DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2017 (PAGE 7)

Kavinder delivers lectureon democracy at Jaipur

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: SpeakerState Assembly and MLA,Gandhi Nagar, Kavinder Guptatoday attended the conferenceon "Democracy and SustainableDevelopment" as chief guest onthe occasion of "UN WorldDemocracy Day" at Jaipurorganised by Indian YouthParliament.

The Speaker attended thisconference for the second con-secutive year as chief guest andinteracted with the youth associ-ated with different ideologies,institutions and organizationsfrom across the country.

The event is organized everyyear for fostering dialogue andgenerating partnership betweenyouth from private sector andcivil society and is aimed at pro-viding opportunities for devel-oping leadership qualitiesamong them.

Stressing on the importanceof democracy, the Speaker saidthat democracy is the best formof Government across the globeand it gives an equal opportuni-ty to all sections of the society.

The Speaker said democraticprocess is the rule, "by the peo-ple, of the people and for thepeople" and the same can begauged by the process of elec-

tions; direct or indirect in thecountry.

Elaborating the need for itslong term sustainability, theSpeaker said that there is alwaysa scope for improvement ineverything and for getting betterresults and enhancing its dura-bility; a mixture of youth energyand experienced persons fromallied fields is required.

Congratulating the team of"Youth Sansad", he said organiz-ing such events and inviting per-sons having rich experiencesbehind their back for interactingwith as much needed thing intoday's scenario as some peopletry to create a sense of confusionamong the society.

The Speaker said that formaintaining proper health of thedemocracy and its sustainability,education can play a vital roleand we should adopt the oldmantra of "Each one Teach One"which will turn out to be a gamechanger in implementing thereal sense of democracy.

Addressing the youth, hesaid that it is the duty of eachone of us to preserve the age olddemocratic institution bybecoming more vigilant andproactive and create awarenessamong the masses about the truespirit of democracy.

Minister for Rural Development, Abdul Haq Khan & NCMLA, Devender Singh Rana during the launch of DBT schemeat Jammu.

Haq launches DBT under PMAYExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: Ministerfor Rural Development,Panchayati Raj, Law andJustice, Abdul Haq Khan todaylaunched Direct Benefit Transfer(DBT) under centrally spon-sored 'Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana' (Grameen) to providebenefit to 1303 beneficiariesamount to Rs. 16 crore heretoday.

The scheme aims at provid-ing assistance to the poor andeconomically downtrodden forconstructing residential houses.

MLA Nagrota DevenderSingh Rana besides DirectorRural Development DepartmentRavinder K. Bhat, AssistantCommissioner DevelopmentJammu M Latifi Tasir, XEn andBDOs of Jammu district werepresent.

Speaking on the occasion,Abdul Haq said that DirectBenefit Transfer (DBT) aims totransfer subsidies/financialassistance directly to the peoplethrough their bank accounts thusreducing chances of corruption,leakages and delays.

The Minister said that toaddress issues of houseless pop-ulation Government is commit-ted to provide housing for all by2022, under PMAY-Grameenwherein beneficiary will be pro-vided a pucca house with all

basic amenities.He said the assistance is tar-

geted at those who are genuine-ly deprived and the selection isobjective and verifiable. He saidPMAY-G instead of selecting abeneficiary from among theBPL households, selects benefi-ciaries using housing depriva-tion parameters in the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC)2011 which is to be further veri-fied by Gram Sabhas.

Abdul Haq directed theBDOs to organize Gram Sabhasin their respective areas inSeptember through which theactual beneficiaries are identi-fied besides creating awarenessamong masses. He asked offici-asls to make the list of benefici-aries of various schemes publicin respective Gram Sabhas toensure transparency. He alsocomplimented the role of vari-ous officers and field functionar-ies for their endeavours.

The Minister while congrat-ulating the beneficiaries forbeing provided first instalment,asked them to use this assistancein making the house only other-wise recovery of funds would bedone and second instalment willbe halted. He also directed theconcerned officers to ensure thatthe assistance being provided tobeneficiaries for the construc-tion of houses would be usedgenuinely.

Green cover essential toreduce emissions: Lal Singh

Excelsior Correspondent

KATHUA, Sept 15: Minister forForests, Environment and Ecology,Ch Lal Singh today said that Jammuand Kashmir has 7.5% of total forestcover which further needs focusedattention for increasing as well asconserving this green gold.

The Minister said this whileinaugurating Timber Sale Depots atvillage Janglote, Budhi and Bakhtaof Kathua Kandi area. The depotswill be operated by State ForestCorporation and this is for the firsttime that the Forest Department hasstarted providing timber to peopleliving in villages.

He said that plantation donealong the roads and industrial areawill help in reducing carbon emis-sion and told the farmers that reg-ulating wood cutting in arid areasis the need of the hour as trees playan important role in agricultureand allied activities so it is manda-tory for every stakeholder of thesociety to conserve and plant treesfor sustenance of life on earth.

Several delegations also metthe Minister during his tour andapprised him of their demandsincluding repair of roads, fencingaround religious places, conserva-tion of natural water bodies, aug-mentation of PHE infrastructure,interlinking of ponds and way outfrom monkey menace in Kandi

area.Ch Lal Singh gave them a

patient hearing and assured themthat their genuine problems willget resolved within a short periodof time. On the issue of wreckcaused by monkeys in Kandi area,the Minister said that when ani-mals are unable to get food fromforests they tend to move to otherhabitations causing man-animalconflict. He informed that theForest Department has plantedvariety of fruit trees in the forestarea so that animals and birdsretrieve to their natural habitats.

Minister for Cooperatives & Ladakh Affairs, Chering Dorjaychairing a meeting at Jammu on Friday.

Dorjay reviews functioningof Cooperative Deptt

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: Ministerfor Cooperatives and LadakhAffairs, Chering Dorjay reviewedthe functioning of CooperativeDepartment in a high level meet-ing here today.

Threadbare discussions wereheld on various issues pertainingto strengthening of cooperativemovement, revival of defunctsocieties and early disposal ofarbitration cases to make the func-tioning of Cooperative Societiesmore convenient.

The meeting was attended bySecretary Cooperatives, BashirAhmad Bhat, RegistrarCooperative, Peerzada Hafizullah,Joint Registrar (Audit), Jammu,Dr. R K Thapa and Joint Registrar(Special), Jammu Trishla Kumaribesides senior functionaries of thedepartment from all the districts ofJammu Division.

Emphasizing on the need forrevival of defunct CooperativeSocieties in the region, theMinister asked the concerned offi-cials to take requisite measures forthe strengthening of these soci-eties.

He further directed them to puttogether strenuous efforts to makethe functional societies furtherviable.

The Minister said that theestablishment of CooperativeSocieties in the region will gener-ate employment opportunities. Heexhorted upon the officers to cre-ate mass awareness about thecooperative movement at thegrass-roots level.

Directing the concerned offi-cers to furnish the lists of societiesto which elections are to be con-ducted, the Minister asked the con-cerned for initiating the process toconduct elections for these cooper-ative societies at the earliest.

The Minister asked the con-cerned officials to adopt a proac-tive approach to streamline thefunctioning of the department.Detailed discussions were alsoheld on future course of action ofthe Cooperative Department.

He directed the officials toensure that there should be noencroachment on cooperativeassets available at various places.Bank authorities also consulted theMinister for the recovery of loanunder OTS in order to revive thedefunct societies.

The Minister directed the con-cerned officials to submit an inclu-sive progress report of the ongoingprojects of National CooperativeDevelopment Corporation(NCDC) to his office.

Payment of advt bills to bemade within 10 days: Govt

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Sept 15:Government has ordered that thepayment of advertisement billsof the newspapers will be madewithin 10 days after the receiptof bills.

According to an order issuedby the Commissioner SecretaryInformation, M H Malik, thepayments to the newspapers willbe made online by the respectiveJoint Directors of Information,Kashmir/Jammu who have beenalready designated independentcontrolling authority for therelease of Government advertise-ments and the payments thereof.

The decision to decentralizeadvertisement distribution wasrecently taken on the initiative ofMinister for Information,Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, andaccordingly by virtue of GovtOrder No: 32-ID of 2017 dated:08-09-2017, the provincial JointDirectors of Information inJammu/Kashmir divisions werevested with the controlling andregulatory powers in this regard.

Pertinently, 467 newspapersand periodicals including 271 inJammu and 196 in Kashmir divi-sion are presently empanelledwith DIPR for release ofGovernment advertisements.

Meanwhile, to ensure judi-cious and transparent distribu-tion of advertisements to thenewspapers and periodicals inthe State, the Government is inthe process of categorization ofthe approved publications inlight of the guidelines laid downin Advertisement Policy-2016.

The Government has alreadyconstituted an official panel

headed by Joint DirectorInformation (Headquarters) forcategorization of the newspapersas per the parameters laid downin Govt Order No:ID/A/22/2017 dated: 13-03-2017.

As a first step the newspapersand periodicals empanelled bythe Department of Information &Public Relations (DIPR) forrelease of Government advertise-ments were asked to submit var-ious details like circulation,reach, periodicity, language,infrastructure including profes-sional human resource and othersimilar parameters to facilitatethe DIPR to categorize each pub-lication on the basis of its merits.

The newspapers which fail tosubmit the requisite informationwithin the prescribed time limitwould be treated as de-listedfrom the list of empanellednewspapers.

Thapar University Chairman and president of Trinity CollegeDublin announcing tie up on Friday.

Thapar University ties upwith Trinity College Dublin

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: ThaparUniversity has tied up with TrinityCollege Dublin, Ireland, for imple-mentation of a modernization pro-gramme for important teaching andresearch laboratories at a cost of Rs70 crore.

This was stated by R R Vederah,Chairman of the Board ofGovernors of the globally rankedThapar University (The TimesHigher Education World UniversityRanking 2018), on the globallyunique partnership of ThaparUniversity and Trinity CollegeDublin.

"We are now part of a globaleconomy, universities and ourefforts in contemporization andinternational rankings are geared tomake Thapar University (TU),Patiala among the best in theworld," he said.

Vederah further said that theuniversity was focussing on a visionto move from being good to beingexcellent and be ahead of the curvein higher education by bringing inglobal standards across the board."The partnership with Trinity focus-es on strategies to deliver a researchinspired, outcome based education-al experience to the students at alllevels. The introduction of multi-disciplinary engineering designcourses includes experiential learn-ing. The partnership with Trinity

includes all major academic andresearch activities and strengthensThapar University's position as aleader in higher education in Indiaand in the region," he added.

Dr Patrick Prendergast, presi-dent & Provost of Trinity CollegeDublin, said, "For both Thapar andTCD, it has been a good month.Thapar has entered the TimesHigher Education world universityrankings for the first time andwhereas Trinity also continues torise in these rankings."

"We have risen in both theTimes Higher Education and the QSrankings, and we have joined theLeague of European ResearchUniversities (LERU), Europe'sleading network of research-inten-sive universities that furtherstrengthens our voice and positioninternationally. We have also justbeen ranked first in Europe for grad-uate entrepreneurship for the thirdyear in a row by Pitchbook" he fur-ther said.

Meanwhile, TU has offered abasket of undergraduate engineer-ing and a 2+2 credit transfer pro-gram International EngineeringProgram (IEP) in collaboration withTCD. The faculty at TU is beingdeputed for post doctoral work attop Universities. This year ten facul-ty members will visit the best in theworld including Trinity CollegeDublin, Virginia Technology,Waterloo and Oxford University.

Body of Police Head Cop found in college groundExcelsior Correspondent

POONCH, Sept 15: The deadbody of a Head Constable ofJ&K Police was recovered fromDegree College ground here thismorning.

The deceased was identifiedas Ghulam Rasool, son of ChiragDin, resident of Jhajjar Kotli indistrict Jammu. The police saidthat Ghulam Rasool who wasposted in Jammu district, hadcome to Poonch for appearing ina court in connection with a caseon Thursday. His body wasfound lying in the college groundat a corner under mysterious cir-cumstances.

A college sweeper noticed

the body lying in the ground andinformed College authorities ataround 8 am. The College staffthen intimated Police StationPoonch about the matter. Thepolice party led by SHO, InspMohd Amin reached the spot andafter examining the dead bodyand studying circumstantial evi-dence, shifted it to the mortuaryof District Hospital, Poonch. Thefamily of the deceased was alsoinformed by police.

The police after conductingpostmortem and performinglegal formalities handed over thebody to the family members,who then shifted it to the hometown of the deceased in Jammu.

SHO, Poonch, Insp MohdAmin told the Excelsior that itwas premature to say that it wasmurder. The postmortem of thebody has been conducted and theSFL report is yet awaited. A caseunder Section 174 CrPC hasbeen registered in this connec-tion. It has been informed thatdeceased was posted in Jammudistrict and had come to Poonchfor court attendance. Furtherdetails are awaited, he added.

A 50 year old man donating blood during a camp in Srinagar.-Excelsior/Shakeel

Blood donor breaks ownrecord, donates 156 units

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Sept 15: A uni-versal donor Shabir Hussain, 50,has saved more than one hun-dred lives by donating blood 156times for last 37 years, prompt-ing doctors to call him 'the manwith the golden arm'.

Shabir, who resides down-town here, started this noblecause alone but as time passedmore donors joined in and atpresent, he is leading 2100 vol-unteers across the Valley whoare available round the clock incase of emergencies for thedonation of blood. By donatingblood at LD hospital this week,he broke his own record ofblood donations.

Dr Javeed Iqbal Khan, in-charge at blood donation camp,said Shabir has broken several

fears among people regardingblood donation and have moti-vated hundreds of people todonate blood. "He can continuedonating blood for next twentyyears. He motivates people todonate blood and more peopleare donating blood because ofhim," said Dr Iqbal.

Shabir is considered as ahero among his peers and haswon numerous awards. Hemight have started with fourpeople but a pang for the societyhelped him to motivate a num-ber of people to join in. Afterworking with a handful of peo-ple initially, his work was recog-nised by Red Cross Society,Civil Defence and social groupslike 'Athwas' who guided himand provided technical supportto him.

Inspectortransferred

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: InspectorBishnesh Kumar has been trans-ferred from Doda district andposted at District Police Lines(DPL) Jammu.

The order in this regard wasissued by Inspector General ofPolice (IGP) Jammu Zone DrSD Singh Jamwal.

GOC-in-C Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh pay-ing respect to martyrs at Chandimandir on Friday.

Western Command celebrates70th Raising Day

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: 70th RaisingDay of Western Command, thefrontline operational command ofthe Army was celebrated today.

The Command was raised in1947 as Delhi and East PunjabCommand at Delhi and was re-des-ignated as 'Western Command' inJanuary 1948.

The genesis of WesternCommand was forged on the anvilof one of the most challengingtrans-border migration of humanpopulation. In 1954, theHeadquarters of the Commandmoved to Shimla.

After the Indo-Pak conflict of1971, Northern Command wascarved out of Western Command toassume operational responsibility ofJammu and Kashmir. Finally, in1985 Headquarters WesternCommand moved to its presentlocation at Chandimandir (Chd).

Western Command has a glori-ous history of having participated inall the major conflict both on our

Western and Northern frontiers andhas carved a niche for itself - repletewith saga of bravery, grit and deter-mination. With "Ever Westwards"being its clarion call, the WesternArmy was instrumental in bluntingthe Pakistani aggression in 1947,1965 and 1971.

Western Army has also timeand again, provided succor to thecivilian population. Be it duringnatural calamities, undertakingcounter terrorist operations or par-ticipating in nation building activi-ties, troops of the WesternCommand have always been in thefore front in providing aid to civilauthorities. This Command willcontinue to maintain the higheststandards of training, administrationand motivation and is ever ready forits assigned role in the varied con-tours of National security.

To commemorate the occasion,Lt Gen Surinder Singh, ArmyCommander, Western Commandlaid a wreath at the `Veer Smriti',Chandimandir to pay homage to themartyrs of the Command.

DDC conducts extensive tour ofRajouri, inspects development works

Excelsior Correspondent

RAJOURI, Sept 15: On hisextensive tour of the district, Dr.Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, DistrictDevelopment CommissionerRajouri today visited DussheraGround, Prachin Shiv Mandir,Anandpuram Ashram and MughalMasjid near Jullah Bridge, Gurdan,Sawani and Sassalkote and inspect-ed the ongoing and completeddevelopment works of RuralDevelopment, Education andTourism Departments.

The religious clerics ofAnandpuram Asharam, while inter-acting with the DDC, pressed forroad connectivity upto the Asharamwhich will immensely facilitate thedevotes to reach the Shiv Mandir,Mughal Masjid and Ashram forworship.

Dr. Shahid asked the ExecutiveEngineer to work out the feasibilityfor construction of road and preparedetailed project report for approvalafter due consultation with revenueauthorities for provision of land. Healso ordered the concerned depart-ment to immediately complete theremaining work of heritage viewpoint and footpath near PrachinMandir.

To finalize the land for drivinginstitute, he visited the proposedsite at Gurdan and instructed theconcerned to take up the matterwith Revenue Department for earli-est transfer of land.

The DDC inspected 3 commu-nity facilitation centers each atGurdan, Sawani and Sassalkote and2 Remote Informatics Centers atHigh School Sawani and HigherSecondary School Doongi whichare being constructed by the RuralDevelopment Department. Heexhorted upon the concerned toexpedite the work on these crucialinfrastructure projects for earliercompletion and equip the RuralInformatics Centers with all theessentials of a computer lab onmodern lines so that students ofthese rural areas get benefitted.Directions were given for startingof work on the playground of MSSawani within two days.

Dr. Shahid also took feedbackfrom students of MS Sawani andHSS Doongi about the teachingstaff and education being imparted.He urged the students to take part inthe ongoing sanitation drives underthe Swach Bharat Abhiyan and also

educate their families and friendsabout the importance of maintain-ing cleanliness and conservingenvironment.

He impressed upon the teach-ing staff to raise teaching standardsby applying innovative methodsand concept-building orientedteaching to enable these students tocompete at State and National level.

Later, the DDC took the griev-ances of public related to develop-ment in the area in a public meetingheld at Panchayat Ghar Doongi andpassed on spot directions to theconcerned departments for resolv-ing the public issues within shortestpossible time.

Among others ExecutiveEngineer REW Abdul Ghani Jagal,CEO RDA Tahir Ahmad, TehsildarSalam Din, ARTO Jugal Kishore,CEO Lal Hussain, BDO Rajouriand BDO Doongi accompanied theDDC.

3-day 'Rangsutra' concludesExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 15: The threeday long cultural and heritagefest 'Rangsutra' concluded todayat School of Hospitality andTourism Management,University of Jammu whereMinister for Industries andCommerce Chander ParkashGanga was the chief guest.

Corporate Chef ITC Hotels,Manjit Singh Gill was the guestof honor and Vice Chancellor,University of Jammu, Prof. R.DSharma presided over the vale-dictory ceremony. The functionwas attended by culinary expertsof Chef Association of FiveRivers, Principals of variousdegree colleges and schools,NCC cadets and students ofSHTM.

Chander Parkash Ganga inhis address said that it is impor-tant to showcase the culture andheritage of the State andUniversity can play a catalyticrole in this regard. He appreciat-ed the efforts of SHTM in bring-ing together students on a com-petitive platform to promote theheritage and culture of the State.With Jammu & Kashmir being atourism driven economy, he saidthat hospitality and tourism edu-

cation needs a greater fillip andUniversity of Jammu can take alead in this direction.

Chef Manjit Singh Gillemphasized that regional cuisineis the true identity of any desti-nation. He said that our ancientwisdom on food techniques, ifleveraged properly can positionIndia as a global food power. Heemphasized on the emergingtrends of wellness and sustain-ability and believed that discov-ery and documentation ofregional cuisines can be a step inthis direction.

Prof. R D Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, University ofJammu congratulated the SHTMfor consecutively organizing theinnovative event which brings inpeople from industry, academiaand civil society to deliberate onissues of contemporary rele-vance.

Earlier, Director, SHTM,Professor Parikshat SinghManhas in his welcome addresssaid that the school through stu-dent driven activities encouragesthem to creatively execute vari-ous aspects and dimensions oftourism. He said that the schoolis perceived as among the topthree tourism schools in thecountry.

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