1171 applications received from prospective returnees 277 individuals returned with families via Nepal

Srinagar, October 05:

The Indian Army Saturday claimed that yet another infil-tration bid was thwarted along the Line of Control in Fatehgali and four militants were elimi-nated during the gunbattle.The army said that the militants tried to sneak into the area in Keran sector around 25km from Shala Batu where a gunbattle between the army and militants has been raging since the last 12 days.Six AK-47 assault rifles and four pistols have been recovered, it added.Army chief Gen Bikram Singh on Friday said that the Keran sector "situation is not any-where close to Kargil". “We are dominating from all sides. They (intruders) are holed up there. We will take them out," he said.

"It's a matter of time. All such operations take time."On Friday, the army had said that it had killed three militants who were part of a fresh batch that tried to infiltrate in another area, Gujjar Tur, possibly to as-sist those holed up in Shala Batu village. The two areas are 30km apart.Army spokesman Naresh Vij said, “These infiltration bids are a desperate attempt on part of militants to replenish depleting ranks before winters because the army has successfully foiled several infiltration attempts, killing about 40 militants, near the LoC this year.”He said the army is keenly watching the new trend, as wit-nessed in Keran sector, whereby militants fan out only in a par-ticular border area to engage the army for longer periods.He said on Friday that a fresh

group of militants was spotted in the wee hours in Gujjar Tur area. In the gunfight that ensued three militants were killed.The infiltration attempts have raised concerns that reinforce-ments are being sent from the Pakistani side to intruders al-ready engaged in the stand-off with troops. Experts believe that

militants are also trying to di-vert attention from Shala Batu.The army and 30-40 militants have been locked in a battle since September 24, a week before the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India met in Washington to dis-cuss various issues, incursions along the Line of Control (LoC) being one of them.

Shopian, October 05:

The families of Shop-ian victims Saturday warned that if probe would not be conducted in a fair manner into the Gagren killings, they would come on roads and start agita-tion against the govern-ment. However, they hoped that this time the government would give no room to killers and they would be brought to justice.

The father of one of the slain youth, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat told CNS that majority of the people in Shopian term the probe as mere eye-wash but he hopes that this time the probe would be conducted fair-ly and ‘killers’ would be punished so that no more innocent killings take place anywhere in Kashmir Valley.“Though we have no ex-pectations from the gov-ernment but it would be

unfair if we don’t give government a chance to deal with the culprits. It is up to the government now to investigate the matter in a free and fair manner. I hope Govern-ment would not repeat 2009 when it claimed that two daughters of Shopian died due to drowning,” Bhat said. Another family mem-ber of the victims Rafiq Ahmed said that so many inquiry

See Time Ripe on Pg. 11

Srinagar, October 05:

The state government to-day said its plans to buy back Dulhasti, Salal and Uri-I project currently be-ing operated by National Hydroelectric Power Cor-poration (NHPC) in the state is under process.Replying to a question by Abdul Rehman Veeri, the Peoples Democratic Party senior leader and MLA, the Minister informed that NHPC has realized rev-enue to the extent of Rs. 3834.59 crore from Jammu and Kashmir. Out of this amount the minister said

Rs. 855.531 crores have been realized through

Salal Project, Rs. 842.252 crores through Dulhasti and Rs. 2136.82 Crores through Uri, HEP from

1997-98 to 2012-13.“The NHPC had sought the cabinet subcommittee report that we have hand-ed over to the NHPC,” Vi-kar Rasool, the Minister of State for Power said in the state Legislative As-sembly. While replying supplementary to a ques-tion on power, Rasool said the state government has sought depreciated value of the power projects and the details of the assets present therein. “These details have not been pro-vided by the NHPC so far. Once we get the

See Power Projects on Pg. 11

Married woman allegedly abducted by

uniformed men

Govt hardens its stand; says no work no pay

Srinagar, October 05:

Patients visiting GB Pant Hospital-Kashmir’s only children hospital at Son-war face serious health problems due to poor sani-tation. Scores of patients told KNS on Saturday that there was need for quick intervention to change the situation to prevent them from hospital acquired in-fections. “Such situation can cause a serious infec-tion to the patients with

open wounds,” said an at-tendant Fayaz Ahmad who was accompanied with his

children for treatment. The post operative wards,

See Hospital on Pg. 11

Srinagar, October 05:

In a successful operation, a top commander of Hiz-bul Mujahideen (HM) was apprehended and an HM Module busted in Sopore. This was stated by DIG, North Kashmir Sh. J.P. Singh at a press confer-ence at Sopore today. The DIG, NKR who was flanked by SP Spore, Mir Imtitaz, C0 22 RR, Col Yo-gesh and CO 179 CRPF Sh.Surinder Kumar while giving details said that Po-lice with the assistance of 22 RR and 179 CRPF have arrested a top Hizbul-Mu-jahideen militant outfit Commander Nisar Ahmad Dar @Usman @Umar son of Ghulam Mohiud-Din Dar resident of Saidpora, Sopore The militant had earlier remained active

with Lashkar-e-Toiba out-fit and was apprehended by Police in year 2007 with a huge recovery of 50 hand grenades. Thereafter on his release in 2009 he joined the Hizbul-Muja-hideen ranks and got in-volved in large number of terrorist activities in the areas of North-Kashmir and Srinagar city. He is a very crucial member of Hizbul Mujahideen ter-ror network operating in North Kashmir and Sri-nagar city. He has been involved in number of ter-rorist actions undertaken by him independently and jointly with his other as-sociates in Handwara, So-pore, Pattan and Srinagar.The DIG Said that the mili-tant along with his associ-ate was involved in the

See Police on Pg. 11

Srinagar, October 05:

State government on Sat-urday asked the House to take a decision about enhancing the retirement age of the state govern-ment employees from 58 to 60-yrs. Replying to a question of CPI (M) state secretary and MLA Kulgam, Mo-hammad Yousuf Tariga-mi, Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather told the legislative assembly: “We don’t see any pos-

sibility of this (enhance-ment of retirement age). From rupees 5,000 crores, the budget on employee’s salaries has skyrocketed to Rs 16,000 crores.” He alleged the employ-ees of choosing path of confrontation whenever the government tried to solve their problems. “We always try to solve the employee’s demands through talks. But they (employees) are taking to roads creating a lot of in-convenience for the com-

mon people,” Rather said while hastening to put the ball in the court of the house regarding the final decision on the matter.“But that doesn’t sound the end of the road here. Let this house take the final call on the enhance-ment of the retirement age. Being supreme any unanimous decision taken here would be ac-cordingly discussed by the government,” Rather added.He said that government

has decided to act tough against the employees remaining absent from their duties. Rather said that “equal work would fetch equal money” to the employees who he added have got used to get paid for striking their works.“We never sought to lock horns with the employees but their rigidity is not only creating problems for the common people but is leading to stalemate with the state

See No Pay on Pg. 11

Srinagar, October 05:

The discussion over former army chief V K Singh’s remarks about army’s funding to Jammu and Kashmir politicians was today deferred by the Legislative Assembly till Monday.Speaker Mubarak Gul announced the decision after BJP, NPP and other Jammu based members of the Legislative Assembly sought deferment of the discussion due to Navra-tra. As the House started its proceedings, Ashok Khajuria, the BJP MLA submitted that the discus-sion on former army chief remarks which was sched-uled to be held today be

postponed till Monday.Almost all PDP MLAs, National Panthers Party MLAs and CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tari-gami supported Khajuria’s submission. Minister for law and par-liamentary affairs Mir Saifullah later said the government had no objec-tions if Khajuria’s sub-mission is accepted by the Speaker. On Friday Mehbooba Mufti, the op-position PDP leader had sought the timing of dis-cussion over retired gen-eral Singh’s remarks. She was informed by Speaker that it will be held on Sat-urday. Gen Singh’s made his

See Discussion on Pg. 11

Anantnag, October 05:

Residents of Zalan-gam hamlet of Kokar-nag, Islamabad staged massive protests and blocked Kokarnag-Kishtwar raod on Sat-urday after a married woman was allegedly abducted by men wear-ing combat uniforms. Police has registered a case and the women was sent for a medical examination.Talking to CNS, Nazia Banoo (name changed) said that she was ab-ducted by men in uni-

form on Friday night when she was coming out from the bathroom located in their yard. “Men wearing combat uniforms blind folded me and forcibly took me to a nearby forest. They molested me on way and tried to tar-nish my chastity in the forest. They talked in Hindi and one of them was using black specs,” she said.She said that last month after delivering a baby boy she had a surgery and, “it

See Abducted on Pg. 11

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

SUNDAY October 06 | 2013 | 29 Zeeqad 1434 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 3 | ISSUE NO: 251 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 PAISA)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&K

Fresh infiltration bid foiled in Keran Sector, 4 militants killed

Srinagar, October 05:

The state government today said it has received 1171 applications so far on behalf of the prospec-tive returnees who are willing to return from Pakistan Occupied Kash-mir (PoK) under its re-turn and rehabilitation policy.In a written response to a question posed by Mehbooba Mufti, the president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and MLA, the govern-

ment has said out of 1171 cases 12 have been rec-ommended to the govern-ment of India, minister of home affairs for further necessary action. “386 cases are under examina-tion in the home depart-ment. Applications of 24 individuals submitted by their relatives could not be considered further by the high level committee under the policy as these individuals have re-turned via Nepal which is not a recognized route under the policy,” the

government reply reads. The rest of the applica-tions, the government has said are being scru-tinized and verified by the intelligence agencies. “It may also be men-tioned that 277 individu-als along with 140 wives and 438 children have re-turned via Nepal, which is not an approved route under the policy of 2010.”The government has fur-ther said that besides five ladies who had exflitrat-ed earlier have returned

See Govt Policy on Pg. 11

http://www.zabarwantimes.com

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(SUNDAY)SUNRISE ON (MONDAY)

06:10 pm06:31 am

14.0 0C29.2 0C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Weather will be mainly dry over the state.

Mainly clear sky. Maximum & Minimum temperatures will be around 28°C & 13°C respectively.

Begins hunger strike against AP bifurcation

Visits Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine

7 8 10

5 exercises you can do while at work

Police busted HM module in Sopore

Children’s hospital again in news for poor hygienic conditions

Discussion on Gen Singh's remarks deferred

Govt policy on return of youth from PoK

Time ripe to deliver justice: Affected Families

Govt reiterates its plan to buy back 3 power projects

Rather rules out enhancement in retirement age

Top HM commander arrested

NHPC realized Rs. 3834.59 crore revenue from J&K: Vikar

Istanbul, October 05: Coming down heavily on Pakistan, President Pranab Mukherjee has said unless it dismantles the terror infrastructure on its soil, there is no scope for progress in talks between the two countries. In an interview to Turkish newspaper 'Today's Zaman', the Presi-dent exhorted that a serious effort should be made by Pakistan on this subject as he said most

See President on Pg. 11

Dismantle terror infrastructure: President to Pak

Infuriated attendants protest against official apathy

District administration promptly orders probe

Probe into Shopian killings

Srinagar, October 05:

The state government to-day said there are 9329 people in 13 prisons on Jammu and Kashmir.In a written response to a starred question posed by MLA Langate Er Sheikh Abdul Rashid, the state home ministry has said though no person under Public Safety Act is de-tained in any jail outside the state but the govern-ment has 9329 people in its

See Prisons on Pg. 11

JK has 9329 persons in 13 prisons

Woman electrocuted in Baramulla Srinagar, October 05: A 45 years old Lady, Haleema Begum widow of Abdul Khaliq Sofi resident of Watergam, in the jurisdiction of Police Station Kreeri, Baramulla received electric shock at her home and died on spot.

Illicit drug seized in SoporeSrinagar, October 05: 300 bottle of banned drug were seized in Watergam area of Sopore last evening.Acting on a specific informa-tion, Police Sopore along with Naib Tehsildar Watergam seized 300 bottles of banned drug form the shop of Ashiq Hussain Nagar son of Moham-mad Altaf resident of Tragpora, in the jurisdiction of Police station Sopore. A case was registered in police station Sopore in this regard and investigation has been taken up.

9 Injured in road mishapsSrinagar, October 05: Nine persons were injured in differ-ent road accidents across the valley.A Truck bearing registra-tion number Jk03B/3954 hit a Motorcycle bearing registra-tion number JK04A/9243 at Goriwan Chowk, Bijbehara, Anantnag, resulting in inju-ries to the motorcyclist and a Pillion. Both the injured were shifted to hospital for treat-ment. Meanwhile, An Alto car bearing registration number Jk01T/1065 collided with a Maruti car bearing registration number Jk01E/3637 near Ah-mad’s Hospital, in the jurisdic-tion of Police Station Nowgam. Six persons travelling in these vehicles were injured. All the injured have been shifted to SMHS, Hospital for treatment. In another accident, a Maruti car bearing registration num-ber Jk01H/1765 hit and injured a pedestrian Ghulam Moham-mad Bhat son of Sonaullah resident of Kalamdanpora at Siraj Bazar, Zaina-Kadal. The injured was shifted to Hospital for treatment. Srinagar Police has registered a case in this regard.

Dogs create havoc in QamarwariSrinagar, October 05: Several children were attacked and bit-ten by stray dogs on Saturday at Bemina triggering panic in the area. Witnesses told KNS that some stray dogs on prowl attacked children and who ever came their way in SDA colony. The worst scene was a witnessed in this colony when a group of school children was wait-ing for bus to reach school. Some people tried to rescue the children but they too fell prey to the canine bites. The locals complained that even though hundreds of dogs’ are on prowl in the area, the authorities seem unmoved and have failed to check the menace.

See Dogs on Pg. 11

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 05

Minister for Urban De-velopment Nawang Rigzin Jora on behalf of the R&B Minister Saturday informed the House that under the Special Bridge Programme several bridges have been taken up in Langate con-stituency including the Foot Bridge at Drungsoo Latch which is presently under execution at an estimated cost of Rs 33.50 lakh against which an expenditure of Rs 30.50 lakh has been incurred ending March, 2013. He said that during current financial year, an amount of Rs 4 lakh has been earmarked against which Rs 2.82 lakh has been released and the work is in progress.

Replying to a Calling At-tention Notice by Er. Abdul Rashid, the Minister said that construction on 38 mtr span trussed girder bridge over nallah Mawar at Yaroo,

Handwara is presently under execution at an estimated cost of Rs 2.13 crore against which an expenditure of Rs 78 lakh has been incurred ending March, 2013. Dur-ing current financial year, Rs 8.45 lakh have been re-leased against the proposed outlay of Rs 11 lakh. The left and right abutments have been completed.The Min-ister said that construction of 4x25 mtr foot bridge at Khan Tulwari, Langate over nallah Mawar is presently under execution at an esti-mated cost of Rs 1.48 crore against which Rs 25 lakh have been expended ending March, 2013. Rs 11 lakh is the proposed outlay for the cur-rent financial year, against which Rs 8.45 lakh has been released so far. One abut-ment and two piers have been raised, he said.He said construction of 2x32 mtr span composite Foot Bridge at Bonagam, Langate is also

presently under execution at an estimated cost of Rs 1.59 crore against which Rs 1.05 crore is the expenditure ending March, 2103. Rs 22.50 lakh is the proposed out-lay for the current financial year, against which Rs 16.82 lakh has been released so far. Abutments have been com-pleted and Girders for one span have been launched. 80 per cent approaches have also been completed, he added.In addition to these bridges, 4 more bridges are under execution in Langate constituency under Special Bridge Programme (Pro-jectisation) at an estimated cost of Rs 4.04 crore against which a cumulative expendi-ture of Rs 2.91 crore has been incurred upto ending March 2013. Rs 17.50 lakh has been earmarked for three bridges during 2013-14 except one bridge namely “Foot Bridge at Wahipora Langate”, which stands completed.

SUDHMAHDEV, OCT 05-

The department of Wild-life Protection Jammu orga-nized a function on the eve of Wildlife Week Celebration at Sudhmahdev here today.

The function was or-ganized in the community hall near Government Higher Sec-ondary School Sudhmahdev.

Students from various schools, teachers, government officials, I/C PHC Sudhmah-dev, Naib Tehsildar Katwalt, Naid Tehsildar Sudhmahdev, Head Master Mantali, Dy. Commanding Officer CRPF Sudhmahdev, Chowki Officer Sudhmahdev, Panches , Sar-panches, local residents and Wildlife Officials of Sudhmah-dev Wildlife Conservation Reserve participated in the function.

Students from vari-ous schools including Gov-ernment Hr. Sec. School Sudhmahdev, Government

High School Mantalai, Govern-ment Middle School Kohsar, Government Girls Middle School Sudhmahdev, Govern-ment Middle School Latwalt and Krishna Memorial Acad-emy Sudhmahadev and Green Valley Academy Sudhmahdev enthusiastically participated in symposium competitions on the Wildlife Conservation.

Principal Govt. Hr. Sec School Sudhmahdev, Su-rinder Kumar Sharma stressed upon the students and locals to shun the practice of killing wild animals, destruction of forests and habitat of wild ani-mals. He advised students to follow simple and eco-friendly life style and habits in our day today routine.

Wildlife Range Of-ficer Udhampur (Sudhmah-dev) D.K. Magotra, delved in detail on the importance of Celebrating Wildlife Weeks and sustainable conservation of natural resources.

Head Master Govt. School Mantali, Teacher GHSS Sudhmandev and Block Of-ficer Sudhmahdev were the judges for the symposium competitions.

In symposium, junior standard (6th -8th) Rashid Ali of 7th class GMS Katwalt got the first prize, Prabha Thakur Kajal 8th class of GHS Man-talai bagged 2nd prize and Rehan Fasial of 7th class of GMS Bachhal and Ambika Sharma 6th class of Krishana Memorial School Sudhmah-dev clinched third prize while Pooja Devi 6th class of GMS Sudhmahdev bagged the con-solation prize.

In symposium, senior standard (9th – 12th) Meen-akshi Kumari 9th Class of GHS Mantalai got the first prize, Tankia Devi 11th class of GHSS Sudhmahdev second prize and Aprana Sharma 10th class of GHSS Sudhmahdev bagged third prize.

Several bridges under construction in Langate: Jora

Symposium on wildlife conservation organized

SUNDAY OCTOBER | 06 | 2013Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS

You may feel extra passionate today, Libra, so don’t be surprised if you take things to extremes even more than usu-al. There’s an aggression within you that’s working to help keep you in control of every situation. Remember that you must be prepared to receive whatever you dish out. There’s a warring instinct in everyone that’s likely to emerge on a day like this.

Find your strength from within, Scorpio. There’s a great deal of it in there, and it’s ready to erupt like a volcano. Let your passion drive your engine today and you’ll be amazed at the incredible places you can go. Don’t be afraid to take things to extremes. Your fantastic good luck will pull you out of any sticky predicament.

Your strong yet steady pace may get a lift today, Sagittar-ius. It might seem like there’s a fire under your feet, and you probably need to keep moving in order to keep yourself from getting burned. Use your independent streak to get things done the way you want them. This could be a powerhouse day for you!

There’s excitement today that indicates that things are happening, things are changing. Stay alert and in tune with what’s going on around you, Capricorn. There’s a wonderful energy charge urging you to push the boundaries of every-thing going on around you. Do your part to help the world evolve to a happier, more peaceful place.

You’re the sensitive one in a sea of anger today, Aquarius, so keep your guard up. Don’t be tempted or seduced by any rage around you. Be wary of people who seem motivated by fear. You’ll be much better off when you align yourself with those who act from a point of neutrality and self-confidence. Model your behavior after the people you see as superheroes in your world.

You should mesh quite well with the prevailing energy today, Pisces. There’s a powerful, transformative force help-ing to give greater strength to your ego and vitality. Note the fiery energy about the day that encourages your dynamic and forceful personality to shine through. Feel free to ex-press your independence in every situation.

Tension is building today that may wreak havoc with your harmonious nature, Virgo. The key for you now is to see the opportunity instead of conflict in each situation. This is a good time to gain a greater perspective on certain things. A bit of internal transformation may take place when you see things from the other side of the fence.

Things may be happening too fast around you today, Ar-ies, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to join the frenzied pace. You’re probably much better off sticking with your methodical approach. Take the time to collect the facts you need before you jump into a major decision or plan of attack. People may be a bit jumpy, so do your best to be the stable one in the group.

Make sure you aren’t projecting a picture of yourself that doesn’t represent the real you, Taurus. It’s important that you remain true to your soul or you’ll end up in situations that make you uncomfortable and frustrated. There’s a strong transformative force working against you today, but you’ll have the leadership and confidence to stand up for yourself in whatever way you need.

Remind yourself of all the positive things you have going on in your life now, Gemini. It’s possible that you’ll be met with tension and challenges today that are threatening your sense of self. Arguments may break out around you, and you may have questions regarding what it is you stand for. Don’t lose touch with your nurturing qualities and sixth sense.

The fire within you is burning extra hot, Cancer, so make the most of this incredible internal furnace. Treat yourself to some new attire and proudly show it off tonight. Take the lead on projects that might be floundering. You have power behind your words and actions today, so use it for the high-est good.

You may feel the urge to get up and go today, Leo, but at the same time you may feel like you aren’t prepared. Perhaps you don’t feel you’re on solid enough ground to take the next step. Don’t let the pressure of the outside world move you to a place you aren’t ready to go. Take things at your own pace, and be tolerant of those who choose to go at theirs.

Demand of extension of NYK scheme submitted

to CentreSRINAGAR, OCTOBER 05-

Minister for Medical Education, Youth Service and Sports, Taj Mohi-ud-Din Saturday informed the House that Centre has launched a new scheme Ra-jiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan in the Coun-try for development of sports which would kick off fromOctober 15. He said under this scheme sports fields in ev-ery panchayat and block in the State would be developed.

Replying to the supplementaries by several legislators on the main ques-tion by Hakim Mohammad Yasin Sat-urday in the Legislative Assembly, the Sports Minister said that funds in this regard are being released by the Centre and under this scheme sports academ-ics would be setup in every district. He said sports stadium in urban areas hav-ing population of above 50,000 would be also developed, for the purpose the

Government has already submitted DPRs of Rs. 7 crore to the Centre for ap-proval of funds, adding that sports sta-dia in these urban areas would be de-veloped subject to availability of land as there is no compensation of land under the scheme.

The Sports Minister said that in-door stadia at Poonch and Pampore would be completed in due course of time for which funds have been also arranged.

Taj said that under NYK 8000 youth have been engaged in the State during 2010 for two years and as per the central guidelines another 8000 more youth were engaged un-der the scheme in the State and the demand for extension of NYC youth already engaged was also taken up with the centre which is under their consideration.The Sports Minister said that during last three years no funds were received from the Centre under PIKA. He, however, said that the government has submitted utili-zation certificates of the projects and now funds to the tune of Rs. 2 crore were received and liabilities would

be cleared.Responding to a suggestion by Ms.

Mehbooba Mufti, the Sports Minister also informed the House that the De-partment has already started counsel-ling of drug addicted youth at GMCs of Srinagar and Jammu. He said Gov-ernment would also consider to setup drug de addiction and rehabilitation centers at sports stadia. He said the department has a provision of youth counselling and hoped to extend it to district level.

Replying to the main question, the Sports Minister said that Rs. 18.10 lakh have been incurred on the develop-ment of play grounds and mini stadia in Khan Sahib Constituency during last two years under State and District Plans. He also gave detailed brief of physical and financial achievements registered for development of sports infrastructure under State and district plans in Kashmir Division during last two fiscals.Legislators, M. Y. Tarigami, Ajiaz Ahmed Jan, Mir Zahoor Ahmed, Advocate Abdul Haq, Nizamu-ud-Din Bhat, Balwant Singh Mankotia and Ms. Indu Pawar raised supplementaries.

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 05: Minister of State for Power Vikar Rasool Wani informed the House that the government has ear-marked an amount of Rs 10 crore for the improvement of HT/LT network in all the districts of Kashmir valley for which the Action Plan is under formulation. After finalization of the said Action Plan, Pahalgam Constituency will also get its due share for improvement of LT distribution network to the extent of avail-able funds.Replying to a Calling Attention Notice by Rafi Ahmad Mir Saturday said that a detailed survey of entire Pahalgam con-stituency has also been conducted and a detailed project report (DPR) amounting to Rs 15.11 crore has been formulated and shall be submitted to TEC for clearance.The Minister said that power distribution network comprising of wooden poles and conduc-tors in the entire Kashmir valley especially in rural areas includ-ing Pahalgam constituency is decades old and the worn-out wooden poles and conductors need immediate replacement by new ST/PCC poles and conductors.

12 posts of headmasters vacant in Ramban: FerozSRINAGAR, OCTOBER 05: Minister of State for Science and

Technology Feroze Ahmad Khan Saturday in reply to a Calling Attention Notice by Ashok Kumar said that 12 posts of headmas-ters in Ramban constituency are lying vacant in the newly up-graded high schools under RMSA which will be filled up shortly. He said that 292 posts of teachers of district cadre Ramban have been referred to the Service Selection Board for selection of suit-able candidates on fast track basis for which written test stands conducted on 17th September, 2013.

Rs 10 cr for imple-mentation of LT/HT

Retail business in cement decontrolled: Saifullah

Several incentives available to farmers in Agri, Horti, Seri, Flori sectors in JK : Mir

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan from October 15: Taj

Governor visits Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 05:

Minister for Law, Justice and Parlia-mentary Affairs Mir Saifullah Saturday informed the House that Consumer Affairs and Pub-lic Distribution Depart-ment was the controlling authority of the private cement manufacturers as per the provisions of J&K Cement (Licensing and Control) Order, 1973. However, in 1990, the Central Government by virtue of Notification No. SO-624 E dated 07.08.1990 rescinded the powers del-egated to State Govern-ment relating to the regu-lation of the retail cement distribution by licenses and permits. Accordingly, a circular dated 18.03.1991 was issued by the Consumer Affairs and

Public Distribution Department decon-trolling the retail business in cement.

The Minister was replying to a Call-ing Attention Notice by Peer Affaq Ahmad

in the House. He said that the Industries and Commerce De-partment is primarily linked with the cre-ation of infrastructural support for growth and promotion of in-dustrial units, includ-ing cements industry in the State. He said J&K Cements Lim-ited has distribution channel of stockiest to sell cement. Indus-tries and Commerce department does not regulate the rates of cements supplied by the private companies,

he added.

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 05

Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir Saturday informed the Legislative As-sembly that Government has taken several steps for the development of Agri-culture, Horticulture, Seri-culture and Floriculture sectors in the State and a number of incentives have been announced for the farmers from time to time. He said these sectors are very important for boost-ing the economy of the State and Government will continue to take steps to encourage these sectors.

Replying to the discus-sion on a Private Mem-bers Resolution moved by Mohammad Yaseen Shah and amendment thereto by Er. Abdul Rashid in the House Saturday, the Min-ister said that there is no need for declaring the Agriculture, Horticulture, Sericulture and

Floriculture as industries because several in-centives are already available for the farmers under various Flagship schemes of Central Government. He, however, assured the Mem-

ber that Government will constitute a Committee shortly to suggest mea-sures for streamlining the functioning of these departments so that the people associated with these sectors.

Satisfied with the re-ply of the Minister, the Member later withdrew the Resolution.

The other Resolution moved by Rafi Moham-mad Mir regarding de-molishing of all unau-thorized constructions from tourist places of Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg including un-authorized construction on roads leading to these

tourist places was briefly discussed. The dis-cussion remained inconclusive.

Inaugurates Parvati Bha-

wan; reviews several devel-

opment projects

KATRA, OCTOBER 5 -

N. N. Vohra, Governor, who is the Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, visited the Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji Satur-day and inaugurated several infra-structure development projects, launched a number of schemes and reviewed the various ongoing devel-opment works of the Shrine Board with a view to meet future require-ments of this round the year Yatra.

On the auspicious occasion of the commencement of holy Navra-tras, the Governor paid obeisance at the Shrine and prayed for peace, harmony and prosperity of the State.

He was accompanied by Mrs. Usha Vohra, First Lady, H. L. Maini, Mem-ber and Technical Consultant, Shine Board; Navin K. Choudhary, Chief

Executive Officer and Dr. Mandeep K. Bhandari, Additional CEO.

The Governor, while inspecting

various projects of the Shrine Board stressed the need for ensuring expe-ditious completion of all the devel-opment schemes.

The Governor inspected the Outer Cave area and ATKA Exten-sion Project and inaugurated Parvati

Bhawan, in the Bhawan area, which has been constructed at a cost of about Rs. 3.58 crore. This 4-storey building has dormitory accom-

modation for 200 persons, besides locker facilities. He went around the building and was briefed about the

facilities created for the pilgrims in this complex.

The Governor also inaugurated Jaikara Bhojanalya at Bhawan and

looked at the food and other eatables being made available there.

During inspection of the under-construction Pony Stand, the Governor issued instruc-tions for speeding up the work for its expeditious completion, which is estimated to cost Rs. 3.80 crore.

The Governor, who walked from Sanjichhat to Bhawan, met and spoke to a good number of pilgrims to ascertain the diffi-culties faced by them. He asked the CEO of the Shrine Board for exploring possibility of replac-ing the existing tiles of the track by skid proof material based on the latest technologies. He also asked for replacing GC sheets of the shelter sheds, wherever re-quired.Earlier, on arrival at San-jichhat Helipad, the Governor was received by Dr. Mandeep K. Bhandari, Additional CEO;

Shahid Iqbal, Deputy Commissioner, Reasi, SP, Reasi, and other senior civ-il, Police and Shrine Board officers.

HEALTH AND FITNESS

ZABARWAN TIMES Sunday 06 October 2013

Smart substitutes that match onion's tasteIf onion prices are taking the bite out of your meals, here's a top chef's guide to smart alternatives that match the bulb's tasteLast week in Lucknow, a customer tried shooting a local streetfood vendor for the thelawalla's spartan use of onions in the omelette he had ordered. Although we have narrowly escaped yet another onion crisis, most of us continue to suffer from the (expensive) absence of our favou-rite flavour-packed ingredient. Instead of getting tearyeyed about soaring costs, we spoke to Mumbai chefs known for stirring up delicious Indian fare to help you discover economical alternatives to the kanda.

This species of the Asian allium's first recorded cultivation dates back 7,000 years, and ever since, the bulbs that grow underground have turned into a prized commodity all over the world thanks to their flavour and crunch. Chefs and mamas alike use them raw, pickled and flash fried in sabjis, sambhars, curries and meat gravies. Any cook worth his salt will readily agree that almost all Indian gravy-based dishes use onions for their base — usually paired with tomatoes, garlic and ginger.

If you try and peel away the factors that set this sulphur-rich tearjerker apart from other key ingredients, there are a few things that this bulb provides bet-ter than any other. Think in threes — taste, bite and thickening. "The most obvious crunch-providing substitutes for onions include cucumbers, carrots and spring onions," says Ananda Solomon, executive chef at Vivanta by Taj President, referring to our penchant for serving onion wedges sprinkled with lime as an indispensable aside to any Indian meal. What the alternatives lack in taste, they make up for with ample munch.

Save up for a rainy dayWhen onions are in cheap supply, take out some time to make onion powder at home. Peel and finely chop your onions. Spread them out on a tray and heat in a 150 degree oven until dry. You know they are dry when you can easily crumble the chopped pieces in your hand. Allow to cool before you grind (rough or fine) it in a food processor. Store the powder in an air-tight container in a cool, dry spot or refrigerate.

For pungent taste Chef Nachiket Shetye suggests using onion powder if you are unwilling to compromise on taste

For crunchMooli — the way Khar's Mini Punjab uses in its radish raita — and doodhi are smart options if you want to make a raita and kachumber

For thickening gravy While onions are indispensable to make a curry or gravy base, cashewnut paste works just as well. Although kaju are more expensive than onions, you'll need to grind just a handful with water or milk to give the gravy a luscious consistency

Instead of getting tearyeyed about soaring costs, we spoke to Mumbai chefs known for stirring up delicious Indian fare to help you discover economical alternatives to the kanda.

9 simple tricks to fall into deep slumberLying awake in bed unable to doze off? We give you nine simple ways to trick yourself into a peaceful slumberWe all know that a glass of hot milk and a warm bath are supposed to relax us before bed. But what when you still can't slip into a good sleep? Trick yourself to shuteye by using these expert natural tips:

Left nostril magic This yoga method is known to reduce blood pressure and calm you. The way to do it is to lie on your left side, and rest a finger on your right nostril to close it. Start slow, deep breathing through the left nostril. This technique is par-ticularly good when overheat-ing or menopausal hot flushes are preventing sleep.

Squeeze and relax Relaxing all your muscles can prepare your body for sleep. Lie on your back, take a deep, slow breath in through your nose and, at the same time, squeeze your toes tightly as if you are trying to curl them under your foot. Then release the squeeze. On another slow breath, curl your foot up toward your knee, then release. Breathe again, contract your calf muscles, then your thighs, buttocks, belly, chest, arms, and so on until you have moved all the way up your body, squeezing and releasing the muscles one by one. When you have gone from head to toe, your breathing should be steady and you should feel ready for sleep.

Stay upChallenge yourself to stay awake, and your mind will rebel. This phenomenon is called the sleep paradox. Keep your eyes wide open, and repeat 'I will not sleep'. The brain doesn't process negatives well. It will interpret this as an in-struction to sleep and eye muscles tire quickly as sleep creeps up.

Press rewind Remembering the mundane details of the day in reverse order clears your mind of worries. Recall conversations, sights and sounds as you go.

ImagineVisualisation meditation works best when you use at least three senses. Imagine yourself in a situation where you feel content — a tropical paradise, sailing on calm waters, walk-ing in flower fields.

Everyday habits that are damaging your backBack pain is one of the most common fallouts of everyday life. But even dumping your heels and stretching may not help your spine.New research shows that a vast majority of backaches are the result of cumulative effects of lifestyle that we often ignore. Simple daily habits such as hunching to read your smart phone or slouching in front of your computer can, over time, strain your spine and the surrounding muscles, leaving you vulnerable to serious back injury. Here are the habits to watch out for:

Sitting stillForget heavy lifting — sitting hunched over a computer all day is poison for your back. Research has found that people with desk jobs suffer more back pain than those working in manual jobs. Using your joints and spine strengthens them, reducing risk of injury. But inactivity weakens them, which makes you more prone to problems.Fix it: Get up and walk around for two minutes, at least once an hour, and improve your posture while you're sitting down. Aim for a "neutral spine position", in which everything is in line, with no strain spots. Your shoulders should be relaxed, feet flat on the floor, and eyes in line with the middle of your screen.

SneezingThis seemingly innocuous, activity is apparently a very common cause of back pain — thanks to its sheer force. A sneeze's speed of release can be up to 100 miles per hour, and our first instinct is to cover our faces and turn away. According to Janet Wakley, author of The Smart Guide to Back Care, this instinctive turn is terrible for our backs. "Spontaneously twisting to the side, combined with the force used by the chest muscles to sneeze, can wrench back muscles in a second," she says.Fix it: Turn your body when you're about to sneeze, so that your back remains straight.

Wearing high heels, pumps Yes, tottering in high heels for long periods can make your back sore, but too much time in the wrong flats can do just as much damage. Heels cause problems because they force your foot forward, altering your body's angle. Since your weight isn't evenly distributed over the spine, it can trigger pain from your knees all the way up to your back. But ballet pumps and flip-flops aren't any better as they allow your foot to slide around. The lack of stability that this causes puts pressure on your spine.Fix it: Ensure your shoe holds your foot firmly in place. Alternate between high heels, mids and flats. By wearing different shoes every day, you lessen your chance of experi-encing long-term problems caused by using only one type of shoe.

Your favourite bra Figures suggest 80 per cent women wear an ill-fitting bra. This can cause several mus-cular problems. A bad bra can lead to hunching and sore neck and back muscles, while one that gives proper support can minimise that forward hunch and relieve pain.Fix it: Get measured by a trained bra-fitter. Go for styles with wider shoul-der straps or a racer-style back, which offer better support and draw you to pull your shoulders back.

Your pot bellyEven an extra couple of pounds around your middle makes your pelvis tilt forward. This puts it out of alignment as your body works to rebalance itself. Also, this means that your spine isn't getting enough support from your abdominal muscles, which can cause excessive strain on your lower back.Fix it: Don't do sit-ups — they won't flatten your tummy if there's fat on top. Fat-burning cardiovascular exercises, such as running or swimming, for 45 min-utes, three times a week, are more effective at shifting the bulge.

Your Smartphone The head-down position that you use to look at phones, iPads and laptops strains the muscles in the neck and the pain can extend to your lower back. Using them for hours on end means your body will eventually start to adopt this hunched position.Fix it: Make sure you take frequent screen breaks. Try to look straight ahead and not down at your screen.

5 exercises you can do while at work

Here are some exercises that you can do while you are at workSitting at your desk and staring at the computer screen for hours is not something that most of us, who have regular nine-to-five jobs, can avoid. However, what is most worrying about this kind of a sedentary lifestyle is that it takes a toll on our health and fitness. With all of us running after time constantly, and not getting ample time to workout at home or at a gym, exercising while at work, may be the only possibility.This will not only reduce stress and keep you energized, focused and healthy, but will also increase your productiv-ity at work. All you need is a break of a few minutes. If you are not blessed with a gym in your office premises, do keep the following tips in mind and make the most of it. You can practice these without leaving your office. Do them every day and notice the difference.Take it to the matKeep a fold-able exercise mat in your office, which can be used to carry out basic exercises like stomach crunches, push-ups and leg lifts. This can help to burn off carbohy-drates and revitalize you for the rest of the day.Take the stairsWhen given the choice between taking the elevator or climbing the stairs to your floor at work, opt for the latter. Climbing stairs is an easy exercise and also one of the best every day exercises for office-goers. It not only burns calories, but this cardiovascular activity also gets your heart pumping and helps in boosting blood circulation.

3 foods we think are totally healthyYou may have already made the switch from white bread to brown bread in a conscious bid to eat healthy and save your diet. But have you thought the brown bread you pick up every time from your local general store could well just be a brown colour bread?Blame our new found consciousness for healthy eating that has led FMCG companies to up the ante by inundating the market with a host of high nutrition foods and then suavely marketing them as essential lifestyle products. From heart-healthy cooking oil, crunchy granola bars, fruit-flavoured yoghurt, to dry fruit-sprinkled muesli, we have begun hoarding everything that screams 'low calorie' in a last ditch effort to save our health.Despite the number of hours at the gym we wonder where we are going wrong. Well, the reason behind this is foods we think are healthy, but are actually not. Delhi-based wellness expert Dr Shikha Sharma helps us identify such foods and their possible substitutes.

Healthy food trap: Breakfast cerealsYou have been stocking all sorts of breakfast cereals for a while since you discovered parathas are lousy for breakfast. But re-consider a moment. Not all breakfast cereals on the market are low-calorie, or the least bit healthy. When buying breakfast cereals be extremely picky about the ingredients of your pack; check for the sugar content, artificial colouring, salt, fibre and fat content. It is always advisable to steer clear of the sugar-frosted, chocolate-coated varieties as you don’t want your first meal to do anything but pump sugar into your body

Healthy food trap: Flavoured yoghurt/milkYour local dairy shop will first produce a strawberry-fla-voured yoghurt cup when you ask for yoghurt. Such is the hoopla surrounding every food that's flavoured. Its novel and apparently healthy. But it is only preposterous to think that they contain real fruit pulp and probably as good as plain yoghurt. All your strawberry, blueberry and mango flavoured yoghurts are loaded with sugar and chemicals to get the desired colour and sweetness, for real fruit pulp can never be that sweet. The same goes with flavoured milk.

Healthy food trap: White riceDevoid of nutrition, white rice is nothing but a refined grain that has been stripped of its vitamins, minerals and fibre. Cooked white rice is all starch that easily converts to glu-cose in our body and shoots up our blood pressure, or gives a tummy bulge. White rice should especially be avoided by those who are carb sensitive as even a little bit of rice could make them feel full, and even fat. Also, white rice leaves you hungry too soon as your body takes very little time to break it down and digest it.

Agencies

Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh sprang a surprise on Saturday when he in-dicated that privatisation could prove to be the only way to save India’s ailing na-tional carrier --Air India that is currently surviving on a bailout funded by the tax payers money.

“If there is a politi-cal consensus and the cabinet thinks it to be a viable option, we may look at privatising Air India,” Singh told HT.

Citing the example of government owned hotels that once flour-ished but had to be subse-quently privatised follow-ing their deteriorating fund state, Singh also told another news channel on Saturday that both the management and employees of Air India are now aware that there are financial constraints con-cerning the operations of the airlines.

“As the country’s fiscal

situation is not conducive in the light of high fiscal deficit, there are certain problems with the financial support that was earlier promised (by the finance ministry) to the airlines,” he said, adding that privatisation could then be the only option left for the survival of the airline.

It may be noted here that the government has committed a financial eq-uity support to Air India for Rs. 30,000 crore till 2020 in order to help the airlines re-tire its costly debt and meet its working capital require-ments. In the absence of this financial support, the opera-tions of the airline may get adversely affected.

Singh, however, clarified that there are no immediate plans to sell a stake in Air India to any private party. “If we do not give Air India the equity support this year, the commitment can be met next year,” he added.

On what was then the immediate trigger for his re-

mark on privatisation, Singh said, “we (the government) will not infuse anything beyond the present commit-ment of 2020 and to fund its survival with growing competition, Air India will have to ultimately fend for it-self.”

The airline has Rs. 25000 crore of working capital and aircraft acquisition loan for which it needs the financial support promised by the government.

Air India will be under severe pressure following the launch of AirAsia India and the proposed passen-ger airline by Tata Singapore combine.

SUNDAY OCTOBER | 06 | 2013ZABARWAN TIMES 7

Indian-Ameri-can Arun Kumar

nominated to key administra-

tion postIndian-American Arun M. Kumar

has been nominated by President Barack Obama to a key administra-tion post, giving him charge of inter-national trade at a critical juncture when the U.S. is looking to increase its export.

Arun M. Kumar, till recently a partner and member of the Board of Directors at consultancy firm KPMG, was nominated on Friday, by Mr. Obama to be the Assistant Secretary and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, Inter-national Trade Administration in the Department of Commerce.

“The extraordinary dedication these men and women bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people,” Mr. Obama said as he announced nomination to several other key administration positions.

“I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” he said.

Kenyan military names mall attackers

Agencies

New surveillance footage, re-leased to Kenyan TV channels a week after the horrific mall siege, contradicts claims that 10 to 15 mili-tants participated in the attack.

The four young men stroll through the besieged Westgate mall in Nairobi with Kalashnikovs slung across their shoulders. They chat on their phones, browse the aisles at the Nakumatt supermarket, and ex-plore an electronics warehouse.

New surveillance footage, re-leased to Kenyan TV channels a week after the horrific mall siege that left more than 60 dead and hundreds injured, contradicts claims that 10 to 15 militants partic-ipated in the attack and raises fresh questions over the competence of the Kenyan response.The footage, Kenyan authorities claim, has led them to identify four of the mili-tants as Khattab al-Kene, Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan and Umayr. This information could not be con-firmed independently.Al-Shabaab, a Somali militant group affiliated to al-Qaeda, took responsibility for the attack, describing the assault as retaliation for Kenyan military de-

ployment in Somalia.Little is known of the Westgate attackers. Matt Bryden, a former head of the U.N.

Monitoring Group on Somalia, told the Associated Press that al-Kene and Umayr were known members of al-Hijra, a Kenyan extremist outfit related to al-Shabaab.Omar Nabhan is a Mombasa-born al-Qaeda opera-tive according to Kenyan authori-ties. Mr. Bryden said Omar Nabhan could be a relative of Saleh Ali Saleh

Nabhan, a known al-Qaeda opera-tive accused of conducting multiple attacks in Kenya, including attacks

on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.In 2009, U.S. authorities claimed to have killed Saleh Ali Saleh in a daylight raid in the southern Somalian town of Baraawe. In a report from the time, U.S. authorities told the New York Times .

Privatisation only way to save Air India: Ajit Singh

Lalu is prisoner 1528, will be given a job soon

Jagan begins hunger strike against AP

bifurcation

Agencies

Former Bihar chief minis-ter Lalau Yadav has become prisoner number 1528 at Birsa Munda Central Jail, where he has been impris-oned after being sentenced to five years for cheating and other charges in a Rs. 950-crore fodder scam.

Within a fortnight, he will also be assigned a task he is supposed to perform as per rigorous-imprisonment norms.

Before being allotted this permanent numerical iden-tity, he had been given a temporary number, 3312. Another former Bihar chief minister, a co-accused in the case, Jagannath Mishra, will be identified by the number 1529, said acting jail superintendent Viren-dar Singh.

The new numbers were allotted after the sentence documents reached the jail authorities on late Friday night from the court.

All three convicted and jailed in the fodder scam have been lodged as in-mates of the upper-division cell or the VIP area of the jail.

However, as per the Bihar Jail Manual, followed in pris-ons in Bihar and Jharkhand,

the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief may not wear the black and white striped jail uniform.

Mishra who is currently lodged at the Rajendra In-stitute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a state-run hospital, has been informed about his identification number by jail authorities and of his sen-tence by his counsel.

“During the 15-days, as per the jail manual, we observe the psychologi-cal aspects of a convict and whether they have acclima-tised to the jail environment. Accordingly we assign them a job,” said Singh.

He added the same pro-cedures would be followed in the case of Lalu and the others sentenced in the fod-der scam.

“A job is decided once we are confident that a convict has accepted the jail life,” Singh said.

Lalu being a law graduate from Patna Law College and an honorary doctorate from Patna University, specula-tions are rife that he might be asked to teach other prisoners. But that might not come to fruition as the manual says VIP prisoners cannot interact with non-VIP inmates for security reasons.

Agencies

YSR congress party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy with party’s senior leaders, at his resi-dence near Lotus Pond at Jubilee Hill, in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: Mohammed YousufThe Hindu YSR congress party presi-dent Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy with party’s senior leaders, at his resi-dence near Lotus Pond at Jubilee Hill, in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Congress party presi-dent and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy with his partymen dur-ing an indefinite hunger strike against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

The Hindu Congress party president and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy with his par-tymen during an indefinite hun-ger strike against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: P.V. Sivakumar-Several party leaders including MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy and MLA Balineni Srinivasa Reddy accompanied Jagan in his fast. Elaborate security arrangements were made around the venue to avoid any untoward incident. Photo: Mohammed YousufSev-

eral party leaders including MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy and MLA Balineni Srinivasa Reddy ac-companied Jagan in his fast. Elab-orate security arrangements were made around the venue to avoid any untoward incident. Photo: Mohammed YousufYSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy began an indefinite fast here on Saturday in protest against the Union Cabinet’s decision to carve out separate Telangana State.He criticised the Centre for the “dic-

tatorial’’ manner in which it was trying to push through the separate Telangana issue without address-ing the concerns raised by people of Seemandhra region.Mr. Reddy wondered how the Centre was confident that the Group of Min-isters to be constituted for work-ing out finer details of bifurcation could examine the concerns re-lating to water sharing, revenues and resource sharing and suggest modalties for redressing them within a span of six weeks.

Advani crediting me on ordinance is speculation: Pranab

Agencies

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday described as specula-tion L.K. Advani crediting him for the withdrawal of the ordinance on convicted lawmakers, saying he had nothing to do with the development.

I cannot comment on the views of the opposition. Whoever wanted to seek appointment with me, I gave them. BJP leaders met me, Aam Aadmi Party met me. I received various rep-resentations (against the or-dinance),” he told reporters on board his special aircraft during the second leg of his visit to Belgium and Turkey.

“I had a discussion with the Prime Minister and what transpired everyone of you knows. Cabinet is the moth-er of the ordinance,” he said, adding that the Cabinet, in its wisdom, decided to with-draw the ordinance at its meeting on October 2.

“This is the fact. In be-tween who is responsible, how responsible, to what extent responsible, these are specu-lations of individuals. I have nothing to do with it,” he said.

BJP leader Advani on Friday cred-ited the President for the withdrawal of the ordinance and slammed Rahul Gandhi for “rubbing off the authori-ty” of the Prime Minister and the UPA with his strong words.

“The victory that has come to the

country by withdrawal of this ille-gal and immoral ordinance has thus been thanks only to the Rashtrapati, who has proved that UPA would err seriously if it assumed that like most other Congressmen who had earlier occupied the high office of President, he too would remain a rubber stamp President,” Mr. Advani said in a post on his blog.

Mr. Mukherjee also laughed away Belgian King Philippe’s description of

him as a “consensus builder in India” and said there was “nothing to read in between” the remark.

“What King Philippe meant was my (earlier) role in being the leader of the coalition in the House (Lok Sabha) and nothing more than that,” he said when he was asked if the monarch’s words referred to the role he might play after the 2014 general election.

Mr. Mukherjee on Saturday reached Turkey, the second leg of his tour, after a four-day visit to Belgium where he attended a host of state events and held talks with top lead-ers.

Mr. Mukherjee lauded Belgium for supporting India’s efforts to se-cure civil nuclear cooperation.

“Belgium has certain speciali-sations. Belgium’s cooperation (is)

asserted by the fact that it was one of the first coun-tries which extended its cooperation after India signed the civil nuclear agreement with the U.S.,” he said.

Belgium was also one of the first countries to extend cooperation when India sought a waiver from the Nuclear Suppli-ers Group to commence civilian nuclear trade, he noted.

“Therefore, it will be useful in cooperation in managing nuclear waste, which is a major prob-lem for all nuclear power

countries,” he said.Responding to a question on his bilateral meet-ings in Brussels, Mr. Mukherjee said terrorism was a subject that figured in his talks and was widely “condemned”.“You know all Euro-pean countries are signatory to the United Nations resolutions and dur-ing our bilateral talks, they all con-demned terrorism,” he said.

Agencies

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that the India-Bangladesh Grid interconnection at Bheramara in Ban-gladesh would strengthen bonds of friend-ship between both countries and add a rich new dimension to bilateral relations.

The initiatives being undertaken today strengthen the bonds of friendship be-tween India and Bangladesh and add a rich new dimension to our bilateral relations. Economic development is the biggest chal-lenge for all countries in South Asia. Our destinies are inter-linked and so must our economies be,” he said at the inauguration of the India-Bangladesh Grid interconnec-tion in Bangladesh through a video-confer-ence.

“I have always believed and I believe Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina shares my conviction that the prospects for economic development in South Asia will be substan-tially enhanced through a partnership for shared prosperity between the countries of the region,” he added.

He further said the initiative, which was taken during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January 2010, has been realized today, and added that a shared aspiration of people of both these countries has been translated into a concrete outcome.

“The transmission line and the HVDC

station in Bheramara provide a safe and reliable interconnection of the power grids of our two countries, which will enable supply of 500 MW of power from India to Bangladesh. A shared aspiration of our people has been translated into a concrete outcome,” he said.

He congratulated Bangladesh Prime Min-ister Sheikh Hasina, her colleagues and the people of Bangladesh for this extraordinary accomplishment.

Dr Singh also thanked his ministerial colleagues, technical personnel and officials at the Centre and in the State Government of West Bengal for imple-menting this landmark project in South Asia in such a short span of time.

He also called upon the project authorities to observe the highest environmental stan-dards in its execution, given that the Sunder-bans is a common heritage for both the countries, while laying the foundation stone for the 1320 MW Maitri Thermal

Power Project being developed by the Ban-gladesh-India Friendship Power Company, which is a joint venture of India’s NTPC Ltd and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.

Dr Singh said that the inauguration rep-resented an important milestone in connect-ing the two countries, and the broader region through a growing web of cross-border energy links and trade.

“The key to shared prosperity is greater trade and investment in our region and im-proved connectivity through transport, road, rail, telecom, cyber and energy links,” he added.

Appreciating Sheikh Hasina for the signifi-cant progress that Ban-gladesh has made under her distinguished lead-ership, including in the area of energy security, Dr Singh assured that India would remain a steadfast and long-term

partner in your development efforts.“Bangladesh is one of the fastest

growing economies in South Asia and its

achievements in meeting the Millennium Development Goals stand as an example for the rest of the world. India wishes to see a strong and prosperous Bangladesh. I assure you that India will remain a steadfast and long-term partner in your development ef-forts,” he said.

He also thanked the Bangladesh Prime Minister for strengthening mutually ben-eficial relations between the two countries.

“The Framework Agreement on Coop-eration for Development that we signed in Dhaka in 2011 provides the template for our cooperation in the future. In the past few years, our cooperation has made rapid progress in many areas,” he said.

“We do recognize that we have to make progress in other areas. We are commit-ted to completing the tasks we had agreed upon in a manner that responds to the mu-tual aspirations of both our peoples,” he added.

Dr Singh also said that the people of In-dia and Bangladesh have always been good neighbours, and in the recent years, have shown that the two countries can pursue cooperative endeavours to harness the boundless economic potential of relation-ship based on the principles of equality, sovereignty and mutual prosperity.

“I look forward with confidence to a fu-ture of deeper cooperation in energy and all other dimensions of our relationship,” he added.

Power grid interconnection to add new dimension Indo-Bangla ties: PM

India’s October 28 Mars mission

on schedule: Isro

Agencies

BANGALORE: Isro on Saturday said the coun-try’s October 28 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was on schedule, dismissing suggestions that Nasa may not be in a position to offer it deep space network support following government shutdown in the US.

“There is no delay. We are going ahead with our MOM as scheduled,” Indian Space Research Organ-isation (Isro) spokesperson Deviprasad Karnik told PTI in Bangalore.

The Bangalore-headquartered space agency is drawing comfort from the fact that Nasa has an-nounced that it would go ahead with its own MA-VEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, slated for launch as early as November 18.

This, in other words, means that Nasa would have to keep its DSN, an international network of antennas that track interplanetary spacecraft mis-sions, operational.

India plans to launch its MOM spacecraft on Oc-tober 28, the first day of the launch window which remains open till November 19.

Once launched, MOM would go around the earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a nine month voyage to the red planet.

An Isro official said: “We don’t need Nasa DSN support during initial days after the launch as small antennas can track but when it moves further and further away from earth, we need such a support”.

There has been no communication from Nasa to Isro saying that it would not support the Indian mission, sources said.

Agencies

Hafeez has been dropped for Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa in the UAE. Fast bowler Mo-hammad Irfan has made a return in the 12-man squad named by the PCB. The board will expand the squad to 15 following Pakistan A’s match against the touring South Af-ricans, between October 8 and 10, in Sharjah.

Hafeez was expected to miss out, given his poor form in Test cricket this year. He has aggregat-ed 102 runs in 10 Test innings this year, and was particularly exposed against the moving ball by Dale Steyn on Pakistan’s tour to South Africa in February. Pakistan have not played top-level opposition in Test cricket since, but Hafeez’s struggles in the long format con-tinued against Zimbabwe in Sep-tember - he scored 59 in four Test innings on that tour, despite being the Man of the Series in the ODIs.

Pacer Wahab Riaz also misses out from the squad that played the Zimbabwe Tests. Pakistan had drawn that series 1-1, with Zim-babwe recording their first win against Pakistan in 15 years in the second Test. Against South Africa in February, Pakistan had lost the Tests 0-3. Irfan had featured in that series, but missed out in Zim-babwe; now he returns. Against

South Africa in February, Pakistan had lost the Tests 0-3. Irfan had featured in that series, but missed out in Zimbabwe; now he returns.Batsmen Asad Shafiq, Faisal Iqbal and Shan Masood, and seamer Es-han Adil, also miss out from the squad that played Zimbabwe, but unlike Riaz and Hafeez, they were named in the Pakistan A squad for game against the South Africans, so they could still feature in the fi-nal Test 15 if they impress in that match. Shafiq is most likely to be one of the three players added to the squad.

Batsmen Asad Shafiq, Faisal Iqbal and Shan Masood, and seamer Eshan Adil, also miss out from the squad that played Zimbabwe, but unlike Riaz and Hafeez, they were named in the Pakistan A squad for game against the South Africans, so they could still feature in the fi-nal Test 15 if they impress in that match. Shafiq is most likely to be one of the three players added to the squad.The only new face in the squad is left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar. Babar, 34, has been part of the domestic circuit for more than ten years and featured in T20s pre-viously, but is yet to debut in Test cricket for Pakistan. The team man-agement is mulling playing three spinners in the line-up, and so Babar could fit in alongside Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman.

Life ban recommended on Jwala for IBL fracas

Agencies

The Badminton Asso-ciation of India’s (BAI) dis-ciplinary committee has recommended a life ban on top Indian doubles shut-tler Jwala Gutta for try-ing to stop some players of her franchise Krrish Delhi Smashers from playing a match against Banga Beats in the IBL.

“The disciplinary committee has recom-mended a life ban or suspension for a certain period of time on Jwala Gutta for her role in the IBL controversy,” a se-nior BAI official told PTI.

“The recommenda-tion has been circulated to the member asso-ciations but no deci-sion has been taken as of now. It has not been implemented.”S. Mu-ralidharan, chairman of BAI’s disciplinary commit-tee, said: “I don’t want to talk about it much. It is the discretion of BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta and on an unconditional apology, Jwala can be set free. But

she should feel apologetic for what happened.”

A controversy had erupted during the August 25 tie when Delhi smashers had threatened to pull out against Banga Beats over

the last-minute replace-ment of injured singles player, Hu Yun of Hong Kong with Denmark’s Jan Jorgensen.

As an icon player of Delhi Smashers, Jwala was involved in the whole mat-

ter, which was resolved af-ter Beats finally left out Jor-gensen and played Arvind Bhat, who was already part of the team.

Jwala was then served a 14-day showcause notice

by BAI for her conduct dur-ing the tie, which was de-layed by half an hour.

Jwala had replied to the notice, saying that ‘it was a decision by the Delhi fran-chise and not an individual move.’

Agencies

DELHI: “Keeping it simple and trusting each other.” That, believe it or not, is coach John Wright’s lucid explanation for the reasons be-hind Mumbai Indians’ phenomenal form this season.

The team faces Trinidad and Tobago in the second semifinal of the CLT20 on Saturday, and while intermittent showers put paid to the team’s pre-match practice session, Wright had reasons to sound smug on the team’s chances.

“We are hoping for a game. A washout will see us crashing out. We’re hungry. You do re-search before every match, look at your oppo-nents, but this is T20. Keeping it simple is the key. No one would have given us a chance in the last game (against Perth Scorchers) of pulling off that chase, but we did it.”

What Wright left unsaid was that MI have also successfully insulated themselves from the unsavoury controversies hovering over some other IPL franchisees. For one, the team has nev-er been big on post-match parties and it takes its

clean image very seriously. Discipline, say insid-ers, is paramount, with Wright being one of the

key backroom motivators. “We try not to overcomplicate things. We are

a good franchise. We enjoy each others’ compa-ny. In T20, the players prepare and trust them-selves to compete,” was all Wright would say. “We want to play in that final.”

Mumbai, however, aren’t the only ones with an attitude heading into Saturday’s game. Nei-ther are they are the only ones who wouldn’t have expected to make it this far.

If there’s one team which can test their line-up, it is T&T, with the likes of Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Samuel Badree, all-rounder Lendl Simmons and Rayad Emrit doing the bowl-ing chores. They have also lost only three T20 games after posting totals of 150 or more. “We try not to overcomplicate things. We are a good franchise. We enjoy each others’ company. In T20, the players prepare and trust themselves to compete,” was all Wright would say. “We want to play in that final.”

Mumbai, however, aren’t the only ones with an attitude heading into Saturday’s game. Nei-ther are they are the only ones who wouldn’t have expected to make it this far. If there’s one team which can test their line-up, it is T&T, with

the likes of Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Samuel Badree, all-rounder Lendl Simmons and Rayad Emrit doing the bowling chores. They have also lost only three T20 games after posting totals of 150 or more. “We have a history in this tourna-ment. We played well in 2009 as well. We take a lot of confidence from the manner in which we beat CSK the other day.

“If we put 150-160 on the board, with this kind of attack, we know what we can do,” said T&T coach David Williams. “Many people didn’t expect us to be in this position. That’s a plus for us. We are more accustomed to the low bounce and the skid here.”

Wright, though, was unfazed when pointed out that Narine could be a handful on the Kotla pitch. “Look, we respect Narine but we just have a very good batting line-up. We have some out-standing players of spin.”

One of those outstanding players, Sachin Tendulkar, hasn’t got going so far, though Satur-day offers another opportunity. “Sachin is just enjoying his cricket,” said Wright, “He is hitting the ball beautifully but T20 is like that.”

SUNDAY OCTOBER | 06 | 2013ZABARWAN TIMES6

Mighty Mumbai Indians face guile of Trinidad and Tobago

Agencies

Rajasthan Royals bats-man Brad Hodge will not be

fit for the Champions League

T20 final on Sunday, the Roy-als coach Paddy Upton has told ESPNcricinfo. Hodge had injured his knee during the

semi-final against Chennai

Super Kings last evening in Jaipur. He has had scans on his knee, the results of which are awaited.

Hodge had collided with Shane Watson, whose head hit Hodge’s knee, at point dur-ing the final over of Chennai Super Kings’ chase and had to go off the field. Shaun Tait, the Australian fast bowler, is the only overseas player available on the Royals bench.

Losing Hodge is a blow to Royals’ chances of winning their maiden Champions League title. Batting at No. 6 in the role of a finisher, Hodge has scored 109 runs in three innings - two not-outs - at a strike rate of 198. His unbeat-en 52 off 23 balls against Ota-go was instrumental in Royals securing a home semi-final, which they won by 14 runs.

Agencies

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the semifinal match of the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing. Nadal was a break up at 4-2 in the opening set of their semifinal match when Berdych retired soon after taking an injury timeout.

AP Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during the semifinal match of the China Open tennis tourna-ment at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing. Nadal was a break up at 4-2 in the opening set of their semifinal match when Berdych retired soon after tak-ing an injury timeout.

Rafael Nadal will return to the ATP num-ber one ranking for the first time in two years on Monday after winning his semi-final match on Saturday at the China Open.

Serb Novak Djokovic, who held the top honour for 101 weeks, will slide down to sec-ond.

“It would be great if I could finish the season on number one,” said Nadal. “But for sure I need to win more matches if I want to

be there.” Nadal advanced 4-2 into the title match in the capital as opponent To-mas Berdych retired with back pains. The Czech, who played the Bangkok final last weekend against Milos Raonic, took an injury time out for treatment before deciding that he could not continue.

The win will send the 27-year-old Nadal to he top of the rankings on Monday.

“This is one of the best years of my career. It’s special to be back to the top position after more than half year without playing.” Nadal has made a miraculous comeback this season after missing seven months with knee prob-lems.

Injured Hodge to miss final

Nadal to take back number one ranking after China win

Agencies

JP Duminy is set to regain his Test place after 11 months as South Africa embark on a two-Test series against Pakistan. Duminy spent six months recovering from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon and after a successful one-day return, has been giv-en a vote of confidence from the national coach to make a Test comeback as well.“How we’ve worked is that when a player has a spot and he gets injured, once he is fit again, he will regain his spot. I think that’s only fair,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach said ahead of the squad’s de-parture. “I very much see JP being in the starting XI.”Duminy had previously spent two years out of the Test team following a loss of form after creat-ing a stir with a 50 and unbeaten 166 against Aus-tralia in his first two matches. He returned against New Zealand in March 2012 and scored a century and also played an important role in South Afri-ca’s win against England at Lord’s last June which gave them the Test mace.He could play no part in their victory over Australia because of his in-jury. Faf du Plessis took his spot and impressed with a match-saving century in Adelaide. That would mean the likely loser from Duminy’s re-

turn would be Dean Elgar, who replaced Jacques Rudolph and, apart from a century against New Zealand, has not made the spot his own.Follow-ing an extensive rehabilitation period, Duminy returned to action during the Champions Tro-phy in June this year. He scored an unbeaten 150 before the tournament during a warm-up against the Netherlands, had a lean run through the competition but had one innings of 97 in the ODI series in Sri Lanka, which South Africa lost 4-1. He has also become a significant contributor with the ball, sending down 36.2 overs of offspin in the five matches.Duminy’s potential as an allrounder is what South Africa are hoping to use to their advan-tage in the UAE. “With JP back in the mix, whether we need to play a second spinner still needs to be debated,” Domingo said.Conditions are expected to be conducive to turn - given that was how Paki-stan got the better of the last No.1 side to tour the UAE, England - and South Africa have included two specialist spinners in their squad. Robin Peterson is the incumbent but they have also brought back Pakistani-born legspinner Imran Tahir, who played 11 Tests but was dropped after conceding 260 runs without taking a wicket in Adelaide.

Duminy set to make a Test comeback

Tambe, Rahane take Royals to final

Hafeez axed for South Africa Tests

Agencies

Pravin Tambe scripted the most remarkable chapter in his brief Twenty20 career, as he scuttled the Chennai Super Kings chase with a canny spell of legspin bowling that reaped 3 wickets for 10 in four overs. Super Kings began poorly in pursuit of 160, fail-ing to eclipse the required rate in the Pow-erplay, as both openers were run out, but Tambe ensured the dangerous men below would not prosper, as he and the seamers gleaned a wicket per over between the 9th and 13th overs of the innings.At the innings break, Royals may perhaps have felt their 159 for 8 was at least ten runs light at a tra-ditionally high-scoring venue, but despite a desperate R Ashwin salvo towards the fin-ish, the hosts extended their winning streak at home to 13 victories. A fluid Ajinkya Ra-hane scored 70 from 56 balls, which helped set up the 14-run win, with the Royals fin-ishing the year unbeaten in Jaipur.Tambe extracted no alarming turn from the hard surface, but succeeded instead by pushing his legbreaks through quickly at the batsmen’s

legs. The Super Kings batsmen were tentative in his first over, and when Badrinath ran past one that kept low in Tambe’s next over, the visitors

were even more reluctant to take him on . He

trapped Dwayne Bravo in front with a slider in the following over, after Rahul Shukla had done MS Dhoni in with a beauty at the other end, then

effectively delivered the coup de grace by removing Suresh Raina, who had been the only top order batsman to produce a start. When Tambe began his spell, Super Kings were 41 for 2 after 6 overs, and when he finished, they were 73 for 7 after 13.Ash-win swung bravely at the seam bowlers, whose standards dipped after the middle overs, but his team had already surrendered too much ground. He and Chris Morris got Super Kings to within 23 runs off victory before the 20th over, and although Ashwin struck the first ball for six, he fell on the fourth delivery, having struck three fours and three sixes in his 28-ball 46.Rahane ar-rived with consecutive fifties behind him, and his abiding fine touch was plain to see in the first over, when he strode down the pitch to send Ravindra Jadeja into the sight-screen. He lay low for several overs after that, as he collected runs into the outfield, but unfurled his attacking strokes again in

the company of Shane Watson.