. 

The Australian Defence Department 

said on Tuesday one of its aircraft had 

flown “a routine maritime patrol” over 

the South China Sea from Nov. 25-Dec. 4, 

just as the U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander 

warned that a possible arms race could 

engulf the region. 

China claims most of the South China 

Sea, through which more than $5 trillion 

of world trade ships every year, a fifth of it 

heading to and from U.S. ports. 

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines 

and Taiwan also claim parts of 

the South China Sea. 

Beijing is building seven man-made 

islands on reefs in the Spratly Islands, including 

a 3,000-metre-long (10,000-foot) 

airstrip on one of the sites, according to satellite 

imagery of the area. 

Such activity has fanned regional tensions. 

In October, a U.S. guided missile destroyer 

sailed close to one of China`s manmade 

islands, drawing an angry rebuke from 

Beijing. U.S. defence officials say another U.S. 

patrol this year is unlikely. 

Payne said Canberra would not be deterred 

by warnings from Beijing, which 

again responded angrily to the Australian 

patrol, and described the flights as a routine 

part of Australia`s role in helping to maintain 

regional stability and security. 

“We always navigate in a very constructive 

way in the region,” she told reporters 

in Adelaide. 

that other Taiwanese requests 

“have still not seen 

the light of day.” 

Senator John McCain, 

Republican chairman of the 

senate armed services committee, 

said the US should 

avoid extended periods during 

which “fear of upsetting 

the US-China relationship 

may harm Taiwan’s defense 

capabilities.” 

The administration has 

announced more than $12 

billion in arms sales to Taiwan 

since 2010, but none 

since $5.9 billion in sales in 

September 2011 that included 

upgrades for Taiwan’s 

F-16 fighter jets. That drew a 

diplomatic protest from Beijing, 

which suspended some 

military exchanges with the 

United States. It did not seriously 

impair ties. 

In the meantime, President 

Barack Obama has 

sought greater cooperation 

with China on issues such 

as climate change, and the 

two sides have increased 

military exchanges to reduce 

the risk of conflict. 

State Department 

spokesman John Kirby 

said the US was in contact 

Wednesday with both Taiwan 

and China about the 

sale, which he said was consistent 

with US support for 

Taiwan’s ability to defend 

itself under the Taiwan Relations 

Act. 

“There’s no need for it 

to have any derogatory effect 

on our relationship with 

China,” Kirby told reporters. 

“We still want to work 

to establish a better, more 

transparent, more effective 

relationship with China in 

the region and we’re going 

to continue to work at that.” 

In Beijing, China’s Foreign 

Ministry issued a stern 

warning that the sale threatened 

relations with the US. 

Ma Xiaoguang, China’s 

spokesman for the Cabinet’s 

Taiwan Affairs Office, 

reiterated China’s opposition 

to arms sales to Taiwan 

from any country and 

called for Taiwan to “treasure” 

improved relations 

with the mainland. 

‘Syrian crisis should not be 

dependent on Assad’s fate’ 

United Nations, Dec 17: 

Ending the crisis in Syria 

should not hinge on deciding 

the fate of President 

Bashar al Assad, UN secretary-general 

Ban Ki moon 

said. 

Ahead of a new round 

of international talks on 

Syria in New York on Friday, 

Ban said disagreements on 

Assad’s future should not 

stand in the way of advancing 

prospects for peace. 

“It is unacceptable that 

the whole Syrian crisis and 

the solution to the crisis 

has to be dependent on the 

fate of one man,” Ban told a 

news conference. 

“That is unacceptable,” 

he repeated. 

Foreign ministers from 

17 countries including key 

players Russia, Iran, Saudi 

Arabia and the United States 

are meeting in New York on 

Friday for a third round of 

talks on ending Syria’s nearly 

five-year war. 

Washington, Dec 17: US Secretary of 

State John Kerry will chair a meeting 

of the United Nations Security Council 

on Friday to push efforts to end the 

conflict in Syria, the State Department 

said. 

While in New York, Kerry will also 

host a meeting of the International Syria 

Support Group to discuss “efforts to 

foster a nationwide ceasefire and parallel 

political transition negotiations to 

end the conflict while intensifying the 

fight” against Islamic State militants, 

State Department spokesman John 

Kirby said. 

On Friday afternoon, Kerry will 

chair a Security Council meeting that 

aims to “reinforce efforts to accelerate 

an end to the conflict, including necessary 

formal negotiations between representatives 

of the Syrian government 

and the opposition,” Kirby told reporters 

in a news briefing. 

Kerry held talks with Russian 

President Vladimir Putin, a staunch 

supporter of Syrian President Bashar 

al-Assad, in Moscow this week to pave 

the way for Friday’s meeting of the 

support group. 

The meeting follows talks in Vienna 

last month in which the United 

States, Russia and European and Middle 

Eastern countries agreed on a plan 

for a political process in Syria leading 

to elections within two years. 

Kirby said the countries invited for 

the talks to be held on Friday morning 

were those that participated in Vienna. 

They included Iran, another key backer 

of Assad. Syria did not take part. 

At the last round, the 

so-called International 

Syria Support Group (ISSG) 

agreed to UN-led peace 

talks and a ceasefire in January, 

and to put in motion a 

political transition within 

six months, leading to elections 

and a new constitution 

in 18 months. 

Preparations for the 

talks and ceasefire are moving 

forward, but US ambassador 

Samantha Power said 

“the gaps are very real” over 

what role, if any, Assad will 

play in the new transitional 

government. 

“We remain absolutely 

Kerry to chair UN Security Council 

meeting on Syria today 

Among the goals of the meeting is 

to better define the notion of a transition 

and a ceasefire, and to give participants 

a chance to learn more about 

what happened at a meeting of Syrian 

opposition groups in the Saudi capital 

Riyadh last week, he said. 

The groups in the Riyadh meeting 

called for an all-inclusive, democratic 

Syria and said Assad should leave 

power at the start of a transitional 

period. 

US diplomats hope Friday’s talks 

will lead to a UN Security Council 

resolution that would provide a UN 

blessing to the efforts to achieve a 

ceasefire in Syria -- excluding the 

Islamic State group -- and to direct 

talks between the Syrian government 

and opposition groups. 

convinced that for as long as 

President Assad is in power, 

it is going to be extremely 

challenging to turn the 

country’s attention and the 

various armed groups’ attention 

to fighting terrorism 

and to fighting ISIL,” Power 

said, using an acronym for 

the Islamic State group. 

The United States and 

its allies in the Gulf and in 

Europe are pushing for a 

transition that provides for 

Assad’s exit from power at 

some point, but Russia and 

Iran oppose that stance. 

Ban indicated that countries 

involved in the international 

talks were showing 

flexibility, but stressed that 

there was no urgency to resolve 

the dispute. 

“Some countries are expressing 

some nuanced positions. 

There may be some role 

or need for President Assad to 

stay for just limited months, 

but that will have to be decided 

later on,” he said. 

China summons 

US envoy 

Beijing, Dec 17: China said 

Thursday it had summoned 

a senior US envoy in protest 

at Washington`s announcement 

that it would sell two 

warships to Taiwan as part of 

a $1.8 billion arms deal. 

The massive contract 

comes at a time of reconciliation 

between China and 

Taiwan -- separated since 

1949 -- but also as Washington 

worries that Beijing is 

militarising part of the South 

China Sea. 

Vice Foreign Minister 

Zheng Zeguang made “solemn 

representations” with Kaye 

Lee, the US charge d`affaires, 

Wednesday regarding the sale, 

according to a statement on 

the foreign ministry`s website.


Can Internet play your doctor? 

Many of us are turning to the internet to 

diagnose our health problems, but can 

we always interpret the findings? Don’t 

Google your symptoms” is pretty futile 

advice in the age of the internet. 

It’s the first thing the vast majority 

of us do when we have a health worry. 

An incredible one in 20 searches on 

search engine Google are for health-related 

information. And the most popular 

medical websites we use offer information 

on over 900 different conditions, 

covering symptoms, cures, prevalence 

and prevention. But is all this unfiltered 

health knowledge at our fingertips 

a good or a bad thing? “Contrary 

to popular opinion, these days doctors 

are big fans of patients Googling health 

problems before they come to see us. It 

usually means they’re better informed 

about what may be troubling them, 

saving valuable time in their 10-minute 

appointment slot,” says physician 

Dr Helen Webberley, who also advises 

health testing website MediChecks. 

com. “As physicians we also have to look 

after such a broad range of medical conditions 

ourselves, we can’t possibly keep 

FROM FRONT PAGE..................... 

US........ 

"The fact that I would have expected Pakistan to have a much 

more robust crackdown on terrorist threats, on the LET and the 

Haqqani network and others," he said. 

Shah........ 

dialogue, Shah said until sincerity is not shown by both nations 

and the core issue is not addressed, the peace in the South Asia 

will continue to remain a dream. 

"Also these endeavours made by both nations will prove 

futile."Shah said if Narendra Modi wants to create history, he 

should involve all the stakeholders of the Kashmir dispute 

which will result in peace, progress and prosperity of both nations. 

Shah said the freedom struggle of Kashmiris is just and right 

of the people and maintained that the future if this territory is 

yet to be decided."The right to self-determination of Kashmiris 

is actually in favour of India," he said.Shah also expressed hope 

that Pakistan will continue its firm stand on Kashmir. 

He also criticised the suppressive and repressive policies of 

the state administration saying we will not leave our people at 

the mercy of situation."We won't remain silent on govt's anti 

people attitude," Shah added. 

NSA........ 

“We have agreed to move forward. Doval and I were absolutely 

comfortable with each other and we realised we can work together,’’ 

the newspaper quoted him as saying. 

In recent meetings between India and Pakistan, both sides 

agreed to the NSAs holding talks to specifically address the issue 

of terrorism. Janjua, appointed NSA in October, retired as commander, 

southern command, under whose jurisdiction falls the 

important province of Balochistan. Pakistan has for long accused 

India of fomenting trouble in the province. 

The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are scheduled 

to meet next month to chart the way forward for the resumption 

of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue. 

Grenade....... 

Soon after the explosion, government forces launched a hunt to 

nab the suspected attackers, he said. 

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that the blast created 

panic and chaos in the area as the shopkeepers downed their 

up-to-date with all the latest research 

on each and every one, so Googling is 

great for keeping us well-informed too.” 

The key for patients, of course, is 

knowing where to look. “The best online 

information may be helpful, accurate 

and evidence-based, but the worst 

is inaccurate and misleading.As a result, 

you can go from having a mild headache 

to convincing yourself you have a 

life-threatening brain tumour in a matter 

of seconds. The trouble is, it is human 

nature to seek out the most exciting story, 

so we’re attracted to rare, worst-case 

scenarios,” explains Dr Webberley. “This 

is where your physician comes in.We’re 

here to put risks into perspective and 

give you an accurate diagnosis -a diagnosis 

which, in the vast majority of 

cases, is that you have a common, minor 

condition that’s easily treated.” 

We have developed a list of the 

most commonly searched-for symptoms. 

And we’ve asked Dr Webberley to 

explain what they are most likely to indicate 

-and to reveal most serious warning 

signs that mean you really do need 

to see your physician. 

Why does your kid 

cry for chocolates 

all the time 

How to make boring food 

exciting for kidsHow to 

make junk food healthy 

for kidsRecipe: Chocolate 

Zucchini CakeThe other 

side of malnourishment: 

Junk food putting rich kids 

at risk1/3rd of global foodborne 

diseases deaths are 

of kids under five yea... 

Children love sweets, 

but have you ever wondered 

why some kids want 

more sugary food? It could 

be because they need more 

sugar to get that same 

sweet taste, suggests new 

research. 

“Some children are 

twenty times better at detecting 

sugar than others,” 

said study author Danielle 

Reed from Monell Chemical 

Senses Centre, a non-profit 

independent scientific 

institute in the US. 

“As sugar becomes 

more restricted and even 

regulated in children’s 

diets, the less sugar-sensitive 

children may get 

less of a ‘sweet signal’ and, 

therefore, have a harder 

time dealing with sugar 

reduction,” Reed said. 

In the study, the 

researchers determined 

the sweet taste threshold, 

defined as the lowest 

detectable level of sucrose, 

of 216 healthy children between 

the ages seven and 

14.Each child was given two 

cups, one containing distilled 

water and the other 

containing a sugar solution 

and asked to indicate which 

contained a taste. 

The most sensitive 

child required only 0.005 

teaspoon of sugar dissolved 

in a cup of water to detect 

sweetness, whereas the 

least sensitive needed three 

teaspoons to get the same 

sensation. 

Genotype analyses 

revealed that sucrose 

thresholds and sensitivity 

were related to variation 

in the bitter receptor gene, 

but not in the two sweet 

receptor genes. 

Dietary records revealed 

that children having 

this same bitter-sensitive 

gene variant consume a 

higher percentage of their 

daily calories as added 

sugar.“We were surprised 

to find that sweet taste sensitivity 

and sugar consumption 

were related to a bitter 

receptor gene,” Reed noted. 

The researchers also found 

that increased body fat was 

associated with greater 

sensitivity to sweet taste. 

shutters. (GNS) 

Chinar....... 

YOUR SYMPTOM: HEADACHE 

WHAT GOOGLE SAYS 

Brain tumour meningitis brain bleed 

DR HELEN WEBBERLEY SAYS: “This is 

one of the most common health symptoms, 

but thankfully most of the time it 

isn’t serious. Headaches are most often 

caused by stress or simple dehydration 

and can be treated with paracetamol. 

As doctors, we want to see you if your 

symptoms are new, so if you’ve never 

suffered from headaches before, that 

might be a cause for concern.Or if the 

headaches are accompanied by other 

worrying symptoms such as numbness 

or tingling in the arms, speech problems, 

vomiting or visual disturbances.” 

YOUR SYMPTOM: SORE THROAT 

WHAT GOOGLE SAYS 

Throat cancer thoat infection acid 

reflux 

DR WEBBERLEY SAYS 

Sore throats, especially following 

colds and flu, are usually short-lived 

and you only need to see your physician 

if they don’t improve after a week, or 

you have a persistent temperature that 

medication doesn’t bring down. 

poets and authors, reflected in subject matters and titles of 

books like 'Aatish-e-Chinaar' (The Fire of Chinar) written by National 

Conference founder Shiekh Mohammad Abdullah. 

SVC....... 

to conceal and hush up their evils, and prayed for early probe in 

the matter, he said. 

The Commission after hearing the submissions made by 

the President and after looking into the gravity of allegations 

leveled against university authorities has called a detailed report 

in the light of allegations leveled, from Registrar, University 

of Jammu, spokesman said. 

The Commission further ordered to ensure submission of 

report by or before next date of hearing, he said. 

Omar....... 

Despite the State of wanton misgovernance and maladministration 

in the State, the Chief Minister is either busy in Gulmarg 

or Pahalgam or in photo-opportunities”, Omar Abdullah said. 

Senior National Conference Leaders including NC General 

Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, NC Provincial President Nasir 

Aslam Wani, MLA Pahalgam Altaf Kaloo, Political Secretary Tanvir 

Sadiq, Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu, District President 

Dr. Mohammad Shafi and Constituency In-charge Shangus, 

Advocate Riyaz Ahmed besides Block Presidents and leaders of 

Anantnag District were also present on the occasion. (KNS) 

Anger....... 

HEALTH 

‘Hunger hormone’ may 

treat artery disease 

The appetite-regulating 

hormone ghrelin could 

be used to treat an advanced 

form of peripheral 

artery disease characterised 

by pain at rest, 

non-healing ulcers, and 

gangrene, say researchers, 

including one of Indian-origin. 

The researchers focused 

on treatment of 

critical limb ischemia 

(CLI), a severe obstruction 

of blood flow to the 

extremities that often 

requires major amputations 

and in half of 

all cases leads to death 

within five years. Its leading 

risk factors are diabetes, 

obesity and age. 

with both hands, on the other hand they don’t want to give 

any relaxation or any kind of benefit to the people,” the statement 

said. 

Hurriyat further said that policy makers are following a 

well thought-out plan to drain the economy of the Kashmir and 

for that purpose not only the lakhs of non-state labors, skilled 

workers and other professionals have been stationed here but 

they are also harassing the Kashmiri people by increasing the 

prices of the food items every now and then. 

Hurriyat spokesman criticized the PDP government that 

during the election campaigns this party was claiming to bring 

down skies for the people but all those promises proved to be 

hoax and now the same people are harassed and tricked on every 

necessity of life. 

Div Com reviews R-Day 

celebration arrangements 

Jammu, Dec 17: To review the arrangements for ensuing Republic 

Day, 2016 celebration, a high level meeting was held under 

the chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr. 

Pawan Kotwal here today. 

The meeting was attended by IGP Jammu, Danish Rana, Director 

General Youth Services and Sports, Jahangir Mir, Deputy 

Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh, SSP Jammu, Uttam 

Chand, SSP Traffic, Mohan Lal, Director Doordarshan, Anjali 

Sharma, Commissioner JMC, Mandeep Kour, Director Tourism, 

R.K. Varma, Joint Director Information Jammu, Nagendra Singh 

Jamwal, Joint Commissioner JMC, R.S. Jamwal, RTO Jammu, 

Ashwani Khajuria besides senior officers from Army, Indian 

Air Force, Security, BSF, CRP, PDD, PHE, R&B, Health, Education, 

Sports Council, Floriculture, Fire and Emergency Services, Hospitality 

and Protocol, State Motor Garages, SRTC. 

The meeting was informed that the main function would be 

organized at Maulana Azad (M.A) Stadium where the flag hoisting 

ceremony would be held followed by march past and other 

programmes. 

Divisional Commissioner exhorted upon all agencies to 

ensure that all necessary arrangements are put in place well 

in time for smooth and successful celebration of the Republic 

Day. 

Divisional Commissioner directed the Police and Traffic 

authorities to make elaborate security and traffic arrangements 

so that general public reaches to the venue hassle free. 

He asked the Jammu Municipal Corporation to ensure sanitation/cleanliness 

of the venue besides establishment of sufficient 

number of mobile toilets. He asked the Information 

Department to ensure wide publicity of the event through 

print and electronic media. 

Youth Services and Sports Department was asked to furnish 

list of participating contingents including school children and 

number of buses needed for their transportation besides setting 

up of control room at M.A. Stadium. 

Similarly PHE and PDD Departments were asked to ensure 

availability of safe drinking water and uninterrupted 

power supply. Health and Fire Services was directed to make 

available sufficient number of Ambulances and Fire Tenders 

at the venue. PDD, Tourism, JMC, JDA, Police, Hospitality and 

Protocol, Fire and Emergency Services departments were 

asked to ensure illumination of government buildings. SRTC 

“Our results provide a 

platform for future studies 

to look at the longterm 

potential of ghrelin 

to see if it could indeed 

become a standard treatment 

for CLI,” said one 

of the researchers Rajesh 

Katare from University of 

Otago in New Zealand. 

Using a mouse model 

of CLI, the researchers 

showed that administering 

ghrelin daily over 

two weeks markedly 

improved blood flow in 

affected limbs. 

They found that 

ghrelin promoted growth 

of new structurally and 

functionally normal 

blood vessels, improved 

cell survival, and decreased 

tissue fibrosis. 

Scientists reveal 100% 

effective hangover cure 

Hangover cures, whether it be 

drinking coffee, downing a fizzy drink, 

tucking into a fry-up or even the ‘hair 

of the dog that bit you’ are pretty much 

a waste of time and effort, scientists 

have concluded. 

Even drinking water, they say, 

will fail to prevent anyone incautious 

enough to overdo the alcohol from suffering 

a hangover the morning after. 

There is, they say, no escape. Everyone 

pays the price for boozing, according 

to tests carried out with 826 

Dutch students who answered questions 

- once the worst effects had worn 

off - about their most recent heavy 

drinking session. 

Just over half said they had eaten 

after drinking but this appeared to 


Srinagar | Friday 


have little effect on the severity of their 

hangovers. 

Lead scientist Dr Joris Verster, from 

the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, 

said: “From what we know from 

the surveys so far, the only practical 

way to avoid a hangover is to drink less 

alcohol. 

“Those who took food or water 

showed a slight statistical improvement 

in how they felt over those who 

didn’t, but this didn’t really translate 

into a meaningful difference.” 

Researchers concluded that even 

seasoned drinkers who consider 

themselves immune to hangovers are 

simply deluding themselves. 

An estimated 25 to 30 per cent of 

drinkers maintain they can down unlimited 

amounts of beer or wine safe in 

the knowledge that they will wake up 

refreshed and clear-headed the next 

day. 

The scientists calculated the blood 

alcohol levels of a group of 789 Canadian 

students who were questioned 

about their drinking in the previous 

month and found that four fifths (79 

per cent) of those who claimed not 

to experience hangovers had actually 

drunk less than they thought. 

Their average post-drinking blood 

alcohol level was less than 10 per cent. 

While still around twice the safe driving 

limits of many European countries, 

it was not enough to lay them low the 

next day. 

“In general, we found a pretty 

straight relationship; the more you 

drink, the more likely you are to get a 

hangover,” said Dr Verster. “The majority 

of those who in fact reported never 

having a hangover tended to drink less 

- perhaps less than they themselves 

thought would lead to a hangover.” 

The results of the study were 

presented at the European College of 

Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual 

meeting in Amsterdam. 

Commenting on the research, 

psychologist Dr Michael Bloomfield, 

from University College London, said: 

“Throughout the world the economic 

and social costs of alcohol abuse run 

into hundreds of billions of euros per 

year. It’s therefore very important to 

answer simple questions like ‘how do 

you avoid a hangover?’ 

“Whilst further research is needed, 

this new research tells us that the answer 

is simple - ‘drink less’.” 

36 

Understanding 

epilepsy and 

its cure 

Epilepsy is a brain disorder 

in which a patient 

suffers from repeated 

convulsions over a period 

of time. 

Convulsions are small 

episodes of disturbed 

brain activity and are 

one of the commonest 

serious activities that 

happen to the brain. 

Even though epilepsy is 

not as widespread as diabetes 

or hypertension, 

there are a host of social 

stigmas attached to 

it. While some of them 

are baseless, others just 

generate because of lack 

of knowledge about the 

disease. Today, in a quest 

to put all the epilepsy 

stigmas to rest, let us 

understand the disease 

in detail. 

With expert inputs from 

Dr Praveen Gupta, Consultant, 

Neurology, Artemis 

Health Institute, 

Gurgaon 

Epilepsy is a condition 

where a patient suffers 

from several cycles of 

seizures or fits. These 

seizures are triggered 

by an unwanted spread 

of electrical discharge in 

the brain leading to simultaneous 

activities of 

circuits. 

Experts believe that even 

though every epilepsy 

patient has fits, not 

every patient who has 

suffered from a fit can 

be declared an epilepsy 

patient. Epilepsy can occur 

as a result of injury 

to the brain, however 

there is no obvious cause 

of epilepsy. At times, it is 

even believed to be hereditary. 

Warning symptoms of 

epilepsy 

-Sudden jerks in the 

body 

-Abnormal memory 

-Twisting of the facial 

muscles 

-Blurred vision 

-Premonition 

Precautions for an epilepsy 

patient 

-Maintain a good sleeping 

pattern. 

-Practice good hygiene. 

-Avoid eating under 

cooked and unwashed 

fruits and vegetables. 

-Don’t eat stale food. 

-Take prescribed medication 

on time. 

All these factors will help in 

reducing the number of fits 

a patient suffers from.Doctors 

prescribe treatment 

modules for an epileptic 

patient depending on the 

severity of the condition. 

and State Motor Garages were asked to ensure sufficient 

number of vehicles for transportation of school children and 

officials. 

Meanwhile committees were also constituted to finalize 

the selection of cultural items and programmes for the Republic 

Day Function. 

It was informed that beating the retreat ceremony will be 

held at M.A Stadium on 29th January, 2016 at 5 pm. 

SPAC recommends 

review of JK Press 

Accreditation Policy 

Jammu, Dec 17: The State Press Accreditation Committee 

(SPAC) has recommended review of the existing Accreditation 

Rules promulgated by J&K Government in 1998 to attune the 

same with the existing media scenario in the State. 

This was decided at the SPAC meeting convened here today 

under the chairmanship of Director General Information, Zaffar 

Ahmad Bhat. 

Arun Joshi, Resident Editor, The Tribune, Neeraj Rohmetra, 

Executive Editor, Daily Excelsior, Ashwani Kumar, President 

Press Club Jammu, Bashir Ahmad Bashir, Editor, Srinagar Times, 

Muddasir Ali, Senior Correspondent, Greater Kashmir, Nasir 

Ganai, Senior Correspondent, Mail Today, Sheikh Tariq, Videojournalist, 

NDTV, Tauseef Mustafa, Photojournalist, AFP, Pawan 

Choudhary, ABP News and Nitin Kanotra, The Hindustan Times 

were present at the meeting. 

It was decided in the meeting that in view of the massive 

expansion and fast-changing media scenario in the State, the 

existing Press Accreditation Rules notified in 1998 have become 

redundant and need to be reviewed and attuned to the present 

scenario. It was accordingly decided that the members of 

the SPAC would suggest appropriate changes in the existing Accreditation 

Policy so that the same is placed before the Government 

for consideration. 

The meeting also considered existing and new cases of media-persons 

for Accreditation and made its recommendations 

on the merits of each case. 

The meeting also discussed various issues pertaining to 

better coordination between various Government agencies and 

the media to ensure effective dissemination of information and 

media coverage. 

Pertinently, the SPAC meeting was convened after a gap 

of two years as the last meeting of the Committee was convened 

in 2013.

7 

SRINAGAR,FRIDAY 


S 

P 

O 

R 

T 

S 

Gopal five-for 

flattens 

hapless Kerala 

A five-wicket haul from 

Shreyas Gopal shot Kerala 

out for 49 as Karnataka 

wrapped up a nine-wicket 

win at the Chinnaswamy 

Stadium. Nothing went 

right for Kerala from the 

moment they chose to bat, 

as seamers Vinay Kumar, 

Abhimanyu Mithun and 

Sreenath Aravind reduced 

them to 16 for 4 within the 

11th over. Legspinner Gopal 

then took over, running 

through the middle and 

lower order to finish with 

figures of 5 for 19 in five 

overs as Kerala were all out 

in 22 overs. It was Gopal’s 

maiden five-for in List A 

matches. 

Karnataka took only 5.5 

overs to reach their target, 

losing Mayank Agarwal 

early before KL Rahul and 

Karun Nair finished the 

game with an unbroken 

partnership of 45 off just 27 

balls. It was the secondbiggest 

victory in terms 

of balls remaining in the 

tournament’s history. 

Karnataka are placed third 

on the Group B table, 

behind Gujarat who are 

on 16 points. If Karnataka 

beat Jammu & Kashmir, 

and second-placed Gujarat 

lose to Kerala, then the net 

run rate will decide which 

team from the group joins 

Jharkhand in the quarterfinals. 

Jharkhand’s bowlers, led 

by left-arm spinner Sonu 

Singh, bundled Railways out 

for 96 to set up their side’s 

115-run win in Alur. The 

win took them to the top of 

the Group B table, sealing 

their place in the quarterfinals. 

Sonu, who made his List A 

debut in Jharkhand’s previous 

match against Karnataka, 

took 4 for 15 in six overs 

as Railways’ chase lasted 

only 37 overs. Of Railways’ 

tally of 96, 44 came from 

Arindam Ghosh, while the 

next best was 11. Shahbaz 

Nadeem and Ankit Dabas 

took two wickets apiece. 

Earlier, Jharkhand posted 

211 for 5 in their allotted 

45 overs. Saurabh Tiwary 

top-scored with 49, while 

MS Dhoni and captain 

Kumar Deobrat chipped 

in with 37 and 38 respectively. 

Hardik Patel’s 4 for 28 

helped Gujarat defend a 

total 187 against Jammu & 

Kashmir and complete a 

36-run win. 

Set a target of 188, J&K 

were reduced to 32 for 5 in 

the 14th over, with Hardik, 

Rush Kalaria and Jasprit 

Bumrah striking early. A 

97-run partnership for 

the sixth wicket between 

Parvez Rasool (65) and 

Sandeep Singh threatened 

to take the game away 

from Gujarat, but Hardik 

provided the breakthrough 

here with Rasool’s wicket. 

J&K could add only 22 runs 

after Rasool fell and folded 

in the 48th over. 

Unfair to compare managers with Ferguson: Bryan Robson 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• A brilliant midfielder who turned out 

for England and Man United, Robson unfortunately 

did not shine at the World Cup. 

• Bryan Robson was called “Captain Marvel” 

by Bobby Robson. 

• I think anyone who was going to follow 

Ferguson was going to have a difficult task, 

says Robson. 

In his prime, Bryan Robson was called “Captain 

Marvel” by England’s most respected 

manager Bobby Robson. A brilliant midfielder 

who turned out for England and Manchester 

United, Robson unfortunately did not shine 

on the biggest stage of all - the World Cup. 

Injury ravaged, the former England captain, 

who is in India to promote their famous club, 

spoke to TOI EXCLUSIVELY. 

Is Manchester United’s huge fan base a 

reason for the club to start a big project in 

India? 

The club is coming to India to host two 

big events called ILOVEUNITEDINDIA, put 

together specifically for our 35 million followers 

in the country. There will be one in 

Bangalore at the Amphitheatre, UB city on 

the 17th January for the Liverpool game, 

which will be attended by Dwight Yorke and 

Quinton Fortune and one in Mumbai, late 

February. It’s a completely free event; all 

you have to do is go to http:www.ManUtd. 

comILoveUnitedIndia and apply for a ticket. 

The club travelled to Delhi earlier this season 

to host a similar event and a couple of my 

colleagues visited, Mikael Silvestre, Quinton 

again and Ronny Johnsen and they told me 

the response was tremendous! 35 million is 

a big number to ignore and United recognise 

that football is becoming a popular sport in 

India.The Indian Super league has brought a 

better brand of football to India. Do you think 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Saina and K Srikanth continued their good 

run, winning two titles each. 

• PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay 

Jayaram battled through injuries to claim a 

title each. 

• The Indian shuttlers could not reach the 

heights that they achieved in a watershed 

2014. 

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal continued to break 

new grounds in a year that saw her reach the 

pinnacle of world badminton but it turned 

out to be a subdued season, marred by injuries 

and poor form, for the rest of the Indian 

shuttlers. 

Saina and K Srikanth continued their 

good run, winning two titles each, while PV 

Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram 

battled through injuries to claim a title but 

Lalit Modi to remain RCA 

president, BCCI suspension 

continue 

The Rajasthan Cricket Association was 

suspended in May 2014, after Lalit Modi 

was elected president 

Lalit Modi will continue to remain president 

of the Rajasthan Cricket Association 

after RCA vice-president Amin Pathan 

withdrew his no-confidence motion 

against Modi and his key aides on Tuesday. 

The development, however, doesn’t 

change RCA’s status quo, and it remains 

suspended by the BCCI. The BCCI’s adhoc 

committee will continue managing 

cricket in the state. 

Modi tweeted soon after the announcement 

that he “looked forward to making 

#RCA the best and most forward thinking 

#cricket #association.” 

Pathan, who had moved the motion in 

March, said he withdrew the petition in 

the “interest of cricket in Rajasthan.” 

“Cricket had stopped in the districts and 

players were suffering because of that,” 

Pathan told the Indian Express. “Plus, 

we couldn’t get the required numbers. 

These guys [the Modi faction] are used to 

litigation, so they would have stretched it 

forever. So we decided to withdraw our 

motion in the interest of cricket.” 

According to the report, Pathan also 

withdrew the petition against RCA deputy 

president and Modi’s close confidant 

overall the Indian shuttlers could not reach 

the heights that they achieved in a watershed 

2014. 

Continuing her rich vein of form, Saina 

clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and 

then broke the jinx of never winning the 

Indian Open Super Series with a splendid performance 

which catapulted her to the World 

No. 1 position. 

The Olympic bronze medalist also produced 

stellar performances at three of the 

most prestigious events in world badminton 

calendar, reaching the finals of the All England 

and World Championship and the China 

Super Series Premier. 

However, the girl from Hyderabad suffered 

an ankle injury at Fuzhou in November 

which forced her to skip the Hong Kong Open 

and also posed a serious question mark on 

her performance at the season-ending BWF 

Manchester United and their projects will 

help raise the excitement levels to another 

level? 

I really hope so. Like I said, there has 

been a massive surge in the popularity of 

football in India in the last few years and 

the ISL has played a big part in that. We 

have seen ex-Premier League players take 

part in the ISL, like Mikael Silvestre who I 

mentioned before. I know he really enjoyed 

playing in that league and the more the fans 

get behind it the more chances they have of 

attracting big stars. 

Talking about Manchester United, isn’t it 

unfair that all managers who follow Alex Ferguson 

will be judged by the high standards 

which he set? 

I think anyone who was going to follow 

Ferguson was going to have a difficult task - 

and they would have known that when they 

took on the role. He is the longest serving 

and most highly decorated football manager 

in the history of the English league. It is a 

little unfair to always make comparisons 

with Ferguson, because he is one person and 

no two managers are the same. Our current 

manager, Louis van Gaal has said from the 

beginning that he has his way of doing things 

and you have to respect that. 

Do you think the next logical step will be 

In-form Ashwin will again hold the 

key as World T20 approaches 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Battling odds or silencing critics 

with his craft is nothing new to 

Ashwin. 

• Ashwin is currently ranked the 

No. 1 Test all-rounder by the ICC. 

• India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun, 

dwelt on the mental make-up of 

the instrumentation engineering 

graduate. 

It was a nippy day at the Ferozeshah 

Kotla, in the final Test against 

South Africa earlier this month. 

India were precariously placed 

at 198 for seven. Ajinkya Rahane, 

unbeaten at 62, was holding fort at 

one end when a poker-faced Ravichandran 

Ashwin walked into the 

middle. For the next 186 minutes, 

Ashwin batted with monk-like 

composure, defending stoutly and 

The BCCI suspended the 

RCA in May 2014 after Modi 

was declared its president. 

Modi had been expelled from 

the board in September 2013. 

Mehmood Abdi, secretary Somendra 

Tiwary and treasurer Pawan Goyal. 

The BCCI suspended the RCA in May 2014 

after Modi was declared its president. 

Modi had been expelled from the board 

in September 2013. 

In October 2014, Pathan, along with his 

supporters, claimed to have ousted Modi 

as president. Pathan also announced 

himself as acting president before initiating 

a no-confidence motion in February. 

After that petition was set aside by the 

Rajasthan High Court, Pathan’s faction 

moved a fresh motion. If the motion had 

been upheld, it would have forced the 

RCA to hold fresh elections. 

Pathan had previously been a Modi 

loyalist. The secretary of the Kota District 

Cricket Association, he had even accompanied 

Abdi when Modi’s nomination 

papers were filed for the RCA election in 

November. 

putting away the occasional ball 

to the fence with minimum risk. 

Along the way he helped Rahane 

bring up the first century of the Test 

series before completing his own 

half-century. 

All very much in match frame, in 

keeping with what is expected of a 

professional athlete. Only, that there 

was more to the tale. All the while 

Ashwin was batting, occupying the 

crease like it were a lifeboat, his 

parents, stuck in rain-ravaged Chennai, 

couldn’t be contacted. As Ashwin 

walked out to bat his wife Preethi 

tweeted: “Thoughts with Ashwin, 

who is batting right now. We have 

not heard from his parents in over 24 

hours. I can only pray he keeps his 

strength.” 

Many great sportspersons have put 

personal trauma and tragedies aside 

to excel on the field in exhibitions of 

spirit as much as skill. Ashwin’s innings 

on the second day of the Delhi 

Test was an endorsement of the 

mental toughness of India’s thinking 

cricketer. Battling odds or silencing 

critics with his craft is nothing new 

to Ashwin, who has faced considerable 

criticism in the four years since 

his India debut. Every time the 

doubters have raised concerns, he 

has roared back louder. 

Super Series Finals but Saina stunned the 

world with a superlative win over World No. 

1 Carolina Marin in the second match before 

fitness issues saw her fail to qualify for the 

semifinals.Sindhu, who had mesmerised the 

world by bagging five bronze medals including 

a World Championship medal last year, 

suffered a stress fracture on her left foot and 

it affected her game throughout the season as 

she made too many early exits from tournaments.Despite 

recovering from injury, Sindhu 

struggled with her form before making her 

maiden Super Series Final at the Denmark 

Open in October.The 20-year-old, however, 

ensured she has at least one crown in her 

kitty as she completed a hat-trick of titles, 

winning the women’s singles at Macau Open 

Grand Prix Gold.In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth 

had emerged as the next big thing last 

year when he had beaten two-time Olympic 

to make Ryan Giggs the manager? 

Yes. I have always said he would make a 

good manager. It doesn’t make sense to put 

him as assistant and choose someone else. 

He has done it the right way too; he has got 

all the correct licenses and badges and is 

currently learning about the job and gaining 

experience. Throughout his career, he worked 

under the greatest -Ferguson and is now 

learning from another experienced manager 

in Louis van Gaal. He is also the club’s most 

decorated player and who better to inspire a 

team? I think if the opportunity is there then 

why not give him the chance to be manager. 

You have worked under two great managers, 

Alex Ferguson and Bobby Robson. How 

different was working under them? 

Both had an unbelievable passion for the 

game and possessed tremendous work ethics 

and were very similar in character. Ferguson 

is a lot more disciplined than Robson was. 

Robson treated everyone the same and was 

a bit more relaxed, whereas Ferguson was 

more lenient with the experienced players 

but very disciplined with the younger ones. 

Is it true that you almost started laughing 

when you first saw Ferguson use his famous 

hair-dryer treatment? 

Yeah, but I would never tell the boss that! 

He tore into Paul McGrath and it was really 

the first time I had ever seen him really go 

after someone. I had to turn my head so he 

couldn’t see my face laughing. 

Why is it that England promise so much, 

but deliver so little in major international 

events? 

Definitely the mental approach has let us 

down over the last 12 years in finals. Hopefully, 

we can build on this mental ability with 

the current squad and do better in forthcoming 

tournaments because the talent is there 

but the mentality needs to be worked upon. 

World T20 venue allotment favours 

president, secretary’s turfs? 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Dharamshala and Nagpur will together 

host 17 out of 35 games in the 

tournament. 

• Five other venues - Chandigarh, Mumbai, 

Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi - will 

host the other half. 

• Nagpur, the home association of BCCI 

president Shashank Manohar, is set to 

host nine games. 

MUMBAI: The Indian cricket board’s 

(BCCI) decision to award almost half of 

the ICC World T20 matches next year 

to only two venues - Dharamshala and 

Nagpur - has raised eyebrows. These 

two venues - which will together host 

17 out of 35 games in the tournament - 

belong to state associations from where 

the board secretary and president 

belong.Nagpur, the home association of 

BCCI president Shashank Manohar, is 

set to host nine games while Dharamshala 

- home to board secretary Anurag 

Thakur-run Himachal Pradesh Cricket 

Association - will stage eight. 

Five other venues will host the 

other half of the tournament. Chandigarh, 

Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and 

Delhi - all traditional Test venues - will 

host a total of 18 matches, including the 

final at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. 

There are 20 international cricket 

stadiums in the country, of which 15 

are certified Test venues now. However, 

the BCCI decided to shortlist and finalize 

only these seven venues to host the 

World T20 matches, to be held from 

March 9 to April 3. The biggest surprise 

is that the marquee game of the tournament 

- India versus Pakistan - has been 

awarded to Dharamshala, which has 

a capacity of only 23,000. Some other 

venues across India which were ignored 

boasts capacities ranging from 30,000 

to 55,000.“It is not even in rotation that 

Dharamshala has been awarded the 

game,” a senior board functionary said, 

adding: “If you had a choice between 

23,000 people watching India play Pakistan 

and 40,000 or 50,000 people watching, 

which option would you choose?” 

Clearly, outside of Maharashtra, where 

Pakistan are not welcome to play, there 

are several venues that could have been 

considered for this big-ticket game.G 

Gangaraju, the BCCI vice-president from 

South Zone and also the chairman of the 

board’s tour programme and fixtures 

committee, was not forthcoming on the 

reasons behind allotting 17 matches to 

Nagpur and Dharamshala and shortlisting 

only five other venues. “I’ll have to 

look into it and get back to you. I’m in Parliament 

right now,” Gangaraju told TOI. 

Only a month ago, BCCI had added 

six new venues to its list of certified 

Test centres. Of those six, only Dharamshala 

has been awarded eight World T20 

games while the remaining five - Pune, 

Rajkot, Indore, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam 

- have been ignored altogether. 

Suarez treble sends 

Barcelona into Club 

World Cup final 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Barcelona will face 

River Plate on Sunday 

when they will be chasing 

a record third title. 

• Barcelona were rocked 

before the semi-final 

when Messi was forced 

out with abdominal pain 

from renal colic. 

• Suarez completed his 

treble from the penalty 

spot in the 67th minute, 

his 21st goal of the 

season. 

YOKOHAMA (Japan): Luis 

Suarez fired a hat-trick 

as Barcelona overcame 

the loss of Lionel Messi 

to kidney problems to 

beat China’s Guangzhou 

Evergrande 3-0 and 

Saina Nehwal shines in a subdued season for Indian badminton 

reach the Club World 

Cup final on Thursday. 

The Spanish giants 

will face Argentina’s 

River Plate in Yokohama 

on Sunday when they 

will be chasing a record 

third title. 

The European 

champions were rocked 

before the semi-final 

when Messi was forced 

out with abdominal pain 

from renal colic, commonly 

caused by kidney 

stones, which could also 

rule him out of the final. 

Barca missed Messi’s 

wizardry and the talents 

of his Brazilian strike 

partner Neymar, who 

was rested as he recovers 

from a groin strain. 

champion Lin Dan en route to his China Open 

triumph and the 22-year-old from Guntur 

continued his rampaging run in the first half 

of the season, winning the Swiss Open and India 

Open in March and reached the World No. 

3 ranking in June.However, his form dipped 

after that as he made early exits from tournaments 

which took a toll on his ranking. The 

only time he came close to winning a title was 

when he reached the finals of the Indonesia 

Masters early this month.Though his ranking 

dipped, it was good enough to earn him a second 

successive place at the BWF Super Series 

Finals but the Indian could not win a single 

match and ended the season on a low note. 

Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap 

started the season with a title win at Syed 

Modi Grand Prix Gold and clinched a win over 

World No. 1 Chen Long en route to his semifinal 

finish in June at Indonesia Open.

18 December 2015

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