Month: February 2016

City’s private coaching centres attract rural students in hordes

Editor

Biometric attendance system to be installed in government schools Despite State administration launched ‘Super 50’ to provide students standardised facilities, officials today said that nearly twenty two thousand students from rural areas across Kashmir come to summer capital Srinagar to attend their private coaching. However in order to counter the issue, State Board of School Education said that they would install biometric system in schools and attract more students to the ‘Super 50 coaching classes.’ About twenty two thousand students from rural areas of Kashmir come to the summer capital,…

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Power Projects – A Treasure Lost

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Out of total power generated by projects under NHPC, Jammu Kashmir only gets 13 percent free power – Mohammad Muzaffar Thakur Energy is an essential pre-requisite for sustainable economic growth and development. The energy demand is increasing several folds with the change in life style, population explosion, modernisation and industrialisation. Prosperity which economic development brings, in turn stimulates demand for more and better quality and sustainable energy services. Advance industrialised societies use more energy per unit of economic output and for more energy per capita than poorer societies, especially those remaining…

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FSSAI license now mandatory for food units in J&K

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The Food Safety Department has made it mandatory for all Food Business Operators (FBOs) in the State to obtain online registration or license of their establishments for running their business. Officials told KP that the department has fixed March 1, 2016 as the last date for obtaining license or registration as per the guidelines of Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).  “All food manufacturers, packers, wholesalers, distributors and sellers, food importers, hotels, restaurants, clubs, canteens, caterers, food transporters, food storage establishments, food processing units etc will have to obtain…

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Mid-term polls will hurt Mehbooba, but will be catastrophic for BJP

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The BJP, which won 25 out of 37 seats in Jammu province in the 2014 state assembly elections is likely to bite the dust if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) refuses to form the government and a mid-term election is forced on the state, experts said. The PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, is seeking fresh confidence building measures from no less than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on timely implementation of ‘Agenda of the Alliance’, a document agreed upon by two parties before forming a coalition government in state in March last year. If…

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90 breaches caused by September 2014 floods in Jhelum plugged

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Div Com reviews status of dredging, restoration work on the river Nearly 90 breaches caused by the September-2014 floods in Jehlum River have been plugged by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. This was revealed during a review meeting held by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon Wednesday with the Chief Engineer of Irrigation and Flood Control, Mr. Javed Jaffar and officers of concerned departments. The meeting was called to identify bottlenecks in the process of restoration of Jhelum and flood channel as well as strengthening and beautifying…

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National Conference slams PDP over political stalemate

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Slamming PDP for the political stalemate in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference today asked it to make public its charter of demands, failing which its “posturing” will prove to be just a “theatrical performance aimed at rebuilding a severely dented image”. Party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti “should tell the people what she is demanding from the central government since these demands are being made in their name and at a cost of their right to have an elected government.” Noting that BJP has officially…

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LPG-run vans continue to threaten safety of schoolchildren

Editor

What could be more ironical for a society than to have a lackadaisical attitude towards small children? Despite assuring action, private school vans hired by parents of small children continue to run on manually fitted LPG kits, thereby exposing the little students to a grave risk. On January 15, SSP, Traffic, Mohan Lal had said his department would take a stern action. A reality check revealed that dilapidated private vans having manually fitted LPG kits, using subsidised cylinders, ferry small children from home to school and back with impunity. “Laws…

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Congress ex-minister in dock over land grab case

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The State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) has registered a case against Congress leader and former minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din in a forest land-grabbing case. The case was registered against the Congress leader and government officials after the anti-graft body carried out a verification and found out that land in south Kashmir’s Shopian district had been grabbed by tampering with revenue records. “The verification has established that the accused officers/officials of the Revenue Department in order to confer undue benefit upon the beneficiary, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, have illegally made insertions, corrections, tempering with revenue…

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Two injured in scuffle inside Bandipora court

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Two persons, including public prosecutor Shafiq Ahmad Bhat, were injured in a scuffle between the lawyers and a client in a local court in Bandipora district of north Kashmir today. The incident took place on the premises of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bandipora. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Bandipora, Shabbir Ahmad told KP that preliminary reports suggest the scuffle was started by the lawyers over client fee. When accused Noor Din Gujjar and his accomplices tried to defend themselves, the lawyers along with their fellows severely thrashed them, the SSP said,…

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Dal residents resist demolition drive, seek rehabilitation

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The residents of different localities around the Dal Lake continue to resist the demolition drive started by the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) against illegal constructions. The protesting residents today staged a demonstration here to seek proper rehabilitation. According to officials, the LAWDA has been directed by the High Court to demolish every construction within 200 metres of the Dal Lake. The authority had failed to execute the court directions last week and is facing stiff resistance from the people in its second attempt. The residents, including women and…

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