4 month long stir lashes working journalists, leave them jobless

PS Bali
Srinagar, December 13
During the four months long turmoil in valley, when everything was on hold, Kashmir at utmost incurred huge loss and it will inevitably take them next one year to reimburse it and to stand back. As when the strikes and curfews broke back bone of Kashmiri traders, Kashmiri youth were the prime fraction at receiving end.
When, number of private companies functioning in Kashmir, wrapped up their business after sensing prolonged strikes, left thousands of Kashmiri youth at the mercy of god, and increased the miseries of state government by augmenting ratio of unemployed youth in the state.
Alike other professions, the working journalists in the Kashmir were also engulfed by this lay out wave, wherein many reputed newspaper organisations thinned their staff, where as many others slashed remuneration of its employees to about 50 percent.
Dismayed over the harsh step of the organisations various senior journalists stated it as prejudice with the working journalists, as working in Kashmir in such atmosphere was lurking to death.
“In Kashmir, reporting is like working on edge as you never know what happens next in Kashmir. And it was more precarious working during turmoil of four months, pertaining to which many organisations ousted maximum of their working teams,” said a senior journalist, Irfan.
Journalists are of the view that government is much responsible for instigating owners of the organisation to take such a harsh step and they demanded provision for journalist community in Kashmir. “We had been swindled by the organisations as well as government; by imposing curfew for prolonged time government bound organisations to lay off their staff, as for around two months newspapers didn’t hit stalls, which impressed owners to incur less loss,” said he, adding government should came forward to retrieve this so-called fourth pillar of the society.
On one side where journalists blame organisations and government responsible for all, the owners of the various organisations say that it was not eternal, “we inspired upon journalist to take it for a time being, as this industry was incurring huge loss as for days together, newspapers remain off the site,” said owner of reputed newspaper, on condition of anonymity.
He added government didn’t lend us time to think over it neither government allowed journalists to work in constructive atmosphere. So now its government, who have to assure any alternative for journalists, if they allow journalists to work in sincere and constructive air, we are open to take them back in our organisation.
Contradicting claims of owners, journalists said that their colleagues were ready to work on half pay instead of any lay off, but owners of the organisations denied their call, due to many reasons better known to them.
“We don’t want to challenge owners and government, but we just want government to keep alive ethical profession and let them work ethical,” said journalists.

Horticulture depart under scanner over shop allotment bungling

 PS Bali

Jammu Tawi, December 26

Making scope of bungling in the allotment of shop sites at Fruit and Vegetable Market, Udhampur, some elements in the Horticulture department not only cheated deserving applicants by allotting the same in the name of their kiths and kin in huge ‘ratio of 8-10 shops to per bogus person’, but also breached the stay orders of the high court over the shifting of the site. Despite the stay orders over the shifting of the site, horticulture department along with some influential persons, to cover up their fishy business, shifted the site taking advantage of long holidays to deter any claim of municipality over the site.

Following the allegations of the aggrieved applicants over the bungling in allotment of shop sites to fake individuals, high court had issued a stay orders on any further proceeding and December 29 was scheduled to submit orders, “but in the wake of holiday on December 25, horticulture department along with some influential people shifted the market,” said applicants.

They also alleged that on asking Area Marketing Officer (AMO), VK Langer, “he denied any such shift in his knowledge”, quoting AMO they said that AMO claims that he had information about the shifting but “no official document reached to him”.

Aggrieved applicants alleged that the ‘horticulture department also ignored call of municipality’ to discontinue any process, as the area was under municipality and many of the fake applicants were ‘without Municipality license’.

The cunningness of the horticulture department is as such that the allotted persons are not provided with any possession letter which is the basic for registering possession as per law, “even though shops were allotted to bogus applicants without any demand draft,” said applicant, adding that President Roshan Lal and AMO, VK Langer are working hand in gloves with horticulture department and have allotted shops to five to six persons of their families, moreover ‘all fake persons foray Market without paying any cost’.

According to aggrieved applicants, ‘only 35 people in the area possesses municipality issued license', whereas horticulture department has allocated around 85 shops, which make this case amply clear.

“When only 35 people of the area have municipality license then from where horticulture department has allotted 85 shops, which mean 8-10 shops to per bogus person” said one of the aggrieved applicants, adding that notwithstanding having license, many of the license holders are also deprived from allocation and the interesting part is that no applicant from Jammu was entertained.

They alleged that the allocation was arbitrarily and no mentioned procedure at the time of notification was followed, “even though no Area Marketing Officer verified any license or any applicant”. 

Following the allegations, horticulture minister, Sham Lal Sharma, yesterday instructed a high level probe into the matter and assured aggrieved applicants that if any body found misappropriating in allocation; same would be taken hard handed.

Complete integration of J&K with India only solution: Jaitley

PS BALI
Jammu Tawi, December 23
‘To end the discrimination feeling from the minds of the people of Jammu and Ladakh, the only solution is to fully integrate the state with the Union of India and then go for decentralization of power and equitable distribution of resources between the three regions,” said senior Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader, Arun Jaitley, here, today.Jaitley along with other BJP central leadership is in Jammu for holding the party’s office bearers meet and to address a public gathering in order to express their resentment against statement of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s statement on the accession of J&K with India on Friday. BJP president Natin Gadkhari, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, national spokesman Ravi Shanker Prashad, senior leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh, Anant Kumar, Venkaiah Naidu, Vasundhara Raje, Hema Malini, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Smriti Irani and some Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled states are also in the city of temples for a two-day visit. Stating that violence was the key strategy of separatists, Arun Jailtley castigated UPA and state government for giving credence and legitimacy to the separatists by conceding to their demands. “…organizing mass protests and instigating youths to pelt stone on security forces is the new strategy of the separatists, to create violence out of it.” He said that common masses in Kashmir are fed up with separatist’s agenda of violence and continued hartals and protest calls.
Terming National Conference led coalition government responsible for the current situation of Jammu and Kashmir State, BJP leader, Arun Jaitley said that due to poor and unplanned policies of government, people of J&K state are suffering.
BJP leader and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley also said that the current situation of the state needs to be dispassionately analyzed. “Government of India should distinguish between the demands of common people of Kashmir, who want peace,” he said, adding that the Kashmir issue is nothing but a part of unfinished agenda of Pakistan emanating from partition and a result of erroneous blunders of the Nehruvian vision on
Jammu and Kashmir. Talking about special status of Jammu and Kashmir with the provision of Article 370, Jaitley said that Article 370 has worked against the interest of the people of the state and has prevented investment in the state. It has prevented job creation in the state.
Resenting over the statement of chief minister, Omar Abdullah on the accession of J&K with India, Arun Jaitely said that the merger of J&K with India is complete and irrevocable. “Accession of Kashmir, not merger with India” reflects “complete misconception and self deception” on part of the CM, said Jaitley.
Taking dig at ruling government, the senior BJP leader said the present UPA government has run completely out of ideas on Kashmir situation.
“That is why; on each visit to valley Prime Minister announces some adhoc initiatives. Earlier five working groups were constituted, which never met, but still one group supported demand of autonomy. Then the home minister announced quiet dialogue, which never took place. Now, they have sent three interlocutors who started the dialogue through the media,” he said, adding Kashmir was standing at historic cross-roads. “Most people of Kashmir want peace and progress. This can only be achieved by BJP’s approach of full constitutional integration of the state with union of India,” he said.

JU exam deptt leaves students in dilemma

 PS Bali
Jammu Tawi, December 16
Apathy of examination department of Jammu University has left entire student fraternity in dilemma, where on one side the examinations are near, the students are still in dark about date sheet of their respective subjects.
So far the department has not yet dispatched proper date sheet to departments.
As per sources the examination of various classes under Jammu University will begin from December 22, but students are in dilemma what to prepare, as no date sheet has yet been notified, prior to tentative date of examination.
Aggrieved students rued that some days back notification from controller office was out in paper carrying tentative examination date, which was December 22, "but as of now a week is pending including holidays, we are yet to receive proper date sheet," said a delegation of students, adding that even though the departments are not provided with official examination schedule.
Talking to Newspoint an official from Distance Education Department said that, as the examination for various classes are going to start from December 22, but yet we are not officially informed about the scheduled date sheet, which is creating problem for departments as well as students, who approach us from far flung areas. "Unofficially, we came to know that examinations are from December 22, same is what we convey to students, but hitherto we haven't received any official document," said an official, on conditions of anonymity, adding that as per officials at examination department the same date sheet would reach to us on Monday.
"After that we have to publish it on our own to inform students, but as there are holidays in between, we have apprehension that some students might miss the schedule," said the official, adding but we will put all our efforts to inform all.
When Newspoint tried to contact controller examination, GM Bhat, he asked us to contact Prof. Deepanker Gupta, officer on special duty, who said that they have dispatched all the data along with center notice to students and "if we feel that there is need of more communication, we will take the medium of newspapers to inform students".
On whether, what students do till they receive the schedule, Deepanker Gupta assured that by tomorrow, scheduled
date sheet would be out in newspapers for the convenience of students.
It is pertinent to mention here that this is not the first time that examination department came under criticism, some seven days back, due to mistake of examination department, Hindi students had to appear in some other course prior to scheduled one.