22 December 2015

SRINAGAR | 22 December 2015 | 10 Rabi ul Awwal 1437 AH Vol: 3 | Issue No: 303 | Pages: 08 | Rs 3/- 

TUESDAY 

3rd 

PRECIOUS KASHMIR 

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

Indo-Pak talks 

India sees no role 

for third Party 

New Delhi, Dec 21: India is 

very clear that no third party 

has any role in Indo-Pak parleys 

despite Pakistan's stand 

that it would continue to 

speak to Kashmiri separatist 

leaders whom they term as 

"voice of Kashmiris", highly 

placed government sources 

said today. 

"What we have agreed 

with Pakistan during External 

Affairs Minister's visit to 

Islamabad is Bilateral Comprehensive 

Dialogue. So, it is 

a bilateral thing and no third 

party has any role to play in 

discussions between India 

and Pakistan," the sources 

said. They were asked what 

will happen if Pakistani delegation 

again met Hurriyat 

separatists or the Kashmiri 

separatist leaders tried to 

meet them here in the run-up 

to the next month's meeting 

between the Indo-Pak Foreign 

Secretaries. 

India is also very clear 

that any attempt to consult 

Kashmiri separatists will be 

What we have agreed with Pakistan during 

External Affairs Minister's visit to Islamabad 

is Bilateral Comprehensive Dialogue. So, it is a 

bilateral thing and no third party has any role to 

play in discussions between India and Pakistan. 

Int’l Film festival kick 

starts in Srinagar 

Precious Kashmir News 

Srinagar, Dec 21: The International 

Film Festival of 

Kashmir (IFFK) 2015 was inaugurated 

on Monday with 

the screening of Iranian short 

film, Waskat and J&K (Gilgit- 

Baltistan) film, Stunning as 

‘Curtain Raiser’. 

The inaugural day’s 

screenings were held at 

Conference Hall of Cultural 

Academy, Lal Mandi followed 

by the Opening Press Conference, 

a statement issued by 

Experimental Moving Images 

and Theatre Association 

(XMITA) said this evening. 

The main screening event 

will be held at Tagore Hall on 

December 22 and 23. 

The film festival which 

is being organized by XMITA 

is the fifth edition of IFFK 

marking 11th anniversary of 

the socio-cultural NGO with 

longest-ever line up of movies 

across the globe, the statement 

said. 

“Over three days starting 

Monday, 40 movies in over 10 

international languages will 

be screened at a festival expected 

to attract some 2000 

viewers. The selected films 

belong to 15 countries including 

Iran, Russia, UK, USA, Phillipines, 

Turkey, Mexico and 

India,” said Ali Emran, the Festival 

Curator. He was flanked 

by XMITA chairperson Yaqout 

Mushtaq, local filmmaker Gul 

Reyaz and Mumbai based 

filmmaker Umar Imtiyaz. 

Emran said the highlights 

of the IFFK-2015 include 8 

World Premiers, 7 International 

Premiers along with 

Asian and Local Premiers. 

“This is the good opportunity 

for Media and Film 

Students, and Movie buffs to 

witness a wide spectrum of 

world cinema including International 

Competition, Spanish 

Package, Best of Indian 

Panorama and J&K Select on 

December 22 and 23 at Tagore 

Hall,” he said. 

The first film festival under 

IFFK was held in 2007 

which has since grown from a 

relatively small gathering in a 

basement to the largest festival 

in Srinagar. 

The films have been 

shortlisted by a selection 

committee comprising of renowned 

people from film industry, 

school of Cinema 

See Festival on Pg 6 

highly undesirable. 

The Indian assertion assumes 

significance as Pakistan 

High Commissioner 

Abdul Basit recently said at 

an event, held after External 

Affairs Minister Sushma 

Swaraj's Islamabad visit, there 

was no change in Islamabad's 

policy towards Hurriyat leaders 

as they represented the 

"voice of Kashmiris" and 

hoped that the dialogue process 

will not be halted even if 

there were roadblocks. 

"Hurriyat represents aspirations 

of people of Kashmir. 

As far as we are concerned, 

there is no change in our 

policy towards them," Basit 

had said when asked whether 

Hurriyat leaders will be invited 

for dinner if the talks 

between India and Pakistan 

were held in the national 

capital. 

The Pakistan envoy had 

also asserted "it was time 

both the neighbours behave 

as mature nations". 

Angered by Pakistan's 

consultations with Kashmiri 

separatists India had in August 

last year called off talks 

between Foreign Secretaries 

of the two countries, telling it 

bluntly to choose between an 

Indo-Pak dialogue or hobnobbing 

with the separatists. 

In August this year also, 

the NSA-level talks were 

called off after New Delhi had 

made it clear that the then 

See India on Pg 6 


Srinagar, Dec 21: The demand for disbanding 

Village Defence Committees (VDCs) are getting 

more support following the killing of National 

Conference youth activist allegedly by an 

armed VDC member in Rajouri. 

Independent Legislator Engineer Rasheed 

Monday described these VDCs as state ‘sponsored 

terrorist gangs’ while another legislator 

Hakim Muhammad Yasin called these committees 

as ‘terror committees’ with license to 

suppress innocent people. 

Cutting across party lines almost all the 

National Conference and independent legislators 

as well as majority of PDP and Congress 

members from Kashmir think that it is the ripe 

time for the government to disband VDC’s that 

according to these legislators indulge in arson, 

loot, murder, extortion, kidnapping, molestation, 

rape and other anti-social acts off and on. 

National Conference General Secretary Ali 

Muhammad Sagar told CNS that these VDCs 

have become threat to life and property of the 

people and they should be asked to handover 

the weapons. 

Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator 

Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami said that 

the act of killing of National Conference youth 

leader is heinous and again VDC members 

proved that they are “more dangerous than 

terrorists”. “This whole organization (VDC) 

should be disbanded and all the members 

should be disarmed without any delay,” he 

added. 

“One fails to understand what prevents 

the government from disarming these ‘terrorist’ 

committees when militancy in the State is 

Srinagar, Dec 21: Hailing the thaw 

in India-Pakistan relationship, the 

business communities of Jammu and 

Kashmir and Pakistan administered 

Kashmir (PaK) have called upon Islamabad 

and New Delhi to widen the 

scope of confidence building measures 

and strengthen existing ties. 

In light of the resumption of comprehensive 

bilateral dialogue between 

India and Pakistan, 23 members of 

the business and trading communities 

from both sides of Jammu and 

Kashmir met in Dubai from December 

16 to 19 and deliberated upon future 

prospects of intra-Kashmir confidence 

building measures (CBMs). 

"The group welcomed the steps 

taken by both governments to resume 

the dialogue process and hoped that 

Islamabad and New Delhi will take 

tangible steps to further strengthen 

trade, travel, and civil society exchanges 

across the Line of Control (LoC) in 

Jammu and Kashmir," a joint statement 

said. 

The meeting was also an opportunity 

to convene an annual meeting 

of key members of the J&K Joint 

Chamber of Commerce and Industries 

(JK-JCCI), the first-ever platform of 

cross-Line-of-Control collaboration, 

facilitated by Conciliation Resources, 

it said. 

During three-day meeting, representatives 

of the business community 

affiliated to Jammu and Kashmir Joint 

Chamber and other regional chambers 

and federations welcomed the 

steps taken by both governments to 

resume the dialogue process. 

"The focus of the meeting was to 

widen the scope of CBMs and include 

banking facilities, telephone connectivity 

and undertaking trade in dollars 

between two sides," Jammu Chamber 

of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) 

president Rakesh Gupta said. 

As per the joint statement, members 

urged the governments to take 

urgent steps to address various obstacles 

encountered by LoC traders 

including improving connectivity 

among traders from both sides, facilitating 

frequent meetings of traders at 

the LoC, improving infrastructure at 

the trade facilitation centers and the 

installation of full body truck scanners, 

banking facilities, increasing the 

list of tradable items and the number 

of trading days, and easing customs 

Journalism With A Human Heart 

JK, PaK businessmen hail Indo-Pak thaw 

all time low. These VDC members are killers 

who always target a particular community,” 

said former member parliament Abdul Rashid 

Kabuli. 

The VDCs in Jammu and Ladakh were created 

during Governor’s rule in 1995. According 

procedures. 

The members urged the governments 

to open new trade routes, 

particularly the Kargil-Skardu and 

Nowshera-Chammb trade routes, to 

expand the scope and impact of CBMs 

in the region, it said. 

External Affairs Minister Sushma 

Swaraj during her visit to Pakistan earlier 

this month announced the decision 

to hold comprehensive Indo-Pak 

dialogue. 

The members urged both governments 

to expedite the facilitation of 

a trade delegation from Jammu and 

Kashmir to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 

as soon as possible in 2016. 

The members appreciated the 

leadership of the outgoing President 

of the JK-JCCI, Y V Sharma, and the 

achievements of the JK-JCCI under his 

to official figures, there are over 26500 VDC 

members operating in 10 districts of Jammu 

and Leh district of Ladakh region. These Committees 

were constituted to ‘supplement’ forces 

to combat militancy besides ‘protecting’ the 

See Disband on Pg 6 

leadership over the last two years. 

The members agreed to elect a 

new president from the PaK side before 

31 January, 2016, the statement 

added. 

The president of the Jammu 

Chamber of Commerce and Industries 

and a person nominated by the 

Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry will assume responsibility as 

joint presidents of JCCI from Jammu 

and Kashmir regions respectively for 

the period from January 2016 to December 

2017. 

The members agreed that the 

JK-JCCI will provide greater support 

and recognition to the LoC trade federations 

as being key stakeholders in 

the confidence-building process and 

make best efforts to take steps to help 

them in resolving trade-related issues, 

it said. 

They also agreed on improving 

communication among members of 

the JK-JCCI and on the formulation 

of a code of conduct in due course, it 

added. 

The meeting stressed on the importance 

of including women in confidence-building 

processes and will 

encourage efforts to build the capacity 

of women entrepreneurs on both 

sides with a view to facilitating their 

future participation in trade and other 

confidence-building processes. 

A website for the JK-JCCI to improve 

internal and external communication 

was launched, to make available 

to the public relevant information 

See Businessmen on Pg 6 

After NC worker’s death, demand to disband VDCs go shriller 


Srinagar, Dec 21: Police 

today foiled AIP’s CM’s residence 

gheraw to protest 

against brutal murder of 

Ishtiyaq Chowdhry at the 

hands of a VDC terrorist. 

Hundreds of party workers 

started marching towards 

CMs residence this 

afternoon chanting slogans 

against VDC and Mufti regime. 

However, a heavy contingent 

of police stopped 

them after travelling some 

distance, however protestors 

had a sit-in and police used 

force to disperse the protestors 

and arrested Er Rasheed 

along with about one dozen 

supporters and lodged them 

in Kothi Bag police station. 

Traffic came to stand still for 

NFSA, another black law for Kashmiris: Mirwaiz 

‘Hurriyat (M) can’t remain mute spectator to people’s daily issues’ 


Srinagar, Dec 21: Castigating the government 

for its anti people policies 

Hurriyat (M) Chairman and Muttahida 

Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) chief, Mirwaiz 

Farooq Monday said that though the 

Hurriyat (M) is striving for the political 

resolution of Kashmir issue but it 

can’t remain mute spectator on the 

vows and agonies faced by the people 

because of the government’s indifferent 

attitude towards their problems. 

Addressing a Seerat-e-Majlis at 

Mujahir-e-Milat Masjid at Saraf Kadal 

Chowk in Shehar Khas after Zuhr (afternoon) 

prayers, the Mirwaiz while 

referring to the imposition of National 

Food Security Act (NFSA) in the state 

Govt can’t amend Food Act as 

it is a central legislation: NC 


Srinagar, Dec 21: A day after the 

government said that it was open 

to make reasonable amendments in 

the National Food Security Act, the 

opposition today said that the ruling 

dispensation cannot do it as it was a 

central legislation. 

“The PDP-BJP Government cannot 

make any amendments in the 

law since the National Food Security 

Act was directly implemented by 

the government without bringing 

the food bill for discussion in the Assembly,” 

National Conference General 

Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar 

told KNS. 

“The PDP-led dispensation is befooling 

people of the state by making 

such statements about the law. The 

concerned minster is confusing and 

befooling people about the law. How 

can the government amend the Act 

said that instead of providing proper 

amount of rice to the people (rice being 

the staple diet of Kashmiris) the 

government’s move has substantially 

which is passed by the Parliament 

of India? And the state government 

directly implemented it in the state,” 

Sagar said, adding only Parliament 

can amend it. 

State Minister for Consumer Affairs 

and Public Distribution Zulfkar 

Ali had on Saturday said that the 

food law is not a word of God which 

cannot be changed. “We will take a 

reasonable review of the legislation.” 

The NC leader said that the government 

has opened a window for 

direct implementation of the Central 

legislations by directly implementing 

the Food Act without bringing its 

bill for discussion. 

Sagar said that the opposition 

party was ready to discuss the law in 

the coming Assembly session. 

PDP’s senior leader and minister 

for rural development Abdul Haq 

Khan had on Monday said that the 

See Govt on Pg 6 

reduced the monthly quota of every 

family and thus made them vulnerable 

to mal nutrition. 

Mirwaiz said that in these chilling 

Rasheed holds CM ‘directly 

responsible’ for worker’s killing 

days of winter people are being denied 

adequate ration, electricity, cooking 

gas and kerosene oil which clearly 

speaks of an anti people policy of the 

government. Mirwaiz said NFSA is another 

black law for Kashmiris imposed 

with the intention to make them suffer 

and increase their agonies. 

Mirwaiz said during the past few 

days, a number of delegations visiting 

him, expressed concern over implementation 

of NFSA, he said Kashmiris 

were facing political, economic and 

other problems while the government 

which is their only with the claim of 

addressing people’s problems seems 

actually busy in creating more troubles 

and problems for the people. 

Earlier, the Hurriyat (M) Chairman 

shed light on the life and times 

of Prophet (SAW) and said Muslims 

everywhere were caught in a quagmire 

of problems and it was mostly 

because they were getting away from 

the teachings of Prophet (SAW) and 

the holy Quran. 

He said Muslims were facing 

problems at the individual as well as 

collective level despite having abundant 

resources available to them and they 

were caught in these problems only because 

of distancing themselves from the 

teachings of the Prophet (SAW). 

See Mirwaiz on Pg 6 

some time on the Gupkar 

road due to the protest on 

the Gupkar road. 

Talking to the media 

persons on the occasion Er 

Rasheed said that the goons 

have been given a free hand 

in the state to attack Muslims 

at their will. 

He said, “The least government 

can do is to disband 

the so called VDCs and set a 

neutral probe to investigate 

their atrocities. Government 

has no justification to allow 

these extra constitutional 

bodies who are working as 

civil army for Sung Parivaar.” 

Er Rasheed condemned 

See Rasheed on Pg 6 

Jammu, Dec 21: Defence Minister Manohar 

Parrikar will dedicate the first cable-stayed 

bridge of North India to the nation on December 

24, providing close connectivity between 

three northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, 

Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. 

“The cable-stayed bridge at Basholi situated 

on Dunera- Basohli-Bhadharwah road will 

be inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar 

Parrikar on December 24 at 0930 hours,” a Defence 

Spokesman said today. 

The Basohli bridge will be fourth of its kind 

in India and first in North India and Jammu and 

Kashmir. 

Currently India has three cable-stayed 

bridges – Hooghly bridge at Kolkata, Naini 

Bridge in Allahabad and Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link 

in Mumbai. 

With the completion of cable-stayed 

bridge over river Ravi in Basholi, the connectivity 

and tourism is expected to get a boost. 

The work on the maiden cable stay bridge 

of the state was started in September 2011 on 

the persistent demand of people of Basohli 

where over 22 villages got submerged in water 

and were evacuated to other places after the 

construction of Ranjit Sagar dam. 

The 592-meter span bridge is being constructed 

by Border Roads Organization (BRO) 

at a cost of Rs 145 crore. 

It is a joint venture of IRCON a Railway 

Company and SP Singla Construction group. 

Out of 592 m, 350 m span is cable-stayed 

NC seeks time-bound 

judicial probe 


Jammu, Dec 21: National 

Conference on Monday 

sought judicial probe by 

a sitting High Court Judge 

into the killing of Ishtiyaq Choudhry, a youth 

leader of Kalakote in Rajouri district, allegedly 

by a VDC member, describing it as a political 

murder. 

“Truth needs to be dug out, as the murder 

appears to be a sinister machination of muzzling 

political dissent”, Provincial President 

Devender Singh Rana said while addressing 

a press conference at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan 

here this afternoon. 

Rana said the murder has been committed 

by a government gun, held by a VDC 

member, and the fact that the kin of the victim’s 

family were given compensation as also 

assurance of job testifies that there is more 

than what meets the eyes. He said raising 

voice against irrational distribution of rations 

does not merit death. “The crime of Block 

National Conference President Kalakote appears 

to be just to speak for the exploited poor 

people of the area”, he said and expressed 

concern over growing incidents of lawlessness 

under PDP-BJP dispensation. He also 

wanted to know whether silencing of Ishtiyaq 

Choudhry was an attempt to shield anyone 

with a larger political design carried out under 

See NC on Pg 6 

Parrikar to inaugurate 

JK bridge on Thursday 

while rest is plain bridge. 

“A typical cable-stayed bridge is a deck 

with one or two pylons erected above the piers 

in the middle of the span,” a senior officer said 

adding “the cables are attached diagonally to 

the girder to provide additional supports”. 

“The pylons form the primary load-bearing 

structure in these types of bridges. Large 

amounts of compression forces are transferred 

from the deck to the cables to the pylons and 

into the foundation,” he said. 

The officer said the Cable stayed-bridges 

have a low center of gravity, which makes 

them efficient in resisting earthquakes. 

“Cable-stayed bridges provide outstanding 

architectural appearance due to their small diameter 

cables and unique overhead structure,” 

he added. 

“The peculiarity of this bridge is that the 

main span and back span are balanced by cable 

See Parrikar on Pg 6 

C 

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C 

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Jammu, Dec 21: To discuss 

the problems faced by the 

Kargil bound passengers during 

winters, a meeting was 

held under the chairmanship 

of Haji Anayat Ali, Chairman 

Jammu & Kashmir Legislative 

Council here today. 

During the meeting, detailed 

discussion was held on 

different issues especially the 

need of better coordination 

between different agencies 

dealing with Kargil Air Services. 

The issue of flight cancellation 

and facilities at airports 

of Jammu, Srinagar and Kargil 

airbase available for the passengers 

were also discussed 

in the meeting. 

Haji Anayat Ali asked the 

concerned to airlift students 

and patients on priority. He 

also impressed upon them to 

ensure better coordination 

and management between 

the line agencies for the convenience 

of the passengers. 

Officers of Kargil based 

Air Services assured the 

Chairman that needy passengers 

would be given priority. 

They also assured that 

frequency of the air-sorties 

would also be increased to 

accommodate more and 

more passengers. 

The meeting was attended 

by the AOC Air Force 

Station Jammu, Commissioner 

Civil Aviation, Airport 

Manager Jammu, Managing 

Director, SRTC, SSP Anti Hijacking 

Srinagar and Jammu 

Airport besides Secretary 

Legislative Council. 


Srinagar, Dec 21: Stressing police and 

civil administration to make flawless 

arrangements for Eid-i-Milad celebrations, 

Minister for Horticulture, Haj 

and Auqaf, Abdul Rehman Bhat (Veeri), 

Monday said such mass congregations 

provide an opportunity to promote religious 

tourism in the State. 

“These important events should be 

seen as an opportunity to promote religious 

tourism, in line with the vision 

of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad 

Sayeed,” he said this during a meeting 

with police and civil administration 

officers at Banquet Hall here to review 

Eid-i-Milad preparations. 

During the meeting officers of 

Power Development Department 

(PDD) informed the Minister that a 

Special Control Room has been set 

up to monitor power supply and to 

deal with any eventuality in case of a 

power breakdown. Veeri stressed on 

the officers to ensure adequate heating 

arrangements and uninterrupted 

power supply especially to areas 

where major congregations will be 

held on Eid-i-Milad including Dargah 

Hazratbal, Jinaab Sahab Soura, Pinjora, 

Kailashpora and others. 

In the meeting, the Minister also 

directed officers of Srinagar Municipal 

News 

Tuesday 

2 

22.12.2015 

Dy CM for speeding up Tourism, 

Developmental projects 


Jammu, Dec 21: The Deputy Chief 

Minister Dr. Nirmal Singh today 

directed the officers to speed up 

the projects being undertaken 

in the tourism sector so that this 

part of the state also comes up on 

the tourist map and tourist related 

activities get a fillip. 

The Deputy Chief Minister 

was addressing officers during a 

review meeting convened to discuss 

the status of various projects 

being undertaken in tourism sector 

in the Jammu division. 

Secretary Tourism Farooq 

Ahmad Shah, CEO Patnitop Development 

Authority Rakesh 

Sarangal , Joint Director Tourism 

Namrata Dogra and other senior 

officers of the department were 

present. 

Dr Singh asked the officers to 

speed up the work on the prestigious 

Jammu rope-way project 

being undertaken in the Jammu 

district with an estimated cost of 

Rs 60 Crore, so that it comes up 

as one of the major attractions of 

the city. He said that the officers 

should synergise their efforts so 

that it is completed within the 

shortest possible time and bottle 

necks, if any are removed. 

“The project is of prime importance 

to the city starting from 

Peer Khoo-Mahamaya Mandir- 

Bahu Fort, it would be a major 

attraction connecting the three 

historic places of the area. The 

latest fully imported system 

should be installed in the same 

and requisite advice should also 

Anayat Ali for providing 

better air services to 

Kargil bound passengers 

SMC conducts 

sanitation drive 

at Women’s 

Polytechnic 


Srinagar, Dec 21: The 

Srinagar Municipal Corporation 

on Mondayheld a 

special sanitation drive in 

the campus of Government 

Polytechnic for Women, 

Bemina, Srinagar which 

was covered by unwanted 

bushes, weeds and the 

heaps of litter caused by 

devastated floods of 2014. 

The drive was conducted 

on the directions 

of Commissioner SMC. The 

Principal of the College 

Shafqat Ara and other staff 

members were also present 

during the drive. 

Ganderbal, Dec 21: Minister 

for Rural Development Department 

and Panchayati Raj, 

Abdul Haq Monday made a 

surprise visit to district Ganderbal. 

During his visit, the Minister, 

inspected the Block Development 

Office, Ganderbal 

and checked attendance and 

functioning of the office. The 

Minister also interacted with 

the local public and inquired 

about their issues and gave 

on spot directions for their redressal. 

At Kujar Panchayat, the 

Minister directed for cancellation 

of an ongoing Gram 

Sabha meeting and asked the 

concerned officers to go for 

Srinagar, Dec 21: Minister for 

Public Works, Floriculture and 

Gardens & Parks, Syed Mohammad 

Altaf Bukhari has 

congratulated Syed Maqbool 

Hussain Rizvi for being conferred 

with national award for 

excellence in Papier Mache craft. 

Wishing Hussain continuing 

successes in all his future 

craft endeavors, Bukhari assured 

the artisans pursuing 

various crafts like Papier 

Mache, Khatamband, Pashmina 

shawls, Copper works, 

Wood works, and all other 

skills who were left to live in 

an atmosphere of despondency 

and scarcity of resources 

that the present dispensation 

shall explore all possibilities to 

address their grievances. 

“The state government is 

cognizant of its responsibility 

that their plight caused by the 

be obtained from the experts of 

the field’’, he added. 


also asked the officers to prepare 

a Detailed Project report for 

bringing the Chamyalal -Ramgarh 

under the ambit of the borderpilgrimage 

tourism on the analogy 

of the recently announced circuit 

of Suchetgarh. He also called 

for speeding up the work on the 

Ranjeet Sagar project and said 

that it would accelerate the tourism 

related activities in the area. 

While asking the officers to 

undertake the necessary steps for 

bringing the Bani basholi areas 

of Kathua district in the Tourist 

circuit, the Deputy Chief Minister 

said that these have a huge potential 

of tourism and the need is to 

explore the same by way of creating 

new assets and augmenting 

the existing one. “This area has a 

huge potential of acting as a Gateway 

of tourism of the state and 

Corporation to ensure proper sanitation 

and hygiene during the Milad celebrations 

besides stationing mobile toilets 

outside shrine complexes across the 

state. 

The SMC officers informed Veeri 

that 130 employees have been pooled 

from various wings of the corporation 

for maintenance of sanitation, lavatory 

blocks and loaders. “In case of snowfall, 

adequate arrangements should be 

made for snow clearance to provide uninterrupted 

and hassle-free transport 

services to major shrines of the State,” 

Veeri said. 

The officers of the police and traffic 

administration informed the Minister 

that a Special Route has been chalked 

out to ensure smooth transport services 

for devotees from northern and 

southern parts of Kashmir Valley to pay 

the onus lies on us to explore the 

same and give fillip to this sector 

by way of creating the necessary 

resources’’, he maintained. 

It was given out in the meeting 

that the Patnitop Rope-way 

project is being fast paced and 

latest technical expertise and machinery 

would be used in its execution, 

so that it comes up as one 

of the major tourist attractions of 

the state. It was also told that the 

Ranjeet Sagar Dam project would 

The meeting was also told 

that state of art light and sound 

equipment would be installed at 

Bagh-e-Bahu for promoting the 

domestic tourist activities. 


later undertook a review meeting 

of Jammu Development Authority 

(JDA) which was attended by 

Vice Chairman , Mubarak Singh 

and other senior officers. 

Dr Singh directed for fast 

pacing the work on prestigious 

Jammu Bus-Stand project so that 

it is completed within the stipulated 

time frame. He said that 

the shopkeepers who are getting 

displaced should be adequately 

obeisance at Dargah Hazaratbal. 

Meanwhile, officers of the transport 

department informed the Minister 

that 610 special buses have been put 

into service in different parts of Kashmir 

Valley to ferry devotees during 

Milad celebrations, apart from routine 

300 buses. 

“Bus services should run late into 

night and there should be adequate 

arrangements for smooth flow of 

traffic to avoid jams or congestion. 

Besides, the civil and police administration 

should join hands to make 

proper arrangements for parking to 

avoid inconvenience to devotees,” the 

Minister said. 

The Minister was informed that 

Special Medical Camps have been set 

up en-route Hazratbal, where doctors, 

will be available round-the-clock along 

rehabilitated and the bottlenecks, 

if any should be removed. 


also directed for the early finalisation 

of the Jammu master plan 

so that it can be put on public domain 

and later finalized. He said 

that the Jammu city has been 

constantly expanding and the 

need for identifying the priority 

sectors besides providing the requisite 

facilities to the people is the 

need of the hour. 

Dr Singh also asked for speeding 

up the work on the river front 

landscaping of the Tawi river by 

dovetailing of various schemes 

of different departments. He said 

in the initial phase about 1.25 Km 

should be undertaken which can 

be later extended as well. 

While calling for setting up of 

new colonies in Jammu, the Deputy 

Chief Minister said that the 

same would go a long way in 

solving the housing problems 

of the people. He said that 

these should be laid in such a 

manner so that they are having 

all the requisite amenities 

needed for modern living. 

Eid-i-Milad congregation an opportunity 

to promote religious tourism in JK: Veeri 

Bukhari congratulates 

Maqbool for National Award 

drum beating before the Gram 

Sabha so that every member 

of the village is aware about 

such a meeting. “Gram Sabha 

is part of participatory democracy 

and everyone in the 

village should be aware about 

planning and development 

there and be a part of decision 

making in their own village,” 

he added. The Minister, also 

directed to take action against 

the Program Officer and GR 

of the said Panchayat for conducting 

Gram Sabha meeting 

in a closed room. 

Similarly, at Wailoo, the 

Minister cancelled another 

Gram Sabha, also being conducted 

in a closed room. The 

Minister again directed the 

system and the private sector 

economic activity needs to be 

redressed without any further 

delay. I assure these artisans 

that the present government 

under the able leadership of 

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad 

Sayeed will help them 

come out of the morass of 

helplessness,” he observed. 

Bukhari underlined PDP- 

BJP government’s commitment 

to promote traditional 

artisanship among the people 

of the State and strengthen it 

through better market linkages, 

proper branding and better 

access to credit. 

He said the Department 

of Handicrafts is formulating 

a comprehensive plan to build 

the capacity of poor traditional 

artisan craftsmen and to train 

the youth in traditional arts in 

Kashmir. Minister for Public 

Haq makes surprise visit to Ganderbal 

concerned to hold the Gram 

Sabha in an open area after ensuring 

its proper publicity. 

Later, the Minister inspected 

various ongoing works in 

the district under Rural Development 

Department (RDD). 

Abdul Haq also inspected 

construction work of a playground 

at Manigam and directed 

the officers to acquire 

more land for the same besides 

ensuring parking space 

there. 

Speaking on the occasion, 

the Minister said that the 

present dispensation has ensured 

that the funds in Rural 

Development Department 

are put to best use to create 

productive assets. 

Works observed that such support 

to the traditional artisans 

and craftsmen will add a new 

dimension to skill Kashmir 

mission, improve the economic 

conditions of those engaged 

in this sector. 

Pertinently, Maqbool won 

national award 2015 for paper 

mache and the award was conferred 

on him by the President 

Pranab Mukherjee at a grand 

ceremony honoring artisans 

from across the country in 

New Delhi. 

Maqbool was awarded for 

a masterpiece (vase) which 

took him six months to make 

and has the entire Mughal 

emperors painted across its 

body. With an experience of 

40 years, Maqbool is a prolific 

painter and paper Mache artist 

from Kashmir who has already 

won State Award in 2013. 


Jammu, Dec 21: In its bid to enhance 

enrolment coverage under 

National Population Register (NPR), 

Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, 

Dr. Pawan Kotwal today flagged 

off two buses which will not only 

spread the word about the registration 

process but also undertake 

photo-biometric enrolment of leftout 

citizens on the go. 

Additional Registrar General 

India (Citizen Registration) , S. K. 

Chakravarty, Deputy Commissioner, 

Jammu, Simrandeep Singh, Deputy 

Commissioner, Reasi, Sushma Chauhan, 

Special Secretary IT were also 

present on the occasion. 

Appreciating the efforts of the 

Jammu, Dec 21: Minister 

for Health and Medical Education, 

ARI and Trainings 

Choudhary Lal Singh today 

said that the 592 m Cable 

Stayed Bridge over river Ravi 

in Basholi shall be dedicated 

to the people on December 

24th. 

The Minister, who visited 

the site to assess the 

preparation being made 

for the inaugural ceremony 

of the bridge, built at cost 

of Rs 145 cr, informed that 

Defence Minister Manohar 

Parikar will inaugurate the 

bridge. 

Ch Lal Singh also held a 

detailed meeting with Commander 

13 BF, BRO Vimal 

Goswami, Project Manager, 

S.P Singhla Group, Davinder 

Rana regarding the arrangements 

being put in place. 

Census Department for carrying 

out the massive enrolment drive in 

the State, Kotwal said that this is a 

unique initiative carried out by the 

department for reaching out to the 

last person in the state. He also expressed 

hope that the 100 percent 

enrolment would be completed at 

an earliest so that the benefits under 

various government schemes are directly 

transferred to the accounts of 

the beneficiaries. 

He also asked the respective 

Deputy Commissioners to identify 

the areas where the services of 

these buses could be utilized besides 

making people aware regarding 

the facilities being provided 

so that people get themselves enrolled 

for Aadhar seeding. He also 

Choudhary Lal Singh 

informed that with the inauguration 

of Cable Stayed 

Bridge over River Ravi in 

Basholi, the connectivity 

to the State of Jammu and 

Kashmir is going to get a 

major boost as it will connect 

the state with neighbouring 

states of Himachal 

Pardesh and Punjab. 

with ambulances to avoid any delay in 

ferrying critical patients to hospitals. 

The Public Health Engineering 

officers informed the Minister that 

adequate number of tankers carrying 

drinking water have been kept in 

place at Hazratbal, Jinab Sahib Soura, 

Kailashpora and other shrines for devotees. 

The officers of Consumer Affairs 

and Public Distribution department 

said that extra quota of essential commodities 

including sugar, flour, rice and 

kerosene have also been distributed in 

places which shall witness night congregations. 

The Minister suggested that an ambulance 

should be permanently placed 

at Hazratbal and a new type of Public 

Health Centre must also be built inside 

the shrine to meet medical emergencies. 

Meanwhile, Veeri was informed 

that wheelchairs have also been kept 

inside the shrine complex at Hazratbal 

for the needy. 

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, 

SJM Gilani, Deputy Commissioner, 

Srinagar, Dr Farooq Ahmad 

Lone and officers of CAPD, Power 

Development Department, Srinagar 

Municipal Corporation, Wakf Board, 

Transport Department, Health Department, 

Traffic and Fire and Emergency 

Service besides other concerned 

were present in the meeting. 

The Minister informed 

that the work on the maiden 

Cable Stayed Bridge in 

the state was started in 

September 2010 on the 

persistent demand of people 

of Basohli and Border 

Roads Organization (BRO) 

has completed the bridge at 

a cost of Rs. 145 Crore. 

Meanwhile, several 

said that this exercise would help 

the administration to identify the 

left out population so that whole 

process is completed at an earliest 

in the state . 

Additional Registrar General 

(Citizen Registeration) India, S. K. 

Chakravarty said that buses have 

been branded with NPR themes 

and will cover various areas for 

collection of photo-biometric data. 

The vehicles are equipped with all 

the facilities along with kits for 

collection of information. Each 

bus will have two operators with 

as many kits. These will also aim 

at creating awareness among the 

public towards National Population 

Register. 

He also said that biometric 

www.preciouskashmir.com 

PWD Minister 

calls on Guv 

Jammu, Dec 21: Syed 

Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, 

Minister for Public Works, 

Floriculture, Gardens & 

Parks, called on Governor 

N.N. Vohra, here at the Raj 

Bhavan today. 

Bukhari informed the 

Governor about the to date 

status of important roads 

and bridges projects in the 

State. He also informed 

the Governor about the 

ongoing work in respect 

of certain roads in district 

Reasi which would link the 

upcoming Super Speciality 

Hospital at Kakryal with 

the rest of the Jammu 

region and with the Valley 

via the National Highway. 

Stressing that road connectivity 

was the highest 

priority challenge for the 

development of the State, 

the Governor complimented 

Bukhari for visibly 

invigorating the functioning 

of the PW Department 

and hastening the process 

of repair and renovation of 

various important roads. 

DC reviews 

implementation 

of NFSA 

Poonch, Dec 21: Deputy 

Commissioner Poonch, Mohammad 

Harun Malik Sunday 

directed the Tehsil Level 

Committees to expedite 

the process of segregation 

of families into different 

categories for enrollment 

under NFSA and complete 

the same within fixed 

timeframe while ensuring 

that no deserving families 

are left out. 

Harun was reviewing 

the progress of consumer 

database creation for effective 

implementation of 

National Food Security Act, 

in a meeting he chaired 

here. 

Assistant Director 

CA&PD, Mohammad 

Naseeb, Tehsildar 

Haveli, Wakeel Ahmed 

Bhatt, Tehsildar Mandi, 

Auqil Nuvaid, Tehsildar 

Mendhar, Salam Din 

Choudhary, Tehsildar 

Mankote, Shahzad Khan, 

Tehsildar HQ, Jahangir 

Khan, AD Planning Javaid 

Choudhary besides other 

members of Tehsil Level 

Committees attended the 

meeting. 

The Deputy Commissioner 

directed for accelerating 

the process of preparation 

of preliminary lists 

to be displayed on 22nd 

of December at respective 

FPSs and Sale Depots. 

592m Basohli Bridge to be 

inaugurated on Dec 24: Lal Singh 

deputations of Basholi town 

from Kakdera, Jankhar and 

Thatri met the Minister 

and put forth their genuine 

grievances for redress. 

Responding to the demands, 

Lal Singh directed 

the concerned department 

to upgrade the road from 

Kakdera to Jankhar via 

Thatri. 

Regarding construction 

of lift station at Basholi, the 

Minister directed the executing 

agency to complete the 

ongoing construction work 

within the stipulated time 

and over head tank at ward 

2 of the town. 

Later, Ch Lal Singh also 

visited Ram Lila Ground and 

Old Pond where he assured 

that restoration of pond and 

its beautification will be 

done at the earliest. 

Div Com launches special drive under NPR 

enrolment process is going on in 

about 302 biometric enrolment 

centres at every tehsil level across 

the state and huge rush of residents 

is being witnessed in these 

permanent enrolment centres for 

getting their NPR-Aadhar number 

which is required for availing the 

benefits of various schemes of the 

government. 

Joint Director, Census J&K, C. S. 

Sapru while briefing about the enrolment 

drive which is underway in 

the state informed that about 8000 

enumerators have been pressed into 

service for carrying out house to 

house survey which will continue 

till 15th of January 2016 and so far 

about 82 lac biometric enrolments 

have been completed in the state.

Precious Kashmir 

Doctors strike 

hits patients 

care in SMHS 


Srinagar, Dec 21: What 

could apparently be the reflection 

of the sorry state of 

affairs was the incident in 

which a medico, who was 

attending patients in SMHS 

here, referred a person having 

cardiac complicacy to the 

psychiatric department. 

While the doctors in the 

Shri Maharaja Hari Singh 

(SMHS) hospital were on 

strike, the internee doctor 

who was taking care of the 

patients on Monday referred 

cardiology patient to 

psychiatrist doctor, putting 

question mark on the health 

sector of the state. 

Resident and Post Graduate 

(PG) doctors seeking 

security cover are on strike 

from past three days after 

a medico was beaten up by 

irate attendants over death 

of a patient last week. 

With the alleged negligence 

and non-seriousness 

of the doctors towards patients, 

SMHS hospital has 

come under severe criticism 

with the patients alleging it 

to be a reason of immense 

hardships. 

Waheed Ahmad Sofi, 

an attendant of the patient, 

Razia, a cardiology patient, 

said that they went with an 

NEWS 

emergency case to the SMHS 

hospital in the wee hours 

on Monday where doctors 

refused to treat her mother. 

“I went from pillar to post to 

seek doctor’s attention towards 

her mother who was 

unconscious but my plea felt 

in deaf ears,” he said. 

“An interne doctor who 

was alone in the room taking 

care of the patients referred 

my mother (cardiology patient) 

to psychiatrist,” he 

said, adding that what else 

could be the sluggishness 

of the administration that 

an interne who is still taking 

classes are dealing with the 

critical patients. 

The OPD ticket under 

number 826269 reveals that 

the doctor has advised the 

patient to consult psychiatrist. 

“My mother is heart patient 

and what was the need 

to consult a psychiatrist,” he 

lamented. 

He said that due to the 

scuffle between doctors and 

state administration, the 

patients have been left on 

God’s mercy. 

Sofi further said that the 

authorities should look into 

the matter at earliest so that 

the doctors would be dealt 

with strictly. 

Medical Superintendent 

SMHS, Nazir Ahmad Chow- 

VDCs created to suppress 

Jammu Muslims: Geelani 

‘Condemns killing of 

Kalkote youth’ 


Srinagar, Dec 21: While 

strongly condemning the 

brutal murder of a political 

activist Ishtiyaq Ahmad 

Chowdhary at the hands of 

a VDC terrorist at Kalakoot 

area of the Rajouri district, 

Chairman Hurriyat (G) Syed 

Ali Geelani said that besides 

the army and paramilitary 

forces, India has created 

an another organized state 

terrorist force in Kashmir 

in the name of Village Defense 

Committee (VDC) and 

this terrorist force is directly 

controlled by the Indian 

home ministry. 

While reiterating his 

old demand of disbanding 

and disarming of the killer 

VDC forces, Syed Ali Geelani 

said that this force has 

been created to suppress 

the Jammu Muslims and 

there is no accountability 

system present in the state 

to check-in the atrocities 

and cruelties of these government 

terrorists. 

While terming the 

Rajouri incident as heartbreaking 

and intolerable, 

Syed Ali Geelani said that 

the Muslim identity of any 

Kashmiri irrespective of his 

political affiliations and beliefs 

is considered as a big 

crime and in front of the 

communal forces, the punishment 

of this crime is not 

less than the death penalty. 

While demanding immediate 

investigation of 

the said incident and stern 

punishment to the culprit, 

the pro-freedom leader said 

that this episode has created 

a sense of fear in the 

entire Rajouri and Jammu 

division and the Muslims 

of this region are very much 

concerned about their safety. 

Syed Ali Geelani said 

that there are 28 thousand 

VDC terrorists active in the 

Jammu division and most of 

them are professional criminals 

involved in the many 

grave crimes like murders, 

robbery, rapes, drug trade 

and other serious crimes. 

These people consider 

themselves above the law 

and the state government 

has no control over their 

activities. 

This force is directly 

handled by the Indian secret 

agencies and the home 

ministry of Delhi and on 

their directions these criminals 

are harassing the Muslims 

in every possible ways. 

Hurriyat (G) chairman 

Syed Ali Geelani said that 

the Rajouri incident is an 

open lesson for the National 

Conference (NC) itself 

who in their regime were 

defending these forces and 

were hiding their crimes 

against the Muslims of that 

region. They (NC) should 

understand that their 

treachery can do nothing 

good for them and one day 

the very communal elements 

will have no mercy 

for them too. 

Srinagar,Tuesday 


3 

Protest in North Kashmir > 

Scores of 

villages 

without 

electricity 

from past two 

months 

Kupwara, Dec 21: People 

from Rajwara and its 18 

adjoining areas Monday 

held protest demonstration 

against PDD threatening to 

uproot all the electric poles 

in case the department fails 

to restore electricity in the 

couple of villages. The protesters 

alleged that from 

past two month Rajwara and 

its 18 adjoining villages have 

been reeling under darkness 

while authorities are unmoved 

given the fact that repeated 

pleas had been made 

to the authorities. 

Reports said the irate 

villagers shouting slogans 

against PDD came out on the 

road in Rajwar and raised 

barricades on the road at 

around 7 am today. They 

staged dharna on the road 

started protest. The movement 

of the vehicles came to 

halt on this border road. 

They alleged that from 

past two months the multiple 

villages have been 

reeling under darkness as a 

result the people are badly 

suffering due to it. 

Kashmir will remain 

party’s focal point besides 

Jammu: BJP’s new chief 


Srinagar, Dec 21: The 

recently appointed state 

BJP president Sat Sharma 

on Monday asserted that 

to aware people in Valley 

about BJP’s developmental 

agenda for the state would 

be party’s top most priority 

in the coming times. 

Sharma said BJP sought 

votes from the general 

masses during the previously 

held state elections 

in the name of development. 

Ensuring that all the 

three regions witness an 

equitable growth and not 

even a single segment of 

the state is undermined 

must be BJP’s top agenda, 

Sharma said. 

The ruling BJP’s state 

chief maintained further 

that the forthcoming ULB 

polls would be contested by 

the party with zeal and zest 

and that the votes would 

this time too would be 

sought so that continuity in 

the ongoing developmental 

works is witnessed all 

across. 

“The people of the 

state haven’t in the past 

witnessed such a pace of 

development. Less than a 

year has passed since the 

new coalition assumed 

office and the vital sectors 

of the state have seen new 

boom of development. 

See how roads have been 

macadamized and quality 

health care being provided 

to people. There is a seizure 

of corrupt practices observed 

with people heaving 

a sigh of relief from the 

anarchic measures of the 

past,” Sharma said. 

While claiming that 

the party is strengthened 

its base in Kashmir valley, 

the BJP president said that 

earlier there used to be the 

scarcity of the candidates 

who would contest polls 

on the party ticket. “Now 

we are finding at least 20 

to 30 candidates asking us 

to contest them from each 

constituency in Kashmir. 

With such a result in sight, 

the party can now scrutinize 

each candidate to field 

the best one,” he said. 

The BJP chief added 

that party will aware 

masses in the state and particularly 

in Kashmir valley 

about the programs and 

pro-people initiatives being 

taken by the Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi. 

Chief Secretary reviews NFSA 

preparedness with DCs 


Jammu, Dec 21: In a video 

conference with DCs, Chief 

Secretary, B R Sharma Monday 

reviewed the progress 

with regard to the implementation 

of National Food 

Security Act in the State, 

which is slated to be rolled 

out on 1stFebruary 2016. 

With most of the DCs 

reporting close to 100% coverage 

in terms of issuance 

of declaration forms and receiving 

the same back with 

the required information, 

the Chief Secretary stressed 

ensuring that the data generated 

is scrutinized for 

errors and integrity, and is 

uploaded on the National 

Portal within the set deadline. 

Chief Secretary also 

called for making necessary 

improvements in the 

software meant to upload 

the data and to make it user 

friendly. “NIC should ensure 

the software is user friendly, 

for hassle free and expeditious 

punching of the data”, 

Sharma said. 

After all the data is received, 

scrutinized and uploaded 

on the Portal, next 

step will be to distribute Ration 

Cards to the public. The 

exercise of distributing Ration 

Cards is expected to start 

in the 1st week of January. In 

this regard, Chief Secretary 

asked DCs to get ready and 

place the necessary requirements 

of Ration Cards, category-wise, 

before the concerned 

CA&PD Director. 

In order to keep the 

public well informed about 

Ration Card status, the Chief 

Secretary instructed to explore 

use of bulk SMSs for 

the same. “Public should be 

thoroughly informed about 

the benefits of NFSA, under 

which they will receive 

assured monthly ration at 

highly subsidized rates” Chief 

Secretary said. 

Lady commits 

suicide in Pulwama 


Srinagar, Dec 21: A lady 

ended her life by consuming 

some poisonous 

substance in Pulwama 

District last evening, police 

said Monday evening. 

A lady (name 

withheld) resident of 

Malikpora Wasoora in 

district Pulwama consumed 

some poisonous 

substance at her home. 

She was immediately 

rushed to District Hospital 

Pulwama where she 

breathed her last. 

Meanwhile, two people 

died while four others were 

injured in road accidents in 

Kashmir. 

Two persons died while 

four others were injured in 

three separate road accidents 

in Pulwama, Sopore 

and Leh. 

In Pulwama, a Maruti 

vehicle bearing registration 

number JK016-0262 hit 

a static drilling machine 

near Joinery Mills Pampore, 

resulting in on spot death 

of two persons boarding 

the vehicle, identified as 

Ramesh Kumar Raina son 

of Prathvinath Raina and 

Ghulam Nabi Sofi son 

of Muhammad Ramzan 

Sofi residents of Nunar, 

Ganderbal. 

After completion of 

medico-legal formalities, 

the bodies of the deceased 

have been handed over to 

their relatives for last rites. 

Pampore police has registered 

a case in this regard. 

In Sopore, a vehicle 

bearing registration number 

JK05C-9371 hit and 

injured a pedestrian Gousia 

daughter of Fayaz Ahmed 

Lone resident of Tujjar 

Sharief at Tujjar Sharief, 

Bomie. 

The injured has been 

shifted to the hospital for 

treatment. 

In Leh, a Water Tanker 

bearing registration 

number 11/ZE 69075 met 

with an accident near Tari, 

Nyoma resulting in injuries 

to 03 passengers. All the injured 

have been shifted to 

the hospital for treatment. 

The police statement 

further said that a structure 

was damaged in fire in 

Urdu Bazar area here last 

evening. 

Fire broke out in 

Punzoo complex belonging 

to Waqar Ahmed Punzoo 

son of Mohammad Aslam 

resident of Sanat Nagar 

Housing Colony, at Ranger 

Masjid Bohri Kadal, Urdu 

Bazaar. Fire tenders brought 

under control with the help 

of police and locals. 

However, no loss of life 

or injury has been reported 

in this fire incident. 

Palhallan target of 

political vengeance: Shah 


Srinagar, Dec 21: Paying 

glorious tributes to Chaudhary 

Ghulam Abbas on his 

48th anniversary, Hurriyat 

Conference (g) Secretary 

General and Democratic 

Freedom Party chairperson, 

Shabir Ahmad Shah, 

Monday said the leader will 

always be remembered for 

his “great contribution to 

the freedom movement”. 

“Chaudhary Ghulam 

Abbas was a star of Kashmir’s 

freedom movement,” 

he said in a party statement. 

“Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas 

through the Muslim Conference 

gave a new direction 

to the Kashmir’s movement 

and when Sheikh Abdullah 

rechristened the party with 

National Conference, Chaudhary 

Abbas showed strong 

resistance against the move 

and took forward the mission 

of Muslim Conference,” Shah 

said, adding that ultimately 

Chaudhary Abbas became 

the President of Azad Kashmir. 

“During the 1947 massacre 

of Muslims, Chaudhary 

Abbas’s family had to face 

much hard ships.” 

The Hurriyat (g) Secretary 

General strongly 

condemned the “administration’s 

and police’s suppressive 

and repressive actions” 

upon the people of Palhallan 

terming it the “political vengeance”. 

“To slap PSAs on minors 

is intolerable and 

criticised the authorities’ 

brutal attitude against the 

Palhallan people,” he said, 

“Palhallan has always remained 

committed to the 

freedom movement. 

BSF detains three 

Kashmiri youth 

near border Attari 

Srinagar, Dec 21: Border Security 

Force (BSF) detained 

three Kashmir youth for 

alleged rash driving near 

border Attari on Monday. 

Reports said that BSF 

personnel arrested three 

Kashmiri youth after their 

vehicle rammed into a 

road divider near border in 

Attari. 

Reports claimed that 

Umar Bashir, Sajjad Ahmed 

and Shoaib Nissar aged 

between 21 and 28, were 

detained soon after their 

Toyota Innova hit a road 

divider near outer gates of 

the Integrated Check Post 

(ICP) at the border. 

The trio was reportedly 

subjected to interrogation 

by the BSF and intelligence 

agencies before being handed 

over to Amritsar district 

police. 

Hailing from Srinagar, 

the youth maintained that 

they had lost their way 

while going from Srinagar 

to Delhi. 

A BSF official told media 

that the antecedents of the 

three men were being verified. 

They were booked for 

rash driving and disobeying 

a public servant, he said. 

Para launches awareness 

Programmes in Beerwah 


Srinagar, Dec 21: Peoples 

Democratic Party Youth 

President Waheed Ur 

Rehman Para on Monday 

said that concerted efforts 

are being made to fillip 

the youth of the state. He 

was addressing gatherings 

separately at Khag 

and Beerwah as well. He 

said that comprehensive 

plan has been formulated 

for the youth of the state. 

During his speech, 

Para informed the 

general people present 

there about government 

schemes, make them 

understand the opportunities 

available with 

government and youth 

related policies. 

He also emphasized 

on Chief Ministers initiatives 

of building roads, 

education transformation, 

sports activities, health 

care and many other 

initiatives taken by the 

government. 

“Government is working 

on lines to provide 

better facilities including 

health, roads and sports 

that will boost the overall 

development of the 

state.” 

Terming the youth as 

assets of the state, he said 

that the youth of the state 

have performed at international 

levels and we all 

have hope that they will 

bloom from the state too. 

“It was an awareness 

regarding government 

schemes including Laadli, 

Aasra, and initiatives of 

the government, youth 

policies and other initiatives 

too.” 

Lambasting at Omar 

Abdullah’s role, he said 

that Misgovernance and 

corruption was endemic 

during his tenure as Chief 

Minister of the state. 

He further added 

that we are filling the 

gap that NC led government 

created during 

its tenure by ignoring 

the youth, creating 

anti youth policies and 

neglected them from 

participating in political 

decisions. 

Youth leaders including 

Jehangir, Aarif Laigaroo, 

irfan and many others 

spoke on the occasion. 

Bogus ration card scam >>>> 

SVC summons Assistant 

Director CA&PD 


Srinagar, Dec 21: The State 

Vigilance Commission (SVC) 

while reacting to a complaint 

regarding issuance of 

bogus ration cards thereby 

resulting in embezzlement 

of rations, has directed 

Assistant Director, CAPD 

Kathua, to ensure his personal 

appearance before the 

Commission on next date of 

hearing. 

SVC while proceeding 

on a complaint titled “Rughbubir 

Singh V/S Tarsem Lal”, 

Ex-Tehsil Supply Officer 

(TSO) Kathua, clubbed with 

complaint titled “Kali Das 

V/S Ashok Kumar, Tehsil 

Supply Officer (TSO), Hiranagar”, 

regarding embezzlements, 

withholding and 

black-marketing of essential 

food commodities, resulting 

in offences Mala-in-Se, allegedly 

committed by the 

respondent officials of CAPD 

Department, had directed 

TP Singh, the then Assistant 

Director, CAPD, Kathua as 

well as Kewal Krishan the 

present Assistant Director, 

CAPD, Kathua to hold an on 

spot enquiry in presence 

of the complainants and 

recording statements of 

concerned citizens against 

whom several ration cards 

have been shown in records 

in violation of rules, and 

thereafter furnish a factual 

report in the matter. 

“The said assistant directors 

instead of completing 

the enquiry and furnishing 

the requisite reports, sent 

either half baked reports or 

sought adjournments on one 

or the other pretext, which 

not only depicts non-serious 

approach of the said officers 

towards their legitimate 

duties, but also their action 

smacks of malpractice and 

abuse of their official position 

with consequence of loss to 

the Government exchequer,” 

Additional Secretary SVC 

said. 

The SVC taking a “stern 

note of the behaviour” exhibited 

by the officers of 

CA&PD Department has 

recommended to the Chief 

Secretary that remarks 

“the officer deliberately 

attempts to shield corrupt 

elements causing delay in 

enquiry into the corrupt 

practices of subordinates.

Precious Kashmir 

Need to learn 

our lessons 

ore than a year has passed and yet the imprints of the 2014 

deluge remain fresh. Such was the brunt and the force with 

which nature hit us, or arguably we made it hit us. There 

have been numerous debates on whether the floods that 

submerged Kashmir last year were avoidable or not. Both 

views have its takers however one feels that we should 

also ask ourselves whether we have learnt our lessons or 

not? Whether we know now that causing a considerable 

damage to the natural equilibrium does backfire sooner 

or later? Both governing and governed should face up to 

this. Nature had its way out and never wanted to splurge 

into our houses however when its area was squeezed, it 

had no other way than that. A few days ago a documentary 

screened at Kashmir University tried to showcase the 

same. Several reports confirm that illegal construction 

along the river and other actions hurtful to the environment 

are among the causes behind a flood situation. These 

reports also suggest strengthening of embankments of water 

bodies especially Jehlum to prevent or at least minimise 

the force of such catastrophes in future. 

Sunita Narain, an environmental activist and the editor of 

Down To Earth magazine and the Director of the Centre 

of Science and Environment, based in New Delhi in one 

of her reports says that the fact is that unseasonable and 

extreme rainfall began in the region on the night of September 

2. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) 

had issued a warning about the possibility of heavy to very 

heavy rainfall. But it was not heeded. It can be argued that 

such warnings are rarely actionable - governments do not 

comprehend that such rainfalls could have horrific consequences 

and so do not act in time. The fact is that there is 

evidence proving a change in global weather patterns and 

its natural variability, i.e. climate change, brought about 

by man-made carbon emissions is heating up the atmosphere 

faster than normal. Scientists who study monsoons 

tell us that they are beginning to make the distinction between 

a "normal" monsoon and an extreme amount of 

rain. Remember that monsoons are generally confounding 

natural events that are hard to predict and even harder to 

pin down. Even then scientists are able to find a change in 

patterns. Kashmir's unusually high rainfall was only part 

of the problem. The state does not have a flood forecasting 

system or capacity for disaster preparedness. Most of the 

natural drainage channels have been destroyed due to utter 

mismanagement. The traditional system of flood management 

was to channelise the water from the Himalayas 

into lakes and water channels. The Dal and Nageen lakes in 

Srinagar are not just its beauty spots but also its sponges. 

The water from the massive catchment comes into the 

lakes, which are interconnected. More importantly, each 

lake has its flood discharge channel from where the water 

spills over for drainage. But over time, we have forgotten 

the art of drainage - we only see land for building, 

nothing for water. 

Edit 

Srinagar,Tuesday 

22.12.2015 Tuesday 


4 

Only mediation can stop the 

violence in Burundi 

Solomon Dersso 

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union 

(AU) made the unprecedented decision to send 

a 5,500-strong intervention force to Burundi on 

December 17. Known as the African Prevention and 

Protection Mission in Burundi, the intervention force 

is meant to quell the deteriorating political crisis. 

Indeed, this decision came at a time when 

recent events raised concerns of imminent risk of the 

country relapsing back to civil war. The fact-finding 

mission of the African Commission on Human and 

Peoples’ Rights described the deteriorating crisis as 

“escalating violence and violations of human rights”. 

Similarly, the UN human rights chief warned that 

Burundi was “on the very cusp of a civil war”. 

What is remarkable about this decision is that 

the plan is to send the intervention force “with” or 

“without” the consent of Burundi’s government. This 

is the first time that the AU has decided to deploy an 

intervention mission even against the consent of a 

member state. 

This historic decision puts the protagonists in the 

Burundian crisis under the spotlight. It is an exercise 

in coercive diplomacy aimed at inducing cooperation. 

The actual worth of this decision depends on 

both whether the forces will be deployed with the 

consent of the Burundi government and how long 

it will take to assemble, organise, equip and deploy 

them. 

Consensual deployment 

Deployment of the troops with the consent of 

the government is the first and preferred option. As 

discussed by the American academic Paul Williams, 

even if the Burundi government consents to the 

deployment of the force, it is unlikely that the troops 

will be on the ground quickly enough in a matter of 

weeks. 

The decision for deploying troops should not 

come at the expense of the talks. 

Logistical and financial challenges are the major 

factors that often slow down troop deployment by 

the AU. As for its other peacekeeping operations, 

including its largest mission in Somalia (AMISOM), 

the AU had to mobilise more than 90 percent of the 

funding of this force from external sources, including 

from the European Union and the United Nations. 

Additionally, the AU members should discuss 

how they will raise the 5,500-strong intervention 

force. The organisation also needs to draw up and 

adopt the required technical and legal instruments 

such as the operational plan. 

Even in this best-case scenario, one cannot be 

sure when exactly the troops will be on the ground. 

For averting deaths similar to the deadliest one of December 

11 since the crisis began in April, the arrival of 

troops may not thus come soon enough. 

Nonconsensual deployment 

But indications so far suggest that the authorities 

in Bujumbura are not consenting to the AU troop 

Additionally, the AU members should discuss 

how they will raise the 5,500-strong 

intervention force. The organisation also 

needs to draw up and adopt the required 

technical and legal instruments such as 

the operational plan. 

deployment. While they have not responded officially 

yet, authorities are reported to have said that they 

neither allow nor need “foreign troops”. 

The refusal will effectively put the operation on 

hold. It can only be reactivated and enforced through 

a decision of the AU assembly - the decision-making 

body of the AU - and a resolution from the UN Security 

Council. 

Unless the AU does not hold an extraordinary 

summit, a decision endorsing the deployment of intervention 

force - which is not fully guaranteed - will 

not come until the end of January 2016. 

As the AU requested the UN to fund the deployment 

of the troops through the use of UN-assessed 

contributions, it is not only legally necessary but also 

financially imperative that the decision of the AU 

receives a UNSC stamp of approval. 

Apart from the fact that such approval is not 

fully guaranteed, the process of getting such approval 

could take time. 

The alternative 

www.perciouskashmir.com 

The first and important immediate step should 

be a gathering for peace talks. Every passing day 

without talks creates an order vacuum that makes the 

situation on the ground worse. 

There is no political roadmap for resolving the 

crisis inside Burundi. Such a roadmap could only be 

drawn through international peace talks. Thus, if the 

intervention was to go ahead and succeed, its success 

will not be complete without a multilateral political 

roadmap to the crisis. 

However, to date, no peace talks have been 

convened under the mediation process. The result has 

been a vacuum that allowed the crisis to fester, and be 

left to fate and the goodwill of the conflicting parties. 

As the tragic events of December 11 unambiguously 

showed, without the initiation of peace talks 

the crisis will certainly spiral out of control. 

The focus of the AU, regional and international 

actors should thus be on convening the peace talks as 

a matter of urgency. The decision for deploying troops 

should not come at the expense of the talks. 

Additionally, before the deployment of the 

troops, there is an urgent need for scaling up the 

necessary human rights and military monitoring 

mechanisms. In this regard South Africa’s call on the 

need for urgent strengthening of the size and operational 

capacity of the AU military experts and human 

rights observers should be fulfilled. 

Despite the enthusiasm it attracted - as the 

Libyan experience demonstrated - the AU’s decision 

on the use of troops is not a panacea for the crisis in 

Burundi. 

Solomon Ayele Dersso is a senior legal scholar, 

and an analyst on Africa and African Union affairs. 

Other Opinion 

An idea that might float 

H 

ow things have changed! A few decades ago, Indian 

ministers were seen as itinerants going around 

with a begging bowl for international aid while 

India’s growth rate was that of a tortoise. Today, 

the high-tech czars of Silicon Valley and CEOs of 

Fortune 500 companies are lining up for an Indian 

middle class of an estimated 400 million with purchasing 

power. However, they may find doing business 

with India not as easy as made out in meetings 

with top leaders of the nation. 

For instance, Sundar Pichai, the PIO heading the 

search engine giant Google, has an ambitious idea 

of bringing the Internet down from balloons 20 km 

up in the sky to remote regions of rural India. He 

has even got in-principle clearance to start pilot 

tests of his “Project Loon” and will be collaborating 

with BSNL. Having got the nod despite objections 

from civil aviation regarding balloons possibly interfering 

with aircraft paths, the defence ministry 

regarding an eye in the sky over security installations 

and the communications ministry over 

spectrum in the range of the 700 to 900 MHz currently 

occupied by telecom companies, Pichai has 

achieved a breakthrough that would have taken 

anyone else years. 

Serving the remotest areas of India with Internet 

from the sky is an exciting principle. Whether it 

is too risky from the security point of view needs 

to be answered. A solution could lie in the government 

collaborating actively with the project as a 

strategic partner. Apart from that, everything else 

that Google will be attempting in India is nearly 

altruistic. It is up to India to take advantage. 

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 

Email: preciouskashmir@gmail.com 

Website: www.preciouskashmir.com 

Turkey’s Kurdish issue: From 

peace to low intensity-war 

Galip Dalay 

It wasn’t long ago when optimism was the gist 

of the day on Turkey’s Kurdish issue. Many believed 

that there was about to be a substantial 

settlement of this century-old problem. 

In the early days of 2013, the armed 

conflict ceased. Peace as a new normality was 

setting in. 

Reaping the spoils of the peaceful political 

climate, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic 

Party (HDP) scored the highest electoral 

achievement in the history of the Kurdish political 

movement. 

Although support for the Kurdish parties in Turkey 

has traditionally hovered at 5-6 percent, the HDP’s 

young leader Selahattin Demirtas received 9.8 percent 

of the votes in the presidential election of August 

2014, and the HDP acquired 13 percent in the June 

2015 elections. That figure later dropped to 10.7 

percent in November’s snap elections. 

Changing dynamics 

At present, this picture seems to belong to a bygone 

era as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and 

Turkey have once again resumed armed violence. 

The PKK - inspired by the success of its sister 

organisation the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in 

Syria, is trying to replicate PYD tactics in the Kurdish 

southeast of Turkey. 

It is attempting to establish what it proclaims 

as “democratic autonomy” in some of the Kurdish 

towns - by digging trenches, building barricades and 

resorting to brute force. 

The fallacy in this approach is that Turkey is not 

Syria. Despite all its shortcomings, Turkey is a functioning 

democracy, where the HDP very recently 

could mount a powerful opposition to the ruling 

Justice and Development Party (AK party) government. 

At a time when the Kurdish movement has its 

largest parliamentary representation and is the 

strongest in its history, it is difficult to justify the 

recourse to the arms - especially considering the 

political climate induced by the peace process and 

strength of the Kurdish politics. 

In such a context, the PKK’s strategy to turn 

Kurdish cities, towns and neighbourhoods into a 

battleground expectedly invites a forceful response 

from the government. 

Since conditions of security and order are completely 

different in Turkey, a strategy inspired by the 

imbroglio in Syria is unlikely to work. 

The fact that the PKK has thus far failed to generate 

significant societal support and participation 

in its endeavour shows how ill-conceived this new 

approach has been. 

The HDP’s failure to distance itself from the 

PKK’s strategy cost the party more than one million 

votes. And the resumption of fighting after the June 

elections was another reason for the decreased support 

for the HDP at the snap elections. 

Nevertheless, the PKK appears to be determined 

in this new tactic. It is trying to impose its design on 

a number of Kurdish towns or districts, including 

Cizre in Sirnak, Sur in Diyarbakir and Nusaybin in 

Mardin. 

In this endeavour, it particularly uses militants 

from its urban wing the Patriotic Revolutionary 

Youth Movement (YDG-H). By investing heavily in 

urban warfare, the PKK appears to have forced the 

government to overreact, so it can easily stoke antigovernment 

feelings and turn them into a public 

backlash against the government. 

In fact, this is the second such attempt by the 

PKK. Inspired by the events in the Arab world, it 

tried to wage a “Revolutionary People’s War” in 

2011. Nevertheless, this ill-fated attempt failed to 

deliver a “Kurdish spring”. 

But the PKK’s new urban warfare tactics, ensuing 

clashes and governments’ military operations 

wreak havoc on people’s daily lives. 

The government imposed curfews across the 

region. The death toll resulting from this war is 

increasing. 

And the Kurds are on the move: They are migrating 

in tens of thousands from their homes. In 

the 1990s, the state displaced millions of Kurds from 

their homes. But this time, the PKK’s actions and the 

subsequent operations are causing the displacement 

of the Kurds. 

No easy way out 

Undoubtedly the Turkish government has lacked 

a sophisticated understanding of the Kurdish issue. 

The problem is no longer confined to lack of democratisation 

or economic hardships. Its collective 

aspect and regional dimension can’t be overlooked 

considering Turkey still doesn’t have a sustainable 

policy towards the Syrian Kurds. 

Moreover, it is clear that the Kurdish peace process 

has been given a back seat as the government 

has focused on other priorities and set new agendas 

in the past two years. 

In this respect, the increasingly nationalistic 

parlance and policies adopted by the officials has 

not helped the matter either. But it is the PKK that 

bears primary responsibility for the latest outbreak 

of violence and growing death tolls. It was the PKK 

that first pulled the trigger that terminated the 

2.5-year-long ceasefire on July 22 by killing two 

police officers. 

At a time when the Kurdish movement has its 

largest parliamentary representation and is the 

strongest in its history, it is difficult to justify the 

recourse to arms - especially considering the political 

climate induced by the peace process and the 

strength of Kurdish politics. 

It is valid to ask, if not now, when will the time 

be ripe for politics to play its role in the Kurdish 

issue? 

Only months ago, the Kurdish political movement 

- from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to the 

election manifesto of the HDP - pledged loyalty to 

the settlement of the issue within the boundaries of 

Turkey. They claimed that their political platform ws 

striving to create a more democratic Turkey. 

One can plausibly argue that for the Kurdish 

political movement, a democratic Turkey means a 

country formed of autonomous regions or federal 

provinces, in which the Kurds will have a bigger say 

in the political arrangements of their areas. 

But the means to achieve this is as important 

as the end. How can turning cities into war zones 

achieve this purported “democratic autonomy”? 

As the region is dramatically changing, the PKK 

seems to be dynamically redefining its priorities 

as it identifies emerging opportunities with new 

potential gains and rising international prestige. And 

this bodes ill for the settlement of the Kurdish issue 

in Turkey. 

Galip Dalay is a senior associate fellow on Turkey 

and Kurdish Affairs at the Al Jazeera Centre for 

Studies, and research director at Al Sharq Forum. 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s 

own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial 

policy. 

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


Sensex Nifty Gold 

Business/ International 

Tuesday 

5 



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

216.68 

72.50 

128.00 

235.00 

0.09 

0.20 

0.15 

3.95 

8.10 

2.40 

25735.90 

7834.45 

25,210.00 

34,168.00 

66.31 

75.90 

718.85 

230.45 

258.20 

1,075.40 

Nifty ends above 7800 led by financials 

Govt brings bankruptcy law to 

improve ease of doing business 

New Delhi, Dec 21: Seeking 

to improve ease of doing 

business, government today 

introduced in Parliament the 

‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy 

Code, 2015’ that provides for 

resolution of insolvency in a 

timebound manner. 

The bill aims at promoting 

investments, leading to higher 

economic growth. 

It also provides for setting 

up of a ‘Insolvency and 

Bankruptcy Board of India’ to 

regulate professionals, agencies 

and information utilities 

engaged in resolution of 

insolvencies of companies, 

partnership firms and individuals. 

“The Code also proposes 

to establish a fund to called 

the Insolvency and Bankruptcy 

Fund of India ...,” said 

the statement of objects and 

reasons of the bill tabled in 

Lok Sabha by finance minister 

Arun Jaitley. 

It further said that a new 

legislation was needed to 

deal with insolvency and 

bankruptcy as the existing 

framework is “inadequate, ineffective 

and results in undue 

delays in resolution”. 

As per the proposed 

legislation, the corporate insolvency 

would have to be 

resolved within a period 180 

days, extend able by a further 

90 days. It also provides 

for fast-track resolution of 

corporate insolvency within 

90 days. 

Currently, there is no single 

law dealing with insolvency 

and bankruptcy. Liquidation 

of Companies is handled 

by the High Courts, individual 

cases are dealt with under the 

Presidency Towns Insolvency 

Act, 1909 and Provincial Insolvency 

Act, 1920. 

The other laws which deal 

with issue include SICA, 1985; 

Recovery of Debt Due to Banks 

and Financial Institution Acts, 

1993, Sarfaesi Act, 2002 and 

Companies Act, 2013. 

The objective of the Code, 

the statement said, “is to consolidate 

and amend the laws 

relating to re-organisation 

and insolvency resolution of 

corporate persons, partnership 

firms, and individuals in a 

timebound manner for maximisation 

of value of assets of 

such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, 

availability of 

credit ...” 

It also seek to balance the 

interest of all the stakeholders 

including alteration in the 

priority of payment of government 

dues. 

An effective legal framework 

for timely resolution of 

insolvency and bankruptcy, it 

added, would support development 

of credit markets an 

encourage entrepreneurship. 

The Code would “improve 

ease of doing business, and 

facilitate more investments 

leading to higher economic 

growth and development”. 

Mumbai, Dec 21: Markets finish the first 

day of the truncated week on a firm note 

on fresh buying interest as investors 

heaved a sigh of relief after the uncertainty 

around the US Federal Reserve interest 

rate hike got over previous week. 

A stellar rally was seen across the metal 

stocks after the government decided to 

slate a minimum import price (MIP) for 

steel in order to prevent cheap imported 

steel from flooding the market. 

The S&P BSE Sensex surged 217 

points to end at 25,736 and the Nifty50 

climbed 73 points to end at 7,834. 

Meanwhile, Brent crude prices 

slipped to its lowest level since 2004 on 

supply glut as oil producing countries 

from the Middle East to Russia and Iran 

flood the world with increased supplies. 

Back home, the Finance Minister 

Arun Jaitley will table the Insolvency 

and Bankruptcy Bill in the parliament 

later today. 

Further, uncertainty over the GST 

Bill continues following the stand 

off between the government and the 

Congress. The winter session of the 

parliament ends on Wednesday, December 

23. 

STOCKS IN FOCUS 

BSE Metal index emerged as the top 

gainer up 1.6% followed by Bankex, Realty, 

FMCG and Power indices up between 

1%-1.5%. Healthcare and Consumer Durables 

indices were the biggest losers 

down 0.5%. 

A stellar rally was seen across the 

metal stocks after the government decided 

to slate a minimum import price 

(MIP) for steel in order to prevent cheap 

New Delhi, Dec 21: At a time when oil 

prices have lost nearly 50% from their peak 

levels and touched 11-year low on Monday, 

Goldman Sachs and CLSA suggest that prices 

could be headed towards $20 per barrel 

going head. 

On Monday, Brent oil prices for February 

delivery dropped nearly 2%, or 71 cents, 

to $36.17 a barrel on the London-based ICE 

Futures Europe Exchange, the lowest intraday 

level since mid-July 2004, reports 

suggest. US Benchmark West Texas Intermediate 

fell 32 cents, or nearly 1%, 

to $34.41 a barrel. 

The slide comes on the back of 

fears of a slowdown in global growth 

that will impact oil demand coupled 

with a supply glut and the Organisation 

of the Petroleum Exporting 

Countries (OPEC) holding production 

steady. Given this, analysts expect the 

prices to continue sliding further over 

the next few months. In a recent report, 

Christopher Wood, managing director & 

equity strategist at CLSA maintained a bearish 

view on oil and expects it to hit the $20 a 

barrel mark going ahead. 

imported steel from flooding the market. 

In the metal space, Tata Steel, Vedanta 

and Hindalco were up between 

1.6%-2.7% . Meanwhile, Adani Ports and 

Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and 

Asian Paints have replaced Vedanta 

and Hindalco Industries from the 

30-share S&P BSE Sensex with effect 

from today. 

Meanwhile, banking stocks finished 

higher on the back of higher volumes as 

the government is set to introduce the 

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015 

in Parliament on Monday and looks forward 

to push its reform agenda. ICICI 

Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank 

climbed between 0.3%-3.4%. 

Another prominent gainer in today’s 

trade was Cipla up 0.5% after it 

announced the launch of generic version 

of anti hepatitis drug Ledipasvir- 

Sofosbuvir in the domestic market. 

The drug is used for treating hepatitis 

C virus. About 12-18 million Indians 

are suffering from the disease 

while globally the number of patients 

is about 185 million. 

Among other gainers include ONGC, 

“With oil having now broken through 

the key psychological $40 support level, 

which the bulls were hoping would be the 

bottom, it is appropriate for GREED & fear 

to repeat the bearish view maintained here 

and lower the formal target to $20. It remains 

remarkable 

more than 

one year after 

the oil collapse began how little US production 

has come down as the marginal cost of 

shale continues to decline,” Wood says. 

Adding: “US crude oil production 

ITC, M&M, Infosys and Hero Motocorp 

up between 1.5%-3%. 

On the flip side, selling pressure 

continued in Sun Pharma after the company 

said it has received a warning 

letter from the United States Food and 

Drug Administration (USFDA) post the 

September 2014 inspection of its facility 

located at Halol in Gujarat. The 

stock lost 5%. 

GLOBAL STOCKS 

Asian stocks closed mixed largely in 

red mirroring losses in Wall Street. Japan’s 

Nikkei lost 0.4% after the BOJ kept 

monetary policy unchanged as expected, 

but the central bank announced a 

new programme to purchase ETFs at annual 

pace of ¥300 billion ($2.45 billion). 

Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite 

and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 

on buying interest in cheap blue chips. 

The benchmark indices gained between 

0.2%-2%. 

The US and UK are scheduled to announce 

their Q3 GDP data is on Tuesday 

each. Meanwhile, US initial jobless 

claims data for December is scheduled 

to be release on Thursday. 

Oil dips to 11-year low; CLSA, 

Goldman Sachs see $20 levels 

peaked at 9.61 million barrels per day in 

early June and has since fallen by only 4.5% 

to 9.18 million last week. It also remains 

hard to see why anyone should expect 

OPEC pricing discipline to be restored when 

Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged in a war 

via proxies in West Asia.” 

Analysts at Goldman Sachs also say 

that with the prices now below their 

three-month $38/barrel WTI forecast, they 

still see high risks that prices may decline 

further, as storage continues to fill. 

“Our base case remains that the 

global oil stock build will on aggregate 

remain shy of storage capacity, 

although the storage buffer has once 

again narrowed. But this rebalancing 

is far from achieved: (1) the US rig 

count and E&P guidance remain too 

high to achieve the required supply decline, 

(2) we see risks to our OPEC production 

forecast of 32 million barrels/day next year as 

skewed to the upside (Iran), (3) storage continues 

to fill with the odds of hitting storage 

constraints by the spring rising,” said Damien 

Courvalin, Abhisek Banerjee, Raquel Ohana of 

Goldman Sachs in a recent report. 

‘Trai’s call drop 

fine not feasible 

for industry’ 

New Delhi, Dec 21: Telenor 

India, the only Indian telecom 

company to offer compensation 

to its users for call drops, 

has said the monetary proposal 

by the telecom regulator may 

not be feasible for the industry. 

“We have kept it very 

simple: For every call drop, 

a customer gets a call back. 

There is a consultation process 

and we have given our views. 

But, what the government 

is proposing might not be 

absolutely possible that way 

for telecom players,” Upanga 

Dutta, chief marketing officer, 

Telenor India said. The Cellular 

Operators Association of India 

and Association of Unified 

Telecom Service Providers of 

India have challenged Telecom 

Regulatory Authority of India 

(Trai) directive of giving Rs 1 

to mobile users for every call 

drop, maximum three per day, 

in the Delhi high court here. 

The court has asked Trai to 

respond on Tuesday. 

Telcos have been saying a 

monetary compensation is not 

the solution for call drops and 

it would cause huge financial 

loss to the industry. The 

Trai proposal will come into 

place from January 1. “Mobile 

technology is not exactly like 

offering services through 

copper. It is difficult to give 

uninterrupted services and 

even norms allow some call 

drops. But, customers does 

not understand this, which is 

why we offer compensation 

to our 48 million users to 

show Telenor is a fair company,” 

he said. 

When asked, how much 

minutes have been credited to 

its users on call drops, Dutta 

refused to give any numbers. 

The firm has a mechanism to 

ascertain if the call dropped 

due to a network error or not. 

Telenor, which has services 

in six circles across India, has 

also taken the lead in offering 

its subscribers free life 

insurance along with every 

recharge. A user is given 100 

times the value of recharge as 

the premium every month. 

Taliban gain ground in fight for 

Afghanistan’s Helmand 

Kabul, Dec 21: The Sangin district of 

Afghanistan’s Helmand province has 

fallen to the Taliban just a day after 

Helmand’s deputy governor used Facebook 

to plead with the Afghan president 

for help holding the group off. 

Sangin fell to the Taliban after 

hours of fierce clashes that killed 

more than 90 soldiers in two days, an 

Afghan police spokesperson told Al 

Jazeera, with the Taliban taking over 

police and military installations. 

The Taliban also confirmed the 

siege. Fierce clashes are still ongoing. 

“However, the special forces unit 

has arrived and are planning a massive 

operations led by the Afghan 

forces. 

“Some families have been displaced 

because of the clashes and 

many are trying to leave.” 

Afghanistan’s chief executive, 

Abdullah Abdullah, told a press conference 

that “an urgent meeting will 

happen soon to take immediate security 

action in Helmand”. 

“The action will repel enemy 

attack,” he said. 

Helmand’s deputy governor, Mohammad 

Jan Rasoolyar, had posted to 

Facebook on Sunday asking President 

Ashraf Ghani for urgent intervention 

to save a province that British and US 

forces struggled for years to defend. 

“I know that bringing up this issue 

on social media will make you 

very angry,” Rasoolyar wrote in the 

post, which was addressed to Ghani. 

“But I cannot be silent any more 

... as Helmand stands on the brink. 

Will try to form govt after 

election: Spain PM 

Madrid, Dec 21: Outgoing Spanish prime 

minister Mariano Rajoy said he will try to 

form a new government after his conservative 

Popular Party won the most seats in 

a general election but lost its absolute majority. 

“I will try to form a government, a stable 

government,” he told supporters gathered 

outside his party’s headquarters in 

Madrid. 

“We will need to talk a lot, negotiate and 

reach agreement,” he added as hundreds of 

supporters chanted: “Spain! Spain!” 

The Popular Party won 28.71 per cent of 

the vote, giving it 123 seats in the 350-seat 

parliament, well short of the 176 seats needed 

for an absolute majority and down from 

186 seats in the outgoing assembly. 

The Socialists came in second with 90 

seats while two newcomers, anti-austerity 

party Podemos and centre-right Ciudadanos, 

came third and fourth respectively. 

Podemos captured 69 seats while Ciudadanos 

got 40 seats, putting an end to over 

30 years of dominance by the Popular Party 

and the Socialists. 

The results mean the only parties able 

to form a majority with Rajoy would be the 

Socialists or Podemos, both of which are unlikely 

scenarios. 

Going forward, King Felipe VI, the head 

of state, will nominate a prime minister after 

holding talks with the leaders of each party 

that has won seats in parliament. 

The nominated leader must then win a 

vote of confidence in the assembly to take 

office. 

On a first vote the candidate must get 

more than half of the 350 lawmakers in parliament 

in order to form a government. 

Ninety men have been killed in Gereshk 

and Sangin districts in the last 

two days.” 

Local officials backed Rasoolyar’s 

assertions, saying the Taliban were 

making steady gains in districts such 

as Sangin. 

“These clashes between the Taliban 

and Afghan forces have been going 

on for many days now. The Taliban 

are not far from taking over the entire 

province as we see,” Ali Ahmad, a 

Damascus, Dec 21: After years of waning 

influence, Russia and Iran made a 

dramatic comeback in the Middle East 

in 2015 as they threw their support behind 

Syria`s embattled President Bashar 

al-Assad. 

A decades-long backer of the Syrian 

regime, Moscow dramatically raised 

the stakes this year by deploying its air 

force to bomb rebels fighting Assad`s 

Army. 

And after years of isolation and 

crippling sanctions, Tehran returned as 

a regional power with a seat at Syria`s 

peace talks, denoting growing international 

legitimacy. 

But analysts question whether 

Russia and Iran`s investments will ultimately 

earn them leading roles in the 

region, or if they will get bogged down 

Lashkar Gah resident told Al Jazeera. 

“The government is not taking 

necessary actions at all. If they did 

ahead of time, the situation would not 

have been this bad.” 

Responding to the post, deputy 

presidential spokesperson, Syed Zafar 

Hashemi, said the “President is aware 

of the Facebook post and is taking immediate 

necessary actions”. 

Hashmat Moslih, a political analyst 

and commentator on Afghanistan, 

told Al Jazeera that “the problem 

here is that the government is trying 

to make peace with the Taliban and 

not really having a military strategy.” 

“I don’t think it is going to be a 

very permanent takeover of Sangin 

district by the taliban if the government 

can get its act together and 

come up with a quick strategy, and a 

strategy that is not only going to deal 

with Sangin as an issue in hand but as 

a long term strategy to have things in 

control in future. 

“Then the government has a 

good chance of winning the district 

again,” he said. 

Devastating mudslide leaves 

91 people missing in China 

Beijing, Dec 21: At least 91 

people were missing after 

a huge mound of mud and 

construction waste collapsed 

at a business park in 

southern China and buried 

33 buildings in the country’s 

latest industrial disaster. 

Premier Li Keqiang ordered 

an official investigation 

into Sunday’s landslide 

in the southern boomtown 

of Shenzhen, just across the 

border from Hong Kong, 

which comes four months 

after huge chemical blasts at 

the northern port of Tianjin 

killed more than 160 people. 

The mud and waste 

smashed into multi-storey 

buildings at the Hengtaiyu 

industrial park in the city’s 

northwestern Guangming 

New District, toppling them 

in collisions that sent rivers 

of earth skyward. 

“The area affected 

equals 14 soccer pitches - 

so that gives you an idea of 

how big this thing was,” Al 

in the Middle East quagmire. 

“The resurgence of Iran and Russia 

is obvious, and their interventionism is 

increasingly unabashed,” said Karim Bitar, 

head of research at the Institute for 

International and Strategic Affairs. 

“They are looking to fill the void left 

by the American retreat” from the region, 

he added. 

This interventionist streak is most 

prominent in Syria, where the nearly 

five-year-old conflict has worn down 

government troops. 

After several years of providing financial 

aid and military advisers, Moscow 

launched an air war in support of 

Assad in September. 

The strikes have targeted a patchwork 

of armed forces hostile to the regime, 

ranging from US-backed rebels 

Jazeera’s Adrian Brown reported. 

“Most of [the missing] 

are migrant workers,” he 

said, adding that it is usually 

migrant workers who are 

most badly affected by such 

disasters in China. 

Speaking to the official 

Xinhua news agency, a local 

worker said: “ I saw red earth 

and mud running towards 

the company building.” 

“It’s been hours after he 

was buried, and we are quite 

worried,” she said. 

Xinhua said 14 people 

had been rescued and more 

Bashar al-Assad allies Russia, Iran 

in Mideast resurgence 

to jihadist groups including the Islamic 

State organisation.With the collapse of 

the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow lost 

its influence in the Middle East -- where 

it had invested time, energy and financial 

resources for years -- seemingly 

overnight. 

In May 1994, it watched powerless 

as the Soviet-backed Democratic 

Republic of Yemen buckled 

under pressure from the Saudi-allied 

north. 

Less than a decade later, Russia`s influence 

in Iraq dimmed with the ousting 

and death of Saddam Hussein following 

the US-led invasion. 

History seemed to repeat itself in 

October 2011 with the UN-sanctioned 

military campaign in Libya against Russia 

ally Muammar Gaddafi. 

than 900 people had been 

evacuated from the site by 

Sunday evening. 

Rescue operations were 

slowed by numerous obstacles, 

including continued 

rain, low visibility overnight, 

and mud, Ao Zhuoqian, a 

member of the Shenzhen 

fire brigade involved in onsite 

rescue, told Xinhua. 

State television showed 

scenes of devastation, with 

crumpled buildings sticking 

up from heaps of brown 

mud which stretched out 

across the edge of the industrial 

park. 

Russia will develop, 

not use, nuclear 

weapons: Putin 

Moscow, Dec 21: President 

Vladimir Putin says Russia will 

continue to develop nuclear 

weapons but doesn’t intend 

to use them. The Russian 

leader made the comment in 

a documentary called “World 

Order” that was aired on state 

television today night. 

“Russia as a leading nuclear 

country will be improving 

this weapon as a containment 

factor; the nuclear triad is the 

basis of our nuclear security 

polices,” he said, referring to 

the three main delivery systems 

for nuclear warheads a” 

bombers, intercontinental ballistic 

missiles and submarinelaunched 

ICBMs.


HEALTH 


Srinagar | Tuesday 


36 

Steps to improve your 

emotional health 

Emotional health can lead to success in work, relationships 

and health. But what happens when you 

have low self-esteem, lack confidence and generally 

feel beat no matter what? Yes, life can tough. But it's 

important to know that there is a fine line between 

emotional health and mental health and one affects the 

other. 

The worst part is that when your emotional and 

mental health is a wreck, your physical health also 

goes downhill. That's why today we break down the 

barriers and walls that are stopping you from living 

your life to the fullest. 

What is emotional health? 

When your self worth is less then your emotional 

health also takes a beating. You tend to see the world 

in a negative frame or you just turn into a pessimist. 

Being a pessimist can hamper not just your thoughts 

but also your well being. Today we shall try some steps 

to help you change this negative nature and infuse 

some easy solutions. 

Reasons for poor emotional health 

There are several reasons why you may experience 

weak emotional health - work, relationship with 

friends, partner or family, finance, past experience. 

The reasons are endless but the rut it creates is like a 

bottomless pit. 

Signs of poor emotional health: 

- Are you obsessed with the same thoughts? Or to 

put it nicely, are you preoccupied with one thought - 

for example, why did my ex dump me? 

- Insomnia. 

- Zero self respect, lack of confidence, blaming 

yourself constantly. 

- Change in your weight. 

- Falling sick often. 

- Always tired or lack energy. 

- Difficulty controlling anger. 

Well these are some of the signs of poor emotional 

health. 

Here's how you can improve your emotional 

health and get back to living your life to the fullest. 

Acceptance 

Shake off your poor emotional health by accepting 

that you are in a rut. Accepting it is the first step 

towards recovery. 

Get out of the house 

Staying in the house and avoiding your friends is 

not going to make anything better. Make a conscience 

effort to step out more often and meet your friends or 

well wishers. The good company of food people is a 

sure shot way to step out of the rut. 

Therapy 

Intense and persistent problems need the advice 

and knowledge of a shrink. They understand the 

psychology of your mind and will suggest ways to 

overcome your problem. Even though psychologists 

and shrinks are not commonly approached in India, 

social stigma is not a reason for you to not seek professional 

help. 

Talk about it 

Men rarely want to talk about their problems and 

what's in their head simply because it takes a lot of 

convincing and trust for someone to open up. Talking 

about your problem will help you shed the burden 

from your shoulders and more importantly, from the 

heart. 

Traditional Healing 

Yoga, meditation, deep breathing are a few 

favoured choices for sages and celebrities. These 

ancient techniques are still instrumental in relieving 

you from unnecessary stress and clear your mind. But 

these techniques should be followed everyday and 

not sporadically. 

Be thankful 

Even though it may sound preachy, but count 

your blessings. By doing so you will realise that there 

are still a lot of good things in your life and you have 

more reasons to be cheerful than sad. 

Be in touch with your emotions 

Understanding your emotions and tracing the 

root cause of the emotion will tell you why you are 

sad, angry or depressed in the first place. Observing 

your emotions can help you control it and avoid angry 

outbursts. 

Find some ME time 

You may think we are contradicting our statements 

but you need to spend time in solitude. Some 

constructive alone time will help you introspect and 

its a good chance for getting away from the chaos of 

daily life. 

Exercise can improve mental health 

Exercise and physical activity is a good outlet to 

improve mental and emotional health. You can also 

lose weight, improve your health and be fit. All you 

need is 30 minutes per day to see results. 

Find something you like to do 

Everyone has some kind of a hobby or something 

they like to do - playing games, painting, dancing or 

hanging out with friends. The point is do something 

that will not isolate you completely for hours. And no, 

'facebooking' is not a hobby. 

Develop resilience 

Be resilient. It will not only help you but will also 

ensure that you can face any challenge life throws at 

you. Besides coping with the emotions you should be 

able to bounce back to normalcy. Developing resilience 

is art that should be nurtured to overcome a 

mental breakdown or an outburst. 

Sleep and rest 

During turbulent times your mind doesn't not get 

rest so instead of over-thinking your problems sleep 

on it. Get sufficient sleep and rest as lack of sleep will 

only add stress to your body and physical health. 

Eat right 

Fallout of poor emotional health leads to emotional 

eating as people tend to eat to drown their feelings. 

Emotional eating is linked the weight gain and hence 

it is important to know that following a right and 

have a balanced diet with some amount of physical 

activity is crucial for emotional health. 

Getting forgetful could be 

sign of dementia 

Do you often misplace your 

belongings or forget why 

you came upstairs? Such 

memory problems could 

signal the early stages of dementia, 

warns a recent study. 

The University of California study 

said women who reported problems 

with their memory were 70 percent 

more likely to be diagnosed with mild 

cognitive impairment or dementia decades 

later, Daily Mail reported. 

Normal memory problems include 

taking several minutes to recall where 

the car is parked, forgetting to call a 

friend back, putting things down and 

being unable to find them soon after 

or forgetting the name of someone you 

have just met. 

This could happen as our immediate 

short-term memory is very easily 

distractible, according to Dr Oliver 

Cockerell, a consultant neurologist at 

The London Clinic. 

Stress, grief and lack of sleep can 

also affect memory, as can trying to do 

too many things at once. 

However, if you have symptoms 

like finding multi-tasking increasingly 

difficult, problems negotiating familiar 

places, such as you regularly can’t find 

your vehicle in the car park, forgetting 

the names of close relatives 

and friends or problem in recognising 

faces, colours, shapes etc, it 

needs to be attended. 

Many of these symptoms could 

actually be a sign of depression, 

stress or a lack of concentration. 

However, they may be early warning 

signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s. 

There is a type of Alzheimer’s 

where memory is unaffected, but 

the part of the brain responsible 

for visual processing is damaged. 

Interrupted sleep affects us 

more than lack of sleep 

Being interrupted during 

sleep is likely to affect 

your mood more than 

not getting enough sleep, 

a study suggests. Researchers 

in USA studied 

62 men and women and split them 

into three experimental conditions. 

One group were subject to 

“forced awakenings” during sleep, 

others went to bed late and the last 

group went to sleep uninterrupted. 

They were analysed over 3 days. 

The group who were rearly woken 

displayed regularly woken displayed 

a “low positive mood” after 

the first night, however after the 

second, they had a reduction of 31% 

in positive mood.Those who went 

to bed later reported a 12% drop 

in positive mood after the second 

Diet lacking 

soluble fibre 

can lead to 

weight gain 

night. The group also had shorter 

periods of deep, slow-wave sleep 

which researchers found to have 

a significant association with the 

reduction in positive mood.Patrick 

Finan, professor of psychiatry , 

said: “When your sleep is disrupted 

throughout the night, you don’t 

have the opportunity to progress 

through the sleep stages to get the 

amount of slow-wave sleep that is 

key to the feeling of restoration.” 

A 

diet missing soluble fibre promotes 

inflammation in the intestines and 

poor gut health, leading to weight 

gain, suggests new research. 

Moreover, incorporating soluble 

fibre back into the diet can restore gut health, 

the research conducted in mice showed. 

Foods rich in soluble fibre include oatmeal, 

nuts, beans, apples, and blueberries. 

“If our observations were to prove applicable 

to humans, it would suggest that encouraging 

consumption of foods with high soluble 

fibre content may be a means to combat the 

epidemic of metabolic disease,” the researchers 

said. 

The research team at Georgia State University 

examined the effects of diets varying in 

amounts of soluble and insoluble fibres, protein 

and fat on the structure of the intestines, fat 

Vitamin D pill a day 

keeps heart risk at bay 

You may want to start 

popping Vitamin D pills 

as a recent research 

has found that taking 

the supplements can 

improve exercise performance 

and lower the 

risk of heart disease. 

Vitamin D, which 

is both a vitamin and a 

hormone, helps control 

levels of calcium and 

phosphate in the blood 

and is essential for the 

formation of bones and 

teeth. Sources of Vitamin 

D include oily fish 

and eggs, but it can be 

difficult to get enough 

through diet alone. Most 

people generate vitamin 

D by exposing their skin 

to ultraviolet B rays in 

sunlight. In the study, 

researchers from Queen 

Margaret University in 

Edinburgh found that 

adults supplementing 

with vitamin D had 

lower blood pressure 

compared to those 

given a placebo, as well 

as having lower levels 

of the stress hormone 

cortisol in their urine. 

A fitness test found 

that the group taking 

vitamin D could cycle 

6.5km in 20 minutes, 

compared to just 5km 

at the start of the 

experiment. 

accumulation and weight gain in mice. 

The researchers found that mice on a diet 

lacking soluble fibre gained weight and had 

more fat compared with mice on a diet including 

soluble fibre. 

The intestines of mice on the soluble 

fibre-deficient diet were also shorter and had 

thinner walls. These structural changes were 

observed as soon as two days after starting 

the diet. Introducing soluble fibre into the diet 

restored gut structure. 

Supplementing with soluble fibre insulin 

restored the intestinal structure in mice on the 

soluble fibre-deficient diet. 

Mice that received cellulose, an insoluble 

fibre, however, did not show improvements. 

The data suggest a difference in health 

benefits between soluble and insoluble dietary 

fibres, the researchers stated. 

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

India........ 

Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz would not be allowed 

to meet Kashmiri separatist leaders during his visit here. 

Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said in 

Lok Sabha that India and Pakistan decided to hold talks on ‘terror’ 

when the Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif 

met in Ufa (Russia) in July and then in Paris recently. 

“We said we can talk so that terrorism comes to an end. 

So talks (between NSAs) took place in Bangkok where we discussed 

about terrorism. But one meeting will not bring a solution 

to all the problem. So we will continue the dialogue,” she 

said during Question Hour. When BJP member Ganesh Singh 

asked whether India was exploring options like the US did to 

hunt down terrorists like Osama Bin Laden, Swaraj said India is 

talking to Pakistan on the terrorist camps existing in Pakistanadministered 

Kashmir (PaK) as “war is not an option”. 

Businessmen........ 

pertaining to cross-LoC trade and activities of the JK-JCCI. (Agencies) 

Festival........ 

Studies and theatre including after untiring efforts. 

The committee has shortlisted Forty-four (40) world-class 

films from all genres out of about 400 entries from more than 

50 countries. The films include seven (7) World Premieres, 

fifteen (15) South Asian Premieres, two (2) International Premieres, 

One Asian Premier and One Indian Premier. 

On the occasion XMITA also spoke about the ‘Pan LoC J&K 

Development Plan’ prepared and designed by the organization 

in association with Allied Peace Council (APC). 

Chairperson Yaqout Mushtaq said: “From the past 8 years, 

XMITA and APC have been working very hard in association 

with the topmost think tanks from world over.” 

She said the organization have been able to create a development 

plan for entire J&K. 

“Along with infrastructure, governance optimization and 

engineering strategies for J&K, Pakistan administrated Kashmir 

and Gilgit-Baltistan, XMITA has also developed a united sensuous 

first of its kind after 1931, and it’s schedule will probably be 

released in May 2015,” she added. 

Disband....... 

local population of villages. 

Right from 1995, these VDC members have been indulging 

in social crimes while there anti-social acts sparked multiple 

protests from Muslim community in Jammu region particularly 

in Chenab Valley. “The people of Chenab Valley have been subjected 

to worst atrocities by VDCs and their cries go unheard. 

VDCs, that comprise non-Muslims, have been unleashing terror 

in the areas of Doda, Kishtwar, Rajouri and Poonch,” claimed 

Rasheed. 

Senior Hurriyat leader Aga Syed Hasan said that these VDCs 

arrest Muslim youth under “fake cases and project them as 

militants”. “They are involved in extortion, issuing threats, kidnapping 

of Muslim girls and even rapes. The only thing is their 

atrocities don’t come to fore,” he said. 

Another separatist leader Muhammad Yousuf Naqash said 

that after committing every social crime. 

A police official on condition of anonymity said that scores 

of FIRs stand registered against VDC members for their alleged 

involvement in social crimes. 

In September 2010, a VDC member was disarmed and arrested 

for allegedly making a rape bid on a girl in Badherwah. In 

July 2013, 4 persons including the brother of a Village Defence 

Committee (VDC) member were arrested after they kidnapped 

and raped a 15-year-old girl in Kuntwara, a remote village of 

Kishtwar district. 

In July this year, a VDC member was arrested for firing shots, 

triggering panic and terror among the people in Rajouri district. 

Rasheed....... 

the police action and said that in a Muslim dominated state, 

Muslims are not even not being allowed to mourn the innocents 

deaths and police had no justification to stop the peaceful 

AIP protesters from having a peaceful sit-in in front of Mufti’s 

residence who is directly responsible for all these killings and 

other episodes taking place in the state. 

Er Rasheed asked Mufti to take lessons from the history and 

should be prepared to same fate face the fate as Mir Jaffar and 

Mir Sadiq met. 

NC........ 

a well conceived conspiracy. 

The Provincial President said that the gruesome murder has 

created anguish in the party cadre of the area and senior National 

Conference leaders were camping there to monitor the 

situation and to cool down tempers. “As a responsible political 

party we are doing our best to ensure that situation does not go 

out of control but at the same time we want to emphasise need 

for a thorough judicial probe to unmask the real perpetrators”, 

he said adding that the people have right to know who was calling 

the shots under veils. 

To a question whether the murder was a handiwork of ration 

mafia, which has become active for the past few months, 

Rana said this can be ascertained only a judicial probe. He, however, 

expressed concern over the atmosphere of fear being generated 

to muzzle the political dissent. He said the coalition dispensation 

seems to believe in the doctrine of ‘my way, our way 

or a highway’, which, in any case, was against the democratic 

spirit. He said National Conference cannot be bogged down by 

coercive tactics and asserted, “we are ready to offer any sacrifice 

for upholding democratic values”. He said history is replete of 

instances when National Conference stood for the just cause of 

people and officered numerous sacrifices. 

While seeking time-bound judicial probe, the Provincial 

President asserted that no amount of compensation or jobs is 

going to compensate the precious loss. He said National Conference 

was sharing the loss of the family, as Ishtiyaq Choudhry 

was a promising and upcoming leader of the area, who could 

have emerged as a potential threat to many bigwigs. He said the 

senior party leaders are visiting the area to express solidarity 

with the family and to instill sense of confidence among the 

people, who feel jittery due to undemocratic tendencies of the 

present PDP-BJP coalition. 

In reply to a question about the murder being a deliberate 

attempt to target political workers, he said the democratic 

way of life in the state is not that fragile which can be trampled. 

“Having said that, we feel that the credible and vibrant National 

Conference will always strive for welfare of the people of the 

state which seems to be making the present state government 

uncomfortable”, he added. 

The Provincial President was flanked by State Vice Presidents 

Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari, Rattan Lal Gupta, Th 

Kashmira Singh, Provincial Youth National Conference President 

Ajaz Jan, Provincial Vice Presidents Juggal Mahajan, Choudhry 

Haroon, Anil Dhar besides Co Chairman OBC Cell Abdul Gani 

Teli and District President Urban Dharmveer Singh Jamwal. 

Mirwaiz........ 

Mirwaiz said Prophet (SAW) had brought light in the darkness 

and shown a path of righteousness and prosperity to the people. 

Govt........ 

National Conference should discuss the Food Act in the Assembly 

rather than opposing it on streets. 

“Infact, NC first wanted the Act to be discussed in the Assembly. 

We are open to discuss it. But the government was in a 

hurry and implemented it directly to weaken Article 370,” Sagar 

said. (KNS) 

Parrikar........ 

and this bridge has been designed by Canadian Company, Infinity 

Engineers. IIT New Delhi had approved the design of this 

bridge”, he said. 

The officer said nearly 300 ton specially designed cables are 

needed for this bridge which are being procured from Japan and 

Spain. “The span layout is symmetric (121 meter – 350 meter – 

121 meter), with pylons positioned at the top of the river banks. 

Two inclined cable planes splay outwards from each pylon in 

a semi-fan configuration, connecting to the superstructure at 

14-meter spacing in the main span and 10.3 meters in the side 

spans,” he said. 

“Near the abutments, three sets of intermediate piers 

spaced at just over 20 meters form a secondary support system. 

When complete, the bridge will accommodate two lanes of 

traffic as well as two footpaths,” he said. 

Training programme 

organised for VECs 

Rajouri, Dec 21: To strengthen the functioning of Village Level 

Education Committees (VECs) and to apprise them about different 

schemes of education department and their role and 

responsibilities in execution of those schemes, a training cum 

awareness programme was organised by Education Department 

Rajouri at Govt Higher Secondary School, Dhangri, Rajouri 

today. 

Minister for Transport, Abdul Ghani Kohli was the chief 

guest. District Development Commissioner, Rajouri, Shabir 

Ahmed Bhat was also present on the occasion 

Terming education as the prime mover of society, Abdul 

Ghani kohli urged VECs to play effective role in bringing positive 

attitudinal change in people towards education and in mobilizing 

the community and motivating parents/guardians to send 

their children to schools especially girls and children from disadvantaged 

groups. 

During the programme, the Committee members were apprised 

about different schemes of education department and 

their role and responsibilities in strengthening the education 

standards of schools in their respective areas via execution of 

these schemes. VECs were also asked to monitor the working 

of the schools and highlight the deficiencies so that necessary 

facilities are made available in the schools.

7 

SRINAGAR,TUESDAY 


S 

P 

O 

R 

T 

S 

BCCI to decide 

on Ajit Chandila 

and Hiken Shah 

after December 

24 

Mumbai: The Cricket 

Board’s three-member 

disciplinary panel 

headed by president 

Shashank Manohar is to 

meet this week to decide 

on the fate of cricketers 

Ajit Chandila and Hiken 

Shah who have been 

alleged to have tried to 

fix IPL games in 2013 

and this year respectively. 

According to a 

BCCI source, the panel, 

which is to meet here 

on December 24, has 

the powers to impose 

punishment, including 

life bans, on the cricketers 

accused of trying 

to spot-fix IPL games. 

Chandila was arrested 

by the police for trying 

to spot-fix IPL games in 

2013 along with his then 

Rajasthan Royals teammates 

S Sreesanth and 

Ankeet Chavan who both 

have been banned for 

life by the BCCI. 

The BCCI is yet to decide 

on the quantum 

of punishment to be 

awarded to Chandila 

who has been suspended 

from the game since the 

scandal broke two years 

ago. The BCCI will also 

decide on the punishment 

to be awarded to 

Mumbai Ranji Trophy 

cricketer Hiken Shah for 

his alleged breach of the 

Board’s anti-corruption 

code ahead of this year’s 

IPL. “Hiken Shah made a 

corrupt approach to one 

of his colleagues from 

first-class cricket, who 

is also a member of one 

of the IPL teams,” BCCI 

had said in a statement 

in July. 

“The approached player 

immediately informed 

the incident to his franchise 

team. The franchise 

team followed the 

process of informing the 

incident to the Anti Corruption 

Unit of the BCCI. 

Based on the information, 

BCCI President, Mr 

Jagmohan Dalmiya (now 

deceased), instructed 

ACU to conduct an immediate 

enquiry into 

the matter,” the statement 

said. ALSO READ: 

Shashank Manohar announces 

appointment 

of Ethics Officer among 

various BCCI reforms 

“After a detailed inquiry 

into the reported 

incident, the inquiry 

commissioner found 

Hiken Shah guilty of committing 

breach of Articles 

2.1.1; 2.1.2; and 2.1.4 of 

the BCCI Anti-Corruption 

Code for participants 

and recommended their 

provisions to the BCCI 

President,” the statement 

added 

Karachi pick Amir, Peshawar bag Afridi 

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir continued 

his reintegration into competitive cricket 

after being selected by Karachi Kings for the 

upcoming Pakistan Super League. Amir, who 

was one of 310 players open for the PSL draft, 

was picked by Karachi in the Gold category. 

The draft on Monday saw Shahid Afridi 

(Peshawar Zalmi), Shoaib Malik (Karachi), 

Shane Watson (Islamabad United), Kevin 

Pietersen (Quetta Gladiators) and Chris Gayle 

(Lahore Qalandars) all bagged by their respective 

teams in the first round as Platinum 

players. A total of 45 players were drafted 

among the five franchises. The teams had to 

pick three players each from the Platinum, 

Diamond and Gold categories, with a minimum 

of four Pakistanis and four foreigners. 

Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman, 

who was recently included in the ICC’s ODI 

team of the year, was taken by Lahore in the 

Gold category, while his fellow countryman 

Tamim Iqbal was chosen in the same bracket 

by Peshawar. Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, the 

other Bangladesh player to be drafted on the 

day, was picked in Platinum by Karachi. 

Lahore were the only team to use up their 

full quota of foreign players, with Gayle, 

Mustafizur, Dwayne Bravo, Kevon Cooper 

and Cameron Delport all drafted during the 

day. Besides Cooper and Delport, 33-year-old 

Somerset batsman Jim Allenby was the only 

other uncapped player to be selected, by 

Peshawar in the Gold category. 

The draft will continue on Tuesday, when 

each team will choose five players from the 

Silver category, and two from the Emerging 

category. Franchises will also have the option 

to bolster their squad strength to 20 by picking 

four supplemental players. 

Yuvraj disappointed by ODI 

omission for series against 

Australia 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Yuvraj said that he would try to give his 

best in the upcoming tour 

• The 34-year-old swashbuckling batsman 

also cited strong domestic season as 

the reason behind his comeback 

• Yuvraj made his last appearance in the 

2014 World T20 final 

Yuvraj said that he would try to give his 

best in the upcoming tour. (BCCL)Yuvraj 

said that he would try to give his best in 

the upcoming tour. (BCCL) 

When Cristiano Ronaldo decided to 

join Sachin Tendulkar’s team 

The Indian cricketer’s co-owned 

sports based virtual entertainment 

company, Smaaash Entertainment 

has approached Real Madrid 

superstar Ronaldo for its entry 

into the Middle East with arcade 

games built around soccer. 

Cristiano Ronaldo and Sachin 

Tendulkar Cristiano Ronaldo and 

Sachin Tendulkar Getty Images 

The world is about to see a 

legendary cricket-football 

combo off field. Arguably the 

best cricketer of the generation, 

Sachin Tendulkar will join hands 

with Portuguese great Cristiano 

Ronaldo. 

The Indian cricketer’s coowned 

sports based virtual entertainment 

company, Smaaash 

Entertainment has approached 

Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Jaitley headed the DDCA for 13 years until 

2013. 

• Jaitley was last week accused by Delhi CM 

and AAP founder of corruption and misappropriation 

of funds within local cricket 

• Delhi government has demanded Jaitley’s 

resignation or removal from the union cabinet. 

NEW DELHI: In an unanimous show of 

solidarity for former president of the Delhi 

and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and 

current Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley, 

several leading Indian cricketers have tweeted 

their support for the under-fire politician. 

NEW DELHI: In an unanimous show of 

solidarity for former president of the Delhi 

and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and 

current Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley, 

for its entry into the Middle 

East with arcade games built 

around soccer, reported Crictracker. 

The company will launch a 

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir continued his reintegration into 

competitive cricket after being selected by Karachi Kings for 

the upcoming Pakistan Super League. Amir, who was one of 310 

players open for the PSL draft, was picked by Karachi in the 

Gold category 

NEW DELHI: Indian batsman Yuvraj 

Singh, who was recalled to the Twenty20 

squad for the series against Australia, has 

expressed his disappointment for not 

being included for the ODIs. 

“To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed that 

I am back only in the T20I squad, not for 

the ODIs. However, there’s happiness that 

I’m back after quite a while. The disappointment 

is personal and I hope I’m not 

misunderstood and that nothing at all 

is taken out of context,” the 34-year-old 

was quoted as saying by ‘The Telegraph’. 

Describing the condition in Australia as 

‘challenging’, Yuvraj said that he would 

try to give his best in the upcoming tour. 

Yuvraj, who made his last appearance in 

the 2014 World T20 final, further admitted 

that the shortest-format of the game 

was quite demanding due to its compressed 

nature. 

“The 20-over game isn’t easy. That said, 

I’m positive, for that’s the way I am. I 

have the confidence to try and do my 

best in the opportunities I get. The dressing 

room needs to have the belief in me. 

I’m sure I’ll get the support I need,” the 

big-hitting batsman added. 

The 34-year-old swashbuckling batsman 

also cited strong domestic season as the 

reason behind his comeback to the national 

side. Yuvraj is currently the highest 

run-getter for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare 

Trophy and led his side to secure a quarterfinal 

berth.India will play a five-match 

ODI series (from January 12) followed by 

three-match T20 series against Australia, 

starting from January 26. 

several leading Indian cricketers have tweeted 

their support for the under-fire politician. 

Jaitley, who headed the DDCA for 13 

years until 2013, was last week accused by 

Delhi CM and founder of the Aam Aadmi 

Party (AAP) of corruption and misappropriation 

of funds within local cricket, with the 

Delhi government demanding his resignation 

or removal from the union cabinet to 

ensure an independent probe.Former Delhi 

captain Virender Sehwag, who this season 

shifted base to neighbouring Haryana after 

17 seasons, led the tweet support for Jaitley, 

saying that it was “a nightmare to speak to 

some others at DDCA but Jaitleyji [sic] was 

always available for players in case of any difficulty 

at any time”.Sehwag’s one-time state 

and India opening partner Gautam Gambhir, 

who is the current Delhi captain, followed 

by tweeting that he was appalled to not how 

Blatter and Platini banned 

by FIFA for eight years 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Blatter and Platini were both banned 

for eight years by FIFA’s Ethics Committee. 

• The pair, who have also been fined, 

had been suspended for 90 days in 

October. 

• Both men have denied any wrongdoing. 

Blatter and Platini banned by FIFA for 

eight years02:23Blatter and Platini 

banned by FIFA for eight years 

ZURICH: Suspended FIFA President 

Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss 

Michel Platini were both banned from 

soccer for eight years on Monday by the 

Ethics Committee of football’s global 

governing body.The pair, who were also 

fined, had been suspended for 90 days in 

October while an investigation was carried 

out into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.02 

million) payment by FIFA to Platini in 2011. 

Both men denied any wrongdoing.The decision, 

which comes as a corruption scandal 

swirls around FIFA, means that Blatter’s 17 

years at the helm of world soccer will end 

in disgrace, and spells the end of Platini’s 

hopes of replacing the 79-year-old Swiss in 

a presidential election in February. 

Platini, a former France international 

who was one of the finest players of his 

generation and had led the European soccer 

body UEFA since 2002, had been the 

favourite to win that election until he was 

suspended.The ethics inquiry began in the 

wake of the Swiss attorney general’s decision 

to open criminal proceedings against 

Blatter over the payment to Platini. The 

office is also investigating the award of 

65,000-sq ft gaming arcade 

with soccer, cricket and other 

virtual games in Jeddah, Saudi 

Arabia, in July and another in 

Dubai. “We perfected our electronic 

ball-throwing machines 

with cricket and are now extending 

that to soccer,” founder 

and chief imagination officer 

Shripal Morakhia said. 

However, Morakha didn’t want 

to reveal the commercial value 

of the contract with Ronaldo but 

said that the association would 

at least be of five years and 

comprise an annual fee. The contract 

currently covers the Gulf 

countries and India. 

Morakhia informed 

Smaaash’s signature cricket 

venture that was built 

together with Tendulkar, 

who holds an 18 per cent 

stake in the company, has 

turned profitable in India 

with an operating profit margin of 

32 percent 

“some ex-players blame Jaitleyji [sic] for all 

that’s wrong in DDCA” when it was they, he 

claimed, “enjoyed plum posts in DDCA” because 

of Jaitley.India’s Test captain Virat Kohli 

tweeted that he was “grateful to have Jaitleyji 

Who's gone to which team 

Peshawar Zalmi 

Platinum Shahid Afridi (first pick), Wahab Riaz, Darren 

Sammy 

Diamond Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan 

Gold Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Jim Allenby 

Head coach Mohammad Akram 

Karachi Kings 

Platinum Shoaib Malik (first pick), Shakib Al Hasan, Sohail 

Tanvir 

Diamond Imad Wasim, Ravi Bopara, Lendl Simmons 

Gold Mohammad Amir, Bilawal Bhatti, James Vince 

Head coach Mickey Arthur 

Islamabad United 

Platinum Shane Watson (first pick), Andre Russell, Misbahul-Haq 

(Capt) 

Diamond Samuel Badree, Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin 

Gold Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif 

Head coach Dean Jones 

Quetta Gladiators 

Platinum Kevin Pietersen (first pick), Sarfraz Ahmed, Ahmed 

Shehzad 

Diamond Anwar Ali, Jason Holder, Luke Wright 

Gold Zulfiqar Babar, Umar Gul, Elton Chigumbura 

Head coach Moin Khan 

Lahore Qalandars 

Platinum Chris Gayle (first pick), Dwayne Bravo, Umar 

Akmal 

Diamond Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood 

Gold Mustafizur Rahman, Kevon Cooper, Cameron Delport 

Head coach Paddy Upton 

the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals to 

Russia and Qatar.In the United States, 

prosecutors have indicted 27 current 

or former soccer officials, including 

eight former FIFA executive committee 

members, over allegations that they ran 

bribery schemes connected to the sale 

of television rights for soccer competitions. 

R Ashwin stays top 

allrounder in ICC Test 

rankings 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Williamson has become 

the second Kiwi batsman 

to top Test batting 

rankings. 

• Ashwin, has held on to 

his second spot in the 

bowling list led by Dale 

Steyn. 

• India continue to be 

the second-best Test side 

behind South Africa. 

DUBAI: India’s Ravichandran 

Ashwin continued 

to hold on to the top 

spot in the ICC allrounder 

rankings while Ravindra 

Jadeja stayed fifth in 

the chart.Ashwin, who 

manages a Test batting 

average of 31.68 with a 

highest score of 124, is 

Kohli, Sehwag, Gambhir lead Delhi cricketers’ Twitter support for Arun Jaitley 

well above Bangladesh’s 

Shakib Al Hasan in the 

chart.Offspinner Ashwin, 

who stood out with 31 

wickets in four matches 

in India’s 3-0 triumph over 

South Africa in the home 

series, has also held on 

to his second spot in the 

bowling list led by Proteas 

pace spearhead Dale Steyn. 

Left-arm spinner Jadeja, 

who picked 23 wickets in 

four Tests against South 

Africa, is the only other 

Indian bowler in the top-10 

list.The batting list though 

is sans any Indian in the 

top-10 with New Zealand’s 

Kane Williamson rising 

two places to topple England’s 

Joe Root from the 

top spot. 

[sic] as the president of our association” and 

that he had “always wanted to improve the 

game & help cricketers in every way”. 

Others to tweet in favour of Jaitley were 

leading Indian cricketers Ishant Sharma and 

Shikhar Dhawan and veteran batsman Mithun 

Manhas, who like Sehwag shifted out of Delhi 

cricket after 18 seasons to represent Jammu 

& Kashmir this season.Over the weekend, 

former India and Delhi cricketer turned BJP 

MP Kirti Azad targeted his own party leader 

Jaitley by releasing a Wikileaks4India which 

purportedly shows that 14 companies by the 

DDCA for renovation at the Feroz Shah Stadium 

do not exists in the addresses mentioned 

in receipts.Jaitley, for his part, has said that he 

intends to file defamation cases against Kejriwal 

and five other AAP functionaries - Kumar 

Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav 

Chadha and Deepak Bajpai.

22 December 2015

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