18 January 2016

SRINAGAR | 18 January 2016 | 07 Rabi Al Thani 1437 AH Vol: 4 | Issue No: 15 | Pages: 08 | Rs 3/- 

MONDAY 

4th 

PRECIOUS KASHMIR 

Journalism With A Human Heart 

C 

M 

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K 

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

Core group meeting >>>>>>> 

PDP authorizes Mehbooba to take call on future course 

Alliance with BJP 

likely to continue 

Precious Kashmir News 

Srinagar, Jan 17: For the first time since 

the death of former CM Mufti Mohammad 

Sayeed, Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP) Sunday evening officially revealed 

that the party president will take the final 

call on new government formation. 

PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, 

chaired a five hour long meeting of its 

core group including MPS, ex-ministers, 

secretary generals and advisors at her 

Fairview residence at Gupkar. 

Speaking to media around 6:35 this 

evening, PDP spokesperson, Naeem 

Akhtar said, “Agenda of Alliance is the 

holy scripture for PDP and many things 

have happened under late Mufti Sayeed 

as CM.” 

While welcoming the new round of 

dialogue between India and Pakistan, 

Naeem said, “we discussed the vision and 

legacy of our late patron and it was his 

wish that good relations between India 

and Pakistan means stable J&K.” “President 

Madam welcomed the gesture of 

PM Modi when he landed in Lahore (on 

Nawaz Sharief’s birthday).” 

“Despite Pathankote attack, it is a 

welcome step that the dialogue is continuing,” 

he said, “late Mufti has always 

been advocating such good relations.” 

When asked whether PDP will continue 

the alliance with Hindu nationalist 

BJP, Akhtar said, “Mehbooba Ji has been 

assured of all the support by all the party 

members and she will take the final call 

on government formation.” “However,” 

he added, “we are working on how to 

move ahead on Agenda of Alliance.” 

Meanwhile, the official party statement 

later said acknowledged the same. 

“The party authorized the party President, 

Ms Mehbooba Mufti to take any 

decision needed to carry forward Mufti 

Mohammad Sayeed’s mission and implementing 

his political and developmental 

vision,” a statement issued by PDP this 

late evening. 

“The PDP core group which met here 

today under the chairmanship of the 

party President, Mehbooba Mufti while 

paying glowing tributes to the late leader 

resolved to work towards accomplishing 

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s mission of 

reconciliation, peace and prosperity for 

the people of the State and the region,” 

PDP Chief Spokesperson, Dr Mehboob 

After Farooq's googly, son Omar 

rules out tie-up with BJP 

Srinagar, Jan 17: A day after National Conference 

president Farooq Abdullah said he was 

open to discuss a tie-up with BJP for government 

formation in Jammu and Kashmir, his 

son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah 

today ruled out an alliance with the saffron 

outfit, saying the party "is not power hungry" 

and would not make an "ideological compromise". 

"NC is not power hungry and is not interested 

in political power that comes through an 

ideological compromise. 

We shunned prospects of an alliance with 

the BJP a year ago and the reasons for having 

done that remain unchanged," Omar wrote on 

his official Facebook page. 

Omar, the NC working president, said the 

senior Abdullah was responding to a hypothetical 

question based on a hypothetical situation 

and he never said that the party would support 

the BJP. 

He only said that if any such request or 

proposal is received from the BJP, it will be 

taken up by the party's working committee. 

No such proposal has been received, which 

1 killed, 6 

injured in 

Awantipora 

mishap 


Srinagar, Jan 17: One person 

died and six others were 

injured on Sunday when a 

vehicle they were travelling 

in hit a poplar tree near JK 

Bank in Awantipora area of 

Pulwama district in south 

Kashmir, reports said. 

The deceased was identified 

as Firdous Ahmad Dar, 

son of Ghulam Mohammad 

Dar, a resident of Kanipora 

Srinagar. 

The injured – all residents 

of Kanipora – were 

identified as Nazir Ahmad 

Dar, son of Ab Rehman Dar, 

Shabir Ahmad Dar, son 

of Ab Gani Dar, Muskana, 

daughter of Firdous Ahmad 

Dar, Fahmeeda wife of 

Firdous Ahmad Dar and 

Haneefa wife of Shabir 

Ahmad Dar. 

Pertinently on Friday, at 

least 11 people died and 20 

were injured in another road 

accident in a remote area of 

Udhampur district. 

NC cannot form 

Govt in JK, says 

Dr Farooq 


Srinagar, Jan 17: A day after 

the NC patron and former 

chief minister stirred 

hornet’s nest by hinting 

towards supporting the 

BJP and later retracting from it, Dr Farooq 

Abdullah on Sunday said NC doesn’t have 

the mandate to be the part of the government 

formation. 

Dr Farooq, known for his stormy statements, 

pitched for the fresh elections, saying 

state is reeling under the crises. 

"The people of the state are facing immense 

hardships at present and if the BJP 

and the PDP fail to form the government, 

new elections should be announced and 

assembly be dissolved," Farooq Abdullah 

said. 

Claiming that he never made any such 

See NC on Pg 6 

makes his remarks a pure reiteration of the 

organisational procedure to deal with such issues 

and nothing more, Omar said. 

The former chief minister said PDP is an 

See Omar on Pg 6 

BJP expresses hope that 

the coalition will continue 

Jammu, Jan 17: The state BJP today said 

it had no objection to PDP president 

Mehbooba Mufti taking over as the 

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, 

and expressed hope that its alliance 

with her party will continue. 

"We don't know 

what their (PDP's) 

stand (on Government 

formation) is, unless we 

get something official 

from them, we cannot say 

anything, but we are hopeful 

that this alliance will go 

ahead," senior BJP leader 

and former deputy chief minister 

Nirmal Singh told reporters on the 

sidelines of a function here today. 

When asked whether the BJP 

would accept Mehbooba Mufti 

as the chief minister of the coalition, 

Singh said, "we don't have any objection 

as we have already given signals to 

it earlier". 

Beg said in a statement. 

PDP leaders, Dr Haseeb A Drabu, 

Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, Tariq Hameed 

Karra, Abdul Rehman Veeri, Ghulam 

Nabi Lone Hanjura, Mohammad Sartaj 


Asked about the reasons of delay 

in formation of a government after J-K 

Chief Minister's death, he said it was 

upto the PDP (Leadership) to take a 

decision. 

"I don't know, it is upto them (PDP) 

to say this. We are only 

waiting for their reply, 

what stand they take, we 

are waiting for them," he 

said. 

Replying to a query 

regarding the options BJP 

have if PDP decides against 

continuing the alliance 

with it, he said, he was hopeful that 

the alliance would continue. 

"I think there should not be 

any reason for this, only they can 

tell us, we are hopeful that such a 

situation won't arise," he said. 

Senior PDP leader, Naeem Akhtar 

had said that PDP would review how 

See BJP on Pg 6 

Srinagar, Jan 17: While the speculations 

are on rife that many children have been 

died after pulse polio immunization, 

Medical Superintendent GB Panth, Dr 

Shafqat Khan on Sunday said that the 

reports coming from various districts are 

baseless. “No death has been reported 

with the pulse polio vaccination from 

anywhere,” he said. 

Dr Khan said that people are visiting 

the hospital from every nook and corner 

to check-up their children who were vaccinated 

from the wee hours ofSunday 

morning. “People should calm over the 

issue as the reports coming from the different 

areas are baseless. People should 

not pay heed over the issue,” he said. 

Khan further said that people are visiting 

the hospital but after going through 

the check-up everything is alright. “There 

is no need panic over the issue and the 

tests conducted of the children are normal,” 

he said. 

He said that the vaccination is meant 

for the well being of the children. “How 

come the vaccination led to the death of 

any children? Authority’s check the material 

before using it,” he said. 

Meanwhile terming the speedy 

spreading reports over pulse polio immunization 

as baseless, top health as 

well as administrative officials Sunday 

appealed people to don’t pay heed over 

such things. 

The officials including Principal Government 

Medical College (GMC), Dr Kaisar, 

Chief Medical Officer CMO Anantnag, 

Fazil Kochak, Deputy Commissioner DC 

Anantnag, Muneer-ul -Islam, Additional 

DC Kulgam, Mushtaq Ahmad said over 

phone said that no death of vaccinated 

children has been reported. “All the children 

visiting the hospital are normal. 

Nothing negative has been found among 

Madni, Javaid Mustafa Mir, Abdul Haq 

Khan, Syed Basharat Bukhari, Choudhary 

Zulfkar Ali, Abdul Gaffar Sofi, Peer 

Mohammad Hussain, Naeem Akhtar, 

Qazi Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Dillawar 

Mir, Trilok Singh Bajwa, Ved Mahajan, 

Syed Altaf Bukhari, Moulvi Imran 

Ansari, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, Rafi Ahmad 

Mir, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain, Yashpal 

Sharma, Dr Mehboob Beg, Asghar Ali, 

Mehboob Iqbal, Prof Amitabh Matoo, Vikramadatiya 

Singh, Nazir Ahmad Laway, 

Fayaz Ahmad Mir, Inayat-ullah, Sajad 

Mufti, Raja Ajaz Ali, Nayeema Mehjoor, 

Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra and Tashee 

Gialson attended the meeting. 

The meeting expressed gratitude to 

the people of Jammu and Kashmir for 

endorsing PDP’s political and economic 

agenda set-out under the visionary leadership 

of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and 

helping the party to emerge as the premier 

regional force within a short span of 

16 years. 

The meeting observed that under the 

visionary leadership of Mufti Mohammad 

Sayeed PDP, in 1999, set forth on a 

journey to change the course of Jammu 

and Kashmir for better. The party established 

clear political priorities for itself 

and focused on them relentlessly to pull 

J&K out of the morass of instabilities and 

uncertainties plaguing the State for the 

past more than six decades. 

The meeting reiterated that PDP 

would work, with fresh resolve, towards 

accomplishing the vision of Mufti Mohammad 

Sayeed to create a space of 

dignity, opportunity and prosperity for 

the people of Jammu & Kashmir in the 

paradigm of friendship and cooperative 

relationship between India and Pakistan. 

Rumours over polio vaccine 

create chaos across Valley 

Authorities term ‘do boond’ reports baseless 

Meet the Melody man of Kashmir 

Adnan Bhat 

Srinagar, Jan 17: Sitting inside a dingy 

room on the second floor of his grandfather’s 

house that overlooks the river 

Jhelum in the old city of Srinagar, 

Ghulam Mohammad Zaz, 72, is busy 

giving final touches to a handcrafted 

Kashmiri santoor—an order for a client 

in New Delhi. On the centrepiece 

of the santoor, he has etched out an 

impression of Lord Ganesha, a special 

request from the client. 

For 50 years, Zaz has been carving 

melodious traditional Kashmiri 

musical instruments. He builds about 

a dozen instruments—sitar, rabab, 

sarangi, santoor, tanpura, nai (flute), 

saaz-e-Kashmir—at his century-old 

family workshop in the old city of Srinagar. 

Some of the traditional instruments 

like tawoos and swarnai that he 

can make are not even played today. 

They all sound as good as they look. 

Zaz comes from a long line of musical 

instrument makers. “Growing 

up, all I knew was about these instruments. 

Our family has been making 

these instruments for over 200 years,” 

he says proudly. 

He learnt the craft from his grandfather 

and father, who would take him 

along to the workshop as a little boy. 

However, it was only after the death 

of his grandfather that he joined the 

family trade. At 21, he built his first 

instrument, a sarangi, for one of their 

regular customers. It turned out that 

he was skilled at crafting instruments. 

“I was always magnetically pulled 

towards the craft. I became very efficient, 

maybe because it’s in our blood.” 

Zaz works all by himself in a small 

room on the first floor of the workshop 

that was set up by his greatgrandfather, 

Khazer Mohammad. The 

building has never been renovated, 

and some of the tools he uses have 

been passed down generations. It 

takes him a little over a month to 

carve an instrument, though he prefers 

to take longer. 

He uses mulberry wood to make 

his instruments. “It is very important 

to choose the right wood. It has to be 

seasoned for the right tonal quality,” 

he explains. He picks up the wood 

from Delina village in Baramulla district 

in north Kashmir himself. Each 

block of wood costs around Rs.3,000 

and he requires two to make an instrument. 

Zaz carves out each part of the 

instrument separately before putting 

them all together. Then he polishes 

and paints the piece. He has never 

used a ruler in his life. “I remember 

how my grandfather used to do it and I 

just repeat the process. All the designs 

are in my head and everything comes 

naturally to me. If I try to change anything, 

it’ll lose sur (melody),” he says. 

Instruments made by Zaz fetch 

him anywhere between Rs.5,000- 

20,000—the reason for this low price 

is that increasingly, orders come not 

through customers, but middlemen. 

Although he doesn’t play any of the instruments 

he crafts, his ability to make 

the finest traditional musical instruments 

has earned him fame around 

the world. “Sometimes, I would get 

an order from Germany or England,” 

he says. 

His greatest achievement, he says, 

was when his handcrafted santoors 

were played by Pandit Shivkumar 

Sharma and Pandit Bhajan Sopori, 

both virtuosos in the field. Their pictures 

hang on his workshop wall. 

While Zaz is proud of his craft, he 

has decided not to pass on the knowledge. 

The dying demand for such 

traditional instruments among music 

lovers of the next generation and 

the hard labour involved have played 

a part in his decision. “These instruments 

are part of the Sufiyana heritage 

of the valley. But today, youngsters 

listen to a different kind of music. 

They are completely unaware of our 

traditional music, which has been part 

of our culture for centuries.” 

Zaz says it’s come to such a pass 

partly due to the exodus of Kashmiri 

Pandits from the valley, and the 

change in attitude towards traditional 

Kashmiri music among people. He 

sees the departure of Kashmiri Pandits 

as a big loss not only for his business, 

but to Kashmir. “The Kashmiri Pandit 

See Melody Man on Pg 6 

them,” they said. 

They further said that the people 

should not pay heed over the rumors. 

“We appeal people to ignore such kind of 

rumors. Some elements are trying to create 

hue and cry among the local people, 

which should be ignored as everything is 

alright,” they said. 

Reports said that from several districts 

of the Valley that the families along 

with their children are visiting the hospital 

in ever-lasting numbers where doctors 

look them. 

See Rumours on Pg 6 

No respite from 

intense cold 

Srinagar, Jan 17: Kashmir 

Valley and Ladakh region 

remained in the grip of cold 

wave as the mercury stayed 

below the freezing point owing 

to continuous dry weather. 

While there was slight increase 

in the mercury at some 

places including Srinagar 

and Gulmarg, the minimum 

temperature continued to remain 

below the freezing point 

across the division. 

Srinagar, the summer 

capital of Jammu and Kashmir, 

recorded a low of minus 

3.2 degrees Celsius, slightly 

up from the previous night’s 

minus 4 degrees Celsius, an 

official of the Meteorological 

Department here said. 

He said there was an increase 

of a degree in the night 

temperature in the famous 

ski-resort of Gulmarg which 

recorded a low of minus 5 degrees 

Celsius against minus 6 

degrees Celsius the previous 

night. 

Pahalgam recorded a low 

of minus 5.7 degrees Celsius 

compared to the previous 

night’s minus 5.8 degrees Celsius, 

the official said. 

“It was firm belief of Mufti Sahab that the 

resolution of the problems of Jammu and 

Kashmir is possible only in the paradigm 

of cordial ties between India and Pakistan 

with J&K becoming a hub of this cooperative 

relationship. He tirelessly worked 

towards realizing this objective and used 

to repeatedly reiterate the inevitability 

of maintaining peace along the borders 

and expanding the scope and sphere of 

cross-LoC movement of people and trade 

to free the people of the State from the 

mentality of siege. It was only because of 

the sustained efforts of Mufti Sahab that 

significant movement forward was witnessed 

on cross-LoC confidence building 

measures, both in 2002 and 2015, when 

he was at the helm of affairs in the State. 

The meeting welcomed the new initiative 

taken by the Prime Minister to improve 

relationships with Pakistan which 

is an important objective of the agenda 

of alliance and Mufti Sahab’s political 

legacy.” 

“The meeting observed that on the 

internal front Mufti Mohammad Sayeed 

was a strong votary of espousing the constitutional 

methods of finding resolution 

to the political problem and the issues 

confronting Jammu and Kashmir and 

safeguarding the State’s distinct identity 

and the special status. “He used to address 

the political aspirations, economic 

needs and developmental deficit of the 

State from a position of authority and 

with confidence,” the statement said. 

See PDP on Pg 6 

Pathankot attack 

India should 

give befitting 

reply to Pak, 

says Swamy 

New Delhi, Jan 17: BJP leader 

Subramanian Swamy today 

said India should give a 

befitting reply to Pakistan in 

the wake of terror attack on 

Pathankot air base, allegedly 

carried out by an outfit operating 

from the neighbouring 

country. 

"We should give Pakistan 

a befitting reply," he told 

reporters when asked about 

the terror strike, said to have 

been engineered by Jaish-e- 

Mohammad, on the key Air 

Force facility in Punjab earlier 

this month. 

The former Union Minister 

supported Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi's policy on 

Pakistan, terming it "proper". 

Swamy criticised West 

Bengal Chief Minister 

Mamata Banerjee over the 

violence in Malda district and 

said Union Home Minister 

Rajnath Singh should write a 

letter to her and seek explanation 

over the issue. 

Swamy was in the city to 

See India on Pg 6 

He said the night temperature 

went down slightly in 

Qazigund, Kokernag and Kupwara 

towns as the mercury 

settled at minus 3.4 degrees 

Celsius, minus 1.7 degrees 

Celsius and minus 3.8 degrees 

Celsius respectively, the official 

said. 

The mercury in Leh town, 

in the frontier Ladakh region 

of Jammu and Kashmir, 

settled at a low of minus 14.4 

degrees Celsius compared to 

minus 14.5 degrees Celsius 

the previous night, he said. 

Leh was the coldest recorded 

place in the state. 

The night temperature 

decreased in the nearby Kargil 

town as the mercury there 

settled at minus 14 degrees 

Celsius against the previous 

night’s minus 13.8 degrees 

Celsius, the official said. 

The Meteorological Department 

has predicted 

mainly dry weather for the 

most part of Chillai-Kalan, the 

40-day harshest winter period 

ending January 31. 

However, it said there is 

possibility of isolated rains on 

January 20. 

See Cold on Pg 6 

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Srinagar, Jan 17: The Pulse Polio 

Immunization Programme (IPPI) 

was today launched across Kashmir 

valley in which thousands of children 

under the age of 5 years were 

administered polio drops at pulse 

polio centres being set up by the administration 

at various locations in 

the valley. 

The theme of this year’s Pulse 

Polio Immunization Programme is 

‘Let’s make efforts today and Ensure 

Polio stays away’. 

The programme would be conducted 

for three consecutive days 

to safeguard the children from this 

crippling disease. 

District Development Commissioner, 

Srinagar, Dr. Farooq Ahmad 

Lone started the campaign at Urban 

Primary Health Centre, Batmaloo. 

More than 1,77,000 children 

would be covered under the programme 

in the district for which 

3,000 employees and volunteers 

have been deputed in 645 pulsepolio 

booths. 

In order to ensure that cent per 

Patna, Jan 17: Lalu Prasad 

was elected as president of 

his party Rashtriya Janata 

Dal (RJD) for the ninth consecutive 

term on Sunday 

and used the occasion to 

launch a scathing attack 

against Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi for not matching 

his “high voltage assertions 

on Pakistan before 

elections with deeds”. 

“You (Modi) used to brag 

about 56 inch chest and asserting 

that your future government 

will answer any 

misadventure from across 

the border eyeball to eyeball... 

So how did Pakistani 

terrorists enter our home in 

Pathankot and kill our brave 

soldiers?” he asked. 

The country is not safe 

in the hands of BJP, he asserted, 

and urged secular 

forces to unite against it. 

Prasad said after the “stupendous” 

victory in Bihar, 

he, along with chief minister 

Nitish Kumar, would work 

to unite secular forces across 

the country to oust BJP from 

“Hastinapur” (Delhi). 

He attacked BJP for allegedly 

trying to create a rift 

between him and Kumar 

and said there is no “difference” 

between them. 

“Senior BJP leader Sushil 

Kumar Modi raised a 

hue and cry when I visited 

IGIMS hospital and talked 

to civil surgeon of Darbhanga 

for reinstatement of 

four ‘Mamata’ (post birth 

care health official) staff 

in Darbhanga Medical College 

and Hospital. Before 

raising fingers at me, Sushil 

Modi and BJP should 

explain in what capacity 

RSS reviews functioning 

of Narendra Modi government,” 

he said. 

NA: Lalu Prasad was 

elected as president of his 

party Rashtriya Janata Dal 

(RJD) for the ninth consecutive 

term on Sunday and 

used the occasion to launch a 

scathing attack against Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi for 

not matching his “high voltage 

assertions on Pakistan 

before elections with deeds”. 

“You (Modi) used to brag 

about 56 inch chest and asserting 

that your future government 

will answer any 

misadventure from across 

the border eyeball to eyeball... 

So how did Pakistani 

terrorists enter our home in 

Pathankot and kill our brave 

soldiers?” he asked. 

The country is not safe 

in the hands of BJP, he asserted, 

and urged secular 

forces to unite against it. 

Prasad said after the 

“stupendous” victory in 

Bihar, he, along with chief 

minister Nitish Kumar, 

would work to unite secular 

forces across the country to 

oust BJP from “Hastinapur” 

(Delhi). 

He attacked BJP for allegedly 

trying to create a rift 

between him and Kumar 

and said there is no “difference” 

between them. 

“Senior BJP leader Sushil 

Kumar Modi raised a 

hue and cry when I visited 

IGIMS hospital and talked 

to civil surgeon of Darbhanga 

for reinstatement of 

four ‘Mamata’ (post birth 

care health official) staff 

in Darbhanga Medical College 

and Hospital. Before 

raising fingers at me, Sushil 

Modi and BJP should 

explain in what capacity 

RSS reviews functioning 

of Narendra Modi government,” 

he said. 

News 

Monday 

2 

18.01.2016 

Pulse Polio immunization 

campaign begins in valley 

cent target is achieved in next twodays 

of the programme, the District 

Development Commissioner directed 

the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) 

to constitute mobile teams for conducting 

door-to-door surveys in the 

district. 

At Budgam, District Development 

Commissioner, Mir Altaf Ahmad 

kicked-off pulse polio immunization 

drive at district hospital. 

About 1,00,500 children are being 

targeted in the district for which 

2,252 workers and volunteers have 

been deployed at 563 booths including 

six transit teams. 

At Ganderbal, District Development 

Commissioner, Showkat 

Aijaz Bhat gave oral polio vaccine 

to a baby in district hospital. Approximately 

40,698 children were 

covered under this programme and 

227 vaccination booths have been 

set up for the purpose besides 957 

employees were deputed for the immunization 

programme. 

At Anantnag, District Development 

Commissioner, Muneer-ul- 

Islam launched the drive with an 

aim to eradicate the disease from 

Lalu becomes RJD chief for 

9 th time, hits out at PM 

Special 

Handloom expo 

organized at 

Katra 

Reasi, Jan 17: Managing Director, 

State Handloom Development 

Corporation, Anal 

Kumar Gupta, inaugurated 

special Handloom expo- 2016 

at Spiritual Growth Centre, 

Katra, here today. The expo, 

organized by the State Handloom 

Development Corporation 

Limited (Poshish) and 

sponsored by Development 

Commissioner, Union Ministry 

of Textile, will be conducted 

from 15th to 30thof 

January 2016. 

Speaking on the occasion, 

the MD stressed upon the 

need to promote the handloom 

activities being carried 

out in the state by adopting 

latest techniques and tools. 

the district by administering drops 

to children at Maternity hospital 

Shaer-bagh in which 1,34,229 would 

be immunized. For successful conduct 

of the drive, 2,468 employees 

including health workers, ASHA 

workers, Anganwari workers and 

teachers have been deployed at 617 

booths. 

Oil, Gas Conservation 

Fortnight inaugurated 

Secretary calls for sustained awareness about fuel conservation 

Jammu, Jan 17: Secretary 

CA&PD, Sourabh Bhagat, inaugurated 

Oil and Gas Conservation 

Fortnight 2016 

here today. 

Being organized by Petroleum 

Conservation Research 

Association (PCRA) 

under the aegis of the Ministry 

of Petroleum and Natural 

Gas, the theme of this 

year’s fortnight is Clean Fuel. 

Speaking on the occasion, 

the Secretary said 

that there is dire need and 

importance of launching a 

vigorous campaign to create 

awareness among people 

about the importance 

of conservation of oil and 

gas to make the future of 

country secure. He called for 

organising awareness campaigns 

at district level by involving 

district administration 

and other stakeholders 

to make people aware about 

fuel saving tips in various 

fields including transport, 

Agriculture, Industries and 

Household sectors. 

He said that the consumption 

of fuel like oil and 

gas used in human activity 

can be reduced to a large 

extent if these tips are followed 

by the consumers in 

a right perspective. 

Underlining the ill effects 

of alarming pollution 

due to burning of wood and 

other conventional fuels, he 

emphasized effective use of 

clean fuels like LPG, CNG etc. 

He said union government 

is dedicated to provide sub- 

OROP row: Ex-servicemen protest 

outside Arun Jaitley’s residence 

New Delhi, Jan 17: Ex-servicemen 

seeking changes in the 

government’s One Rank One 

Pension (OROP) scheme, on 

Sunday, staged a protest outside 

the official residence of 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley 

in Delhi, alleging that he failed 

to respond to concerns raised 

by them during an earlier 

meeting. 

This is the second time 

in two weeks the veterans 

have staged demonstrations 

outside the minister’s official 

residence. 

“We had staged protest 

outside the Minister’s residence 

on January 3. At that 

time, he had assured us he 

will speak to Defence Minister 

Manohar Parrikar over our demands. 

“He had said he would 

get back to us within a week. 

But it’s two weeks now that 

he has not responded. What 

kind of Finance Minister he is 

if he can not keep his word?” 

said Group Captain (retd) VK 

Gandhi. 

Gandhi, general secretary 

of Indian Ex-Servicemen 

Movement, said the veterans 

will continue with their protest 

until Jaitley or Parrikar 

holds parleys with them. 

“Either of the Ministers 

will have to come and speak to 

us. We will not move an inch 

from here until then. If they 

don’t want to give us actual 

OROP, they should clarify so to 

us. Why lie?” he said, reiterating 

that the government notification 

has “flaws” and was 

“unacceptable”. 

Around 200 ex-servicemen 

including Major General 

Satbir Singh, who has been 

spearheading the protest, 

have been demonstrating 

outside Jaitley’s residence, 

Gandhi added. 

sidized gas connection to 

every household to make 

these free from polluting 

agents. He also emphasized 

for orientation programmes 

for drivers to educate them 

about the importance and 

benefits of switching off engines 

during traffic jams and 

long halts. 

While necessitating 

the need of an attitudinal 

change in the society towards 

their responsibilities, 

the Secretary urged upon 

the participants to become a 

part of change and disseminate 

the message about use 

of clean fuel and its conservation. 

Bhagat administered 

oath to the participants for 

fuel conservation. 

At Pulwama and Shopian, the 

immunization drive was launched 

by Deputy Commissioners of the respective 

districts. 

Niraj Kumar inaugurated the 

IPPI campaign at old district hospital 

Pulwama while as Deputy Commissioner 

Shopian, G M Dar administered 

polio drops to children at 

No camel contingent 

at R-Day parade for 

first time in 66 years 

New Delhi, Jan 17: For the 

first time in the history of the 

Republic Day celebrations, the 

iconic BSF camel contingent 

will not be ambling down the 

Rajpath here on the coming 


Officials said the 90-member 

Border Security Force 

camel-mounted troops and 

band contingent has not been 

practising during the dress 

rehearsals of the event being 

held here, in the absence of official 

directions. 

"While the contingent 

is in Delhi since the last few 

months, it has not been included 

in the rehearsals as there 

are no official orders issued in 

this regard," they said. 

The majestic and elegantly 

dressed four-legged 'ship of 

the desert' belonging to the 

border guarding force first 

became a part of the national 

festival celebration in 1976 after 

it replaced a similar squad 

of the army which had been 

participating in the Republic 

Day parade since the first such 

event in 1950. 

"The BSF camel contingent 

has since been the intrinsic 

part of the parade at Rajpath 

on every January 26. There are 

two teams which take part in 

the event, the 54-member 

mounted contingent and the 

36-member band," a senior official 

involved with the camel 

squad said. While the first 

contingent showcases smartly 

dressed BSF border guards 

with weapons riding camels, 

the second follows with 

bandsmen in beautiful multicolour 

dresses on the back of 

camels playing martial music. 

Officials said the January 

26 parade this time is undergoing 

a number of changes 

such as non-inclusion of paramilitary 

forces like ITBP, CISF 

and SSB whereas some new 

features have been added to it 

including the dogs squad contingent 

of the army and a team 

of French soldiers. 

"The camel contingent 

may also not be a part of the 

Beating the Retreat Ceremony 

to be held on January 29 where 

they stand along the ramparts 

of the North and South blocks 

on Raisina Hill," they said. 

New Delhi, Jan 17: A function 

organised by the Aam 

Aadmi Party to thank people 

of Delhi for the success of the 

odd-even plan turned messy 

when a woman threw ink at 

chief minister Arvind Kejriwal 

who was addressing a 

large gathering. AAP has accused 

the BJP of scripting the 

entire incident. 

Waving some documents, 

a woman swiftly 

moved towards the dais 

at the Chhatrasal Stadium 

where Kejriwal was standing 

and threw ink - several drops 

of which landed on chief 

minister’s face. The woman 

also threw the documents 

which she was carrying 

shouting about a scam. Security 

personnel immediately 

surrounded the chief minister, 

some of them rushed 

district hospital. About 85,979 children 

are being covered under the 

programme in Pulwama for which 

1,780 personnel of health department 

have been deployed at 445 

booths. 

More than 42,520 children 

would be covered under the programme 

in Shopian for which 855 

personnel have been deployed at 

215 pulse polio centres. 

At Baramulla, District Development 

Commissioner Yasha Mudgal 

inaugurated the three day IPPI by 

administering the oral vaccine to a 

baby in the district hospital. A total 

of 1,54,190 children would be immunized 

in the district for which 3,380 

members including volunteers were 

deputed at 845 vaccination booths. 

About 169 persons supervised the 

1690 teams for the purpose. 

At Bandipora, District Development 

Commissioner Sajad Hussain 

inaugurated the drive at district 

hospital in which 60,459 children 

would be covered in the drive for 

which 1,300 employees have been 

deputed at 325 polio centres. 

In far-flung tehsil of Gurez, the 

Amethi, Jan 17: Sharpening her attack 

on Rahul Gandhi, Union HRD Minister 

Smriti Irani on Sunday accused the 

Congress Vice-President of cheating 

the people of his Lok Sabha constituency, 

whom he had described as his 

extended family. 

“Rahul has not fulfilled his responsibility 

towards his extended 

family. What can a country expect of a 

person who does not fulfil his responsibility 

towards his family,” Irani told 

reporters, wrapping up her two-day 

visit to Amethi. 

Irani, who had lost to Rahul in the 

Lok Sabha elections, alleged that the 

Congress MP has cheated his constituency 

in the name of development. 

The minister also questioned the 

development work carried out by Rahul 

in his constituency. “I observed 

billboards talking about laying foundations 

but no work was seen on the 

ground during my regular visits to 

Amethi in the past one-and-a-half 

year,” she said, adding that she spoke 

to the district magistrate on the issue. 

The HRD minister assured the 

people that the land grabbed by Samrat 

Bicycles Limited will be either 

given back to farmers concerned or a 

factory will be set up there, and one 

member of each family will be employed. 

The land concerned was registered 

by Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust 

in its account a few months back and 

later a court ordered that the land 

be returned to Uttar Pradesh State 

Industrial Development Corporation 

immunization drive was launched 

by Tehsildar Gurez at Sub-district 

hospital Dawar. About 204 employees 

have been deployed at 

51 booths to administer the polio 

dose to about 5,075 children. At 

Leh, Executive Councillor, Agriculture 

Tsering Angdus inaugurated 

the programme at District Immunization 

Centre. A total target 

of 1,19,72 children would be covered 

in immunization campaign 

for which 1500 paramedic, ICDS 

workers, ASHAs and 75 supervisors 

are deployed at 377 pulse polio 

booths. About 18 mobile teams 

and 10 transit camps have also established 

in the district. 

At Kupwara, District Development 

Commissioner, Kumar Rajive 

Ranjan administered polio doses to 

some new born infants. For the immunization 

of 134405 children in 

the district, 3016 employees have 

been deployed at 720 Pulse Polio 

centres. 

At Kulgam, Additional District 

Development Commissioner, 

Mushtaq Ahmad inaugurated the 

campaign at district hospital. 

Ralegan Siddhi, Jan 17: Activist 

Anna Hazare on Sunday 

accused the Modi government 

of “soft-pedalling” 

the Lokpal issue, saying the 

delay in constitution of the 

anti-corruption ombudsman 

has put a question mark on 

its “intention and credibility” 

to tackle graft. 

He also underscored 

the need for launching an 

agitation on the issue and 

lent “moral support” to the 

planned demonstration at 

Jantar Mantar on January 

30. 

“There is a need to 

launch an agitation on the 

Lokpal bill issue. I recently 

met activists from seven 

states who had participated 

in the earlier stir and a demonstration 

will be organized 

at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on 

January 30 to press the issue 

being soft-pedalled by the 

Centre. 

“The government’s delaying 

tactics has put a question 

mark on its intent and 

credibility. The activists who 

are neutral to party politics 

will participate in the peaceful 

demonstration to which 

I have extended my moral 

support,” Hazare said. 

A Parliamentary panel 

examining the Lokpal and 

Lokayuktas Bill had on December 

7 submitted its 

recommendations. The 

Parliamentary Standing 

Committee on Personnel, 

Public Grievances, Law and 

Justice, which examined 

Lokpal and Lokayuktas and 

Other Related Law (Amendment) 

Bill, 2014, has cited 

overlapping of functions of 

anti-graft bodies and suggested 

integrating Central 

Vigilance Commission and 

anti-corruption wing of the 

CBI to work directly under 

www.preciouskashmir.com 

Anna Hazare assails 

Centre on Lokpal issue 

to reign in the woman. “Let 

her go, leave her. Whenever 

something good happens in 

Delhi, this is what happens,” 

Kejriwal said asking the securitymen 

to stop. 

While being whisked 

away, the woman spoke to 

the media and claimed to be 

a part of Aam Aadmi Sena, 

a splinter group of the Aam 

Aadmi Party. She also said 

that her name is Bhavna and 

that she works in the Punjab 

unit of the Aam Aadmi Sena. 

“The Delhi government 

has orchestrated a CNG scam 

in the name of odd-even 

plan, I have proof. I sought an 

appointment from the chief 

minister but wasn’t given 

time,” she said. 

(UPSIDC). 

Irani said she has talked to the 

Modi is now 2 nd 

most followed 

Indian on Twitter 

New Delhi, Jan 17: Achieving 

yet another landmark, 

Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi has become the second 

most followed Indian on 

Twitter. 

PM Modi has pipped 

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh 

Khan. As on January 16, PM 

Narendra Modi had over 

17,371,600 followers while 

Khan was being followed by 

17,351,100 Twitter users. 

PM Modi now trails only 

superstar Amitabh Bachchan 

who has close to 18.9 million 

followers on Twitter. 

The number of followers 

of PM Modi’s account, @narendramodi, 

has consistently 

increased by about a million 

every two months. 

The number followers of 

Modi on Twitter crossed 15 

million mark on September 

22 last year and on November 

20 it surpassed 16 

million mark. 

Active on Twitter since 

2009, Modi is the most followed 

Indian politician, and 

the second most followed 

politician in the world, 

right after US President 

Barack Obama (@barackobama), 

as per Twitter. 

the command and control of 

Lokpal to deal with corruption 

cases. 

It also suggested inclusion 

of leader of the single 

largest opposition party 

in Lok Sabha, in case there 

is no recognised Leader of 

Opposition, as member of 

selection panel to choose 

chairperson and members 

of Lokpal. 

If this recommendation 

is accepted by Parliament, it 

will pave the way for Congress 

leader Mallikarjuna 

Kharge to be part of Lokpal 

selection committee headed 

by Prime Minister. Hazare 

said the Lokpal bill initially 

proposed by the AAP government 

in Delhi assembly was 

weak but the legislation was 

made stronger following his 

intervention. 

“Initially the bill was 

weak. I had then proposed 

3-4 clauses that were incorporated 

subsequently. 

We should welcome that a 

beginning has been made. 

The bill will need necessary 

modifications with the passage 

of time,” Hazare said. 

Woman throws ink at Delhi CM 

Kejriwal, AAP calls it BJP conspiracy 

Bhavna was taken to 

the Model Town police station 

in north Delhi for interrogation. 

Statements with political 

innuendos came soon 

after from AAP leaders. A 

livid deputy chief minister 

Manish Sisodia held a press 

briefing shortly after the 

incident where he blasted 

Delhi Police and accused 

BJP for scripting the entire 

incident. 

“Delhi Police was doing 

nothing. They were just 

watching the show when the 

woman threw ink at Kejriwal, 

it could have been acid 

too. And then, the woman 

was openly seen giving bite 

to medipersons, yet the police 

did nothing. I think this 

whole thing was scripted by 

BJP,” Sisodia said. 

Rahul has cheated people of Amethi: Irani 

district magistrate in this regard and 

if needed, she would also speak to 

the Chief Minister. Noting that “skill 

development” was the need of the 

hour, Irani also said the Rajiv Gandhi 

Institute of Information Technology 

(RGIIT) has failed to address the issues 

of the youth of Amethi. 

She hit out at the “inability” of 

Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information 

Technology at Tikarmafi in addressing 

the issues of the local youth and stated 

that the youth can benefit from a 

sound skill development programme. 

Irani said that with the help of 

Minister of State for Skill Development 

and Entrepreneurship Rajiv 

Pratap Rudy, each girl and boy of 980 

villages of the district will have their 

skills developed within one year.

Precious Kashmir 

Disappeared barber 

from Pulwama 

found dead 


Srinagar, Jan 17: APDP yesterday 

expressed concern over the alleged 

disappearance of a man namely Ghulam 

Mohammad Hajam from Pulwama and 

demanded for his immediate release. 

Today the dead body of the disappeared 

Hajam has been recovered from a river 

side in Pulwama District. 

Ghulam Mohammad Hajam (55) 

son of Ghulam Qadir Hajam, a barber 

from Tengpuna village of Pulwama went 

missing onJanuary 3, 2016 and the family 

alleged that he was arrested by police 

during their action against the agitating 

people who have been demanding to 

erect a memorial, in memory of slain 

militants / civilians killed by the armed 

forces. 

Ghulam Mohammad disappeared 

from his shop. One of Hajjam’s neighbouring 

shopkeepers, a baker, told the 

family that he had seen Hajjam in the 

morning of January 3 working in his 

shop. Thereafter, his family received 

information from some reliable source 

that Hajjam was taken to Police Line 

Pulwama. On contacting the police, 

the family was told that few boys were 

taken into custody and later released. 

However, Police denied the arrest of 

Hajam. 

Today on January 17, 2016, the 

dead body of the disappeared Ghulam 

Mohammad Hajam has been recovered 

from the banks of river Jehlum at Charoosa 

Awantipora, in Pulwama district 

and his dead body is presently is lying 

in Police Station Awantipora. The family 

stated that police would hand over the 

dead body to them tomorrow after the 

autopsy is conducted. 

APDP strongly condemns abduction 

and killing of Ghulam Mohammad Hajam. 

APDP demands that there must be 

an impartial enquiry into the matter and 

the perpetrators behind the disappearance 

and subsequent killing of Hajam be 

brought to book. 

NEWS 

Shah draws parallels 

between Gawkadal, 

Jalianwala Bagh massacres 


Srinagar, Jan 17: Paying 

glowing tributes to martyrs 

of Gowkadal, Handwara 

and Kupwara massacres on 

their 25th, 26th and 22nd 

anniversaries respectively, 

the incarcerated Chairman of 

Democratic Freedom Party 

(DFP), Shabir Ahmad Shah 

said the nation will never 

forget the martyrs of these 

heart-wrenching massacres. 

"Our hearts are filled 

with the memories of these 

martyrs and we are committed 

to fulfill their mission," 

Shah said in a statement 

issued to press and appealed 

people to organise 

prayer meetings these days 

in favour of the martyrs. 

Remembering the martyrs 

of all these massacres, Shah 

said, "The example of such 

brutal massacres is hard 

to find. The then Governor 

Jagmohan spread bloodshed 

which according to him was 

to teach Kashmiris a lesson 

by conferring unbridled 

powers to forces." 

The DFP Chairman said 

the blood of these martyrs 

will not be allowed go waste. 

Terming these massacres 

as "holocaust", Shah said 

the world rises up against 

such barbaric actions except 

if these are carried out in 

Kashmir. 

Praying in favour of all 

the martyrs, Shah said we 

remember the victims of 

each and every massacre 

including the Bijbehara, 

Kupwara, Hawal, Mash'ali 

Mohalla, Kanikadal, Sopore, 

Hazratbal, Chhatergam, etc. 

He also took a dig at 

Indian media for resorting 

to biased approach vis-à-vis 

the massacres and killings 

in Kashmir. "During its fight 

with British Empire, India 

only saw JalianwalaBagh 

massacre but in Kashmir, 

there are hundreds of Jalianwala 

Bagh massacres carried 

out by its 8 lakh forces." 

"There is no doubt 

that the officer involved in 

Gowkadal massacre had a 

spirit of General Dyer (who 

carried out JalianwalaBagh) 

in him. The massacres of 

Handwara and Kupwara 

were planned under a well 

thought out strategy - killed 

27 innocent people on 27 

January (Kupwara) and 17 

on 25 January (Handwara)," 

he said. 

Shah appealed the human 

rights bodies working 

under the United Nations 

including Amnesty International 

and OIC to utilise their 

offices in bringing to book 

the perpetrators of these 

deadly massacres in Kashmir. 

Srinagar,Monday 


3 

SRO 124 snatching students’ 

achievements, creating 

uncertainty among youth: AIP 

Srinagar, Jan 17: Awami Ittihaad 

Party (AIP) senior leader 

Zeeshan Pandith while interacting 

with people of PHD 

batch graduates of 2008 holding 

protest at press enclave 

termed the order SRO 124 

equivalent to the attacks on 

Kashmiri students in Chandigarh 

yesterday. 

While condemning the 

attack, he said, “Students in 

Kashmir risk their lives pursuing 

their education in India 

and then on top of that we 

have an order from our own 

government such as SRO 124 

which snatches away the 

achievement of our students 

geared towards their job security.” 

He added, “Such orders 

are creating uncertainty in 

the minds of young people 

whether their efforts to pursue 

higher education will be 

recognized with time or not. 

Differentiating between 

the PHD batches of different 

years is clearly an unjust step 

and lacks an approach to promote 

a positive environment 

for our students. The state 

government has to ensure that 

while forcing an order they 

should not be violating any 

rights. 

He requested the state 

authorities to value the time 

of these PHD students and to 

avoid enforcing orders that 

undermines the hopes, expectations 

and hard work of 4000 

students with their families.” 

He said, “This order needs 

to be relooked since it is adding 

to the socio-economic and 

political woes of people. And 

the state authority needs to 

ensure a safe environment for 

our students pursuing their 

education in other states of 

India and abstain from forcing 

the order SRO 124 that risks 

the future of 4000 families’ financial 

stability.” 

BSNL’s poor service irk 

subscribers in valley 


Srinagar, Jan 17: With the 

poor network service of 

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited 

(BSNL) in the Valley, the 

cellular company has come 

under severe criticism with 

its subscribers alleging it 

to be a reason of immense 

hardships. 

The subscribers which 

also include media fraternity 

told KNS that there is poor 

network of BSNL since last 

two days in the Valley. They 

said that BSNL service is irking 

the common customers, 

who have been suffering 

because of insensitive and 

fleecing attitude of this government 

owned telecom service 

providing company. 

Ever since the launch of 

BSNL service in the Valley, 

there has been complaints 

of poor signal but nothing 

was done by the concerned 

authorities to improve the 

same. While the entire world 

is experiencing better telecommunication 

with each 

and every passing day, the 

trend is reverse in Kashmir, 

said a local. 

“If somebody wants to 

make call, it doesn’t work 

and after continuous trying 

for hours together, call hardly 

gets connected. The situation 

gets worse as the person receiving 

call hardly hear the 

voice of caller,” a local complained 

from Kanikadal Said. 

The subscribers said that 

since 2014 deluge, the BSNL 

has been a cause of irritation 

for them as they say most 

times it doesn’t function 

properly. 

Due to poor internet services, 

many BSNL subscribers 

have switched over to other 

service-providers for better 

internet services. 

The subscribers later appealed 

the BSNL higher ups 

to look into the matter and 

redress their short grievance 

at earliest. 

Hurriyat 

patriarch 

Geelani is 

stable 

Srinagar, Jan 17: After 

labouring oxygen, octogenarian 

Hurriyat Conference 

chairperson, Syed Ali Geelani, 

is “stable” now. 

Son of Geelani, Prof 

Naseem Geelani said Sunday 

evening that the oxygen 

support system has been 

stopped and the Hurriyat 

patriarch showed improvement 

in his health. 

“Geelani Sahab is a 

chronic chest disease patient. 

Last night he complained 

of severe breathlessness 

and we had to call 

doctor around 4 AM and 

immediately he was put on 

oxygen,” Naseem said. 

Later in the day some 

of the cardiologist doctors 

visited Geelani for the 

check up, he said, “and he 

responded positively to the 

medication.” 

“He is suffering from 

chest congestion and sometimes 

it results in severe 

breathlessness, however, 

Geelani Sahab is fine now,” 

he said, “Oxygen supply has 

been removed but Nebulization 

is being continued.” 

Naseem further said, 

“unlike past some days, 

Geelani Sahab is now talking 

normally.” (KL) 

NC wants political 

mileage at the cost 

of destruction of 

Kashmiris: Rasheed 


Srinagar, Jan 17: Independent 

MLA representing Langate 

Er Rasheed Sunday accused 

National Conference of 

provoking PDP to enter into 

alliance with BJP, “as Dr Farooq’s 

feelers have added to 

insecurity of PDP”. 

In a statement issued 

today, Rasheed said, “it hardly 

makes a difference if NC 

or Farooq Abdullah denies 

having said that NC can consider 

BJP’s offer for government 

formation. It has given 

BJP further encouragement 

to take regional parties for 

granted and continue its hostile 

attitude towards the aspirations 

and rights of Kashmiris. 

NC especially Farooq 

Abdullah has a history and 

track record of first saying 

something and then claiming 

that he was misquoted.” 

“The quest for power has 

gone so deep in both NC and 

PDP that they both are ready 

to sell even their conscience. 

BJP is already over confident 

and NC’s offer or even feelers 

will boost its anti-Kashmiri 

and anti-Muslim morale 

further. In fact NC wants PDP 

to take such a decision that 

suits NC in the long run even 

it may ruin Kashmiris.” 

Rasheed asked both NC 

and PDP to “stop acting like 

Maharajas of Kashmiris” and 

understand that Kashmiris 

need not just governance 

but want Kashmir issue to 

be pleaded at all forums, the 

way it deserves. 

BJP is already over confident and 

NC’s offer or even feelers will 

boost its anti-Kashmiri and anti-Muslim 

morale further. 

Pulse polio immunization 

programme held at Baramulla 

Arshad Farooq 

Baramulla, Jan 17: The first 

phase of the three-day Intensified 

Pulse Polio Immunization 

(IPPI) Program drive 

commenced today in Baramulla. 

District Development 

Commissioner Yasha Mudgal 

inaugurated the three day 

Pulse Polio immunization 

drive by administering Oral 

Polio vaccine to a baby in the 

District Hospital Baramulla. 

Later on, the DDC also visited 

the Slum area in Baramulla, 

and started the Programme 

for the area by administering 

the vaccine to a child. 

A total of 154190 children 

are to be immunized 

during the phase of the 

IPPI in district Baramulla, 

for which 845 vaccination 

booths have been put in 

place. The total teams deployed 

for the purpose stood 

at 1690, consisting of 3380 

members, including Health 

workers, ASHA Workers, 

Anganwari workers and 

Teachers. Moreover, 169 

Supervisors have been put 

in place for the supervision 

work. Besides, Transit Camps 

and Mobile camps have also 

been established across the 

district for places like railway 

stations, Bus addas, etc. 

The DDC, meanwhile, 

called for extensive and coordinative 

efforts form the 

deployed machinery, so that 

every child below the age 

of five years in the district 

is covered under the programme. 

Chief Medical Officer 

Baramulla, Bashir Ahmad 

Chalkoo, Medical Superintendent, 

Dr. Sayeed Masood, 

District Immunization Officer, 

Dr. Shabir Pathan, 

DMEIO, Gh. Rasool Bhat and 

other officers were present 

at the time of the inauguration 

of the Programme. 

Brick kilns harmful for environment, food produce 


Srinagar, Jan 17: Majority 

of the brick kilns operating 

across Valley are openly 

violating pollution control 

norms thus posing a grave 

threat to the locals who 

come in direct contact with 

the harmful smoke and soot 

coming out of the kiln chimneys. 

Out of the 300 such brick 

kilns in Kashmir, more than 

200 operate in Budgam district 

alone. A look into the 

fields and orchards tells how 

abundantly these kilns are 

set as dozens of them can be 

seen within a few square kilometres. 

The locals who own orchards 

and vegetable farms in 

the periphery of these kilns 

in Budgam have been repeatedly 

experiencing black soot 

depositing on the leaves. 

“It deteriorates the overall 

quality of the soil as well 

as the produce,” says Irshad 

Ahmad Gojri, a orchardist 

of Harran area of district 

Budgam. 

As per the norms specified 

by State Pollution Control 

Board, the kiln chimney 

should be at least 115 ft tall to 

ensure that the harmful gas 

emanating from it is released 

in the upper atmosphere. 

However on ground, most of 

the kiln chimneys in district 

Budgam hardly go beyond 

80 ft. 

If locals and their MLA 

are to be believed, there is a 

mafia that keeps these kilns 

running even though many 

complaints and environmental 

hazards due to them have 

been reported by locals as 

well as experts. 

“There is a mafia that 

runs this entire setup of 

hundreds of kilns, how is it 

possible that without official 

patronage, they keep on violating 

the norms and affecting 

environment and human 

health?” question Bashir Ahmad 

Teli, another resident of 

Budgam district. 

The local MLA, Agha 

Ruhullah Mehdi had also acknowledged 

that there is a 

mafia behind the brick kiln 

owners and they work hand 

in glove with the authorities 

given the huge amount of 

money involved. 

“I had even brought this 

into notice of the Chief Minister 

when he visited the district,” 

Mehdi said. 

A recent research titled 

‘Effect of brick kiln emissions 

on commonly used vegetables 

of Kashmir Valley’ by 

a team of scholars (Bhat M. 

Skinder, Afeefa Q. Sheikh, 

Ashok K. Pandit, Bashir A. Ganai 

& Aashiq H. Kuchy) from 

Department of Environmental 

Science, Kashmir University 

observes: 

“The results of the current 

study provide evidence that 

brick kiln emissions are a significant 

risk to the vegetable 

plants in the Panzan area of 

district Budgam. As a result, it 

depicts that brick kilns are the 

prime reason for the deterioration 

of important consumable 

vegetables, which could lead 

to both food as well as health 

concern among the local population. 

Also, this will be a serious 

threat to millions of people 

depending on the vegetables 

grown near such kiln emission 

areas. The imbalance in the 

biochemical constituents in 

vegetables will lead to serious 

consequences on the overall 

living standard of exposed 

people in the near future if 

mushrooming of brick kilns 

is not controlled or replaced 

with new technology.” 

Indo-Pak border to be covered 

with a laser wall: Reports 

New Delhi, Jan 17: The 

Indian home ministry 

has given “top priority” to 

covering over 40 vulnerable 

unfenced stretches along 

the India-Pakistan border 

with laser walls. Riverine 

stretches located in Punjab 

will be covered by the laser 

wall technology developed 

by Border Security Force to 

completely eliminate the 

chances of breach of the 

international border by Pakistan-based 

terror groups, a 

Home Ministry official said. 

A laser beam over a river sets 

off a loud siren in case of a 

breach. 

A laser wall detect objects 

passing the line of sight 

between the laser source and 

the detector 

As of now, only 5-6 out 

of around 40 vulnerable 

points are covered by laser 

walls. This beam over the 

river sets off a loud siren in 

the case of a breach. The suspected 

infiltration point of 

Ujj river in Bamiyal used by 

the six Jaish-e-Mohammad 

militants before storming the 

Pathankot air base was not 

covered by a laser wall. 

A camera to keep watch 

over the 130-metre-wide 

river bed was found to be 

not recording the footage. 

BSF has covered this stretch 

by putting up a laser wall 

last week before Prime 

Minister Narendra Modis 

visit to Pathankot air base 

on January 9. The border 

guarding force had started 

putting up laser walls on 

unfenced riverine stretches 

of international border 

last year in Jammu sector, 

which was more prone to 

militant intrusions till three 

militants carried out attack 

in Gurdaspur in Punjab in 

July last year. 

The militants believed to 

have entered India five kms 

downstream of Bamiyal near 

the Tash border outpost - a 

riverine point not covered by 

a laser wall as well. Bamiyal 

has BSF posts on either side 

of the river with a personnel 

on each post keeping a 

watch on the river round the 

clock. The area is also lit up 

with high mast lights. 

There is a possibility that 

the six JeM militants might 

have walked through the 

dry river bed at night and 

BSF personnel might have 

missed them. Officials said 

Bamiyal is not known as a 

drug trafficking route as no 

drugs have been seized here 

over the past 3-4 years. 

The BSF has already deployed 

additional personnel 

along the border in Punjab 

and boat patrolling has been 

intensified, particularly 

during night. (Agencies) 

In 2015, 41 

‘security 

personnel’ 

killed in JK 

Srinagar, Jan 17: Casualties 

suffered by security forces 

in Jammu and Kashmir have 

been on the decline in the 

past three years with 41 personnel 

killed during counter-insurgency 

operations in 

2015. 

Although the state witnessed 

growing radicalisation 

of the youth during the 

period, particularly after the 

emergence of the Islamic 

State, security forces were 

effective in countering militants. 

The number of security 

personnel killed dropped 

from 51 in 2014 to 41 in 2015, 

whereas the number of militants 

killed in counter-insurgency 

operations marginally 

rose to 113 from 110 in 2014, 

official data reveals. 

Over the past three 

years, the casualties suffered 

by security forces have been 

on the decline as 61 of them 

were killed in 2013. 

The number of militants 

killed in security forces action 

has seen a steady rise 

since 2012 when 84 militants 

were killed. In 2013, 

100 guerrillas were killed by 

the forces.

Precious Kashmir 

Edit 

Srinagar,Monday 

18.01.2016 4 

PSGA almost 

non-existent 

It is now more than four years since Jammu & Kashmir Government 

promulgated Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA). J&K 

state was the second state in India which enacted a law guaranteeing 

public services to its citizens in a transparent and time 

bound manner. The PSG Act was enacted on April 13th 2011 

in Jammu & Kashmir. Before J&K, Madhya Pradesh (MP) state 

enacted a similar law known as Right to Service Act which was 

enacted on 18 August 2010. MP thus became first state in India 

to guarantee right to public services to its citizens. After Jammu 

& Kashmir, Bihar Government enacted this law on 25 July 2011. 

Several other states like Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, 

Delhi (UT), Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh also 

enacted legislations guaranteeing public services to their 

citizens. Majority of the government offices across Kashmir are 

blatantly violating the J&K Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) 

by taking longer than stipulated time in processing and issuing 

necessary documents to the locals. Enacted in April 2011, J&K 

then took the second lead in India after Madhya Pradesh to 

implement PSGA which guaranteed public services to people 

in a time bound manner. Although initially the previous Omar 

Abdullah-run-government tried to create public awareness 

about PSGA using hoardings and advertisements, the campaign 

did not last for long and after a few months, implementation 

of this Act became almost nonexistent in government departments 

that fell under its ambit. In Srinagar for example, getting 

a reserved category certificate is an arduous process and takes 

months to complete even though under PSGA, it should be 

issued within 15 days from the date of application. A similar 

sluggishness is observed when one applies for Public Services 

like income certificate, land documents, new ration card, or 

dependent certificate. 

People for example applying for a dependent certificate 

have to wait for over 45 days to get it where as they should 

get it in one month. Tehsil office Budgam has a similar story to 

tell with people alleging that officials there are ‘sluggish’ and 

all they get to hear is document under process. Similarly the 

process of getting a DOB Certificate or a new ration card also 

goes beyond the set timeframe. It is important to mention that 

more than 12 public services including Date of Birth certificate, 

reserved category certificate, ration card, electricity connection, 

water connection, Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC), caste 

certificate, Police Verification Certificate, and building permission 

by Municipal Corporations fall under the ambit of PSGA 

2011. Experts believe that the main reason behind failure of 

PSGA in J&K was lack of an independent commission constituted 

under PSGA. The appellant authorities under PSGA are the 

heads of the departments who mostly try to defend the officials 

against whom the appeal has been made, if there was an independent 

commission like the one in RTI, PSGA would definitely 

have been a success. 

Printer, Publisher, Owner : Afaq Ahmad Bhat 

Editor: Afaq Ahmad Bhat 

Legal Advisor: Hakim Sami Yaqoob (Advocate) 

Published From: Rajbagh Opposite Radio Colony Srinagar 

J&K 

Printed At: Alsafa Printing Press Hazuri Bagh Srinagar 

RNI No: JKENG/2013/55310 

Cell No: 9419081703 

OTHER OPINION 

Who to blame for ISIL 

A traditional story from the Middle East goes as follows: A man in a city 

square asks a wise man seated near him what fate is. The savant answers: 

“An endless succession of intertwined events, each influencing 

each other.” 

When the questioner says he doesn’t understand, the wise man points to 

a procession passing in the street: 

“That man is being taken to be hanged,” he says. “Is that because someone 

gave him a silver piece and enabled him to buy the knife with which 

he committed the murder? Or because someone saw him do it? Or because 

nobody stopped him?” 

In recent weeks and months, a litany of voices, theories and opinions 

across the airwaves and social media have laid claim to the idea that 

someone or another is fully responsible for “creating” ISIL. 

Many of these ideas focus on the United States being ultimately at fault, 

the culprit that, through its invasion of Iraq or more nefarious means, 

created the monster. 

In the latest iteration of this diagnostic, the bombast of Donald Trump 

has blamed Obama and Clinton for creating ISIL. The reasoning behind 

his claim is unclear but anything goes, as long as it sells. 

Blame culture 

This blame game is nothing new. We live in a blame culture in which 

something is always someone else’s fault. It is a kind of commodity 

where if someone else is to blame, I gain and they lose. Hence the countless 

conflicted narratives turning round and round in the news. 

However, this common attitude, especially regarding politics, may simply 

be a distortion of a reality that is infinitely more complex. 

Anyone truly interested in what ‘created’ ISIL ... needs to consider that 

many factors, woven together like a vast tapestry or web, are actually at 

play. 

Here’s the rub: anyone truly interested in what “created” ISIL (or any 

situation for that matter) needs to consider that many factors, woven 

together like a vast tapestry or web, are actually at play, and where those 

factors begin and end is far from clear. This is not good news for those 

who seek a black-and-white world. But it is reality nevertheless. 

It is true that the US has more than a hand in events in the Middle East 

today - including the evolution of ISIL. The invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, 

its “war on terror” and support for heavy-handed regimes in the 

region over the years have all contributed to the unravelling of states, 

and a security mentality that begets violent reactions. 

However, this remains only one dimension of the ISIL story. Just as the 

consequences of ISIL range from the European refugee crisis, to terror in 

the Middle East, to increased airport security and racial profiling, so its 

genesis is equally complicated. 

Email: preciouskashmir@gmail.com 

The dawn of a new Iran 

Hamid Dabashi 

In a sudden, though well-choreographed and 

much-expected dramatic succession of news releases, 

Iran has emerged from years of economic isolation 

when the heavy shadow of crippling economic 

sanctions were lifted in exchange for a drastic curb in 

its nuclear programme. 

“Iran has carried out all measures required under 

the [July deal],” according to reports, “to enable 

Implementation Day [of the deal] to occur,” the Vienna-based 

International Atomic Energy Agency has 

said in a statement,” paving the way for the lifting of 

these crippling economic sanctions. 

In a no less dramatic announcement, deliberately 

designed to coincide with the lifting of these 

sanctions, Iran was also reported to have released 

five US citizens, including the much-publicised case 

of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, as part of 

a prisoner exchange with the United States. 

The combined announcements in conjunction 

with the recent swift release of US sailors caught 

off the Iranian coast declare a seismic change in the 

emergence of Iran from its global isolation almost 

intact as a regional power. 

Lucrative contracts 

The release of billions of dollars of frozen Iranian 

assets will open a floodgate of European and international 

conglomerates to rush to Iran for lucrative 

contracts. 

At a time when a dramatic drop in the price of 

crude oil has plunged all oil producing countries 

(and with them the world economy) in deep despair, 

the release of these funds amounts to a bonanza for 

Iranian economy - as if the world had created a safe 

deposit account for Iran to give it back in its time of 

need. 

What would be the implication of the dawn of 

this new Iran in its internal and external affairs? 

Internally, the ruling regime in Iran faces a 

robust, young, energetic, ambitious and restless civil 

society that will miss not a single ... opportunity to 

assert its rightful place among nations. 

The working of two parallel paradoxes will boost 

Iran both as a nation and as a state to achieve towering 

significance in its region. 

Internally, the ruling regime in Iran faces a 

robust, young, energetic, ambitious and restless civil 

society that will miss not a single social, cultural, 

economic, or political opportunity to assert its rightful 

place among nations. 

The porous boundaries of the nation are going to 

be opened even more fluidly. With the anticipated 

increase in global commerce comes unanticipated 

organic growth of the culture: The widening 

highways of transnational interchange will make the 

Iranian civil society even more robust and rambunctious. 

Almost 80 million strong, with official policy to 

boost the population, Iran as a nation will continue 

to test the survival instincts of the state that lays a 

claim to it. 

What its democratic weakling neighbours don’t 

understand is that the ruling regime in Iran is strong 

- not despite its restless population, but precisely 

because of it. Iranians resist tyranny not by blowing 

up buildings or murdering innocent people, but by 

going to polls and voting in elections they know are 

already rigged. 

Theirs is a vastly different exercise in the democratic 

will of a nation. 

They have forced even their so-called Supreme 

Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to publicly and repeatedly 

admit that when they vote, they vote for their 

country - for the safety, security, and future prosperity 

of their homeland - and never to legitimise 

the rule of a band of octogenarian theocrats who are 

delusional enough to think they are actually ruling 

this nation’s dreams and aspirations. 

Regional adversaries 

Externally, the warring position of the ruling 

state of the Islamic Republic strengthens it not despite 

its regional adversaries, but in fact, because of 

them. None of its regional adversaries - from Turkey 

to Israel to Saudi Arabia - are a match for the Iranian 

version of soft and smart power. 

The military budget of Iran is nowhere near the 

military budget of any of its regional adversaries. But 

they have never and will never choose to fight any 

conventional warfare they can never win. 

Over the last three decades and more, they 

have out-Joseph Nyed Joseph Nye’s notion of soft 

and smart power. They are regionally powerful not 

despite their adversaries military power, but because 

of their conventionally flawed calculus of power. 

The Achilles heel of the ruling regime in Iran’s 

external affairs, and where it has failed to follow its 

own logic of soft power, is its continuous support for 

the murderous Assad regime in Syria. 

This is costing the ruling regime not just the 

hearts and minds of Syrian people, but that of the 

entirety of the Arab World. 

Yes, in the quagmire of Syria there are no 

innocent parties except the peaceful and democratic 

aspirations of the Syrian people. Every single other 

country involved in Syria on both sides of the conflict 

is implicated in and responsible for the bloody mayhem 

that is the scene in Syria today. 

But each one of these countries will bear the 

consequences of their bloody involvements in Syria 

slightly differently. The dawn of a new Iran will never 

be fully materialised unless and until the democratic 

will and emancipatory politics of Iranians and Arabs, 

Sunnis and Shias, see and sow their future liberation 

on a common field and as integral to each other. 

Source{ Aljazeera.com } 

Afghanistan War must end but not at any cost 

Helena Malikyar 

Afghanistan must now reconcile with the groups 

that have wrecked havoc in the country’s villages and 

cities for the past 10 years. That is what the United 

States, the United Kingdom and the rest of NATO 

states want. Even China is on board. 

The already staggering Afghan casualty figures 

have soared to new heights after the international 

combat mission ended a year ago. The country has 

suffered almost 5,000 civilian casualties only during 

the first half of 2015; nearly 30,000 Afghan soldiers 

and policemen were killed from 2009 to mid-2015. 

December saw a 57 percent rise in civilian casualties. 

Obviously, Afghans, more than anyone else, want 

an end to the conflict. But, unlike their international 

partners, they do not want peace at any cost. They 

are not willing to forsake the gains of the past 15 

years. 

Afghanistan peace talks held in Pakistan 

After many ups and downs, the troubled peace 

process was resuscitated recently through the 

creation of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group 

(QCG) comprised of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US 

and China. The first QCG meeting was held last week 

in Islamabad, and the group is due to meet again in 

Kabul on Monday. 

Pakistan wants peace or powersharing? 

The initial meeting’s modest outcome was 

praised in Pakistani and Western media, but failed to 

generate confidence among Afghans. 

On the same day that Islamabad was hosting 

the QCG talks, three students were killed and 

eight wounded in a rocket attack on an elementary 

girls school in Afghanistan’s Khost province, 

and a complex suicide attack on Jalalabad city 

was thwarted. 

Meanwhile in Islamabad, Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani 

representative at the talks, urged the Afghan 

government to create an “environment conducive to 

reconciliation”, take “confidence-building measures” 

and “offer incentives” to the Taliban. 

Pakistan’s change of terminology from ‘peace’ 

to ‘reconciliation’ reflects its push for Kabul to agree 

to a power-sharing arrangement with Islamabad’s 

proxies. 

President Ashraf Ghani wants to frame the talks 

with a focus on “the drivers of conflict” and on ways 

to end the use of non-state actors as instruments of 

foreign policy. In other words, he wants Pakistan to 

stop its proxy war in Afghanistan for achieving its 

strategic goals. 

Pakistan wishes to have a measure of control 

over the Afghan state. It wants to use Afghanistan to 

create a “strategic depth” vis-a-vis its archnemesis, 

India. 

A sovereign Afghanistan is also an obstacle to 

Pakistan’s desire to have free access to Central Asian 

natural resources and markets. At the same time, 

Islamabad wants Kabul to recognise the Durand Line 

as the official border between the two countries. 

Pakistan’s change of terminology from “peace” 

to “reconciliation” reflects its push for Kabul to agree 

to a power-sharing arrangement with Islamabad’s 

proxies. Amending the constitution to reflect the 

Taliban’s ideology is another exigency on Islamabad’s 

list. 

Neither this nor any future Afghan government 

can make a unilateral decision on the Durand Line. 

The artificial border is a remnant of the British Raj 

and was imposed in 1884 after the second Anglo-Afghan 

war. 

Afghans maintain that since the agreement was 

with the British colonial power, it became null and 

void after India’s independence and the creation of 

Pakistan in 1967. This is a matter of national pride for 

the Afghans. 

Afghanistan and its relationship with India 

Pakistan’s demand to control Afghanistan’s 

relations with India - its opposition to the Indian 

consular offices in Afghan provinces being one 

manifestation of this demand - is a clear infringement 

of Afghan sovereignty. Ghani has made it 

abundantly clear that such an intrusion is not 

acceptable. 

He has repeatedly said that Afghanistan’s 

independence, sovereignty and constitution are 

non-negotiable and that “peace is not equivalent to 

reconciliation”. 

Ghani has also assured Afghans, time and again, 

that the first two chapters of the constitution, containing 

the nature and structure of the state and the 

fundamental rights and obligations of citizens, are 

not negotiable. 

Women’s equal rights, freedom of expression, 

inviolability of human life and dignity, right to form 

political parties and associations and the right to 

education are among values that the Taliban do not 

share, if their rule in the 1990s and their current 

behaviour are any indication. 

While Pakistan was pushing for a “conducive 

environment” for Taliban groups at the QCG meeting, 

Afghan media headlines were about the completion 

of 63 new school buildings in Sar-e-Pul province, 

the graduation of 300 young women from USAID’s 

women’s leadership development programme, 

the launch of the Afghanistan National Institute of 

Music’s 6th winter season, and the thousands of fans 

welcoming the triumphant national cricket team at 

Kabul airport. 

Under the Taliban rule, girls were prohibited 

from attending school; women were entirely 

shunned from public life; boys were forbidden to 

play sports; music was banned. Afghans don’t want 

to return to that life. 

The QCG statement underscored “Afghan-owned” 

and “Afghan-led” talks. In reality, 

peace has so far been a US-driven agenda. 

Parallel to the decision to end its Afghanistan 

war, the US initiated a push for the peace process as 

a means to leave behind a semblance of stability. 

The process has not been successful mainly 

because Pakistan believes that it is through patience 

and sustained pounding of the Afghan state and people 

- especially after the international troops’ exit - 

that it will eventually attain its objectives. Attending 

meetings in the name of peace or reconciliation since 

2010 is but a stalling tactic. 

Will Taliban renounce power? 

Perhaps Islamabad is also counting on the 

collapse or weakening of the National Unity 

Government of Ghani and his Chief Executive 

Officer Abdullah Abdullah. The Afghan president is 

already paying a heavy political price domestically 

for his initial conciliatory gestures, as they have 

not borne results. The fragile political environment 

in Kabul has no room for more concessions. 

Source{ Aljazeera.com } 

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


Sensex Nifty Gold 

Business/ International 

Monday 

5 



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

317.93 

99.00 

475.00 

416.00 

0.30 

4.30 

10.50 

11.75 

11.30 

7.60 

24455.04 

7437.80 

26,112.00 

34,054.00 

67.60 

69.80 

663.70 

184.30 

224.45 

1,042.15 

Q3 earnings to drive markets this week 

New Delhi, Jan 17: To attract 

retail investors, mutual 

fund houses are contemplating 

“robo” advisory 

route, wherein automated 

algorithm-based advice will 

be provided without human 

intervention. 

The move will help in 

reducing the cost for investing 

in a mutual fund scheme 

and eventually attract retail 

investors. 

Online wealth management 

services provide 

robo advisory in India but 

such services are still in a 

nascent stage. However, it 

has become popular globally. 

Robo advisors use algorithms 

to develop an asset 

allocation plan and help in 

investment. They also help 

clients to monitor their savings 

and deviation in their 

asset allocations against the 

target. 

According to sources, 

New Delhi, Jan 17: Third-quarter results 

of blue-chips like RIL, Wipro and ITC, as 

well as global market trends, China GDP 

data, movement of rupee and oil will dictate 

stock market trading this week, say 

experts. 

“Trend in global markets, investment 

by foreign investors, movement of rupee 

against the dollar, crude oil prices and 

also third-quarter results of large-cap 

companies like Reliance Industries, HCL 

Tech, ITC will dictate trend of the market 

in near term,” said Vivek Gupta, CMT - 

Director Research, CapitalVia Global Research 

Limited. 

Major companies slated to announce 

their December-quarter results this week 

include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Wipro, 

Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, 

UltraTech Cement, Idea Cellular, 

Cairn India and ITC. 

Experts said that apart from earning 

growth, management outlook for the 

coming quarter will set the tone for the 

market. 

“On the earnings front, till date 

there’s nothing really in it so far to exude 

confidence,” said Vijay Singhania, Founder-Director, 

Trade Smart Online. 

“We believe last week’s negative 

sentiments will dominate the market. 

Of course, all eyes will be on China as it 

is set to announce its fourth-quarter and 

full-year 2015 GDP data on Tuesday,” he 

added. 

On a weekly basis, the BSE Sensex 

MFs consider ‘robo’ advisory 

route to woo retail investors 

Tehran, Jan 17: President Hassan Rouhani 

hailed on Sunday a nuclear deal 

with world powers as a “golden page” 

in Iran’s history saying he looked forward 

to an economic future less dependent 

on oil as the country emerges 

from years of sanctions. 

Iran’s economic isolation ended 

when world powers lifted the crippling 

sanctions on Saturday in return 

for Tehran complying with a deal to 

curb its nuclear ambitions. 

Presenting the draft budget for the 

next Iranian fiscal year, which begins 

in March, Rouhani told parliament 

the deal was a “turning point” for the 

economy of Iran, a major oil producer 

that has been virtually shut out of international 

markets for the past five 

years. 

“The nuclear talks accomplished 

and resulted with guidance of the 

Supreme Leader of the revolution, 

the support of the nation, and companionship 

of all pillars of the state, 

is truly one of the golden pages of the 

history of this country,” Rouhani said. 

Tens of billions of dollars’ worth 

of Iranian assets will now be unfrozen 

and global companies that have been 

barred from doing business there will 

be able to exploit a market hungry for 

several fund houses are 

considering the idea of robo 

advisory service to attract 

retail investors. 

“We are looking to 

launch the robo advisory 

service on a full scale. Currently, 

we give option to an 

investor to filter four questions 

and take a decision 

based on this and now we 

are looking to expand this 

into a full scale service,” 

Jimmy Patel Chief Executive 

Quantum AMC said. 

Explaining the benefits 

of such advisory service, 

ICICI Securities Senior 

Vice President (Financial 

everything from automobiles to airplane 

parts. 

“We should use this atmosphere 

and these conditions for the sake 

of growth and development of our 

country, and for the sake of the welfare 

of the people, for the progress of 

our country, and also for the progress, 

stability, and security of the region,” 

Rouhani said. 

Israel, meanwhile, responded 

with scepticism to the announcement, 

saying the world should not 

be “blinded” by Iran’s efforts to halt 

Planning and Service) Abhishake 

Mathur said: “They 

help customers make more 

informed decision on what 

to buy and how much of an 

asset type to buy.” 

The platform offers a 

very simple, user-friendly 

interface and are quite convenient 

even for non techsavvies. 

The route brings 

ease to the decision making 

process. 

The route will help 

entry level or small investor, 

while HNIs (High Net- 

Worth Individuals) would 

not be impressed with the 

idea, Patel said. 

fell by 479.29 points, or 1.92 per cent, to 

24,455.04, its weakest closing since May 

30, 2014, while the broader NSE Nifty 

lost 163.55 points, or 2.15 per cent, to 

7,437.80. 

Experts said that in the short-term, 

the Indian stock market will continue 

to take cues from its global peers. Apart 

from this, with the earnings season picking 

up further steam, stock specific volatility 

will be high. 

Meanwhile, The combined market 

valuation of seven of the top-10 most valued 

Sensex firms declined by Rs 48,762.5 

crore last week, with IT bellwether TCS 

taking the steepest hit. 

While TCS, HDFC Bank, CIL, Sun Pharma, 

ONGC, HDFC and HUL suffered losses 

in their market capitalisation (m-cap), 

RIL, Infosys and ITC emerged as gainers. 

Software major TCS, which reported 

a lower-than-expected 14.2 per cent 

growth in net profit for the October- 

December quarter on Tuesday (January 

12), witnessed an erosion of Rs 26,354.48 

crore from its m-cap, which stood at Rs 

4,46,006.36 crore. 

The market valuation of ONGC 

plunged by Rs 8,298.82 crore to Rs 

1,87,835.79 crore and that of HDFC 

Bank dipped by Rs 4,785.04 crore to Rs 

2,63,328.64 crore. 

Mortgage lender HDFC’s m-cap 

slumped by Rs 4,159.95 crore to Rs 

1,81,372.05 crore while that of CIL 

dropped by Rs 1,800.16 crore to Rs 

New Delhi, Jan 17: Air India 

has sought around Rs 4,300 

crore worth funds from the 

government for the next financial 

year as the national 

carrier looks to turnaround 

its fortunes amid stiff competition. 

The airline is surviving 

on a Rs 30,231 crore bailout 

package extended by the 

previous UPA government 

in 2012. Under the Turnaround 

Plan (TAP), which 

runs till March 2021, it has 

already received Rs 22,280 

crore. 

A senior official said the 

carrier has sought about Rs 

3,300 crore from the government 

under the Turnaround 

Plan and backlog amount of 

around Rs 977 crore. 

The backlog amount 

is mainly on account of 

steep appreciation in dollar 

against the rupee. The financial 

situation looks better 

since the fuel prices are at 

low levels now, the official 

added. 

The demand has been 

made as part of the Budget 

wishlist for the 2016-17 fiscal 

starting from April 1. 

Air India is saddled with 

debt of around Rs 40,000 

crore, that long-term borrowings 

taken for aircraft 

purchase and working capital 

purposes. 

Air India has already 

tied up for dry leasing 14 

Rouhani hails lifting of Iran sanctions 

Thousands of Ramadi buildings 

damaged, destroyed: UN report 

Baghdad, Jan 17: A United Nations report 

finds that the ongoing battle for the city of 

Ramadi has damaged or destroyed more 

than 4,500 buildings. 

The findings, gathered comparing satellite 

imagery of the city collected in July 

2014 to imagery collected in December, reveal 

that nearly 1,500 buildings have been 

completely destroyed, the report published 

yesterday said. 

The Islamic State group overran Ramadi, 

capital of Anbar province, in May after 

months of clashes with Iraqi government 

forces. Last month government forces 

retook the city’s western and central districts 

under cover of heavy coalition air 

bombardment. 

Lise Grande, the UN’s deputy special 

representative to Iraq, says the extent of the 

damage raises concerns about reconstruction, 

calling the destruction in Ramadi “incomparable” 

to destruction in other Iraqi 

cities taken back from Islamic States. 

new engine technology 

A320 neo planes with a Kuwaiti 

lessor, which are to 

be inducted in the financial 

year 2017, the official said 

adding the airline plans to 

dry lease another 30 narrow 

body aircraft (A320s) in its 

fleet over a three periods in 

its bid to augment capacity 

in the highly-competitive 

domestic market. 

India’s domestic passenger 

traffic surged by a robust 

25.1 per cent in November 

last year, fuelled by higher 

2,00,986.72 crore. 

Similarly, the valuation of Sun Pharma 

went down by Rs 1,708.69 crore to Rs 

1,89,135.18 crore and that of HUL fell by 

Rs 1,655.36 crore to Rs 1,74,007.67 crore. 

In stark contrast, the m-cap of Infosys 

surged by Rs 17,812.81 crore to Rs 

2,61,897.63 crore and that of RIL jumped 

by Rs 15,904.53 crore to Rs 3,47,615.95 

crore. 

Infosys on January 14 reported a better-than-expected 

6.6 per cent rise in its 

third quarter net profit and raised its annual 

revenue growth forecast. 

Meanwhile, ITC added Rs 321.46 

crore in its market capitalisation to take 

it to Rs 2,52,151.15 crore. 

The pecking order of the top-10 list 

showed that TCS stood at number one 

position despite taking a big hit in m-cap, 

followed by RIL, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ITC, 

CIL, Sun Pharma, ONGC, HDFC and HUL. 

On a weekly basis, the benchmark 

BSE Sensex fell by 479.29 points, or 

1.92 per cent, to 24,455.04, its weakest 

closing since May 30, 2014, while the 

broader NSE Nifty lost 163.55 points, or 

2.15 per cent, to 7,437.80. 

Air India seeks around 

Rs 4300 Cr from govt for 2016-17 

Beijing, Jan 17: Taiwan should abandon 

its “hallucinations” about pushing for 

independence as any moves towards it 

would be a “poison”, Chinese state-run 

media said after a landslide victory for 

the island’s independence-leaning opposition. 

The comment comes after Taiwan 

elected Tsai Ing-wen as its first female 

president, handing her pro-independence 

party its first majority in the national 

legislature and rejecting the 

China-friendly party that has led the 

self-governing island for eight years. 

In a statement issued after Tsai’s 

win, the Chinese Cabinet’s body for handling 

Taiwan affairs reaffirmed its opposition 

to Taiwan independence, but 

said it would work to maintain peace 

and stability between the two sides of 

nuclear activity. “Iran continues to 

aspire towards nuclear weapons - the 

international community mustn’t be 

blinded,” Israel’s ambassador to the 

UN, Danny Danon, said in a statement. 

“The lifting of sanctions oils the 

wheels of the terror machine Iran 

operates throughout the world, and 

Israel will continue to closely monitor 

all of Iran’s actions, regarding its 

nuclear activity and its terror activity,” 

Danon said. 

Rouhani told parliament only “extremists” 

were unhappy with the nuclear 

agreement. 

“In [implementing] the deal, all 

are happy except Zionists, warmongers, 

sowers of discord among Islamic 

nations and extremists in the US. The 

rest are happy.” 

US Secretary of State John Kerry 

said the steps taken by Tehran have 

fundamentally changed its nuclear 

programme. 

“Today ... the United States, our 

friends and allies in the Middle East, 

and the entire world are safer because 

the threat of the nuclear weapon has 

been reduced,” Kerry said. 

EU foreign policy chief Federica 

Mogherini said as a result “multilateral 

and national economic and financial 

sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear 

programme are lifted”. 

“All sides remain firmly convinced 

that this historic deal is both strong 

and fair, and that it meets the requirements 

of all,” Mogherini said in a joint 

statement with the Iranian foreign 

minister. 

“This achievement clearly demonstrates 

that with political will, perseverance, 

and through multilateral 

diplomacy, we can solve the most difficult 

issues and find practical solutions 

that are effectively implemented,” 

they said. 

With the sanctions now removed, 

Iran is ready to increase its crude oil 

exports by 500,000 barrels a day, 

Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia 

was quoted as saying by the 

Shana news agency on Sunday. 

Iran’s return to an already glutted 

oil market is one of the factors contributing 

to a global rout in oil prices, 

which fell below $30 a barrel last week 

for the first time in 12 years. Iran is the 

world’s fourth largest oil producer. 

Meanwhile it was also announced 

that four Americans - including Washington 

Post reporter Jason Rezaian - 

and seven Iranians were being freed 

in a prisoner swap. 

China warns Taiwan after 

landslide election victory 

the Taiwan Strait. “Our will is as strong 

as a rock, our attitude unswerving on the 

principal matter of safeguarding national 

sovereignty and territorial integrity,” 

the Taiwan Affairs Office said. 

Voters concerned that Taiwan’s 

economy is under threat from China and 

broadly opposed to Beijing’s demands 

for political unification resoundingly 

chose Tsai over the Nationalists’ Eric Chu, 

a late replacement for his party’s original 

candidate who was seen as alienating 

voters. Tsai said her victory was a further 

show of Taiwan’s ingrained democracy 

and its people wish for a government 

“steadfast in protecting this nation’s sovereignty.” 

She too pledged to maintain 

the status quo with China. She said both 

sides have a responsibility to find a mutually 

acceptable means of interacting, 

capacity deployment, improved 

economic sentiment 

coupled with Diwali rush, 

even as other major aviation 

markets such as Brazil, 

Russia and Japan delivered 

a negative growth during 

the same period, according 

to global airlines body, 

IATA. 

Besides, the state-run 

airline will also hire 534 

Airbus A320 pilots and 1000 

cabin crew, in line with its 

aircraft induction plan, the 

official said. 

Air India has a significant 

shortage of A320 flight 

crew due to its trained pilots 

quitting the airline and 

moving to private domestic 

carriers and foreign airlines. 

At present Air India has 

1,441 pilots, with 670 of 

them flying 66 A320 family 

aircraft. Besides, another 70 

pilots are under training. 

Deadly suicide blast strikes 

Afghan compound 

Baghdad, Jan 17: A suicide 

bomber detonated explosives 

inside the house of an 

influential family in eastern 

Afghanistan, killing at least 

13 people, officials said. 

Fourteen others were 

also wounded in Sunday’s 

attack in the city of Jalalabad, 

a hospital official told 

Al Jazeera. 

Attaullah Khogyani, 

spokesman for the 

Nangarhar provincial government, 

said the attacker 

detonated his explosives at 

about 10:30am local time 

(06:00 GMT) at the residential 

compound of Obaidullah 

Shinwari. 

Among the wounded 

was Shinwari’s father, Malik 

Osman Shinwari, a prominent 

tribal elder and a fierce 

critic of the Islamic State of 

Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) 

group, said Khogyani. 

The family was celebrating 

a son’s release from Taliban 

captivity when the suicide 

bomber struck. 

The attack came just 

days after a deadly assault 

on the Pakistani consulate 

in Jalalabad, close to Shinwari’s 

compound, that was 

claimed by ISIL. 

The wounded tribal elder 

was flown by helicopter 

to Kabul for medical treatment. 

His condition was 

unclear. 

“We believe the suicide 

while adding that Taiwan’s international 

space must be respected. 

She said she would correct past policy 

mistakes, but warned that “the challenges 

that Taiwan faces will not disappear 

in one day”. Chu resigned from his 

party’s leadership to take responsibility 

for the massive loss. In the final tally, 

Tsai won more than 56 percent of votes, 

while Chu had 31 percent and a thirdparty 

candidate trailing in the distance. 

Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou is constitutionally 

barred from another term. 

Making Tsai’s task easier, her Democratic 

Progressive Party won 68 seats 

in the 113-member national legislature 

that has been traditionally 

dominated by the Nationalists, who 

took 36 seats, with the rest won by 

independents and smaller parties. 

FPIs withdraw 

Rs 3500 cr from 

equities in a 

fortnight 

New Delhi, Jan 17: Overseas 

investors pulled out close 

to Rs 3,500 crore from the 

Indian equity markets in the 

New Year on concerns of 

renewed worries over the 

health of Chinese economy 

and sharp fall in crude oil 

prices. 

However, these investors 

continue to remain bullish 

on the Indian debt market 

and invested a net amount 

of Rs 3,239 crore during the 

period. 

According to data 

available with depositories, 

Foreign Portfolio Investors 

(FPIs) infused a gross 

amount of Rs 36,368 crore 

into equity markets in January 

1-15, while they pulled 

out Rs 39,852 crore during 

the same period, resulting 

in a net outflow of Rs 3,483 

crore ($520 million). Capital 

poured in by the FPIs is often 

referred to as ‘hot money’ 

because of its unpredictability, 

although they continue 

to remain among the most 

important drivers of Indian 

stock markets. 

Market experts attributed 

the outflow from the 

stock markets to several negative 

factors such as concerns 

over China’s growth, crude 

falling below $31 to 12-year 

lows and weak IIP data. 

The outlook for the 

Chinese economy and the 

ongoing collapse in oil 

prices have triggered FPIs 

to pull-out money from the 

stock market. A contraction 

in industrial production in 

November also dampened 

investors’ sentiments. 

FPIs, which stayed away 

from the debt markets during 

the period under review, 

invested money in the debt 

market mainly on account 

of positive outlook for the 

Indian rupee. In 2015, FPIs 

had infused a net amount of 

Rs 17,806 crore in equities 

and Rs 45,856 crore in the 

bond markets. 

bomber was disguised as a 

guest,” he reported from the 

capital Kabul. “The situation 

in Jalalabad is very volatile. 

You have both the Taliban 

and ISIL present there. The 

two groups are not only 

fighting the government, 

but also each other.” 

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah 

Mujahid said the 

group was not responsible 

for Sunday’s attack. 

‘ISIS abducts more 

than 400 civilians 

in east Syria’ 

Beirut, Jan 17: The Islamic State 

group abducted at least 400 

civilians including women and 

children after capturing new 

territory in an assault on Syria’s 

eastern city of Deir Ezzor , a 

monitor said today. “After their 

attack on Deir Ezzor (yesterday), 

IS abducted at least 400 

civilians from the residents of 

the Al-Baghaliyeh neighbourhood 

it captured and adjacent 

areas in the northwest of the 

city,” the Syrian Observatory for 

Human Rights said. “Those abducted, 

all of whom are Sunnis, 

include women, children and 

family members of pro-regime 

fighters,” Observatory chief 

Rami Abdel Rahman said.


HEALTH 


Srinagar | Monday 


36 

Signs of heart attack 

you must know 

Understanding the signs 

of a heart attack can save a 

life. Heart attacks are silent 

killers and anyone can be a 

victim. 

Lack of exercise, poor 

diet and an erratic lifestyle 

can increase the risk of a 

heart attack. Dr Anil Bansal, 

Cardiologist with Columbia 

Asia Hospital, Gurgaon helps 

you spot the warning signs. 

Dr Anil Bansal explains 

the signs and symptoms of a 

possible heart attack: 

When you start feeling 

heaviness in your chest, 

unbearable upper stomach 

pain, left arm pain, jaw and 

neck pain and shortness of 

breath, you must rush to the 

nearest hospital and get your 

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

PDP........ 

ECG done. There are several 

cases where individuals 

have brushed it aside but it is 

important to get immediate 

Best healthy 

cooking oils in India 

Cooking oil in inevitable 

while preparing a dish. 

Whether it is a salad or 

main course, you need to 

use oil. But choosing the 

right cooking oil can save 

you from heart diseases, 

cholesterol blockages, 

obesity and digestion problems. 

We span the country 

to give you a list of healthy 

cooking oils in India. 

Cooking oil is either 

obtained from animal or 

vegetables. But vegetable is 

hands down a health eating 

option. There are several 

vegetable based cooking 

oils in the Indian market, 

we tell you the benefits of 

each cooking oil and how 

you should really have it. 

How much oil to use 

depends on the oil, the 

method of cooking and 

utensil used to prepare the 

dish. 

Rice bran oil 

Rice bran oil has two 

major properties 

Reduces cholesterol 

It is rich in monounsaturated 

fatty acids and 

has cholesterol-lowering 

properties due to the presence 

of a component called 

oryzanol. 

Improves insulin 

resistance 

It contains natural 

vitamin E, (tocopherol and 

tocotrienol) which is an 

antioxidant. It also contains 

squalene, which is good for 

the skin. 

Olive oil 

Olive oil contains antioxidant, 

reduce arthritis 

pain, lowers the incidences 

of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s 

diseases. Olive oil is 

also said to have properties 

that help in fighting against 

heart diseases such as heart 

attack and heart stroke. 

Sunflower oil 

Sunflower oil reduce 

cardiovascular diseases, 

fight free radicals especially 

good for cancer patients, 

healthy option of arthritis 

patients, and sunflower in 

an antioxidant. Sunflower 

oil is prevents colon cancer, 

repairs the body, boosts the 

immune system, and promotes 

the proper functioning 

of nervous system. 

Groundnut oil 

Groundnut oil can 

boost energy and is contains 

monounsaturated 

and polyunsaturated fats. It 

contains Omega 3 fatty acids, 

lowers the risk of heart 

diseases and fights against 

cancers, degenerative 

nerve disease, Alzheimer’s 

disease, and viral/fungal infections 

due to antioxidant, 

resveratrol. Sadly, groundnut 

oil produces smoke at 

high temperatures. 

Mustard oil 

Mustard oil when 

consumed in moderation 

or sparingly improves 

digestion and builds a 

good appetite. Mustard 

oil also fights germs and 

virus, great to prevent cold, 

coughs and skin problems. 

It can ease inflammation. 

Sesame oil 

Sesame oil has several 

medicinal properties. It is 

effective for diabetics and 

lowers blood pressure. 

Sesame oil improves oral 

hygiene and dental health. 

It prevents atherosclerosis, 

cancer and fights depression. 

Edible almond oil 

Almond oil for cooking 

helps prevent two main 

health problems - Heart 

diseases and cancer. 

Almond oil improves cholesterol, 

ease the stomach 

from irritable bowel syndrome 

and protects against 

colon cancer. 

Coconut oil 

Coconut oil is known 

to fight bacteria, build 

immunity and increase 

metabolism. It gets a bad 

reputation primarily due 

to the fact that it contains 

saturated fats, despite these 

being the healthy saturated 

fats. 

Palm oil 

Palm oil is rich in 

antioxidants, carotenes and 

Vitamin E. Palm oil is good 

ingredient from cancer 

patients, those with Alzheimer’s, 

arthritis, atherosclerosis 

and anti-aging. 

medical assistance. 

The other warning signs 

include the feeling of nausea, 

breaking into a cold sweat 

and light-headedness. You 

may also experience intense 

pressure on the chest or feeling 

like your chest is closing 

in on you. 

In men, the most common 

warning sign of a heart 

attack is chest pain; while 

women are more likely to 

experience breathlessness, 

nausea, and back and jaw 

pain. 

In case you experience 

any of these symptoms or 

it you are a witness, call for 

immediate medical care or 

rush the concerned person 

to the nearest hospital. 

The meeting observed that both in 2002 and 2015, PDP’s power 

sharing arrangement either with Congress or with BJP took 

time and effort to materialize as Mufti Sahab wanted to ensure 

adequate safeguards for the State’s dignity and interests 

of its people. He raised the bar for all political stake holders be 

it about accords, alliance or collation politics by devising common 

minimum program in 2002 and agenda of alliance in 2015 

which unlike in past were aimed at safeguarding the state interests. 

“Mufti Sahab would be also remembered long for not only 

introducing competitive democracy in Jammu and Kashmir but 

bringing in probity, accountability and delivery in governance 

as well and PDP would continue to uphold these ideals of the 

great leader,” the statement said, “Mufti Sahab was striving 

towards accomplishing the unfinished agenda of securing dignified 

peace, durable stability and inclusive prosperity for the 

people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have suffered countless 

miseries over the past six decades.” 

“He had in 2002 laid the foundations for achieving these 

objectives and was working tirelessly, despite his falling health, 

in his present tenure, to usher Jammu and Kashmir into an 

era of development, growth, stability and empowerment,” the 

statement infirmed, “despite being in chair only for a very short 

duration of 10 months, Mufti Sahab, through his hard work and 

sincerity of purpose, ensured a perceptible turnaround on the 

ground in key sectors including road communication, education, 

health, rural development, horticulture, agriculture and 

power besides launching some pioneering welfare initiatives in 

social and skill development sectors.” 

“Despite many constraints and inheriting a dysfunctional 

system, the government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed 

responded to and endeavoured determinedly to mitigate the 

complex problems of J&K, faced as it is with decades long political 

uncertainty, development deficit, unfulfilled aspirations 

and mounting unemployment. While Mufti Sahab continued to 

work untiringly till his last day touring Srinagar city last month, 

even during his illness at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, 

New Delhi, he used to regularly inquire about the status of the 

issues pertaining to the development of the state. PDP leadership 

complimented the party cadres for effectively carrying the 

party’s pro-people agenda to the grassroots and working tirelessly 

towards implementation of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s 

political, economic and developmental vision for Jammu and 

Kashmir,” the statement said. 

“This meeting wholeheartedly and unanimously supported 

Mehbooba Mufti as its leader and expressed full confidence 

in her leadership qualities. The party authorized the President 

to take any decisions needed to carry forward Mufti Mohammad 

Sayeed’s mission and implementing his political and developmental 

vision,” the statement asserted. 

BJP....... 

much the conditions of Agenda of Alliance have been fulfilled 

Singh said that such a review was a normal thing. 

"Nowhere review has been said and no condition has been 

laid, it is true that the issue of Agenda of Alliance have to be seen 

as how much it has been fulfilled and how much was remaining, 

even if Mufti Sahab was alive he too would have done this. 

There is no difference (between PDP and BJP)," he said. 

On the statement of National Conference patron Farooq 

Abdullah, he said the former chief minister has retracted from 

his statement. 

Asked whether the BJP would opt for fresh elections, if the 

PDP decides to break the alliance with the saffron party, he said 

it was not the right moment to comment on the issue. 

"It is not the right moment to think about it, it is for them 

(PDP) what they decide and I am hopeful that everything will 

go alright. I am hopeful that things will move forward properly," 

he said. 

When asked if his party was in touch with PDP leadership, 

he said, even as there was no official communication, but the 

leadership of both the parties was in touch. 

"We haven't had an official discussion, but yes we are coalition 

partners and we keep on talking but no official communication 

as yet," he said, adding that priority of both the parties 

should be to restore democratic setup in the state. 

Omar....... 

ally of BJP, and NC is not obliged to rescue either PDP or BJP from 

the ensuing stalemate in their standing political alliance. 

It must also be remembered that the working committee 

of the party, in its recent meeting in Srinagar, had endorsed the 

decision taken by NC a year ago to stay away from BJP and "we 

expect no change in that decision", Omar said. 

Farooq had yesterday said his party was ready to consider a 

tie-up with the saffron party for government formation if such 

an offer was received. 

"If such a proposal comes, then NC will call a Working Committee 

(meeting) and debate over it. If such a situation arises, 

NC can think over it as we have not closed the doors. 

Our doors are open," he told reporters in Jammu when 

Harmful bacteria can survive 

in cookies for months 

Pathogens, like salmonella, 

can survive for at least 

six months in cookies 

and sandwich crackers, 

new research has found. 

The recent study 

was prompted by an 

increased number of 

outbreak of foodborne 

diseases linked to dry 

foods, said the researchers 

who wanted to see 

just how long bacteria 

that cause foodborne illness 

can survive in certain 

foods. 

“There have been 

an increased number of 

outbreaks of diseases associated 

with consumption 

of contaminated dry 

foods. We would not expect 

salmonella to grow 

in foods that have a very 

dry environment,” said 

lead researcher Larry 

Beuchat from University 

of Georgia in the US. 

The researchers 

found that not only can 

harmful bacteria survive 

in dry foods, like cookie 

and cracker sandwiches, 

but they can also live for 

long periods of time. 

For the study, researchers 

used five different 

serotypes of salmonella 

that had been 

isolated from foods involved 

in previous foodborne 

outbreaks. 

asked to spell out his party's stand if it gets a proposal from BJP 

for forming a coalition government in the state which is under 

Governor's Rule. 

In the 87-member Assembly, BJP has 25 MLAs while its ally 

Peoples Conference headed by Sajad Gani Lone has two members. 

The NC has 15 legislators. 

Any alliance between the BJP and the NC will still require at 

least support of two other independent MLAs to cross the 44- 

seat mark for forming the government. 

NC........ 

statement in which he was quoted offering his party’s support 

to the PDP, Dr Farooq said he was misquoted in the report. “. I 

only said that our party can discuss on anything in our working 

committee. I had never said that we are going with BJP; it has to 

be made clear. I only said that PDP should form the government 

with the BJP as they have the mandate.” 

Dr Farooq said his party cannot take the decision over the 

government formation as it hasn’t got the mandate during the 

previously held polls in the state. “We are only 14-15 people, 

and 14-15 people cannot form the government. I am not the one 

to take the decision, it is the party high command to take the 

decision." 

He further asked the BJP and the PDP to iron out the differences 

so that the government formation in the state could be 

formed at an earliest. "Delay in the process is not the good thing. 

Jammu and Kashmir is going through a difficult stage, they (PDP 

and BJP) have the mandate and they must sit down and solve 

the problems of the people that is why they were elected. And 

if they cannot solve the problems of the people they must dissolve 

the Assembly and hold a new election," he said. 

Rumours....... 

Nonetheless, Dr Kaisar, GMC Principal said, “I am personally 

looking the children visiting SMHS hospital for their check-up 

and nothing unenthusiastic has been found among them while 

every child is safe.” 

According to the reports, Director Health, Sameer Koul has 

said that strict action would be taken against the person spreading 

rumors over pulse polio immunization. 

KNS received several phone calls from the local people 

across the Valley who castigated the fake news groups saying 

they are misleading the people in general over several issues 

and the authorities should take strong note against them. 

“Such fake news groups as well as portals have and are 

“Isolates were 

from foods with very 

low moisture content,” 

Beuchat said. 

Focusing on cookie 

and cracker sandwiches, 

the researchers put 

the salmonella into four 

types of fillings found in 

cookies or crackers and 

placed them into storage. 

The researchers used 

cheese and peanut butter 

fillings for the cracker 

sandwiches and chocolate 

and vanilla fillings for 

the cookie sandwiches. 

These “are the kind 

that we find in grocery 

stores or vending machines”, 

Beuchat said. 

After storing, the scientists 

determined how 

long salmonella was able 

to survive in each filling. 

In some cases, the 

pathogen was able to 

survive for at least to six 

months in the sandwiches, 

the findings showed. 

Smartphone monitoring can 

boost behavioural studies 

Interpreting the data 

collected from volunteers’ 

own smartphones 

-- which has the potential 

to emulate randomised 

trials -- can 

boost research into human 

behaviour, finds a 

new study. 

Fani Tsapeli from 

the University of Birmingham, 

and her 

colleague and Mirco 

Musolesi from the Uni- 

Why 

mother’s 

touch is so 

soothing 

versity College London 

used user-generated 

data, harvested from 

their phones to evaluate 

the cause of increased 

stress levels of participants. 

Most of the earlier 

research works relying 

on smartphones focused 

on detecting factors in 

the features extracted 

from smartphone data. 

But that pure correlation 

analysis did not provide 

for a sufficient understanding 

of human behaviour. 

Therefore, the study 

authors tried to identify 

factors that could be at 

the root cause of issues 

revolving around health 

and well-being. 

In this study, the authors 

used data from a 

research project at Dartmouth 

College, Hanover, 

US, called StudentLife. 

It included information 

on participants’ location 

taken from raw GPS data, 

which helped determine 

whether they were 

working or socialising. 

Also included was 

data on activity levels, 

like running, walking 

or travelling on public 

transport, inferred from 

participants’ raw accelerometer 

data. 

They found that exercising 

and spending time 

outside the home and 

working environment 

have a positive effect on 

participants’ stress levels. 

By contrast, they found 

that reduced working 

hours only slightly impact 

stress. The conclusions 

cannot be extended to the 

general population due to 

the small sample size. But 

the approach has been 

validated and shows great 

promise for further studies. 

What makes a mother’s touch so comforting for her children? Well, scientists now have an 

answer to this question. A team of experts from the Unilever company, the University of 

Gothenburg in Sweden, and the University of North Carolina have identified a class of nerve 

fibres in the skin which specifically send pleasure messages. The researchers have found 

that people have to be stroked at a certain speed, 4-5cm per second, to activate the pleasure 

sensation. They say that their findings may prove helpful in understanding how touch sustains 

human relationships. During the study, the research team recorded nerve responses 

in 20 people, and tested how people responded to having their forearm skin stroked at a 

range of different speeds. The researchersidentified “C-tactile” nerve fibres as those stimulated 

when people said a touch had been pleasant. They observed that the touch was not 

pleasurable, and the nerve fibres were not activated, when the stroke was faster or slower 

than the optimum speed. 

Bioactive 

glass fillings 

to prolong 

tooth life 

Bioactive glass can be 

used in tooth fillings 

to reduce the ability of 

bacteria to attack composite 

tooth fillings, and 

perhaps even provide 

some of the minerals 

needed to replace those 

lost to tooth decay, engineers 

from Oregon State 

University said. 

Some studies suggest 

the average lifetime of a 

posterior dental composite 

is only six years. 

“Bioactive glass, 

which is a type of 

crushed glass that is able 

to interact with the body, 

has been used in some 

types of bone healing 

for decades,” said lead 

researcher professor 

Jamie Kruzic. 

“This type of glass 

is only beginning to see 

use in dentistry, and our 

research shows it may be 

very promising for tooth 

fillings,” he said. 

“The bacteria in the 

mouth that cause cavities 

are less likely to colonize 

on fillings that incorporate 

it,” he added. 

Bioactive glass is 

made with compounds 

such as silicon oxide, 

calcium oxide and phosphorus 

oxide, and looks 

like powdered glass. 

It’s called “bioactive” 

because the body notices 

it is there and can react 

to it, as opposed to other 

biomedical products that 

are inert. 

Bioactive glass is 

very hard and stiff, and 

it can replace some of 

the inert glass fillers 

that are currently mixed 

with polymers to make 

modern composite tooth 

fillings. 

“Almost all fillings 

will eventually fail. 

New tooth decay often 

begins at the interface 

of a filling and the tooth, 

and is called secondary 

tooth decay. The tooth 

is literally being eroded 

and demineralised at 

that interface,” Kruzic 

explained. 

Bioactive glass may 

help prolong the life 

of fillings, researchers 

said, because the new 

study showed that 

the depth of bacterial 

penetration into the 

interface with bioactive 

glass-containing fillings 

was significantly smaller 

than for composites 

lacking the glass. 

misleading us over several issues. Authorities should point the 

groups who are flashing baseless news and the person involved 

in it should be death with strictly at earliest,” Callers said. 

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Javaid Mujtaba Gilani said 

that they will investigate the matter at earliest and the person 

involved in it will be dealt with strictly. 

“I assure the people of speedy investigation into it and strict 

action will be taken against the person spreading rumors over 

social networking sites including Facebook and Whatsapp,” IGP 

said. (KNS) 

India....... 

deliver a lecture, organised by 175-year-old 'Sarvajanik 

Wachanalaya' (a public library), on the topic "India yesterday, 

today and tomorrow". 

He also interacted with members of Laghu Udyog Bharati, 

a body of small scale industries and other local entrepreneurs. 

Cold....... 

Chillai-Kalan , which began with winter solstice on December 

21 and ends January 31, is the harshest period of winter in 

Kashmir when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and 

maximum. 

However, the harshest winter period has thus far remained 

largely dry except for brief spells of light snow in plains on two 

occasions and moderate snowfall in the higher reaches on a few 

occasions. 

The dry weather has resulted in increase in common ailments 

like cough and cold among the people here. 

Melody Man....... 

community was more inclined towards this art. Most of my customers 

used to be Pandits. Even in my grandfather’s time it was 

the same.” 

“This is my first order in months,” he says, steadily using a hammer 

on a santoor. “How I can ask someone to do this when I 

sometimes feel like quitting myself? The last 20 years have been 

really tough.” For this piece, Zaz will be paid Rs.20,000. 

To put this in perspective, santoor instruments used by professionals 

usually cost upwards of Rs.25,000, according to Ashish 

Bhargava, co-owner of Bhargava’s Musik Pvt. Ltd, one of Mumbai’s 

most famous dealers in musical instruments. It can go up 

to lakhs of rupees, depending on the material used. 

“I’ll probably make something in the winter months and wait 

for it to sell,” Zaz says. (Livemint)

7 

SRINAGAR, MONDAY 


S 

P 

O 

R 

T 

S 

Williamson lauds 'smart cricket' 

on asymmetrical Seddon Park 

Twenty fours and four 

sixes were struck between 

them, but "smart cricket" 

was the cornerstone of 

the searing opening stand 

between himself and Martin 

Guptill, Kane Williamson 

said. 

The pair hit a world 

record 171 in each other's 

company, to make light 

work of Pakistan's 168 for 7. 

Williamson said it had been 

he and his partner's ability to 

account for the asymmetrical 

dimensions of the Hamilton 

ground, and the particular 

strengths of Pakistan's bowlers, 

that allowed the stand to 

flourish. 

Damage to the Seddon 

Park square during the recent 

Test match featuring Sri 

Lanka had meant a surface 

towards the eastern end of 

the block had to be used for 

this T20. This in turn brought 

the eastern boundary to 52 

metres, while the square 

boundary on the other side 

of the pitch was lengthened 

to 75 metres. 

Williamson in particular 

targeted the short 

side of the ground during 

his career-best 72 off 48 

balls, memorably shuffling 

towards the off side to hit 

consecutive legside fours off 

Mohammad Amir, in the fifth 

over. 

"No T20 is the same, and 

here at Seddon Park you're 

not just taking the opposition 

into account, you're very 

much identifying the dimensions 

of the ground, the pitch 

and using that as part of 

your planning," Williamson 

said. "That comes into your 

thinking as a bowling unit 

and a batting unit. 

"With one boundary very 

small, naturally there's going 

to be the odd boundary hit 

there. Then there's the wind 

going to the long boundary 

which also helps hit to that 

side of the ground." 

New Zealand hit 59 from 

the Powerplay, but were 

unusually reticent against 

Shahid Afridi in that period, 

scoring only 11 off his two 

overs. Williamson said there 

had been purchase and turn 

for Afridi on the pitch. Afridi 

was also generating significant 

drift. 

"Afridi is a world class 

legspinner," Williamson said. 

"Today on that surface it was 

holding and turning a little 

bit, so for us it was making 

sure that there's smart cricket 

at times amongst Guptill's 

sixes and fours. 

"All Pakistan's bowlers 

are danger men - they are all 

very good bowlers. Depending 

on the surface, some 

more than others. It was 

important that Guptill and I 

communicated and played 

some smart cricket. I think 

we were a bit better at doing 

that today than we were in 

the last match." 

Williamson and Guptill's 

stand surpassed the 170 

made by Loots Bosman and 

Graeme Smith against England. 

New Zealand's highest 

T20 partnership before this 

game had been the 137 

against Zimbabwe by the 

same pair in 2012. 

"Records are not something 

that we set out to do," 

Williamson said. "We set out 

to lay a platform and play 

to the gameplan. If records 

come that's nice, but more 

importantly, we got across 

the line to set up a nice finish 

to the T20 series." 

Corey Anderson had 

played as a specialist batsman 

during the Sri Lanka series, as 

he continues to recover from a 

back injury. He has now begun 

bowling in matches, and was 

effective for New Zealand on 

Sunday, taking 1 for 26 from 

his four overs. He had been 

cheap with the new ball, conceding 

only 12 from his three 

Powerplay overs. 

"The likes of Corey 

standing up after not 

playing much cricket, and 

opening the bowling as 

well, was a superb effort 

from him," Williamson said. 

"He bowled some tough 

overs at the top." 

NO T20 IS THE 

SAME, AND 

HERE AT SED- 

DON PARK 

YOU'RE NOT 

JUST TAKING 

THE OPPO- 

SITION INTO 

ACCOUNT, 

YOU'RE VERY 

MUCH IDEN- 

TIFYING THE 

DIMENSIONS OF 

THE GROUND, 

THE PITCH AND 

USING THAT AS 

PART OF YOUR 

PLANNING 

Maxwell fires to give 

Australia the series 

In Perth 309 was insufficient, and 

in Brisbane 308 was inadequate. 

But for a short while it looked like 

India's 295 in Melbourne might 

have been enough to keep this 

series alive. That was until Glenn 

Maxwell took it upon himself to bat 

India out of the match, his 96 steering 

Australia to a third successive 

record chase to seal the five-match 

one-day series with two to play. 

Though Maxwell fell with one 

run still required, James Faulkner 

finished the deal with seven balls 

to spare. 

In the past week, Australia have 

now set new records for successful 

ODI pursuits at the WACA, the 

Gabba, and the MCG. No wonder 

Steven Smith sent India in when he 

won the toss. A run a ball holds no 

fears for his team at the moment. 

This time it was Virat Kohli's century 

that set up India's innings, but 

their bowlers were again unable to 

restrain Australia. On a pitch that 

offered some turn, it was a mistake 

that they left out R Ashwin. 

That said, India gave themselves 

their best chance of the series 

by having Australia four down 

inside 30 overs. The heroes from 

the first two games - Smith and 

George Bailey - were among those 

dismissed, along with the openers 

Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, and 

it meant a mountain of work for the 

allrounders. It turns out Maxwell is 

quite the mountaineer. 

A searing throw from Umesh 

Yadav in the deep ran out Mitchell 

Marsh with the help of MS Dhoni's 

quick hands, and Matthew Wade 

skied a catch off Ishant Sharma, but 

James Faulkner was able to help 

Maxwell put the chase beyond 

doubt. Australia needed 65 off the 

last 10 overs with Maxwell and 

Faulkner at the crease, then 35 off 

the last seven. Maxwell played 

some extraordinary shots, including 

a slap for six over extra cover 

off Barinder Sran, and was the key 

man. 

Maxwell timed the chase well 

enough to give himself a chance at a 

hundred, reaching 96 with one run 

needed. But he skied a catch next 

ball and left Faulkner to finish the 

job. Their partnership of 80 was the 

biggest of Australia's innings, which 

was formed of several solid stands, 

unlike India's innings that was 

based around two century partnerships 

and little else. 

Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh 

put on 48 for the opening wicket 

before Finch was caught behind off 

Yadav, and Marsh then combined 

with Smith for 64 to set Australia's 

chase on its path. Marsh's fifty 

came up from his 53rd ball, but 

on 62 he edged behind off Ishant 

Sharma to give India a sniff. Smith 

(41) had already been taken at slip 

when Ravindra Jadeja found some 

turn, and Bailey had been sharply 

stumped off Jadeja. But as it turned 

out, Maxwell was the wicket India 

really needed. 

India came to this match knowing 

that a run a ball may not be 

enough to set Australia - it certainly 

wasn't in the first two matches of 

this series. And Smith was keen not 

to change a winning formula, sending 

India in when he won the toss. 

The early loss of Rohit Sharma, who 

scored hundreds at both the WACA 

and the Gabba, perked Australia up, 

but Kohli played the anchor role 

this time with 117 off 117 deliveries. 

Kohli worked hard during his 

119-run partnership with Shikhar 

Dhawan and his 109-run stand with 

Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom 

made half-centuries. Only 40 of 

Kohli's runs came in boundaries, 

seven fours and two sixes, and he 

was constantly taking off for singles 

to rotate the strike and ensure 

things did not stagnate. His fifty 

came from 51 deliveries and his 

century from 105, and when he 

brought it up he leapt in celebration: 

it was his first ODI hundred 

against Australia in Australia. 

Kohli fell in the 47th over when 

he drove a John Hastings slower 

ball straight to cover; Hastings' 

variations again proved useful for 

Australia and he finished with a 

career-best 4 for 58. Dhoni slapped 

a quick 23 from nine balls in the dying 

stages but also fell to Hastings, 

pulling a 140kph bouncer to deep 

midwicket. Debutant Gurkeerat 

Singh was bowled for 8 by a Faulkner 

slower ball, before Jadeja and 

Rishi Dhawan steered the innings 

home. 

Hastings had also got rid of 

Rahane for 50 from 55 deliveries, 

brilliantly caught on the deep 

midwicket boundary by a combination 

of Smith and Maxwell. Rahane 

pulled a short ball and Smith hared 

around the boundary to make 

the catch but felt his momentum 

carrying him over, and threw the 

ball back inside play for Maxwell to 

complete the catch. That was one of 

four wickets in the final six overs; 

6th Police Martyrs Memorial Cricket Championship concludes >>>>>>>>>> 

JK Police determined to hone 

sports skills of youth: Rajendra 

Jammu, Jan 17: Director 

General of Police (DGP), K. 

Rajendra Kumar, said that 

Jammu and Kashmir Police 

has been focussing on promoting 

sports activities in 

the State and the Organization 

has been providing logistic 

support to the talented 

youngsters to provide them 

opportunities to hone their 

skills in the field of sports. 

Rajendra was speaking 

at the closing ceremony of 

6th Police Martyrs Memorial 

Cricket Championship 2015- 

16 at Sports Stadium Kathua 

this afternoon. 

As many as, 16 teams 

from Jammu and Kashmir 

and North India took part in 

the tournament. 

The DGP felicitated the 

teams who participated in 

the tournament and exhibited 

best performance during 

the tourney. 

The DGP said that JKP is 

organizing various tournaments 

in the state every year 

in the memory of its martyrs, 

who have laid down their 

lives for bringing peace and 

normalcy in the State. He further 

said that police organization 

besides its professional 

duties is promoting sports 

culture in the State and the 

motive behind this is to provide 

platform to the youth 

to achieve excellence in the 

field so that they could compete 

at national and international 

level. He said that the 

organization has chalked out 

the sports calendar for the 

year 2016 and different tournaments 

of various sports 

events would be organized 

at different places across the 

State. 

The DGP said that the 

activities have helped enthusing 

the youth of the 

State for greater participation 

in sports. He said that 

the events have served as a 

bridge of understanding and 

good will between the people 

and police. 

Paying tributes to police 

martyrs, he said that sacrifices 

of these martyrs have 

made JKP proud and these 

unsung heroes would be remembered 

by generations to 

come. 

During the final match, 

Sabhi Cricket Club was declared 

as winner of the championship 

and Deepak Punia 

was judged as man of the 

Match while Rahul Tewatia 

of runner up team was confirmed 

as man of the series. 

The DGP appreciated the 

efforts of Kathua Police, Shaheed 

Welfare Committee and 

Sponsors for organizing the 

prestigious tournament in a 

well organized manner. He 

distributed trophies and cash 

prizes among the winning 

team including bumper prize 

(ALTO 800 Car) to the Man of 

the series. 

Earlier, IGP Jammu Zone, 

Danish Rana gave brief resume 

of the tournament. 

Among others the 

closing ceremony was attended 

by DIG JKS Range, 

Ashkoor Ahmed Wani, SP 

Kathua, Neeva Jain, Deputy 

Commissioner, Romesh Kumar, 

Principal PTS kathua, 

Sanjeev Khajuria, CO CRPF 

121 Bn, SS Rana, Additional 

SP Kathua, Nasir Ahmed, 

Chairman CTM Kathua, KC 

Sharma, President District 

Industries Association, Ajit 

Bawa, Industrialists, prominent 

citizens, families of 

martyrs and large gathering 

of cricket lovers. 

Broad No. 1 in Tests, 

Finn doubtful 

for Centurion 

England fast bowler Steven 

Finn looks certain to miss 

the final Test against South 

Africa in Centurion after 

sustaining a side strain on 

the final day of the third 

Test in Johannesburg. 

Finn, rated by coach 

Trevor Bayliss as England's 

"best bowler" in the first 

couple of Tests, underwent 

a scan on his left side on 

Sunday morning. While the 

results were not yet known, 

Bayliss feared Finn will miss 

the Test and quite possibly 

the limited-overs section of 

the tour. 

"I doubt very much 

whether he will be available 

for the next Test," Bayliss 

said. "We will have to wait 

and see how bad it is and 

make a decision on the oneday 

and T20 games. At this 

stage, it looks like we will 

have to make a replacement 

heading into the last Test. 

It's unfortunate, because 

I thought he bowled with 

good pace and bounce and 

was probably our most dangerous 

bowler in the first 

two Tests." 

There was a more encouraging 

development for 

the team with the news that 

Stuart Broad had become 

the first England bowler 

to top the ICC Test bowling 

rankings since Steve Harmison 

in 2004. Broad started 

the third Test in third place, 

after his man-of-the-match 

performance in Johannesburg, 

has gone above R Ashwin 

and Dale Steyn. 

Before Harmison, Ian 

Botham was the last England 

bowler to top the 

bowling rankings. He 

reached No. 1 in 1980. 

Harbhajan faces conflict 

of interest allegation 

The BCCI ombudsman, 

Justice AP Shah, has asked 

India offspinner Harbhajan 

Singh to respond to 

an allegation of conflict 

of interest related to his 

links to a sports apparel 

company that sponsors 

various state teams in domestic 

cricket. On January 

16, Justice Shah forwarded 

a complaint from Mumbai-based 

activist Niraj 

Gunde to Harbhajan and 

asked the player to respond 

to the allegation by 


"It is widely reported 

that Mr. Harbhajan Singh 

had started a company 

by name of Bhajji sports, 

which is a sports apparel 

company," Gunde wrote in 

an email to Shah on January 

14. The same e-mail, accessed 

by ESPNcricinfo, was 

copied to BCCI president 

Shashank Manohar and 

Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI manager, 

game development. 

"Further, news reports have 

indicated that this Bhajji 

sports is sponsoring upto 

6 Ranji Teams (Member 

Associations of the BCCI)," 

Gunde wrote. 

According Gunde, 

Harbhajan has specifically 

violated the sub-clauses C 

and D dealing with conflict 

of interest in the three-page 

document prepared by 

Manohar, in which the BCCI 

president listed various 

guidelines that would help 

administrators, match 

officials, players and board 

staff avoid involvement in 

conflict of interest. 

For the current players, 

Manohar wrote: 

A. Current Cricketers 

shall declare the name and 

details of his/her Player 

Agent or the Player Management 

Company. 

B. Current Cricketers 

shall not have any business 

interest in a Player Management 

Company. 

C. Current Cricketers 

shall not have any conflict 

arising with the BCCI sponsors 

including the apparel 

sponsor. 

D. Current Cricketers 

shall not accept any 

Controlling position in any 

Commercial Organization 

having a contract with the 

BCCI or its State Unit. 

"It is very clear from the 

above context, Mr. Harbhajan 

Singh is conflicted in 

C & D of the code," Gunde 

concluded in his e-mail to 

Shah. 

This is the second 

complaint that the BCCI 

ombudsman has received 

over the last week, with the 

first one raising an allegation 

of conflict of interest 

against former India captain 

Sourav Ganguly, who has 

been asked to respond by 

January 28. The complaint 

against Ganguly, which was 

also filed by Gunde, alleged 

the former India captain has 

a commercial tie-up with 

the RP Sanjiv Goenka group, 

which has a stake in the 

Atletico de Kolkata football 

club in Indian Super League 

(ISL) and, in December, secured 

the rights to run the 

Pune franchise in the IPL. 

Otago and Auckland 

breeze to victories 

Auckland kept Wellington 

at the bottom of the points 

table, beating them by seven 

wickets at Basin Reserve. 

Wellington, having won only 

one game in six before this, 

chose to bat but could not bat 

out their 50. 

They were bowled out in 

49.1 overs; only few of their 

batsmen got into double digits, 

and those who did could 

kick on to big scores. The top 

scorer was opener Michael 

Pollard, with 51. It took a cameo 

from No. 10 Dane Hutchinson 

- 35 off 43 - to get them 

in the vicinity of 200; they 

finished with 199. The medium 

pace of Colin de Grandehomme 

proved most effective 

for Auckland, and he finished 

with 4 for 37 in his ten. 

An opening stand of 

142 between Michael Guptill-Bunce 

and Brad Cachopa 

all but sealed the result, 

and despite neither batsman 

getting to triple digits - Guptill-Bunce 

made 66 while 

Cachopa top scored with 85 

- Auckland eased home with 

seven wickets and 11 overs to 

spare. 

Otago made short work 

of Northern Districts in 

Dunedin, dismissing them 

for 181 and then chasing 

down the target with 22.2 

overs to spare. It was only 

Otago's second win in seven 

games in the Ford Trophy. 

Northern Districts lost Joe 

Carter before they had scored 

after they were sent in to bat, 

but were steadied by a 73-run 

second wicket partnership between 

Daniel Flynn and Dean 

Brownlie, whose 44 was the 

top score of the innings. After 

that stand was broken, though, 

in the 19th over, the collapse 

began. They slipped from 73 

for 1 to 115 for 6, and then 

again from 153 for 6 to 181 all 

out in 46.1 overs. Jacob Duffy 

and Sam Wells took three 

wickets each for Otago. 

Otago lost opener Anaru 

Kitchen early in the chase but 

the rest of the top order fired. 

Michael Bracewell made 60 off 

49 balls, Neil Broom 69 off 76 

not out, and Hamish Rutherford 

an unbeaten 47 off 39 as Otago 

completed the chase with eight 

wickets in hand in the 28th over. 

Only 18.3 overs of play 

were possible in Christchurch, 

where rain washed 

out the match between 

Canterbury and Central 

Districts. The hosts were in 

charge before the end came 

early, reducing Central Districts 

to 110 for 4.

18 January 2016

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