State population pushed towards Stone-Age

Srinagar, August 13:

Director General Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad Tuesday said that situation was fast return-ing to normal in major areas of Jammu region where curfew was imposed a few days back after communal clashes.Talking to KNS he said, “Situ-ation remained near normal on Tuesday and we are trying our best to ensure that curfew is relaxed. We are assessing the situation to see which are

the areas where curfew can be relaxed in consultation with respectable and prominent cit-izens of the respective areas.”He said that at several places on Tuesday shopkeepers opened their shops as people now want relaxation in cur-few. “Inter community ani-mosity has subsided now. Let elders take responsibility of their respective areas we will lift the curfew,” he said.The DGP said that public mood appears to be against

disturbance and they want normalcy restored. “Civil so-ciety groups have appreciated response of the government and the administration the way situation was handled.”The DGP said that 120 odd ar-rests have been made in vari-ous areas of Jammu division in the last few days. “We have to work for long term peace and catch hold of all the mis-creants. We will ensure long term peace is maintained in the area and for that we have

to take legal action against those who were involved in the clashes,” he said.Prasad said that in few areas protests erupted after police arrested some people who were involved in the clashes. “We have to do the arrests and people will protest against that. We will not stop our in-vestigations because of the fear of protests.”Asked whether there was any lapse on part of police in han-dling the situation in Kisht-

war on Eid, he said, “When there were thousand people on roads it is difficult to control them. What district admin did was correct. Causalities were minimised. Had police opened fire there would have been more causalities.”“The response of the district administration was appropri-ate in dealing with huge crowd in an agitated mood. There is a view that had the adminis-tration used force including firing the situation could have

flared up. However, fact and circumstances are enquired into by judicial commission and it would not be appropri-ate to pre-judge that finding,” he added.The DGP told KNS that restric-tions will remain imposed upto August 15 depending on the circumstances and the public response in different areas. He said that rumour mongers were active and spreading rumours to insti-gate public.

Ban Ki-moon ready to mediate on Kashmir issue

United Nations, August 13:

Expressing sorrow over the recent outbreak of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has underscored the need for Pakistan and India to resolve the “long-standing” issue, saying his good offices are available if both sides agree to his me-diation. “While I am saddened by the loss of lives in the course of all this conflict, I am rela-tively, reasonably encour-aged by the recent move by both the sides to engage in dialogue, to resolve their source of conflict through dialogue — that I will

strongly welcome and sup-port,” the secretary-general said in an interview with the UN-based correspon-dents before his departure for Islamabad for an official two-day visit.“My offer of good office remains available. If both sides think this is useful and both sides agree, then I’ll be ready to offer my good of-fices,” Ban said in response to a question whether he could help lead-ers of India and Pakistan resolve the decades-old dispute, which is on the agenda of the UN Security

Council.But experts point out that India has consistently re-buffed the offers of media-tion, whether by the United Nations or any other third

party, arguing that solutions must arise bi-laterally. And even in a bi-lateral format, very little prog-ress has been made because of India’s refus-

al to come to grips with the core issue of Kashmir.In the course of the wide-ranging interview at his refurbished 38th floor office overlooking the East River,

Ban also urged the operat-ing countries or any group operating armed drones to strictly adhere to the rel-evant provisions of inter-national laws regulating UAVs (unmanned aerial ve-hicles). He was responding to a question about the deep concern and anger in Paki-stan over the continuing US drone strikes in Pakistani territory that have killed and injured many civilians. “The UN really and strong-ly urges that all these UAVs should be strictly regulated and controlled under inter-national laws, including in-ternational humanitarian laws,” he added.

See Mediate on Pg. 11

Valley water logged

Srinagar, August 13:

Normal life was affected in Kashmir due to heavy rainfall in plains and up-per reaches on Tuesday causing dip in tempera-ture. It also left many ar-eas of the summer capital waterlogged resulting in traffic jam and causing inconvenience to commut-ers.The Meteorological de-partment said the rain-fall and decrease in tem-perature occurred due to Western disturbance. The downpour led to increase

in water level of rivers, lakes and streams.People accused the author-ities of failing to upgrade

drainage system in the city. The water-logging of main roads including

See Rain on Pg. 11

Srinagar, August 13:

Students, profession-als, academicians, stu-dents and journalists continue to suffer on account of suspension of internet services in Kashmir Valley. Scores of students told CNS that are unable to download examination forms as the date for the submission of the forms are approaching nearer.“It seems we are living in stone-age. Nowhere in world any govern-ment deprives its people from the right

to freedom of speeches but in Kashmir the situation is different and here government is using all means to lock them in sheds like cattle,” a student from South Kashmir Haroon told CNS add-ing that he is unable to download the ex-amination form for the SET.Like students, busi-ness community and other professionals are aghast over the gov-ernment decision to suspend internet ser-vice. “It is the job of the

See Internet on Pg. 11

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

CMYK

WedneSdAY August 14 | 2013 | 06 Shawal 1434 AH | PAGeS 12 | VOL nO: 3 | ISSUe nO: 198 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGe FOR JAMMU /deLHI/LeH 50 PAISA)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&K

Situation limping back to normal in Jammu

New Delhi, August 13:

Responding to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s call for a "new begin-ning" in relations with India amid tension over the killing of five Indian soldiers and recent cease-fire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), Centre on Tuesday asked Pakistan to respond to New Delhi’s concerns. Addressing a press con-ference in the national capital, Ministry of Ex-ternal Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Ak-baruddin said, “We wel-come Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's hand of friendship. How-ever, we want to tell Paki-stan that there will be no talks if Islamabad fails to

respond to New Delhi’s concerns.” Akbaruddin also asked Pakistan to “respond im-mediately on killing of five Indian soldiers along the LoC recently.” Talking tough with Pakistan, the MEA spokesperson said, “We welcome newly-elected Pakistan PM's commit-ment, which is defined by peace and coopera-tion. However, we would

like to make it clear that there will be no talks until Pakistan responds to the killing of our sol-diers.” The MEA spokesperson also cautioned by say-ing when there is unpro-voked firing along the LoC then naturally there will be consequences in bilateral ties. Syed Akbaruddin fur-ther asked Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks and bring them to justice at the earliest. Akbaruddin stated in categorical terms that maintaining peace on LoC is one of the most important Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two

See no Talks on Pg. 11

No talks until Pak responds to LoC killings: India

http://www.zabarwantimes.com

New Delhi, August 13:

Exonerating the Govern-ment of Jammu and Kash-mir for communal clashes in Chenab Valley, the Apex court Tuesday said it can-not control the administra-tion as they are the right persons to deal with the situation and it would pass any order only after going through the affidavit.The Court directed the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Mohammad Iqbal Khandey to file an detailed affidavit about the eruption and subsequent steps taken by the govern-ment to curb the communal clashes in Kishtwar by Au-gust 21.

Meanwhile Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey told CNS that he has not received any kind of direc-tions yet and the govern-ment would file a detailed affidavit only after receiv-ing a commune from the Apex Court.According to reports, a divi-sion bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Jus-tice Ranjana Desai and Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi di-rected the chief secretary to file the affidavit by August 21. The PIL was filed by se-nior Supreme Court lawyer Prof Bhim Singh seeking urgent intervention of the Supreme Court of India for the safe and secured

See Apex Court on Pg. 11

Communal violence in KishtwarRain brings respite from heat, temperature dips

Shahana

Srinagar, August 13: It is un-fortunate that peace is once again eluding sub-continent and the recent cease fire viola-tions have dashed the hopes of millions of peace loving people of India and Pakistan. When the cease fire came into effect in 2002, a new dawn of mutual friendship, cordiality and con-fidence building had set in. Lacs of people had a sigh of relief particularly in the areas around control line and Inter-national Borders. For them, it was the restart of a life without any fear of being hit by a bullet, coming in contact with a land mine which tore into pieces several innocent people and without a sword of death hang-ing over their heads for all the

24 hours of the day. Taking the ceasefire agreement as a guar-antee of life, the farmers were again seen ploughing their lands, abandoned for years to-gether, the school children at-tending their schools repaired immediately after the an-nouncement of cease fire and hustle and bustle witnessed in every village which had either been deserted due to indis-criminate shelling and firing or had drowned in the silence of death due to continuing Indo-Pak hostilities. However, the decision of ceasefire came as a gift of the centuries which exhibited the statesmanship of the leaders of both the coun-tries. The political observers thought it the change of mind which was the result of the fu-tile wars between the two coun-

tries, their hostilities and ani-mosities for over six decades and the wastage of their re-sources drained out in a blind arms race. Lacs of people died, property worth billions of dol-lars was destroyed, but despite that all both had to secede their hostilities and come on the negotiating table for address-ing the outstanding issues in-cluding the Kashmir problem which is the main bone of contention be-tween the two countries. After the ceasefire was affected the two neighbours went on initi-ating historic confidence build-ing measures one after the other. The opening of crossing points, starting trade activi-ties across the control line and the increased people to people

contact cemented the relations and bridged the gaps. Both forgot the past and started a new journey towards a bright, peaceful, cordial and friendly future. The things seemed to be perfectly going into right direction, though the exchange of some bitter words continued with negligible frequency. The ties between the two countries reached to a point where Paki-

stan even decided in principle to confer the status

of Most Favoured Nation to India. With the success of Paki-stan Muslim League (N) and the ultimate election of Nawaz Sharief as Prime Minister, the hopes of a new Philip to the relations increased. His first statement to improve the rela-tions with India and to pick up

the threads where they were left in 1999, further encouraged every peace loving inhabit-ant of the sub-continent who thought that whatever differ-ences exist between the two countries will be addressed with a positive frame of mind. However, that was not so. The increasing ceasefire viola-tions not only made the life of the people living in vicinity of control line once again hell, but also created new bitter-ness in Indo-Pak relations. The recent killings of five soldiers in Poonch and earlier two sol-diers beheaded allegedly by Pakistani rangers have added fuel to the fire and strained the relations further. There is no doubt that leaders of both the counties are sincere in their efforts to establish good rela-

tions and bring a lasting peace to the sub-continent. There is no doubt that the leadership understands the futility of the hostilities, however, both In-dia and Pakistan leaders have to understand that forces on international level are active in creating misunderstand-ings between the two and also there are black-sheeps within the two countries who are not in favour of cordial relations between the two countries. Hence, it is necessary and im-perative for both the countries to understand the designs of these alien forces and defeat them by taking positive steps to finish the hostilities. The first step in this direction is to strictly enforce the ceasefire and do not allow any violation

See Violations on Pg. 11

Frequent violations of cease fire a big jolt to Indo-Pak relations

Internet services continue to be disrupted

WeA

THeR TeMPeRATURe

MAXIMUM MInIMUMSUnSeT On(Wed.)SUnRISe On (THURSdAY)

07:21 pm05:53 am

17.9 0C20.5 0C

FOReCAST FOR neXT 24 HRS:

FOReCAST OF SRInAGAR:

Light to moderate rain/thundershower would occur at most places over the state with heavy falls at some places.

Light rain/ thundershowers. Maximum & Minimum temperatures will be around 28°C & 17°C respec-tively.

Opposes Food Security Bill

Reviews progress of regularization of ReZ

7 10

Curfew continues for third day Relaxation of 3 hours in Samba and Kathua dGP says public mood against the disturbances Restrictions to remain imposed upto August 15

Appeals India and Pakistan to resolve longstanding issue

Apex Court directs CS to file affidavit

Bottom Line

Bear kills 8 year old girlBudgam, August 13: A ferocious bear mauled an eight years old girl in Central Kashmir’s Jab-dan area of Khansahab Budgam on Tuesday morning.Police sources told CNS that a bear entered into the house of one Bilal Ahmed Dar during the wee hours and took along his 8 years old daughter Dilshada Banoo. Police said that Bear soon after taking the girl away in his mouth disappeared from the scene and all the attempts to locate the bear proved futile.A few hours after this unfortu-nate incident, police found the head of the girl lying in nearby forest while pieces of her body were found in scattered form at different places. People alleged that despite repeated pleas to Wild Life Department to curb the movement of wild animals, no attention was paid by the department and these wild animals continue to roam freely without any interruption.

Boy drowns in JehlumSrinagar August 13: Asif Ahmad Mir son of Abdul Hamid resi-dent of Sangri Colony, Baramul-la was drowned in river Jehlum while bathing at Chakla, Baramulla in the jurisdiction of police station Baramulla. The body was fished out and after completing all legal formalities handed over his relatives for last rites.

Brother kills brother in AnantnagSrinagar August 13: One person died in a clash over a land dispute between two brothers in Srigufwara, Anantnag.During a clash between two brothers Ghulam Mohammad Wani and Abdul Razaq Wani sons of Abdul Satar resident of Hatigam, Anantnag, in the jurisdiction of police station Sirigufawara over a land dis-pute, Abdul Razaq attacked and critically injured his brother Ghulam Mohammad Wani with a lathi. He was shifted to hospi-tal for treatment, where he suc-cumbed to his injures. The body was handed over his relatives for last rites after completion of all legal formalities. A case FIR number 55/2013 under section 302 RPC has been registered in this regard.

One held with Codeine in ShopianSrinagar August 13: Shopian police arrested one person with 84 bottles of Codeine phosphate and large number of Diazepam injections. On a tip off Police party led by DYSP Imam Sahib , Shopian Irshad H Rather laid a naka checking near Imam Sahib. One person Faheem Ahmad Shah son of Mohammad Maqbool resident of Manzim-para Shopian was intercepted carrying 84 bottles of Codeine phosphate and large number of of Diazepam injections. He was arrested and a case FIR No. 57/2013 was registered in Police station Zainapora under section 21/22 NDPS against him.

Girl ends her life in BaramullaSrinagar August 13: A girl (name with held) resident of Dobhiwan, Baramulla ended her life by hanging herself at her home. A case has been registered in this regard.

8 Injured in road accidentsSrinagar August 13: Eight per-sons were injured in different road traffic accidents across the valley. During the intervening

See Injured on Pg. 11

Srinagar, August 13:

Minister for Agriculture, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir Tuesday morning chaired a high level meet-ing to review the progress of regularization of Rehbar-e- Zirat (ReZ) as per the State Cabinet decision, 2011.

Threadbare discussion was held regarding the implementation as per the road map pre-scribed in the Cabinet decision.

Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Nazir Ahmad Gurezi was also present in the meeting.

Commissioner Secretary, Agriculture Pro-duction, Dr. Asgar Samoon, Secretary GAD, Mr. M. A Bukhari, Director Agriculture, Jammu, Mr Ajay Khjuaria , Director Agriculture, Kashmir Mushtaq Peerzada, Addional Secretary Agricul-

ture Production, Additional Secretary law and other senior officers were present in the meet-ing.As per the Cabinet decision, 2642 Rehbar–e-Zirat candidates who are already registered with the department are being regularized as Village Agriculture Extension Assistants in three phases. In first phase , 881 ReZ’s are be-

ing regularized with effect from 1st April,2014, another 881 ReZ’s are being regularized from 1st April,2015 in second phase and remaining 880 ReZ’s from 1st April,2016 in third phase, the meeting was informed.

The Minister directed the concerned officers to complete all the formalities within the pre-scribed time so that regularization orders for first batch of eligible ReZ’s is issued on 1st April, 2014 positively.

Srinagar, Aug 13 :Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Tuesday ap-pealed pro-freedom parties to shun away from calling strikes on Fridays.

Talking to KNS Mirwaiz said, “When pro-freedom parties call for strikes on Fridays it gives government a reason to curb our activi-ties. Already our activities have been curbed and government isn’t allowing us to reach out to the people. When we call for strikes on Fridays we lose an opportunity on that day also to reach out to people.”

He claimed the state government has com-pletely failed to stop continuously worsening situation in Kishtwar and other areas of Jammu division. “Violence in Kishtwar was planned and perpetuated deliberately for electoral gains, so as to polarize the population for petty politi-cal interest,” he said and demanded immediate disarming and dis-banding of VDCs all around Jammu region.

Earlier while speaking at a seminar “Solution of disputes. a precursor to world peace” to pay tributes to Hurriyat leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his fifth martyrdom anniversary and others martyrs who laid their lives for the Kashmir

cause, Mirwaiz said, “At a time when Kashmiri resistance leadership is being barred from even from offering prayers communal forces in Jam-mu were given a free hand to act on their ne-farious designs. Efforts were on to push Jammu Kashmir into a communal fire so as to reap out ulterior political benefits from the dead bodies of both Hindus and Muslims,” he claimed. Cat-egorically stating that Kashmiris were not com-munal, Mirwaiz said the inhabitants of the state have maintained communal bonhomie even during adverse situations.

Coming down heavily on pro-Indian politi-cal parties, Mirwaiz said BJP, Congress, PDP and NC were in the same league when it comes to grabbing power. He said these political parties can go to any extent for their vested political in-terests. Stressing that Jammu Kashmir was one single entity, he said that division of Kashmir on regional or religious basis would never be allowed. He said APHC wants to clear Kashmir was not a religious issue, but it was political dis-pute which needs to be solved politically. Unfor-tunately, Mirwaiz said the pro-Indian political parties were engaged in communal politics in the state.

VDC’s cause of communal disharmony: Qureshi

Srinagar, August 13:

The first meeting of J&K State Bio-Di-versity Board was held here today under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Mo-hammad Iqbal Khandey.

Detailed discussions were held regarding preparation of the draft Biological Diversity Rules and their notifi-cation, constitution of District and Block level Bio-Diversity Manage-ment Committees and documentation of Bio-logical diversity.

The Chief Secretary called for inviting comments on the draft rules from experts and to consult the Law Department in this regard. He said after the rules are notified,

the Forest Department should ensure that Bio-diversity Management committees across the State are formed at the earliest. These committees, he said will do the doc-umentation of the Biological diversity in-

cluding preservation of habitats, conserva-tion of land races, cultivars, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals and micro- organism and chronicling of knowledge

related to biological diversity. Besides the Panchayat members, prominent farmers, tribal collectors, etc. these committees will also be assisted by experts from Forest, Ag-riculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry,

Health, Fisheries and Education Depart-ment.

The meeting was attended by Commis-sioner Secretary For-ests Sheikh Ejaz Iqbal, Commissioner Secre-tary Agriculture, Dr. Asgar Samoon, Princi-pal Chief Conservator of Forests, Chief Wild

Life Warden, Vice Chancellors of SKUAST, experts from University of Kashmir, Di-rector State Forest Research Institute and other officers from Various Departments.

Srinagar, August 13

Democratic Liberation Party Chairman, Hashim Qureshi Tuesday condemned the communal clashes in Kishtwar and has appealed the Kashmiri people to re-store peace and brotherhood, which has been a centuries-old pillar of Kashmiriyat.

Hashim Qureshi also said that the VDC’s and its mem-bers are one of the main causes for communal dis-harmony and further dete-rioration of the situation. He warned the Kashmiri people that they should be cautious and aware of conspiracies and evil designs.“Recently there was some communal tension in Budgam and now again in Kishtwar. It is evident that

some evil design and conspir-acy is being hatched by some elements, which are adamant to disrupt peace,” he said.

Chairman JKDLP also said that these people want to malign our genuine struggle for Independence and peace by depicting us Kashmiris as communal. He reiterated that all Kashmiris and espe-cially political parties should not pay heed to rumours or try to gain political mileage from these unfortunate inci-dents, but should help in re-storing normalcy and social harmony in order to uphold the values of Kashmiryat.Hashim Qureshi demanded that the culprits behind these heinous crimes should not be spared and should be given the harshest punishment.

Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS Srinagar | wedneSday 14 .8 .2013

CS Chairs 1st J&K State Bio-Diversity Board meeting

Mirwaiz appeals separatist leaders not to call strikes on Fridays

Today you may be inspired to have a little fun with your looks, Libra. You may wish to change your haircut or experi-ment with different colors or styles of clothing. It would be fun to get out of your routine, even if it just means donning funky sunglasses or bright Hawaiian patterns. You will feel lighter and more flirtatious.

Today’s energy has you rethinking all areas of your life, Scorpio. If you aren’t as challenged by your job as you think you should be, perhaps it’s time for a change. The trick for you will be figuring out what it is that you want to do. You have a tremendous amount of creative ability. If you aren’t using these talents, why not explore a career that would let you develop them further?

You’re ready for dramatic change in your life, Sagittarius. It isn’t that you’re dissatisfied with your career or personal life. Rather, you feel like you’re missing out on something great, if you only knew what. Be receptive to whatever op-portunities arise and explore them all. You may find the an-swers you seek through travel or more education. Bring a friend if you’re afraid to explore on your own.

Capricorn, expect to meet someone new who will be a tremendous influence in your life - probably in your career. If you’ve been frustrated by your lack of progress up the corpo-rate ladder, take heart. This new person may be able to show you another way up. In spite of your frustration, you should continue to work in your usual manner. You’re on the right path, even though you may doubt it now.

You’ve been on a wild ride for several months, Aquarius - all that excitement in your personal life and career! If ma-jor changes for the better haven’t yet occurred, know that they will. A promotion is in order, most likely accompanied by a raise. Don’t act so surprised - you’ve had this coming for a long time. Celebrate tonight with someone dear to your heart.

Foreign lands and new opportunities beckon today, Pi-sces! Keep your eyes and ears open as these opportunities may come to you from an unusual or unexpected source. You’re ready for a change of some kind in your personal or professional life. It’s up to you to take steps in whatever new direction you decide to go. Don’t rule out a few classes as a way to further your career.

Mind your manners today, Virgo. Make sure your charm is turned up high. Merging with the group is essential as you keep the momentum of the energy going. The more the mer-rier. Once you get the ball rolling in the right direction, there will be plenty of momentum to help it up the next hill. The important thing is that you take responsibility for your ac-tions.

Things may get a bit hostile today, Aries. No one wants to budge from his or her position. You could be caught be-tween mind and heart issues. Both sides are unforgiving and unwilling to give up control. Your best bet is to try to find compromise wherever possible. You may not get the exact solution you want, but you will get one that’s workable for all parties involved.

You may think that everything is perfect, Taurus, when suddenly, there’s a great surge of unyielding emotional en-ergy. Be on the lookout because such situations are likely to crop up and add intensity to your journey. Pool your knowl-edge with that of other people instead of trying to come up with all the answers by yourself.

Others are apt to play a big role in the events that unfold today, Gemini. It’s likely that closely communing with others will be very important. Despite this, you may still feel alone. Even within a large group, your heart may yearn to bond tightly with just one other person. Do your best to stay posi-tive regardless of the combative forces likely to be at work on a day like this.

You may be in a difficult position today, Cancer, as if you’re being pulled in two directions with little say as to how things are supposed to end. The acting forces could be ma-nipulative, so you should take special care that no one takes advantage of you. This may be easier said than done at a time like this.

It’s very possible that the best solution today is to simply give up control, Leo. When it comes to matters of the heart, other people may be in a whirl of turmoil. Trying to figure out their state of mind will be impossible so don’t even try. You may just want to let things ride and see where you end up tomorrow before making any major moves.

Srinagar, August 13: The Chief Secretary, Mr. Mohammad Iqbal Khandey today released J&K Prisons News Letter in presence of Director General of Prisons Mr. K. Rajendra Kumar at a function here. On the occasion, DG Prisons informed the Chief Secretary about various reformative and rehabilitation measures taken by the Prisons Department for the welfare of the inmates. He said the Education programmes, vocational and skill development training, and other sports and culture activities, besides facilities of grievance redressal are being provided to the inmates.

Mr. Kumar also informed about the measures taken by the Prisons Department to improve the skills, upgrade the knowl-edge, enhance the capacity of the prison staff and incorporate best prison practices. He said that Prisons Department is also going to launch a magazine soon.

Taj visits Bakshi stadium, indoor stadium; inspects

improvement worksSrinagar, August 13: Minister for Medical Education, Youth

Services & Sports, Mr. Taj Mohi ud Din today visited Bakshi sta-dium to inspect the renovation works being carried out there. He visited various pavilions and visitors galleries and inspected the upgraded seating equipment installed there.The Minister also visited the Sher-i-Kashmir Indoor stadium and reviewed the on-going renovation works there. He directed creating more space at the stadium so that more and more indoor games would be played at a time at the stadium.Mr. Taj directed utilization of space for landscaping and creating local aesthetic ambience within the sporting area of the stadium. He also directed creating more facili-ties for players at the stadium.Later, in an informal chat with wait-ing media persons, the Minister said the State Government has embarked on an ambitious programme of strengthening sports infrastructure in the State and in this regard a beginning has been made with the foundation laying of Rs. 18 crore sports complex.

Srinagar, August 13:

The Speaker Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Mr. Mubarak Gul appealed to the people for maintain-ing calm and tranquillity in the State.

The Speaker was interacting with various deputations coming across the State which called on him here in his office chamber today.

Mr. Gul said that all the sections of the society have been living in peace and togetherness since long in the past and they have to live like brothers in the fu-ture also.

The Speaker said Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Moham-mad Abdullah’s slogan was ‘Hindu, Muslim, Sikh Ati-had’ and we have to follow and maintain it. He said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have to ex-hibit the commitment for peace, brotherhood, com-munal harmony and tol-erance which is the hallmark of the composite culture of the State. He appealed the people not to pay heed to rumours, adding that the activities of the rumour mongers should not be

tolerated as they are playing with the life and property of people and na-tional interests.

Representatives from Abarar Sahib Building Construction Works Union (ASBCWU) also met the Speaker and apprised him about their individual and collective problems.

Detailed discussion was also held

on the problems being faced by the labour class.

The Speaker heard the individuals and deputations patiently and assured them that their genuine demands will

be looked into and addressed on pri-ority. He said several welfare schemes have also been launched in the State for the welfare and betterment of la-bour class working in construction of buildings, adding that need is to aware them about these schemes so that maximum benefits reached to the targeted lot. He said that the labour-

ers and working class have to come forward for availing the benefits of these schemes specially launched for ameliorating their socio-economic conditions.

Speaker appeals people to maintain calm, tranquillity

Khandey releases J&K Prisons News Letter

Mir reviews progress of regularization of ReZ

Srinagar, August 13:

Final touches were given to the arrangements for an-nual Urs of Hazrat Syed Ali Aali Balkhi (RA) Pakherpora, commencing from 19th of this month, at a meeting chaired by the Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs, Mr. Abdul Rahim Rather. As per the programme laying of chaddar (PoshakBandi) on the mausoleum will be on 19thAugust whereas Shab Khwani will be per-formed on August 21. The Urs celebrations will contin-ue upto 30th August of the current month. The Minister directed heads of various departments to make fool proof arrangements in their respective fields at Pakher-pora during the Urs days so

that pilgrims do not face any in convenience.

The Transport depart-ment was asked to arrange adequate number of ve-hicles for pilgrims from the districts of both Pulwama and Budgam.The Minister asked the Consumer Af-fairs and Public Distribution department to arrange ad-ditional quota of Ration in-cluding Rice, Sugar, Atta and Kerosene for the consumers of Pakherpora. The Pub-lic Health Engineering and PDD departments would ensure un-interrupted sup-ply of drinking water and Power during the Urs days. The Executive Engineer PDD Pulwam assured that there will be no curtailment of power in Pakherpora dur-ing Urs for convenience of

the pilgrims. The Yusmarg Development Authority will deploy a good number of Safai Karamcharis for sanitation and cleanliness in Pakherpora and around the Shrine complex.The Chief Medical Officer assured that besides keeping 24X7 medicare services available in the Primary Health Cen-tre Pakherpora, four first aid centres will be set up en-route Charar-i-Sharief to Pakherpora at Zinpanchal, Kanidajan, Pakherpora and Charari-Pora.The locals of Pakherpora put forth some demands before the Minister which included construction of a bridge at Nallah Romshi near Yachgoz, macadamiza-tion of Pakherpora to Kaka-pora road and Kanidajan to Pakherpora road.

Srinagar, August 13:

To ensure supply of safe drinking water to the popula-tion living in and around the catchment areas of Kishangan-ga Power Project, coming up in district Bandipora, a water filtration plant would be in-stalled and commissioned by Oct this year while Rs. 75 crore have been earmarked for envi-ronment protection and Rs. 58 crore stands released for relo-cation and rehabilitation(R&R) of effected family.This informa-tion was given to the Environ-ment Committee of J&K Legisla-tive Council, which met under the Chairmanship of Dr. Syed Bashir Ahmad Veeri here today.Legislators,Showkat Hussain Ganai, Syed Mohammad Rafiq Shah, Mohammad Muzaffer Parray, Regional Director, Envi-ronment and Remote Sensing, senior officers from NHPC and

Revenue department besides Additional Secretary, Moham-med Maqbool Bhat and Deputy Secretary of the Council Secre-tariat Mr Ishfaq Ahmad were present on the occasion. The Committee had a detailed dis-cussion on the environment and allied issues of the under construction 3642.04 crore 330 MW Kishanganga Hydle Elec-tric Project and called upon the authorities of NHPC to maintain ecological balance while imple-menting the project plan.

It was given out that Rs 1.50 crore are being spent un-der catchment area treatment programme while Rs. 17 crore have been earmarked for En-vironment Management Plan. The project is being imple-mented within the frame work of Indus Water Treaty, it was added. The Committee raised the issue of containment water supplied to the people living in

catchment areas and asked the NHPC to take concrete steps for checking this and ensuring discharging treated water in the streams besides supplying through pipes. The Committee directed Regional Director, En-vironment and Remote Sensing Department to launch a massive awareness programme through print and electronic media about the environment and environmental issues so that common people know about it and effects of climate change. She was directed to involve Universities, educational institu-tion, Panchayat Raj Institutions, concerned NGOs in sensitizing people about the environmental issues. Stressing for getting En-vironment Impact Assessment (EIA) by an accredited body, approved by the Union Minis-try of Forests, the Committee asked the NHPC and Environ-ment and Remote Sensing.

Annual Urs of Hazrat SyedAli Aali Balkhi (RA) Pakherpora commenc-

ing from 19th August

Rs. 75 crore for environment protection, Rs 58 crore for R&R

Various deputations call on Gul

E ++HHEAAL L HH5 ZABARWAN TIMES

WEDNESDAY | 14 AUG 20138 ZABARWANTIMES

You can style your wet hair

Styling wet hair after a shower can be quite an arduous task. We sug-gest ways you can style your mane, no matter what the length isIn case you are running late for work, give your heated styling tools a miss. Styling wet hair can be easily done at home and does not require much time. Says Sylvia Chen, a stylist, "The

key to achieving the desired wet-hair look is to ensure that you use the right styling products. Make sure you have shampooed and conditioned your hair, to get the ultimate wet-hair look. Use a leave-in serum to avoid the frizz."Style according to your hair type For naturally wavy to curly hair:

Those with waves or curls, tip your hair upside down. Then spritz beach texture spray on your hair from the roots to the ends evenly, and scrunch.This will give volume to your mane, lending a beachy look.For straight, long hair: If you have long straight hair, apply some leave-in serum on towel-dried hair. Use a wide-toothed comb to detangle your hair and let it dry. Once it's dried, use a paddle brush from the roots to the end to smooth out your hair.For curly medium to long hair: Apply some serum or a curl-en-hancing mousse on damp hair and comb through using a wide-toothed comb to detangle your hair. Divide your hair into four sections — two at the front and two at the back. Twist the random strands of hair from your roots to the end.For short hair: Apply a texturising spray onto towel-dried hair after shampoo and condition-er. Style or part your hair in the way you want and comb it.

Tips- For those with long hair, braiding can be another option. After sham-poo and conditioner, apply some smoothing serum on your hair, de-tangle using a small-toothed comb and then braid your hair. You can try doing a French braid or simply a normal one.- If you have to attend a meeting at work, apply a leave-in cream onto wet hair to prevent fly-aways. Detangle your hair using a wide-toothed comb and pull back your hair into a ponytail or a low chignon.- Apply a teaspoon of either an anti-frizz serum or conditioner to your hair and run it uniformly. Make sure it's not saturated or greasy or else your hair will end up looking oily and styling your mane will become difficult. - If you are leaving your wet hair down, always twist it around your fingers to keep it from drying out flat or turning frizzy.

Adequate sleep key to weight lossAdequate sleep is impor-tant for person to lose weight, and it should be added to the recommend-ed mix of diet and exercise, a new study suggests.Although calorie restric-tion and increased physical activity are recommended for weight loss, there is significant evidence that inadequate sleep is con-tributing to obesity.Lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appe-tite-regulating hormones."The solution [to weight loss] is not as simple as 'eat less, move more, sleep more'," Drs. Jean-Phillippe Chaput, Children's Hospi-tal of Eastern Ontario Re-search Institute, Ottawa, Ontario and Angelo Trem-blay, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec, wrote.

"However, an accumu-lating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be over-looked when prescribing a weight-reduction pro-gram to a patient with obesity. Sleep should be included as part of the lifestyle package that traditionally has focused on diet and physical activity," Chaput

said.The authors' recently published research found that total sleep time and quality of sleep predicted the loss of fat in people enrolled in a weight loss program.The Canadian Obesity Network has included ad-equate sleep in its new set of obesity management tools for physicians.

Exercises to boost your upper bodyIf your exercise regime is only running, cycling or playing sports, then you need to pay attention. Our fitness expert, Arnav Sarkar gives you important facts that you need to know about keeping fit through routines that only focus on your lower body. Arnav says, "Your sport may rely mostly on lower body pow-er and endurance to help you win, but for overall health you need to work on your upper body too. Plus, it also helps with your per-formance to an extent."It is important that you get a full body workout, especially if you focus mostly on lower body fit-ness. Exercising your shoulders, back and arms can improve your posture, help you avoid injuries, strengthen abs and core muscles as well as tone and improve your body to engage in heavy exercises that requires you to use your legs. Hence, make sure to exercise different muscles of your body for fitness and strength.If you're an athlete your main focus is to tone and strengthen your legs, but working out the remain-ing muscles in your body can give you an edge to succeed. Common be-

lief is that added muscles can slow down the body, but lately this notion has changed. Muscle strength and endurance goes a long way in increasing athletic performance.When it comes to deciding which exercises to follow, Arnav Sarkar points out that you must 'focus on a few compound exercises that hit a lot of major mus-cle groups rather than do a lot of isolation moves that hit only one muscle.' He goes on to say that "This approach will save you time, as well as produce better results."Since your objective is bal-anced fitness that involves all body parts, your main objective is to work all body parts in equal doses. Arnav says, "Work equally on pulling as well as push-ing muscles of the upper body. For eg, if you do push ups (pushing), then make sure that you also do some pulling exercise like bar-bell rows. Work for both endurance and strength development, instead of focusing only on one. For eg you can do some heavy overhead presses in the 5-10 reps range and along with that do some high repetition sets of body-weight push ups, to get a

more complete training effect."Follow any of these 6 upper body exercises that should be a staple for your upper body training:1) Push ups: As Arnav puts it, push ups are "a great ex-ercise that hits the pushing muscles as well as the core. You can do them with your bodyweight for high reps and also do some advanced versions like one hand push ups, etc for low rep strength development."Note: Here's how to do push ups:- Place yourself face down with the palms on the floor. Place the palms wider than the shoulder-width, arms extended, legs straight and feet together or slightly apart.- Keep the neck, back & hips aligned and abdom-inals contracted. Do not arch the back downwards or upwards. Keep it flat like a table top.- Bend the elbows out-wards and bring the chest close to the floor. This is the initial position.- Push back upwards till the arms extend complete-ly and feel the contraction in the chest muscles.2. Military press: Good for building pushing strength, military presses are where you can focus on lift-

ing heavy and building strength.Note: Barbell is the most preferred equipment for military press, or you can also use dumbbells.- Raise the barbell to your chest with your hand shoulder width apart. This can be done by lifting the barbell straight from the floor or by lifting it off of a power rack.- Lock your legs and hips underneath you. Feet should be together.- Without using your lower body, lift the weight over-head.- Bring the weight back down to your chest in a controlled manner.3. Parallel bar dips: These are not for the weak mind-ed. Parallel bar dips are tough, yet extremely effec-tive in building important upper body muscle groups. As Arnav suggests, this is "A great upper body push-ing exercise that can be done with bodyweight or/also with added weights."Note: While Parallel bar dips essentially strength-en your triceps and chest muscles, if you can do them to full capacity, they end up shaping your en-tire upper body - including core. Here are a few tips to perfect your dips -

Forget botox, the new buzz word is "collagen", and this skin friendly protein that was being marketed in the form of supplements and as an important ingredient in creams and serums.The latest entrant in the anti ag-ing arena, however, is the collagen drink that is ap-parently a huge hit already. This drink claims to bring about a dramatic reduction in lines and wrinkles in a matter of days, so much so that women are already queuing up for this magic potion.Collagen supple-ments have been around for a while and though these claim to erase fine lines, wrinkles, stretch marks and cellulite and improve hair and nails, it is the drink that is big news now. As you

drink it, the protein that gives the skin strength and elasticity, watch yourself grow younger, say those who swear by the power of collagen.According to reports many celebrities are opting for the colla-gen drink now, which also claims to be many times more effective than supple-ments when it comes to replacing the skin's protein stores, since it gets directly absorbed into the blood stream.So it is perhaps time to bid goodbye to collagen marshmallows, tablets and supplements, as the drink which promises to plump up wrinkles in three days and wipe out all the sallow-ness that comes with age, is in many stores internation-ally.

Are you getting enough fruits?

Fruits are delicious, juicy, fun to eat and healthy in-gredients for great des-serts; but are you getting enough fruits in your daily diet? We use a lot of skin care products that boast of properties and vitamins from fruits, but why do we still select creams over natural fruits? Let's take a look at how many fruits you need to eat every day before you can say that you are getting enough fruits in your daily diet. Based on a study in 2010 reported by the Dietary Guidelines of America, you need 1.5 - 2 cups of fruits daily, but 'the amount depends on the number of calories per day recommended for your healthy weight.' (Via) Also, it is recommended that you

eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day, but it depends on your age and gender: Women between the ages of 19-50 should eat 7-8 servings, while men should eat 8-10 servings. And for those above 50, men and women should consume seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day. All this preaching is in good spirit. Fruits help fight cancer, obesity and heart disease. Fruits provide nu-tritional vitamins. Certain fruits contain a good amount of natural sugar and fluids, which also keep us hydrated. Fruits are rich in fiber, and are great for bowel move-ment and weight loss. It is also advised that you con-sume fruits whole, instead of skinned or juiced.

If you step on the scale several days after you give birth, then you will likely have one of two reac-tions - disappointment or complete horror - as your weight loss is either not as much as you had hoped, or in some cases, your weight might not have changed much. Almost all women will want to lose the weight which they have gained over the course of their pregnancy as soon as possible. How long it takes you to return to your pre-preg-nancy weight and shape largely depends on how

much weight you gained while pregnant; if you fol-lowed a regular exercise program, how healthy you ate and if you breastfeed or not. If you allow for a 3 month recovery period after giv-ing birth, then you should easily be able to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight within 6-8 months. As a general rule, you should be aiming to lose no more than 2lb a week. It might not sound much, but that adds up to a weight loss of a stone in less than two months. If you exercised during

pregnancy and had an un-complicated vaginal deliv-ery, it’s generally safe to begin light exercise within days of delivery — or as soon as you feel ready. If you had a C-section or a complicated birth, talk to your health care provider about when to start an ex-ercise program. Many new moms find ex-ercise the key to losing the baby weight, and studies support their experience. A 2007 Harvard Univer-sity study of new moms found that women who walked 30 minutes each day had a 34 percent lower

chance of retaining a sig-nificant amount of weight (defined as 11 pounds or more) at their baby’s first birthday. Research also shows that exercise helps new moms preserve mus-cle mass—and thus appear more toned—than moms who drop weight just by dieting. Here are some pointers to keep in mind when map-ping your post-pregnancy weight loss: Always check with a medi-cal physician before begin-ning any fitness programBe sure to keep the water flowing. Aim to consume half of your body weight in ounces a day Take your time and start off slowly-Drink at least 10-12 glasses of water every day. Keep healthy snacks handy such as raisins, popcorn, wheat crackers, and nuts. Eat lean meats such as boneless chicken and the leanest cuts of beef. Eat whole grains (breads, ce-reals, pastas) instead of the “white” versions Don’t be fooled by foods that are labelled as non-fat. Most are loaded with calories and can have hy-drogenated vegetable oils and/or high fructose corn syrup Resist the urge to indulge in a fast food meal.

Just dance and shed extra poundsProud of her newly ac-quired chiselled midriff, insurance professional Anubhi Jain is all gung-ho about her new passion: dancercise. Having got bored of her monotonous workout routine, Jain had almost decided to abandon exercising, until she was introduced to this interest-ing new concept of staying fit. Dancercise is a perfect recipe for those who love dance as well as exercise. Choreographer-dancer Nirali Someshwar says, "Exercise and dance, if looked at individually, tend to get monotonous after a point. That's why this form has become popular. It is also good value for money as you learn two things at one time." So, what does dancercise include? Someshwar ex-plains, "Basically it is a fusion of choreographed dance steps and exercises. The theory is based on in-dividual exercise for every muscle. For example, iso-lated belly dance includes 20 minutes of abs and hip exercise, followed by 45 minutes of belly-dancing. The session keeps on evolv-ing from start till the end, with each next step leading to the next one."

Bhangra aerobics incor-porates bhangra and hip-hop. Dancer Hrishikesh Pawar says, "We make these packages depending on what part of the body needs to be strengthened. For example, if contempo-rary dance is being fused with exercise, the areas of concentration are the legs since the dance form involves classical ballet. I usually start my classes with pilates and yoga as they increase flexibility." Aero-dance workshops that include cardio and floor ex-ercises mixed with western jazz, hip-hop or Bollywood is the current favourite of

marketing professional Shraddha Patil. She quips, "It's a lot of fun as it does not feel like exercise at all. And since we dance on the latest Bollywood and Hol-lywood hits, I feel like a performer." But are dance styles altered for the pur-pose? Dancer Purvi Mun-dada answers, "At times, we simplify the steps. We have to keep in mind that the people opting for these packages do not want to get involved in the intri-cacies of the dance styles. The idea is not to deprive people of the pleasure of dance and also give them a good workout." Zumba

is another fitness routine that combines aerobics with the Latin-American salsa and meringue. Dance trainer Soonruta Kothadi-ya says, "This form is also popular in many gyms. As it includes the entire body movements, it helps in los-ing weight faster. " Not just dance styles, martial arts too are being merged with exercise. Dance trainer Sanjay Sawant who teaches aero-fitness, a mixed form of martial art stretches and jumps with Bollywood, jazz and funk, says, "It's a complete freestyle fusion devoid of any disciplined moves."

How to lose weight after pregnancy

NATION DAILY ZABARWAN TIMES

7 SRINAGARWednesday, 14 August,2013 Kashmir Thunder

Wednesday 14. 08 . 2013

Will Ansari take back his anarchist comment after BJP protest?

Vice President and Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Hamid Ansari, today slammed Rajya Sabha MPs for violating etiquette and said their actions could be condoned only if the legislators wanted the Upper House to become a “confederation of anarchists”.

Ansari, who chairs the question hour in the Rajya Sabha, attempted to calm MPs protesting over different issues when he lost his temper and said that they were violating all rules.

“Every single rule in the rule book, every single etiquette is being violated in this house,” Ansari told MPs.

Some MPs who attempted to interrupt him were also told angrily to sit down.

“If the honourable members wish this house to become a confederation of anar-chists, then its all right,” he said, and then adjourned the Rajya Sabha till noon.

has lost his temper over Rajya Sabha being disrupted in the past as well. File photo. PTIAnsari has lost his temper over Rajya Sabha being disrupted in the past as well. File photo. PTI

The Upper House today witnessed multiple protests with the BJP MPs pro-testing against Robert Vadra and some

Congress MPs continuing to protest against the creation of Telangana.

When the House recon-vened at noon, Leader of Op-position Arun Jaitley raised objections to the MPs being referred to as anarchists. He also demanded that the term be withdrawn since it was ‘unparliamentary’ and was backed in his demand by fel-low party member Ravi Shan-kar Prasad.

Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien attempted to placate them and said Ansari was only asking if the MPs wanted anarchy to prevail, and also said he would discuss the mat-ter with the Vice President.

However, soon after that MPs began pro-testing again and the proceedings had to be adjourned for another half hour.

This isn’t the first time Ansari has lost his temper over proceedings being dis-rupted. At one point in December 2012, he had offered to do away with Question Hour

given MPs never seemed to participate in it and seemed more intent on protest.

Whether Jaitley is right about Ansari’s tirade however can only be decided by a ref-erence to the voluminous 900 page book ti-tled Unparliamentary Expressions. Howev-er, the person who is in charge of taking the decision on whether the term used should be deemed unparliamentary is Ansari.

Ishrat Jahan killing: Top cop PP Pande surrenders, finally

Ahmedabad: Senior Gujarat police officer PP Pande, wanted for the murder of college student Ishrat Jehan and three others, has surrendered in a court in Ahmedabad today.

This is the same court where Mr Pandey showed up on a stretch-er a few days ago, in a moment of high drama, to win anticipatory bail after evading arrest for months. But he went underground again after that, and ap-plied for bail to the Supreme Court, which finally turned him down yes-terday.The judges said, “You were an absconder earlier also. Your conduct makes you dis-entitled to anticipatory bail.”

Mr Pande disappeared first in April after the CBI made him an accused in a case encoded with political ramifica-tions for Gujarat Chief Minister Naren-dra Modi at a time when he’s close to landing his party’s prime ministerial nomination.

Mr Pandey was head of Ahmeda-

bad’s Crime Branch in 2004 when Ishrat, 19, was shot with three men on the outskirts of the city. Last month, the CBI filed a chargesheet and said seven cops in-cluding Mr Pande had shot the group “in cold blood” and destroyed evidence.

The police officers say that they had been warned by the Intelligence Bu-reau that Ishrat and the others were terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Taiba and planned to assassinate the chief minister.The Intelligence Bureau says it passed on information about Ish-rat’s alleged terror links to the police, but did not recommend or participate in the fake encounter, a claim that has been rejected by the CBI.

Mr Modi’s party, the BJP, says that by refusing to comment on whether Ishrat was a Lashkar accomplice, the CBI is concealing important informa-tion to embarrass the chief minister in the months leading up to the national election.

Andhra CM Kiran Kumar Reddy slams Narendra Modi for telling ‘blatant lies’

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Min-ister N Kiran Kumar Reddy hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party election campaign committee chief and Gujarat Chief Minis-ter Narendra Modi claiming that the latter spoke “blatant lies”.

“I strongly condemn Modi’s criticism of the Prime Minister, the Central govern-ment and the Congress party. He should know that Indo-Pak border issues are very sensitive and should only be dealt with dip-lomatically,” Reddy said, referring to Mo-di’s critical remarks about the policy being adopted towards Pakistan.

The Andhra Pradesh CM told reporters in Hyderabad on Monday night that any issue between the two countries should be resolved through diplomatic means and any provocation was unwarranted. “It’s not right to create a war situation. All coun-tries have modern weapons these days. When it comes to issues related to other countries, we all should work together,” he said.

Andhra CM slams Narendra Modi for telling \’blatant lies\’

“He should know that Indo-Pak border issues are very sensitive and should only be dealt with diplomatically,” Kiran Kumar Reddy said.

As Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Modi could give relevant suggestions to the Centre, he said. Mocking Modi’s claims about implementation of welfare schemes in states ruled by the BJP

and its allies, Reddy claimed that no other state did it better than Andhra Pradesh.

“Nobody has been showing us the way in this regard, rather we are showing the way to others,” Kiran claimed, referring to his pet girl child protection scheme called ‘Bangaru Talli’ in particular.

“No doubt, the Ladli Lakshmi Yojana being implemented in Madhya Pradesh is good, but we have enacted a law for effective implementa-tion of Bangaru Talli. We introduced the scheme after studying similar ones being implemented in other states and also foreign countries. Ours

is the best scheme,” he claimed.“Modi spoke about skill development.

It’s ridiculous. In Gujarat, skill development training was given to only 52,000 youths in the last two years, but no employment was provided. In contrast, 3.25 lakh youth in Andhra Pradesh were trained and provided jobs in the private sector.”

“This year, we made a budgetary provi-sion of Rs 415 crore for skill development with a target to provide employment for 3.50 lakh youth. Gujarat’s budgetary allocation is only Rs 106 crore for 55,000 youth, without providing employment,” Kiran said.

When a team of officials from Andhra Pradesh visited Gujarat to study skill develop-ment programmes there, Modi invited them for a meeting and told them that “there’s a lot to learn from Andhra Pradesh,” he said.“What Modi spoke at the public meeting

here yesterday, despite fully knowing these facts, is regrettable,” he said. About the public distribution scheme (PDS) which Modi said is “exemplary” in Chhattisgarh, Reddy said that 94 per cent of the Andhra Pradesh’s population is covered and rice is being supplied at Re 1 per kilogram.

“In Gujarat, only 30 per cent of its population is covered under PDS and rice is supplied at Rs 3 per kg and in Chhattisgarh, only 63 per cent of its population is covered by the PDS. So, Andhra Pradesh is on the top,” he said.

VVIP chopper deal: Rules changed to favour AgustaWest-

land, CAG report findsNEW DELHI: The

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said on Tuesday that the government had failed to follow defence pro-curement policy rules in awarding a 560 million euros luxury helicopter deal to AgustaWestland, a division of Italy’s Fin-meccanica.

“Several instances have been observed

where the ministry had deviated from the provisions of the DPP (defence procurement policy) 2006 and RFP (request for proposals) issued in September 2006,” the Comptroller and Auditor General said in the report pre-sented to Parliament.

Both Italy and India are investigating the deal.

Modi writes to PM, opposes Food Security BillAHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Nar-

endra Modi has written a letter to Prime Minis-ter Manmohan Singh opposing the implementa-tion of the new food security ordinance.

Modi,in his letter, called the ordinance im-practical, stating that it is fooling the poor peo-ple. He said that the ordinance does not fulfill the basic objectives of food security.

In his letter, he pointed out major deficien-cies in the ordinance. He stated that in the or-dinance, unworkable statutory responsibilities have been given to central and state govern-ments.

Modi pointed out that strangely, the num-ber of beneficiaries have been fixed in the ordi-nance without specifying the eligibility criteria and individual entitlements.

He also alleged that even the standing com-

mittee of Parliament in January, 2013 rec-ommended that that government should formulate eligibility criteria in consulta-tion with the state governments. Sadly, the central government has chosen to ignore the recommendation of the parliamentary committee.Modi stated that the ordinance proposes to reduce the entitlement of BPL families from 35kg per family to only 25 kg per average family of 5 persons. This cannot be the objective of any food security legisla-tion which reduces the entitlement of those who have been identified as being below the poverty line.

As per the proposed pricing struc-ture of the foodgrain, the BPL family will now have to incur Rs 85 more per month to avail 35kg foodgrain which they are getting without the 'Right', he said.

All-party meet tomorrow on par-ties under RTI Act, SC order

on disqualification of lawmakers, govern-ment has called an all-party meeting tomor-row to firm up a view on the contentious issues.

The meeting con-vened by Parliamen-tary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath is also to facilitate early pas-sage of the Food Secu-rity Bill.

The Bill is current-ly under consideration of the Lok Sabha and there is a plan to bring it before the Rajya Sabha next week.

Asked whether the controvery over Telangana could cast a shadow over the passage of the Food Bill, party spokesper-son Renuka Chowdhary replied in nega-tive saying though what was happening in Andhra Pradesh was a very emotive issue, she does not think it will impact the Food Security Act, which is a "commitment to feed the nation".

A bill was today introdued in the Lok Sabha today to keep political parties out of the ambit of the RTI Act and negate a Cen-tral Information Commission (CIC) order to this effect.

The Right to In-formation (Amend-ment) Bill, 2013 seeks to insert an explanation in Sec-tion 2 of the Act which states that any association or body of individu-als registered or recognised as po-litical party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 will not be con-sidered a public au-thority.

The CIC order had termed Congress, BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPI-M as political authorities.

In an all-party meeting called before the beginning of the monsoon session of par-liament, parties cutting across ideologies had opposed the July 10 verdict of the apex court that had struck down a provision in the electoral law that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.

Government is working overtime to negate the order by seeking a review and even trying to bring parties on board for a constitutional amendment for this.

China should speed up aircraft carrier construction: Chinese daily

India’s launch of its first indigenous air-craft carrier Vikrant should spur China to speed up construction of its domestic aircraft carriers, the Global Times newspaper said in an editorial on Tuesday.

“India’s actions remind us that the stra-tegic significance of developing aircraft car-riers in Asia is not declining. Rather, they are one of the most effective strategic tools in maintaining national maritime interests,” said the Communist Party-run tabloid, which is a widely read newspaper known here for its hard-line views.

“The earlier China establishes its own aircraft carrier capabilities,” the editorial said, the earlier it will gain the strategic initiative.”The newspaper, did however, add that there was "no arms race" between India and China, pointing out that Beijing had been more concerned by the recent un-veiling of Japan’s Izumo light carrier, rath-er than by the launch of Vikrant.

“India has adopted a different attitude than Japan toward territorial disputes with China. Meanwhile, India's overall national strength lags behind that of China. There-fore, China perceives Japan rather than In-dia as its biggest neighbouring threat,” the editorial said.

The launch of Vikrant had underscored that India was “moving faster

in terms of developing armaments such as aircraft carriers” while China was “a late-comer among big powers in terms of develop-ing domestic aircraft carriers”. “Even India has moved ahead of us,” added the editorial.China’s first aircraft carrier the Liaoning, a refurbished and upgraded version of the

Soviet carrier the Varyag, was put into sea-trials last year. China is also constructing its own first indigenous carrier, with defence an-alysts quoted as saying China would require at least three carriers in service considering the naval strengths of countries such as India and Japan.

Govt. employees strike work; RTC, private buses go off the road

Normal life was paralysed in Central Coastal Andhra Pradesh owing to the indefinite strike call given by Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGOs) and the APSRTC employees from the early hours of Tuesday.

This turned out to be a virtual bandh call, as all RTC and private buses were off the road; shops and establishments were closed. Small and medium entrepre-neurs in the Autonagar and Industrial Estate, restaurants and even small kiosks downed their shutters in support of Sa-maikyandhra.

Schools and some colleges declared a holiday on Tuesday. The busy Bandar and Eluru Road, which otherwise bustle with activities and shoppers, wore a deserted look at 11 a.m. The only people on the roads were security strike forces in their camouflaged overalls and the members of different joint action committees (JAC) who took out rallies in protest against the Congress Working Committee’s decision to bifurcate the State. The APNGOs took out a rally from PWD grounds and went on a Government Offices closing spree from 10.30 a.m.

Private vehicles were allowed to run and autorickshaws were seen plying.In some pockets, the transport system was virtually paralysed with the state-owned transport major APSRTC employees join-ing the strike.

“Our college actually wanted to func-

tion, but since APSRTC has joined the strike, the management declared a holi-day,” said Ch. Avinash, a second-year B.Tech. student.

A senior citizen who was waiting for a public transport system at Benz Circle to go to his daughter’s house at Gandhina-gar, remarked, “It is good that people are protesting against the bifurcation of the State. It’s expected of concerned citizens. But, what I see is that the agitation of ‘Sa-maikyanhdra Andhra’ (Unified Andhra) lacks ‘Samaikyam’ (unity). For the last one hour I have seen at least six JACs taking out rallies comprising of 150 to 200 mem-bers. Can’t they join together to form one big impactful group, the way TRS does.”

Machilipatnam Staff Reporter, T. Appala Naidu adds:Vociferous protests were witnessed on Tuesday, amid tight security, on the streets of Krishna Dis-trict headquarters town Machilipatnam against proposed carving out of Telan-gana. Mammoth gathering of protest-ers led by lawyers, merchants, political leaders and Government employees/workers spread the bandh to every nook and corner of the town.Streets wore a deserted look as people from all walks of public life turned up at the Koneru Centre. A few women, largely rural folk supported the scheduled 24-hour bandh by engaging themselves in preparation of food on the roads as a part of their ‘Vanta-Vaarpu’ agitation.