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CMYK

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CMYK

SATURDAY 05 April | 2014 | 04 Jamadi-Ul-Thani 1435 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 4 | ISSUE NO: 94 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 Paisa)Pen For Justice Largely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&Khttp://www.zabarwantimes.com

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(SATURDAY)SUNRISE ON (SUNDAY) 06:16 AM

06:54PM 9.2 0C 15.50C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Light Rain/Snow would occur at a few places over the state.

Partly cloudy sky. Maximum &Minimum temperatures will be around 16°C & 04°C respectively.

Inside story

On Edit Page

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Kakapora missing duo joined militant ranks: Police

Be parliamentary to make it to parliament

The campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections is going in full swing andevery small or large political party is organizing rallies, road shows and meetings in the entire country. How-ever, it is unfortunate that the leaders in the largest democracy of the world are stooping sometimes so low that it looks as if they are not fighting theelections but have personal scores to settle with each other. It is very cheap of them when they indulge in person-al attacks, character assassinations and use unparliamentarly language

Asks Misbah to quit captaincy Iqbal Colony Mehjoor Nagar reels under darkness

PG 06 PG 11 PG 06

1 dies, 16 injured in road

mishaps

Kakapora, April 4, CNS: Families of two youth of Kakapora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama town Friday ap-pealed police to locate their son’s who are missing from March 27. According to CNS two youth includ-ing a scholar have gone missing from Kakapora area while all attempts on part of police to locate them have failed so far. The tow missing youth

Shahi Imamannounces support to Congress, TMC

Not selected in CPL draft

No respite in arrest of HCJK leaders

BOTTOM LINE

New Delhi, Apr 4: Sha-hi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari has declared his support to Congress in the coming Lok Sabha elec-tions and appealed to the minority community to ensure that secular votes are not divided. He also announced his support to Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and Congress ally RJD in Bihar.Announcing this at a press conference in New Delhi today Bukhari, who is con-sidered as an influential religious leader, claimed that the future of the minority community is secure in the hands of these parties. He said the country is facing the danger from communal forces and they are working day in and day out to break it. Imam also al-leged that regional parties like Samajwadi Party and BSP in Uttar Pradesh have failed to live upto the expectations of the commu-

nity. He said casting votes in favour of regional par-ties’ amounts to wasting of votes.Replying to a question over corruption charges against Congress led UPA govern-ment, Bukhari said that communalism is a bigger threat for the country com-pared to corruption.He also said though the minority community has grievances against Con-gress, the decision to sup-port the party was taken as the country cannot be al-lowed to go in to the hands of communal forces.

Bukhari's announcement came days after his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi which sparked a row as BJP accused the party of communalising politics.Bukhari is known to change his political alignment with different parties as earlier he had also extended support to SP, BSP and BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Srinagar, Apr 4: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Muf-ti on Friday filed a second set of nomination papers for Anantnag Parliamenta-ry constituency as ‘a matter of abundant caution’ due to some problem in her bank account. The Assistant Returning Offi-cer (ARO) Anantnag Ghulam Rasool Wani told KNS: “Yes we have received the second set of her nomination papers

with all the details of her fresh bank account. Scruti-ny of nomination papers will take place on April 7.”Syed Altaf Bukhari, PDP se-nior leader when contacted by KNS said, Mehbooba filed her second set of nomination papers as a measure of abun-dant precaution.As per the election commis-sion rules, a candidate can file four sets of nomination papers either

See Papers On Page 11..

Lok Sabha Elections 2014

Taking abundant caution, Mehbooba files second set

of nomination papersSrinagar, Apr 4 (KNS): Predicting more rains in the coming days in Valley, state’s weather department Friday said that weather conditions are likely to improve after April 8.“There were reports of light to moderate rainfall across valley and at some places in Jammu region on Friday but the weath-er at Ladakh region mainly remained dry,” Director Metrological department See MeT On Page 11..

MeT predicts more rains till April 8

Jammu, Apr 4: The Peoples Dem-ocratic Party (PDP) patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said in view of the unmistakable wave of anger against the National Confer-ence led coalition in the state the government narrative has become more incoherent, unconvincing and at times comic than it has been in the past five years.According to a statement issued to KNS, while addressing a func-tion organized in connection with the support offered by Janata Dal (United), Jammu unit to the par-ty’s parliamentary candidate for Jammu, Yaspal Sharma, Mufti said now that it is clear that there is a wave of anger against the rul-ing coalition in the state, the gov-ernment has gone into panic and the chief minister is making an-nouncements that he has not been able to fulfill in five-and-a-half years but pledges to implement in the remaining five months of his term.

Instead of making fresh an-nouncements the chief minster should have been giving the report card of his achievements. “His in-ability to give an account of his performance is understandable as this government has only scams, scandals, misgovernance and cor-ruption to its credit,” he said add-ed Omar Abdullah has wasted six years of Jammu & Kashmir.Referring to

See Mufti On Page 11..

Jammu, Apr 4 (KNS): With the weather playing spoil spot, Ghu-lam Nabi Azad, union health min-ister and senior Congress Can-didate for Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency on Friday addressed gatherings telephonically.According to a statement issued

to KNS, due to inclement weath-er his Chopper could not take off. “Keeping in mind the huge gath-erings that has converged at var-ious places in different hilly belts of Doda-Udhampur Parliamenta-ry Constituency to

See Azad On Page 11..

Inclement weather forced postponement of flight

Azad keeps tryst with people, addressed masses telephonically

Omar wasted 6 years of J&K: Mufti

‘In view of anger against it Govt narrative has become unconvincing, comic’ Srinagar, Apr 4 : The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Friday took suo moto cognizance of death in custody of fake currency racket accused Muneer Manhas asking the DGP, DC Srinagar, CO 166 Territorial Army to submit their reports in the matter.Rafiq Fida, the acting chairman of the Commission has also is-sued notice to SHO police sta-tion Ram Munshi Bagh, Sri-nagar for his report by or before the next date of hearing which has been fixed for May 6.The notices have been issued after the Commission took cog-nizance of news reports about death of a soldier of 166 Territo-rial Army (TA) Muneer Ahmad Manhas, (30) son of Nazir Ah-mad Manhas resident of Sara-ibala, Bandi, Kamalkote, Uri of District Baramulla in Police Station Ram Munshi Bagh, Sri-nagar on April 3.“Manhas had dinner on

Wednesday as routine and went to bed in the lockup and entered the bathroom inside the lockup during night and hanged him-self to death by using a pair of socks to hang himself by tying them with one another,” the Commission’s order reads fur-ther. The Commission has said: “They (family) further alleged that Muneer and his brother-in-law Tariq Ahmad received a phone call on Wednesday morn-ing from a local Police Inspec-tor identified as Javed Ahmad stationed in Kupwara who took them to Ram Munshi Bagh Po-lice Station and on Thursday Po-lice informed them that Muneer has been found dead in the Po-lice Station.”The family of Manhas has strongly negated the version of Police that the deceased was involved in fake currency racket and said that he was working in Territorial

See SHRC On Page 11..

Death of Fake Currency Racket accused

SHRC takes cognizance, issues notices to DG, DC, CO 166 TA Srinagar, Apr 4 (KNS): National Conference Party President Dr. Farooq Abdullah met various public delega-tions who called on him in Srinagar and took stock of public grievances, while assuring people that for National Conference the needs of the people come first.According to a statement issued to KNS, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that National Conference had a history of rendering sacrifices for

See Farooq On Page 11..

Dr. Farooq asks people to guard their identity,

culture, language

Srinagar, Apr 4 : Asserting that Na-tional Conference (NC) has ushered an era of peace, progress and develop-ment in the State, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats and senior National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar today said that PDP in a state of despair and desperation of trying to mislead the

See Sagar On Page 11..

PDP stalled Srinagar’s Development, NC

speeded it up: Sagar

Srinagar, Apr 4: Hardly there could be any cricket fan who doesn’t remember how Pakistan’s Javed Miandad hit the ball a low full-toss from Indian bowler Chetan Sharma, for a six into the crowd during the final of 1986 Austral-Asia Cup-but it may come as

a surprise to many that before Mian-dad, it was a Kashmiri young cricketer who drained Sharma with his incredi-ble cricketing skills.Born in old city Srinagar, Sajad Hus-sain Shah was the Kashmiri cricketer who hit many sixes to Sharma’s balls

before Miandad dazzled the crowds at Sharjah. This young boy with huge potential was mad about this game but his dreams of becoming a finest cricketer remained unrealized as a bullet struck Shah’s

See Sharma On Page 11..

Srinagar, Apr 4: “As soon as Hurriyat Conference delega-tion led by Shabir Ahmad Shah which included Nayeem Ah-mad Khan, Shabir Ahmad Dar, Muhammad Yusuf Naqash, Muhammad Yasin Ataai, Ajaz Ahmad Mir and other dozens of activists, were scheduled to visit various areas of south Kashmir in connection with election boycott campaign, a large contingent of police in-tercepted them and prevented them from moving ahead. As the leaders still tried to March but the police arrested them and lodged them at Police Sta-tion Sadder,” said a statement issued by HCJK to KNS.According to HCJK spokesper-son, the leaders were sched-uled to visit various areas of Shopian to aware people from the negative consequences of participating in elections un-der Indian Constitution and to prevent them from falling prey to the machinations of occupa-

tional rulers.He said Hurriyat Conference will be active in making the election boycott campaign suc-cessful at any cost. “The gov-ernment on one hand terms election boycott campaigns democratic but on the oth-er hand is restricting every movement of its political oppo-nents,” the spokesperson said.He said: “Today the whole world is supporting every free-dom fighting nation but to suppress Kashmiri resistance groups can’t be tolerated at any cost. The resistance lead-ers have to utilize their every effort to take the movement to its logical conclusion.”Condemning the continu-ous arrest of its leaders, the spokesperson said that such tactics have failed in the past and will not yield any result in future. “Hurriyat Conference is a political movement and will continue

See Leaders On Page 11..

Srinagar, Apr 4 : National Confer-ence Provincial President, Nasir Aslam Wani and NC-Congress Coalition Candidate from Anant-nag Dr. Mehboob Beg addressed a public meeting in Saidawari in Dooru Shahbad constituency yes-terday and asked the people to beware of divisive and communal forces who are eyeing the integ-rity, unity and autonomy of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a statement issued to KNS, Wani asked the people to make a clear distinction between the legitimate and ideological NC-Congress coalition and the tactical, hidden nexus between PDP and BJP. “It has become ev-ident from the statements of PDP leaders that they are in awe of someone like Narendra Modi who is unabashedly

See Dooru On Page 11..

Nasir and Dr. Beg address public in Dooru

Jammu, Apr 4 : The state committee of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) denounces the anti-work-er bias of the State government for making lathicharge on peaceful demonstration of Anganwari workers in Anantnag District. According to a statement issued to KNS, hundreds of workers from different trade unions affiliated with CITU today assembled at press club organized a day long protest demon-stration to express their solidarity with Anganwari workers

See CITU On Page 11..

CITU denounces ‘Govt’s anti-workers bias’

Before Miandad, it was a Kashmiri young player who drained Chetan Sharma

Shah could not become a fine cricketer as a bullet pierced his chest in 1989

‘Shah, Nayeem, Dar, Naqash lodged in Police Station Sadder’

Srinagar, Apr 4 : One person died and sixteen others were injured in two separate road accidents across the valley.According to a statement issued to KNS, a tractor bearing chases number NNAV-00553 hit a cyclist, Riyaz Ahmad Dar son of Ghulam Mohammad resident of Jaggerpora Handwara at Khanpora Magam, in the jurisdiction of Police station Handwara, resulting in his on spot death. Handwara police has regis-tered a case in this regard.Meanwhile, a Police ambulance bearing registration number JK13-9356 and a Maruti car bearing registration number JK03B-3216 collided at Jawbrara, in the juris-diction of Police station Awantipo-ra, resulting in minor injuries to fifteen

See Mishaps On Page 11..

Srinagar, April 04: (GNS) Police on Friday arrested seven gamblers and recovered stake money over 24 thousand rupees from a gam-bling site in Sopore.“Acting on specific information, a police team of police station Pan-zalla apprehended seven gamblers while gambling at a public place in Rohama, Sopore”, a police spokes-man said. “The stake money of Rs 24200 and a pack of playing cards were recovered from the gambling site”A case FIR number 14/2014 under section 10 Gambling Act registered in police station Panzalla against the gamblers, the official added. (GNS)

07 gamblers held in Sopore

11 Srinagar, Saturday 05 April 2014 Zabarwan Times

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Papers

MeT

Azad

Mufti

SHRC

Sagar

Mishaps

CITU

Dooru

Leaders

Sharma

Farooq

Owner , Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik Editor -in-Chief: Shahana Malik RNI NO. JKBII/2011/39764, Email: zabarwantimes@gmail.com Publised at Govt. Quarters , M-13 Magarmal Bagh Srinagar-190001 J&K, Printed at:- Sangarmal Offset Press Humhama Sheikhpora Tele/Fax: 2478370 Cell No. 09999964750, 9796 787844

in a bunch or separately, said the ARO Anantnag Lok Sabha seat. Sources said that the PDP president had submitted an active bank account number with the first set of her nomination papers but today she submitted a fresh bank account number opened in a nationalized bank here.The last date of submitting nomination papers for Anantnag Lok Sabha seat is April 5 while as these pa-pers will be scrutinized on April 7. In the third of the five phases of polling in the state, Anantnag Lok Sabha seat is going to polls on April 24. (KNS)

Sonum Lotus told KNS.He added that the weather conditions in valley are likely to improve after April 8 and moderate to light rainfall will continue in valley for coming four days.Sonum stated that after April 6, there will be a slight improvement in the weather conditions and by the evening of April 7- the rainfall is likely to stop. He maintained that there will be no rainfall after April 8; however, clouds will continue to cover the sky.Pertinently, rains lashed many parts of Kashmir in-cluding plains and higher reaches. Maximum and minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was 15.2 degree Celsius and 7.0 degree Celsius respectively. (KNS)

listen to their Congress candidate known for his Devel-opmental Mantra, Ghulam Nabi Azad chose to address public meetings telephonically.”Despite his physical absence in the snow clad and re-mote hilly belts including Laatti, Gordi, Pancheri of Chennani Assembly Segment and Panara, Satyian and Chowki of Ramnagar Assembly Segment, hundreds of people listened to Union Minister for Health and Fam-ily Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad heartedly and voiced for his victory in the general elections with record margin. Azad in his respective candid speeches greet-ed the people on the ongoing auspicious Navratras fes-tival and was apologetic for not interacting in person due to whimsical weather, causing inconvenience to Chopper to take off.In his telephonic conversation, Ghulam Nabi Azad called upon the people to beware of the policies being formulated by the divisive forces and urged them to strengthen the hands of secular Congress party, which ensures development and integrity of nation. Azad said, “It is not just me but all of you are Ghulam Nabi Azad. So, if you want developmental works to contin-ue, all of you must caste vote in your own favour by switching on Congress button on April 17th to meet the left out dreams”.He reminded the people that “when I took over the reign of the state in 2005, I finalized number of new road construction projects to connect the far flung and hilly belts with town areas. And almost 40 to 45 per cent work has already been completed under the leadership of chief minister of Omar Abdullah head-ing Congress-NC coalition government in the state. He hoped that when next time he would come to meet the people, whom he couldn’t meet today, would come by road and not by Chopper service. He assured them the road projects initiated by him during his tenure as chief minister of the state are on anvil to bring them at par with town populace.The thoughtful leader reminded the historic decisions of Congress led UPA and state coalition government, facilitating people with health care and education in the absence of road connectivity. “Revolutions never take place in a day, but we are trying utmost best to give sigh of relief to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and other states” said Azad adding, “Creation of new administrative units, opening of hospitals, health cen-ters, presence of AASHA workers, NRHM reveals our commitment and dedication towards the rural popu-lace”.While lashing out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Azad said, “Their policies to cheat people on the basis of religion will never bring them to Parliament as voter always stays with the surface”. The proclaimed wave of a leader (Modi) cannot let him to veil the remarkable achievements of Congress party, especially the golden era of past ten years, which reach out to grass roots level be it education, health, infrastructures and other progressive steps. Azad said, “When any ones takes a flight, he can witnesses the machineries which have been put in service to connect the people of the rural areas with the urban areas through the road network, the dream was envisioned by Congress and it is Con-gress gratifying it”. In the past ten years of UPA-I and UPA-II, the people of hilly areas are sighing relief and in the UPA-III they will be in age of comfort. (KNS)

Chief Minister’s latest announcements about the grant of Social Tribe (ST) status to the Pahari population of the state, Mufti said making such a pledge at the last leg of his term in an offence to the sensibilities of the people of the state.He said the ‘revelation’ made by the chief minister about his ‘resignation’ against Gujarat riots after 12 long years is aimed at befooling the people who have genuinely been asking the NC questions about its po-litical conduct and opportunistic politics.He said Omar Abdullah had many occasions even during his tenure as chief minister for tendering resig-nation as he presided over one of the darkest phases of the state’s history.He said the chief minister could have offered to re-sign in 2009 in the wake of Shopian double rape and murder case; in 2010, when hundreds of youth were gunned down by his forces. He had all the reasons to resign when the Haji scandal involving his death and the monetary transactions in the ruling family sur-faced.Omar Abdullah could have resigned in protest against

the manner in which Afzal Guroo was hanged out of turn even without allowing his family to meet him. “By recalling an imaginary resignation more than a decade back Omar Abdullah is bringing only into sharper fo-cus the unprincipled politics that NC has been pursu-ing at tremendous cost of the state.He said if NC had any conscience left they could had easily walked out of Vajpayee government as Ram Vilas Paswan did it at that time, but they preferred to stick to chair, which has always been dear to them.Terming the ruling government an utter failure which has not been able to fulfill a single promise it had made to people before coming to power Mufti said now at the end of its tenure it is making phony announcements in an attempt to hoodwink people.He said the most unfortunate tragedy of the Nation-al Conference, Congress alliance in the state has been that it was not able to frame a basic Common Mini-mum Programme (CMP) before taking the reins of government which otherwise is necessary for any al-liance to have it so that it becomes easy to understand its vision for people.Mufti said the NC-led government is visionless and non- serious in its approach and that is why it has not been able to work for the benefit of people, state over the last five years and its failures are loud and clear when one looks at the ‘Vision Document-cum Election Manifesto’ of NC it had announced during 2008 as-sembly elections.Mufti said in its ‘Election Manifesto’; the NC had promised restoration of Autonomy to the state but in-stead of accepting its failure for not doing anything in this front over these years, the NC leadership is again raising the dead issue to befool public.He said NC leadership had also promised to revoke draconian laws like AFSPA but it has remained limited to slogans only and when the government found itself in trouble situations like in the wake of mysterious death of Haji Yousuf at the chief minister’s residence, Omar Abdullah used it vociferously to divert the public attention.Mufti said NC had in its ‘manifesto’ promised to form ‘Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC)’, but now when it had shelved the probe into some killings of 2010 at the hands of security forces, its seriousness about forming TRC is understandable.He said it had made tall claims about reforms in power sector but the electricity scenario is in front of every-one and besides increasing power tariff more than five times in the last five years, electricity supplies have gone from bad to worse. The party has also failed to set up Hill Development Council for Chenab and Pir Panchal regions; Womens’ University and it didn’t re-solve the unemployment problem and was not able to persuade New Delhi to enhance the 12 per cent royalty being given by the NHPC to the state, he added.On the occasion Rajinder Sharma Vice president JD(U), Vijay Kumar District President JD(U), Na-rinder Sharma Vice District President Jammu, Molvi Habibu r Rehman Chairman Gujjar Bakerwal com-munity (JDU) , Sanjay Kumar District President Jam-mu Wast (JDU), Abhimanyu Bindral Youth President Yova JDU, Pawan Chin provincial president Yova JDU, Roop Ranjan Bhat General Secretary state Yova JDU, Navneet Raina Vice president Yova JDU, Kabir ji Provincial Secretary JDU, Rajnesh Pandoo Sr. Leader Yova JDU, Dinesh Sharma State Secretary JDU, Ra-jinder Singh Tiyaqi sr. Leader JDU, Pardeep Singh District President Reasi JDU, Rashpal ji Samba etc were also present. (KNS)

Army and if there were any charges against him the Police could have easily approached the concerned Battalion for his arrest, the commission has said. Fida has observed that the news items prima facie make out a case of human rights violations. “Therefore, taking Suo Moto cognizance in the matter, Office is directed to register this note and the news reports…. which shall form part of this order, as a complaint and in the first instance issue notices to Director General of Police, J&K, Dy. Commissioner Srinagar/Baramulla, Com-manding Officer 166 Territorial Army C/O 56 APO and SHO P/S R. M. Bagh, Srinagar for their respec-tive detailed factual reports in the matter. A copy of today’s order and press clippings be also sent to them,” the Commission has ordered. Manhas’s family has also been directed to appear on the next date of hearing and file correct statement of facts regarding the incident. (KNS)

the people of this State and is the sole guardian of J&K's identity, culture, diversity and unity. Asking people to take pride in their culture and mother-tongue, Dr. Fa-rooq Abdullah said that the identity of a nation was its most valuable asset.Interacting with the public, Dr. Farooq said that Jammu & Kashmir had survived numerous conspiracies and ploys to dilute its unique constitutional status and that National Conference will never allow the apologetic proxies of communal parties to divide the people of this State for their short-term, electoral and political gains. Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that it was Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdul-lah who prepared and presented a blue-print for the welfare and progress of Jammu and Kashmir. It was Sheikh Sahib who demonstrated that political power was not an end in itself but the means to an end. Polit-ical power is a medium to protect, nourish and nurture the identity of a people and this ideal has been upheld by National Conference since its very creation.Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that it has always been the goal of National Conference to fight poverty, desti-tution and hopelessness and the party has achieved historic feats in mitigating the problems of our peo-ple. Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that the people of this glorious State had been dwarfed into slavery and ser-vitude by brutal dictators and monarchies and it was National Conference that started the movement to give our peasants their rights and our people the pride of belonging to this glorious motherland.Speaking to the public delegations, Dr. Farooq Abdul-lah highlighted the importance of guarding our culture and languages in these changing times since these are the most vital assets of a nation that aspires greatness and glory. Party Leader Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, senior leader Main Altaf Ahmed, senior leader Ali Mohammad Sagar and A. R. Badana were also present there.(KNS)

people by spreading false propaganda for their ulteri-or motives.“The people of the state are well aware of the fact that these forces have always preferred their interests over those of state and have been responsible for inflicting miseries on them on with the sole motive of grabbing power and projecting their personal interests and agendas”, he added. Sagar was addressing a huge gathering at Khanyar, which was attended by other prominent persons from different fields of life besides, prominent persons and leaders of the party.Referring to the achievements registered by the gov-ernment in various spheres of life, Sagar said that growing popularity of the present government has in-duced sense desperation and frustration in the cadres of a particular political party, which has triggered a panic reaction in them and they have started spread-ing lies and false propaganda. He said that the peo-ple of the state are wise enough to understand their mechanizations and would give befitting reply to them, which will serve as a lesson to these forces of chaos , confusion preaching political hypocrisy and shedding crocodile tears..Maintaining that the NC has always projected and safeguarded the interests of the state and its people without caring for political gains, Sagar said It is a recorded history that when it comes to the state, the party has rendered innumerable sacrifices and people are well aware of it, he maintained and added that the measures taken for the socio-economic up-liftment, decentralization of powers to the grass root level and undertaking several measures for overall and holistic development of the historic Srinagar city.Sagar said that PDP has subjected the city to the worst form of discrimination during its regime by stalling various projects meant for its development thereby re-flecting its sadist mentality now they are trying to proj-ect themselves as champions of city by telling lies and spreading falsehood. (KNS)

and against the police action of lathicharge on Angan-wari workers.Sham Parsad Kesar, Sr. Leader of CITU strongly condemned the attack of police on peaceful demon-stration of Anganwari employees who were protesting for their genuine demands. The demonstration was led by Abdul Rashid Nazar, Secretary of CITU who in-flicted with many injuries during brutally lathicharge resorted by the police. Condemning the lathicharge Kesar said that this is nothing but an attack on trade union rights which is considered to be an essential component of any civilized society.Om Parkash said that no government can suppress the voice of workers. He condemned the lathicharge and warned state wide agitation by CITU added that if voice of anganwari employees, instead of being lis-tened, is suppressed by such anti-worker action by the government. He demanded disciplinary action against the police officer responsible for the lathicharge.Other spoke and expressed their solidarity with the Anganwari Employees were Kailash Chander Nayak, General Secretary, Railway Loading & Unloading, Ramesh Chand, Sr. Leader, LIC, Sunita Bhagat, Gen-eral Secretary, ASHA Workers Union - Jammu, Bawa Ram, Nirman Mazdoor Union, H.D.Bhomick, Indus-rial Estate Workers Union, Muzar Wani, Chairman Jammu- Udhampur Nation Highway Workers Union etc. (KNS)

trying to polarize the nation for his political ambi-tions.”Wani said that while BJP's reason to play the card of communalism and division is understandable, it's ut-terly shocking to see that PDP has felt no hesitation in joining hands with the radical right wing. Now ques-tions are being raised by senior journalists in India about the apparent warming up of RSS towards PDP in J&K. This development indicates another chapter of Mufti Sahab's rank opportunism and betrayal towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir.Wani, while speaking in Dooru said that Mehbooba Mufti is now openly objecting to the criticism of Na-rendra Modi. Even Narendra Modi isn't so defensive about himself, as Mehbooba Mufti is posturing to be.Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mehboob Beg asked the people to vote in large numbers in favor of the NC-Congress Coalition so that the aspirations and demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir could be voiced in Delhi with courage and integrity. Dr. Beg asked the people to look at the dismal and almost in-visible tenure of Mehbooba Mufti as a Member of Par-liament prior to this present term. The same Mehboo-ba Mufti who issues statement after statement about speaking up for the people of this State remained mute and mum when she was in the Parliament.Dr. Beg asked the people to look at his record viz-a-viz utilizing the MP funds for the development of this State and compare the same to Mehbooba Mufti's ten-ure as an MP. Dr. Beg said that performance speaks louder than rhetoric and that the performance of NC MPs in Delhi has been heads and shoulders above the dismal performance of Mehbooba Mufti. (KNS)

till the people of Kashmir are given their due rights. Those who were also arrested included Bilal Ahmad Shah, Rouf Kashmiri, Gowhar Ahmad, Ghulam Mu-hammad Muqdam, Waheed Ahmad, Abdul Hameed, Firdous Ahmad, Ashiq Ahmad, Muhammad Ibrahim and others. Meanwhile, the spokesperson while severely con-demning the intimidation of Greater Kashmir colum-nists by some elements said such hooliganism cannot be tolerated at any cost and termed such acts as im-moral and unjustifiable. (KNS)

chest at Jehangir Chowk- killing him on spot on April 04, 1989.As the family of Shah observed his death an-niversary today, according to his elder brother Khur-

shid, Shah’s friends who had witnessed his cricketing skills in late 1980s’ are still unable to reconcile with themselves when they recall their friend’s mesmeriz-ing strokes.Recalling his affinity with the game of cricket, Shah’s friends stated that during under 15 cricket tourna-ment, held between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, Shah, who represented Jammu and Kashmir, gave tough time to Chetan Sharma and scored many sixes against his balls.“His every shot was being cheered and the crowd just loved him the way he played that game. He scored 87 runs during the match,” said his close friend Mukhtar Ahmad who is now in his mid 40’s. He added that Sa-jad was cleared for the selection of fewer than 19 in the Indian cricket team but was finally dropped allegedly for being a Kashmiri.“At present everyone knows that it was Javed Mian-dad who is famously known for last ball six against India during the final of 1986 Austral-Asia Cup and that last over was bowled by Sharma but hardly any-one could remember how Sajad performed the same way in which Miandad did against Sharma that too when he was just 13 years old,” said Khurshid Ahmad, Sajad’s brother.He said that on April 04 1989, JKLF had called for

RP

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policemen and the Maruti driver. All the injured were shifted to Police Hospital, Srinagar and have been discharged after treatment. Awantipora Police has registered a case in this regard. (KNS)

Srinagar, April 4: Resi-dents of Iqbal Colony Me-hjoor Nagar Friday said that their colony is reeling under darkness from past four days as PDD failed to repair or replace their damaged transformer. The locals told CNS that a vast population resides in the Colony but the Pow-er Development Depart-ment has installed only one transformer in the Colony. “The transformer gets damaged frequently

here. A month ago, the damaged transformer was replaced with 100 kv transformer which devel-oped snag a few days ago and since then the area is reeling under darkness,” a local Muhammad Omar said. Executive Engineer Muhammad Yousuf Baba admitted that the colony needs a “We will install a 250 transformer there within two days so that in future people don’t suf-fer,” he said. (CNS)

Iqbal Colony Mehjoor Nagar reels under darkness

Kakapora missing duo joined militant

ranks: PoliceKakapora, April 4 : Families of two youth of Kaka-pora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama town Friday appealed police to locate their son’s who are missing from March 27. According to CNS two youth includ-ing a scholar have gone missing from Kakapora area while all attempts on part of police to locate them have failed so far. The tow missing youth have been identified as Afzal Talib son of Shamsudin resident of proper Kakapora and Mudasir Ahmed Shiekh son of Abdul Jabar resident of Kisrigam Kakapora. Afzal is a postgraduate student and a scholar. The duo went missing on the same day from the area. “We have lodged missing reports about them in po-lice station Kakapora and we hope that police would locate them,” the family members told CNS. Meanwhile, a top police official told CNS on condi-tion of anonymity that both the students have joined militant ranks and police is trying to nab them. “We have inputs that both Mudasir and Afzal have joined Lashkar-i-Toiba. They are not missing but are a part of Lashkar group that is operating in South Kashmir,” he said. (CNS)

SRINAGAR | SATURDAY, APRIL | 05 | 2014Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS

Take a break from your routine, Libra. You might feel like you’re leading an army into battle as you strive for new adven-tures and conquer new realms. Make sure you take a bit of time out today to stop and let your troops rest. You deserve a little rest yourself. Use this moment of stillness to form your plan of attack so you’re sure about how to proceed.

The key for you is to minimize your daily drama as much as possible, Scorpio. You may not realize how much you cripple your-self by the way you exaggerate every aspect of your life. Try not to give so much of your attention to things that really don’t matter much. Petty jealousy and gossip about other people’s lives are es-pecially irrelevant in your world.

Be careful of advertising yourself as someone who is so strong and mentally competent that you’re capable of handling every-thing, Sagittarius. Take note that the strongest mule on the trail usually ends up carrying the most weight. Your emotions are more sensitive than you may think, and certainly more than you demonstrate to others. Be honest about the way you feel and not just the way you think.

Things should flow well for you today with very little ef-fort on your part, Capricorn. Take note that if any quarrel arises, it’s an indication that the person you’re arguing with isn’t nec-essarily the right person to deal with or confide in. Emotional issues are likely to be the hardest ones to overcome, but this shouldn’t be a problem for you. You have the ability to work through these like a pro.

This is meant to be a nice, relaxing day, so treat it as such, Aquarius. There’s no need for you to plan any great strategy at this time. Try to take it easy and not indulge in any unnecessary stress. This is your time to enjoy the moment. Don’t tax your mind by overanalyzing everything that comes your way. Go with the flow and have a great time regardless of what you end up doing.

Your sensual nature is heightened, Pisces, and you’ll find yourself engaged in tender moments and languid peacefulness in the company of others. Soothe your soul by letting yourself slip into situations that give you the emotional freedom to do or say whatever comes to mind. Life should be like a love poem written by a great master. Accept the good energy that comes your way.

Your sixth sense is right on target, Virgo, so trust your instincts today. You’re likely to connect with someone in a wonderful partnership that will help you foster the very plan you want to develop now. Stay close to those things that resonate strongly with your morals. The answer is in front of you; you don’t have to search too far afield in order to find it.

Allow your eager and restless nature to express itself in ways other than through the spoken word, Aries. Show someone that you care through your gentle touch or a big bear hug. Hold on a little bit more tightly than you might normally. There’s an unspo-ken understanding that comes when you communicate through nothing but pure silence. Work on developing this kind of connec-tion with those closest to you.

This is a terrific day for you, Taurus. You should find that your relationships, especially with men, go exceptionally well. Your tender and extremely sensitive nature is finally being recognized as the treasure chest it is. There are many times in which this type of personality is seen as weak, yet today is one of those times in which you’re given the full credit you deserve.

A selfish attitude on your part won’t be tolerated today, re-gardless of the circumstances, Gemini. Don’t make it worse for yourself by pretending that you don’t notice others’ hurt feelings. People are likely to be extra sensitive today, so be careful about trying to impose your will on someone who really wants nothing more than an ear to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.

You could find the hardest person to face is you, Cancer. You tend toward introspection, and you may find yourself shrinking into self-recrimination. You could analyze the important people in your life and yet fail to address the one you really need to look at – you. As you continually strive for perfection, give yourself proper credit. Do something nice for yourself today.

Take advantage of the creative energy in the air today, Leo. Keep your hands moving and your imagination flowing toward something fun and artistic. If you begin to doubt your work, you may fall down a spiral of creative blockage. Don’t get into the habit of constantly judging the quality or outcome of your work. Give yourself free rein to open up and explore whatever comes to mind.

UDHAMPUR, APRIL- 04:- Expenditure Observer for Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency, Mr. Brijesh convened a meeting with all Assistant Expenditure Observers and Expenditure Accounting Team appointed to oversee the expen-diture related to ensuing Parliamentary Election -2014 of Udhampur District to discuss issues relating to proper moni-toring of expenditure incurred by the contesting candidates of Lok Sabha election here today.The Expenditure Observer asked the concerned officers to properly maintain the shadow reg-ister of Parliamentary candidates by registering their day to day account. He also clarified that there is Rs. 70 lacs limit for candidate but strict vigil has to be maintained on expenditure of contesting candidates. He also advised the officers to be sincere in discharging their duties as negative recommenda-tion from any corner is seriously viewed by Election Commission of India.

He discussed in details all works to be undertaken by AEOs and Accounting Team and underlined the need for close surveillance and effective monitoring of

MCC guidelines to regulate expenditure made by the political parties. He also stressed close coordination between various teams constituted for expen-diture observance and directed them to maintain proper record, which will

serve as an evidence.Meanwhile the General Observer,

Dr. Ravi Shanker appealed the repre-sentatives of political parties for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming elections and asked the participants to come forward to share their grievances anytime to ensure fair and free conduct of election.

District Election Officer, Udhampur, Mrs. Yasha Mudgal apprised in details all works to be undertaken by AEOs and Accounting Team. She also shared the information about works undertaken for facilitating the voters at the polling stations. She said that this time the vot-ing hours would be from 7 am to 6 pm on poll day.

The representatives of various po-litical parties appreciated the efforts of the DEO for providing uniformity for each and every candidate for ensuring transparent and fair election in the dis-trict.

REASI, APRIL 04-Continuing the drive against unauthor-ized buntings, banners and hoardings in Reasi, the district administration has removed numerous campaign materials while Assistant Returning Officers have proceeded under law for booking expenditure in accounts of candidates as well initiating proceedings under J&K Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. The Municipal Committee has also been en-trusted the responsibility of removing the hoardings from the town while the flying squads continued to carry the drive in all the constituencies of district.

Soon after the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct, the district administration has already put in place elaborate mechanism to check any sort of viola-tion by political parties. With the enforcement of the MCC ahead of the 16th Lok-Sabha elections, the district administration has been removing political graffiti and posters from walls and hoardings from the roadside. The hoardings and banners at Reasi, which were erect-ed without permission were removed on the orders of ARO-58 Tilak Raj Shastri here today by the squads con-stituted for this purpose.

The operation would be strictly implemented in differ-ent parts of the district besides the Municipal Committee has also been entrusted the responsibility of removing the hoard-ings of political parties in the urban areas in the presence of police, Shastri added, saying that over 33 banners and flexes were removed today which were erected illegally.

Strict implementation of MCC ensured in Reasi Observers, DEO hold meetings

with political parties

NEW DELHI:

Questioning the timing of a ‘sting’ operation on the Babri Masjid demolition, the BJP on Friday alleged that it was “spon-sored”, accusing Congress of using “pawns” to vitiate the at-mosphere before elections and asked the Election Commission to stop its publication and tele-cast.

Writing to the Election Com-mission shortly before Cobrapost was to hold a press conference here, BJP sought a bar on its con-tents being made public.

BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said reports had appeared in papers today about a sting operation related to the sensitive Babri masjid-Ram Janambhoomi dispute.

Through this “sponsored sting operation”, there is an attempt to inject poison in the peaceful and amicable election atmosphere in the country, he said.

“We had in the morning spo-ken to Election Commission and also written a letter that an NGO named Cobrapost in the name of a sting operation is planning to

show a sponsored sting on the sensitive Ram Janambhoomi-Babri masjid issue ... Its telecast and publication should be imme-diately barred,” he added.

He said the party had asked the EC to take action “against whoever is behind such a mis-chievous conspiracy.”

Accusing the Congress of propagating communalism, Naq-vi said that the party has lost the battle on ground and was now trying to use pawns to spoil the atmosphere ahead of election.

When asked to comment about the content of the sting operation, Naqvi said its timing raises questions.

“The timing is more important than content and raises questions as the election is at its peak and the atmosphere is friendly and peaceful.

The election is being con-tested on the issue of Congress’ misgovernance. The people have rejected the secular versus com-munal plank on which Congress contests and real issues are being raised. Naturally those who con-tested on non-issues are upset,” he said.

BJP asks EC to bar telecast of Cobrapost sting on Babri demolition

DM Samba prohibits use of liquor on the eve of election Street play on voters’ right staged in Rajouri

SAMBA, APRIL 04- District Magistrate Samba, R K Varma in terms of the powers conferred upon him under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 has ordered that no liquor shops, hotels restaurants, clubs star hotels and other establishments within the territorial ju-risdictions of District Samba shall serve, give or distribute spirituous, fermented or intoxicat-ing liquors or other substance of a like nature during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of LokSabha Poll 2014 of 6-Jammu Parliamentary constituency on 10-4-2014 that is w.e.f 8-4-2014 to 10-4-2014 from 6:00PM to 6 pm and on 16-5-2014, when the counting of votes will be taken up.

SVEEP moves to motivate the votersREASI, APRIL 04-With a view to improve election percentage and ensuring maximum

participation of voters in the polling process a massive awareness campaign under SVEEP is in progress in district Reasi under the guidance of District Election Officer, Dr Shahid Iqbal. The special emphasis has been laid to motivate the young and female voters.

As a part of SVEEP programme, a couple of cultural troupes have been performing street plays and songs to attract people in rural areas highlighting the importance of votes and ask-ing the masses to cast their votes definitely.

The SVEEP committee is also organizing demonstrations at bus-stands and other busy centers to educate people on using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

In order to generate awareness among the voters about their right to franchise and sen-sitizing them for larger participation in the upcoming LokSabha elections under SVEEP cam-paign, District Administration organized a cultural programme at Reasi today where ARO-58 was the Chief Guest on the occasion.

The cultural troupe presented ghazals and Dogri songs based on SVEEP to aware the gen-eral masses about their right to vote and sensitized them about the value of every single vote in the election.

RAJOURI, APRIL 04In order to create awareness

amongst the voters to make use of their right to franchise, the district administration today arranged stage plays in Rajouri.

Artists staged a play as part of Sys-tematic Voter’s Education and Elec-toral Participation (SVEEP) to educate voters about the significance of their vote, their role in largest democracy of the world and also to increase aware-ness on ethical voting.

Public of the area witnessed the play with rapt attention, fully soaking in the message being spread through the stage play on ethical voting.

The play was based on prominent citizen, his friend and a beggar who disseminate the message that every-one has right to vote. The play con-

ducted with a message to the voters to cast their votes irrespective of class, religion and caste considerations.

Moreover, the play also motivated the crowd to vote this time for an hon-est government for the fulfilment of their aspirations and for a better fu-ture.

The stage play was organized under the guidance of DEO, Hemant Kumar Sharma by Cultural Academy and Municipal Committee in collabo-ration with Information Department, Rajouri. The artists of Punjal Cultural Club Darhal Rajouri namely Pervaiz Malik, Zakir Malik and Arshad Malik enthralled the masses with their per-formance. The background music of the play was given by Ashfaq Mir and the script was written by Director Per-vaiz Malik.

Baisakhi Mela from April 12Dir Tourism discusses arrangements

JAMMU, APRIL 04- Director Tourism Jammu, Soujanya Sharma today convened a meeting with senior officers and representatives of different Traders Association to discuss arrangements for five day Baisakhi Mela scheduled to commence from 12 April 2014 in Jammu.

The festival is being organized by Tourism Department in collab-oration with traders associations viz Kanak Mandi, Raghunath Ba-zar, residency road and others.

It was informed in the meeting that the Mela would be inaugurat-ed on 12th April, 2014.

The traders would install eth-nic food stalls at Raghunath Ba-zaar, Rajinder Bazaar, VirMarg and Kanak Mandi on nominal rates during the Mela followed by cul-tural events showcasing cultural heritage of State.

Mr. Soujanyasaid that such type of events are being organized to revive promote the unique cultural

ethos of Jammu besides promoting cultural tourism in the state.

He further added that tradi-tional Tanga Ride would also be a major attraction of mela to revive age old traditions of Jammu and informed that artists from other states would also perform cultural programmes during the festival.

On the occasion, traders associ-ation would offer special discounts to customers besides a prize of three nights and two days free stay in Patnitop would be given to the owner of best decorated shop by Tourism Department.

Representatives of various trad-ers associations while appreciating the efforts tourism department as-sured the department, their full cooperation to make the event a grand success.

Joint Director Tourism, S K Gupta, Dy Director, Representa-tives of various traders association besides others were also present in the meeting.

The Expenditure Observer asked the concerned of-

ficers to properly maintain the shadow register of

Parliamentary candidates by registering their day to

day account.

BJP chargesheet accuses Congress of corruption,

price riseNEW DELHI:

BJP has charged the Congress with corruption, destruction of economy, price rise and messing with the foreign policy in a chargesheet against the UPA government released on Friday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi."Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are equally responsible for all the ills of India along with (prime minister)

Manmohan Singh because they wanted to exercise authority without accountability," party leader Ravi Shan-kar Prasad said after releasing the chargesheet.

While its manifesto will come only on Monday, the party said reminding the voters about the history is as important as the poll promises.

"It is important to remind people of the history of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government," Prasad said.

The BJP also downplayed the delay in releasing its manifesto, calling it an issue of logistics. "It is a logistics issue. Our party leaders are busy in campaigns," Prasad said.

BJP manifesto will be released on Monday, on the first day of polling.He used the opportunity to take a dig at the Congress without naming the party. "Those who are going to

get the farewell have hurried up with their manifesto."

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Saturday 05 April 2014

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer

Shahi Imam’s support to congress - a right move in right direction

The announcement of support for secular parties by Shahi Imam of Delhi particularly congress and Trini-

mol Congress has once again exhibited the apprehensions of minorities particularly the Mus-lim minority about the parties which have communal back-ground and tend to divide and polarize the whole India society which by and large has proved to be secular. While extending his support to Congress party at the National level and Trinimol Congress in West Bengal Shahi Imam has appealed to the Mus-lims to save the country from be-ing divided on communal lines and asked them to vote for secu-lar parties. He has expressed his concern over the recent state-ments of some political parties and said that the tone and tenor of these statements cannot be taken lightly as the country is passing through a very critical phase. He criticized Smajwadi Party and Bahujan Smajwadi party and said that the former did not fulfill his promises made to Muslims and the latter did not give an authentic assurance to be away from NDA fold after the elections. He said that Mus-lims have been exploited and no political party has come up to their expectations which in-clude Congress party also. How-ever, he made it clear that the country cannot be allowed to be divided on communal basis and fight against corruption is less important than the fight against communalism. The support of Shahi Imam is indicative of the fact that the post Godhara ghost and Babri Masjid episode which according to a sting operation was a preplanned operation in which some senior BJP leaders were involved is still haunting the BJP and it is very difficult for this party to get rid of its past. The recent statement of one of its leaders dubbing 30% Mus-lims as supporters of terrorism will also badly hurt the party as it has hurt the Muslim minority of this country which has always proved as patriotic and nation-alistic any other citizen. Mus-lims have not only presented sacrifices for the independence of India but also gave their lives to protect this country whenever anybody raised his eyebrows to-wards India. Hence it is impera-tive that everybody protects the interests of the country includ-ing its secular character which the Shahi Imam indicated in his press conference.

Daily Zabarwan TimesEDITORIAL/ OPINIONEDITORIAL/ OPINIONDaily Zabarwan TimesSrinagar, Friday 07 March 2014

Disclaimer : The contents and comments appearing in any article published in this paper are purely the personal opinion of the writer

Be passionate, they are young and deserve leniency

Cricket has become a very pop-ular game across the world and this game offers name,

fame and a lot of money not only to the players but to various boards, ad-vertising agencies and hundreds of stake holders connected directly or indirectly with this game. Once con-sidered a gentleman’s game, cricket is now engulfed with lot of contro-versies including betting, fixing and other negative things. It is not a sin to like or dislike a player or a team but it is the way that one expresses his sen-timents connected with his likings. Once chief election commissioner of India M.S.Gill who later became a cabinet minister and held sports portfolio was interviewed on a TV channel were he openly said that he is a big fan of Pakistani cricket team. It does not attracted any ill will against the country and cannot be treated as treason or a hate act against the coun-try, but if you celebrate the victory of Pakistani cricket team over India and raise slogans it definitely can be treated as a hate act and will amount a punishment. The J&K chief Minis-ter Omer Abdullah has said that the act of Kashmiri students is not a kind of treason but has justified their pun-ishment by the university authorities. The question arises as to why should these students instead of putting their abilities to study and achieve new heights indulge in such acts. Definite-ly they are in Meerut where the uni-versity has provided them an oppor-tunity to study different courses and where most of the students belong to other parts of India who will neces-sarily get hurt when somebody raises slogans against their team or country. The Kashmiri students should have known that they are availing all the facilities provided by Govt. of India and the government of the country where they live and make their car-rier. It is unfortunate that they are swayed by emotions without caring for the emotions of others and are in-dulging in such acts which could fur-ther complicate their future and cre-ate many more problems. By doing so they have also put their parents in lot of inconvenience as everybody is not affluent and does not have enough money to spend on the education of their wards. There are people who barrow the money or sell the proper-ty for the education of their children. It is the duty of the children to respect the hard work and toil of their parents who do everything for their educa-tion. They should refrain from doing such acts. As they are young hence the university authorities should take a passionate view and should now give them one more chance and should not spoil their career. The UP govt. should also keep their young age in view and withdraw the cases against them, particularly the case of treason. As they are young, the govt. of Utter Pradesh and the University instead of coming heavily on them and proving harsh, should instead be polite and lenient on them.

Drinking Water Facility for Villages

Five crore people living in over one lakh habitations in villages in our country do not have access to safe drinking water even today.

According to official figures twenty two per cent rural families have to walk for at least half a kilometer or more to fetch water (mostly it is the women who have to bear the burden). The percentage of such families is the maximum in Mani-pur, Tripura, Odisha, Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Fifteen per cent of households in villages depend on uncovered wells and other unimproved sources like rivers, springs, ponds for drinking water. Also eighty five per cent of all drinking water resources in villages are based on underground sources of water and in many of these areas water is contaminat-ed. Only 30.80 percent of the rural population has access to tap water. In fact there are only four states which have been able to bring fifty per cent or more of the rural areas under piped water supply. Many of the states are yet to fully comply with the Supreme Court order on supply of potable water in government schools. The latest available data shows that less than the 44 per cent government schools in villages have drinking water fa-cility.During the national consultation in Delhi held recently on the prog-ress of national rural drinking water programmers and related issues , it was revealed that in spite of this unsatisfactory sce-nario with regard potable water availability in villages many of the states have failed to fully utilize the funds allocated by the centre under the various heads of NRD-WP.To achieve the objective of provid-ing drinking water facilities to all the villages, the Government is bringing about a major paradigm shift in the National Rural Drink-ing Water Programme in the XIIth

Five Year plan period. In the back-drop of over extraction of ground water in most parts of the country, the emphasis is to shift away from ground water to surface water. The focus would be on piped water sup-ply and minimizing the use of hand pumps. The target is to ensure indi-vidual household connections to at least 35 per cent of the population in villages by 2017 against only 13 per cent today.In order to encourage the villagers to take water connections, the Gov-ernment is roping in Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA). A recent order said the ASHAs will get an incentive of 75 rupees for motivating each of the fami-lies in villages to take individual household tap connection. The states can use the money from the support funds allocated to states under the NRDWP.The norm of 40 litres of water per capita per day( LPCD) in villages was set way back in 1972 but now under the 12th five year plan , it is being increased from 40 to 55 li-tres .In the 12th plan the target is to cover at least half of the popu-lation to get 55 LPCD water with-in in their house hold premises or within 100 meter radius. Once the states are able to increase the per capita availability of drinking water, it will help in bridging the gap to some extent between urban areas and rural areas. Under NRD-WP, States have the flexibility to fix their own supply norms. The Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Bharatsinh Solanki has urged the states to aim at 55 LPCD , this he says will enable higher level of household connections and reduce the burden on women and girls in fetching water from hand pumps and public taps as well as reducing risk of contamination.Quality of drinking water avail-ability is a major concern in villag-es many parts of the country are af-fected by contamination of arsenic and fluoride, which are considered

the most hazardous in terms of their effect on health. In the budget proposals for 2013-14 Rs 1,400 crore will be provided for the setting-up water purification plants as there are still 2,000 arsenic and 12,000 fluoride affected rural habitations in the country. Then there are contaminants like iron, salinity uranium and pesticides. The cen-tre is assisting States affected with Chemical contamination of drink-ing water, and those States which have cases of Japanese and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome through a provision under the NRDWP by allocating 5% of the NRDWP funds for Improving the quality of drink-ing waterGiven the growing importance of water quality issues, under the 12th plan dedicated funding will be provided to States with quality af-fected habitations, over and above the normal NRDWP allocation to the State. Highest priority will be given to arsenic and fluoride affected habitations. Part of the funding would also be made avail-able to tackle bacteriological con-tamination in the priority districts with high incidence of Japanese and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome as identified by the Ministry of Health and Family WelfareUnfortunately many of the states like Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, and Uttara-khand & Tripura are yet to submit proposals to get the benefit from 5% Water Quality earmarked fund.World over lack of drinking water and sanitation facilities account for over nine per cent of the dis-eases and more than six per cent of deaths. In our country where more than half the population resorts to open defecation, the situation is worse. It is in this scenario that ma-jor emphasis in the 12th plan is strengthening convergence be-tween rural drinking water supply and rural sanitation by taking up

villages covered with piped water supply to get Open Defecation Free status priority and vice versa.The 12th plan draft document says that all government schools and anganwadis in government or community buildings will be pro-vided with water supply for drink-ing and for toilets as per relevant quality norms by convergence of NRDWP for existing schools and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and for new schools set up under SSA. For private schools this will be en-forced the right to education provi-sions. All community toilets built with public funds and maintained for public use will be provided with running water supply under NRD-WP. Care will be taken to ensure that minimum distance is main-tained between the toilet systems and water sources, to alleviate the problem of nitrate contamination.A part of NRDWP outlay will be set aside for integrated Habitat Improvement Projects to provide housing, water and sanitation fa-cilities in rural areas at par with urban areas.Participation of the beneficiaries especially women in drink water supply schemes is also proposed.In another initiative Solar pow-ered pumps will be provided for implementation in remote, small habitations and those with irreg-ular power supply by converging subsidy available under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.Waste water treatment and recy-cling will also be an integral part of every water supply plan or project.India is fast becoming a water stressed country and over and above everything else there is need to generate awareness about pro-tecting drinking water sources from contamination, regular testing of drinking water sources, conserving rainwater in tanks and ponds, water recharge and water saving devices so that everyone in the country is able to get the basic facility of drink-ing water.

Measures to Check Cheating of investors by Unscrupulous Companies

heating of investors by unscrupulous compa-nies takes many forms, such as: ‘vanishing’ after raising money through public offers; il-legal collection of deposits in violation of Sec-tion 58A of the Companies Act, 1956; floating sham ‘Collective Investment Schemes (CIS)’ in violation of SEBI Act; collecting money from public by posing as ‘Non-Banking Fi-nancial Companies (NBFCs) in violation of RBI Act; and resorting to ‘Ponzy’ or money circulation schemes under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has tak-en action against ‘vanishing companies’ which have raised funds through initial public offer but thereafter are not trace-able. The Ministry has also taken action against certain companies which have failed to repay deposits to public violat-ing Section 58A of the Companies Act, 1956. Complaints of cheating by companies - which promised high rates of interests to investors, have been received against 87 companies. In these cases Inspection under Section 209A/ Investigation un-der Section 234 of the Companies Act, 1956 has been ordered. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also looked into the affairs of 669 companies whose operations were in violation of SEBI (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 1999. The amount collected by these companies was about Rs 7,435 crore. Out of these companies, 75 have been wound up and the money refunded to the investors. A total of 552 compa-nies were prosecuted; convictions have been secured in 124 cases. RBI also regulates deposits / investments of the public with Non- banking Finance Companies (NBFC) that are registered with RBI. Complaints received against companies posing as NBFC’s and Unin-corporated bodies indulging in cheating

/ fraud are forwarded by RBI to the Eco-nomic Offenses Wing of the State Police for investigation and further action. There are certain companies which have floated fraudulent investment deposits mobilizing schemes (also called ponzi schemes) under various guises and are liable for action under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Ban-ning) Act, 1978. This Act is administered by Ministry of Finance (Department of Financial Services) through the State Governments.The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has constituted a Steering Committee to de-velop a “Fraud Prediction Model” aimed at generating alerts for prevention of fraud and malfeasance. It is also pro-posed to revamp the existing Market Research & Analysis Unit (MRAU) in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to enable it to function as an intel-ligence unit. Giving a fillip to the early establishment of a state-of-art Forensic Lab within the premises of SFIO in the national capital; and the development of a Comprehensive Early Warning System (EWS) for detection of corporate fraud and malfeasance at the earliest, three important MoUs have been signed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. These MoUs are: Between Director, SFIO ( which func-tions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs) and Director, National Institute of Electronics and Information Technol-ogy (NIELIT), a scientific organization under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; Between Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Director, Finan-cial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND), an agen-cy under the Ministry of Finance; andDirector, SFIO and Director, FIU-IND. As per the Memorandum, NIELIT will set up a state-of-art Forensic Lab within

the premises of SFIO - with a total outlay of Rs. 3.80 Crore on a turnkey basis, to be completed in two phases. The MoUs signed with FIU-IND will lead to better and faster exchange of information be-tween the three Government entities. FIU has been playing a pivotal role in the collection and dissemination of informa-tion on suspicious banking transactions under the Prevention of Money Launder-ing Act, 2002. FIU-IND has been helping both the Ministry and SFIO from time to time by supplying information on sus-picious banking transactions. Having access to banking information as well as expertise of FIU, the MoU will help SFIO in conducting its investigation in a more effective manner. These initiatives will facilitate development of a comprehen-sive EWS for detection of fraud and mal-feasance at the earliest. The concerned regulatory agencies of the Central Government have adopted different measures aimed at sensitiz-ing the public of the need to be cautious while making investments into schemes, etc. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs conducts Investor Awareness Programs (IAP’s) for making the public aware of the various instruments of investments available to them. Similarly, RBI is-sues notice in newspapers regularly to caution the public against the design of entities in collection of deposits illegal-ly. Editors of Newspapers are also sen-sitized to exercise caution for accepting advertisements pertaining to acceptance of deposits by un-incorporated bodies. Presently, RBI is in the process of under-taking a comprehensive campaign aimed at alerting the public against falling prey to the Ponzy schemes and other monetary mal-prac-tices. SEBI also conducts Investor Awareness Programs in cities / towns across the country and has recently launched publicity cam-paigns through electronic and print media.

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