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Excelsiordaily

REGD. NO. JK-71/18-20RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 55 No. 42 JAMMU, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 14 Pages `̀ 5.00

Fayaz BukhariSRINAGAR, Feb 11: As

Jammu-Srinagar NationalHighway (NH-44) remainedclosed for 6th consecutive daytoday due to landslides inRamban sector, Kashmir val-ley is facing crisis of essentialswith prices skyrocketing.

The residents in SouthKashmir's districts said that thepetrol pumps have run dry in thearea. They said that diesel isavailable but for last two days,the pumps have run out ofpetrol. However, in Srinagar thepetrol and diesel were still avail-able but won't last for more thancouple of days.

The Liquified Petrol Gas(LPG) of Indian Oil and BharatPetroleum is out of stock asthese two companies have nobottling plant in the Valley.

Jagmohan Raina, one of theleading distributors of the Indian

Oil LPG said that for last fourdays they are out of stock due toclosure of the highway. "The IOnormally distributes 8, 000

cylinders daily but these dayswe are having no stocks", hesaid.

The residents in SouthKashmir said that even HP gas isnot available in the area but inSrinagar and North Kashmir theLPG is still available but if theroad is not re-opened in fewdays the stocks of the HP willalso exhaust. Normally around20, 000 cylinders are distributedin Kashmir valley daily butthese days only one fourth isavailable.

As per the Mutton DealersAssociation there is no muttonavailable as the road this winterremained mostly closed.However, wherever the muttonis available, it is being sold atexhorbitant rates. GhulamMohammad, a resident ofSrinagar said that he got mutton

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Feb 11: TheState High Court today directedthe Government to file reportwith regard to relooking thepurchase and procurement ofnutritional items supplied to theAnganwari centers in the Stateon next date.

The Division Bench of ChiefJustice Gita Mittal and JusticeSanjeev Kumar today soughtthe report from the State onrelooking the issue of supplyingof nutritional items to theAnganwari centers in the State.

The Court was informed thatthe nutritional items are not ofstandard quality which are beingsupplied to the children in thesecenters. The State counsel todayinformed the Court that thedepartment Social WelfareDepartment (SWD) has taken up

the matter for changing the man-ner in which nutritional itemswere supplied to these Centersand the Court after these sub-missions sought the report onthe issue.

The contract as per the peti-tioner counsel has been given toa firm - M/s Rattan Oil Mills -which has already been blacklisted and the case is also pend-ing against the said firm in aCourt of law for supplying adul-terated food items.

As proof petitioner hasalready placed on record ofprosecutions launched by theprosecuting authority(Designated officer underFood Standard Safety Act)against M/s Rattan Oil Millsfrom whom biscuits have beenordered to be supplied. RattanOil Mills appears to be manu-facturing sub-standard bis-

cuits for which it is facing mul-tiple prosecutions not only inKashmir division but inJammu division as well.

The biscuits constitute animportant nutritional item sup-plied to thousands of Anganwadicenters across the State.Similarly from one WaniBrothers, Channa is being pro-cured which is totally misbrand-ed as per the test report submit-ted by Food Standard and Safetydepartment.

The Food Safety Departmentwhich is a necessary member formonitoring committee has beenremoved from the committee inorder to avoid the proper check-ing of nutritional items to thecenters.

It is Ministry of Women andChild Development Union ofIndia to provide the funds for the

Mohinder VermaJAMMU, Feb 11: Though

nearly two months have lapsedsince the enactment of Act bythe Governor Satya Pal Malikyet the Government has notset into motion process formaking Jammu and SrinagarMetropolitan RegionDevelopment Authoritiesfunctional. The intensity ofdilly-dallying approach can begauged from the fact that evenareas to be brought underthese Authorities have notbeen identified till date.

On December 16, 2018, theGovernor Satya Pal Malik enact-ed the Jammu and KashmirMetropolitan RegionDevelopment Authorities Act inexercise of the powers vestedunder Proclamation No.P-1/18dated June 20, 2018.

It was officially stated at thattime that these MetropolitanRegion DevelopmentAuthorities will play crucial rolein co-ordinating and supervisingthe proper, orderly and rapiddevelopment in the areas in suchRegions and execute plans, proj-ects and schemes for such devel-opment.

The foremost step towardsthe implementation of the Actwas to notify the areas to bebrought under theseMetropolitan RegionDevelopment Authorities andsimultaneously makingappointment of ChiefExecutive Officers (CEO) andother staff in order to makethese Authorities functional.

However, despite lapse ofnearly two months no exercisehas been conducted for makingthese Development Authoritiesfunctional, official sources toldEXCELSIOR while disclosingthat even Metropolitan Regionshave not been notified by theHousing and UrbanDevelopment Department tilldate.

They disclosed that videCommunication No.HUD-133dated January 15, 2019 theHousing and UrbanDevelopment Department haddirected the DivisionalCommissioners of Kashmir andJammu to propose areas to be

brought under the MetropolitanRegions of Jammu and Srinagarby or before January 28, 2019.

However, the DivisionalCommissioners failed toaccomplish the task within thespecified time-frame. This canbe gauged from the communi-cation dated February 8, 2019of the Housing and UrbanDevelopment Department tothe Divisional Commissionersof Jammu and Kashmir whichread: "Please refer the depart-ment's earlier CommunicationNo.HUD-133. The desiredinformation is still awaitedfrom your end. Accordingly,you are requested to send therequisite information by orbefore January 15, 2019 posi-tively".

"Unless the areas to bebrought under MetropolitanRegions are identified and noti-fied the Authorities cannot bemade functional as this is theforemost and vital exercise", anofficer of the Housing and Urban

Govt dilly-dallying on making MetropolitanRegion Development Authorities functional

Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, Feb 11: In anoth-

er major snub to NationalConferencea n dP e o p l e ’ sDemocraticP a r t y( P D P ) ,G o v e r n o rSatya PalMalik has

ruled out sanction of any moredivisions in Jammu andKashmir and announced for-mation of high-levelCommittee of Secretaries,headed by Principal Secretary,Planning Development andMonitoring Department(PDMP), Rohit Kansal, to takeup the issues raised by the peo-ple of Kargil following grantof divisional status to Ladakh.

Speaking to reporters, theGovernor said this (the grant ofdivisional status) was longstanding demand of Leh andKargil, which has been conced-ed by the Government.

"It was necessary (to grantdivisional status to Ladakh),'' hesaid.

In response to a question ondemand raised from some quar-ters especially by National

Conference and PDP for divi-sional status to 'Chenab Valley'and Pir Panjal range, Malik

replied in negative.National Conference and

PDP have been openly support-ing the demand for grant of divi-sional status to ‘Chenab Valley'comprising Doda, Kishtwar andRamban districts and Pir Panjalrange including twin border dis-

tricts of Rajouri and Poonch. National Conference vice

president and former ChiefMinister Omar Abdullah hadgone to the extent of declaringthat when his party is voted topower, it will grant divisionalstatus to `Chenab Valley' and PirPanjal range. However, the BJPhas categorically opposed such ademand saying it was motivatedby vested political interests ofthe two parties (NC and PDP).

"It (divisional status) wasimperative for both the dis-tricts of Leh and Kargil,''Malik said.

This was another snub of

Guv’s another snub to NC,PDP; says no to new divisions

PC fields Raja,Ansari for LS polls

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Feb 11:

Peoples Conference todayannounced the party candidatesfor Baramulla and SrinagarParliament seats. Former IGPand leading political leader RajaAijaz Ali will represent theparty from North while IrfanReza Ansari will be the partycandidate for SrinagarParliament seat, a partyspokesperson said in a release.

Peoples Conference CentralElection Committee (CEC) metunder the chairmanship of SajadGani Lone to deliberate on prob-able party candidates for theupcoming Parliament elections.After detailed discussion & thor-ough consideration, the CEC hasfinalized the names of RajaAijaz Ali for Baramulla seat andIrfan Reza Ansari for Srinagarseat," the spokesperson said.

Govt may terminate NHM

employeesExcelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Feb 11: Taking

serious note of the affectedpatient care in the hospitalsacross the State due to ongoingstrike of NHM employees,Government has directed all theDeputy Commissioners to issuenotices to the protesting employ-ees for resuming work within 48hours failing which their servic-es will be terminated.

Official sources toldEXCELSIOR that the DeputyCommissioners have also beendirected to ensure that no pay-ment of wages is made to anyNHM employee during the peri-od of absence from duty.

"The termination orders ofthe employees will be issued bycompetent authority i.e. the onewhich made appointments,"

J&K seeksSC’s nod on 35A

NEW DELHI, Feb 11: The Jammu and Kashmir

Government today sought per-mission from the SupremeCourt to circulate a letter to par-ties for adjourning upcominghearing on pleas challenging theconstitutional validity of Article35A, which provides specialrights and privileges to nativesof State, saying there was no“elected Government” in theState.

The Apex Court is sched-uled to hear during the week thepetitions challenging the Article35A.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustice Sanjiv Khanna was toldby lawyer Shoeb Alam, repre-senting the State Governmentthat he was seeking its nod tocirculate the letter to parties forgetting the scheduled hearingdeferred.

“On the day of listing, theundersigned (Alam) shall berequesting for an adjournmentin the matter since presentlythere is no elected Governmentin the State of Jammu andKashmir and the State is underPresident Rule.

“The present matter involvesa sensitive issue regarding a chal-

Panel set up toexamine toll tax

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Feb 11: The State

Government today constituteda committee to examine thelevel of toll tax being levied onvarious products entering J&K,production of those productswithin the State, export of localproducts from the State andmodifications, if any in the levyof Toll Tax.

The committee, headed byDirector Industries, Jammu,shall submit its findings to thePrincipal Secretary to theGovernment, Industries &Commerce Department byMarch 1, 2019.

Massive searchesin Uri

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Feb 11: A sen-

try at an Army camp in NorthKashmir's Uri area opened firethis morning after noticing sus-

picious movement near thecamp and massive searcheswere launched by the securityforces in the area.

A massive search operationwas launched by the securityforces. However, no militant wasfound. Police said that last night,sentry of Army Artillery unit atRajarwani, Uri detected some

DM assures airlifting


People's Democratic Party(PDP) president MehboobaMufti today said she spoke toDefence Minister NirmalaSitharaman, who assured herthat arrangements will be madeto airlift passengers strandedfrom many days in Jammu dueto closure of Kashmir highway.

Spoke to @nsitharaman jiregarding passengers who havebeen stranded in Jammu formany days now. She hasassured me that arrangementswill be made to airlift themsoon, Mehbooba, who is theformer Chief Minister, wrote onmicro-blogging site twitter.

Divide & rule byBJP: Omar


Alleging that divide and rule isBJP guiding philosophy inJammu and Kashmir, NationalConference (NC) vice presidentOmar Abdullah said first thesaffron party forced the peopleof Kargil to protest when theywere denied a university andnow in even larger numbersthey are out demanding anequal share in the new divisionannounced for the region.

Abdullah was responding tothe State Government setting upheadquarters of newly createdDivision for Ladakh in Leh.

HC seeks reporton jail conditions

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Feb 11: As the

Government has submitted theDraft Prison Rules before thecommittee for its examination,the High Court today grantedtime for the same and soughtstatus report on jail conditionsacross the State.

Hearing a suo moto cog-nizance of a letter addressed bySupreme Court for condition ofjails and jail inmates, Prisonauthorities and District legalServices Authority (DALSA) areunder direction that after obtain-ing the draft jail manual fromDelhi to examine the same in

Children play during Sunset in Jammu. -Excelsior/Rakesh

Waseem AhmadKHANSAHIB: Although

most of the inhabitants ofKhansahib constituency praisedtheir former representative fordeveloping it, but, residents ofseveral villages charged himwith carrying out unfair andpartial development works intheir areas."

The Assembly constituencyof Khansahib falls underSrinagar Parliamentary con-stituency. The constituency is incentral Kashmir's Budgam dis-trict and has 160 villages andthe villages fall in the CDblocks of Khag, Beerwah,Budgam and Khansahib.

The constituency has been astrong hold of formerIndependent MLA, HakeemMohammad Yaseen, who hasbeen representing the con-

s t i t u e n c ysince 2002.

In 2014, he defeated SaifudinBhat of People's DemocraticParty (PDP) with a margin of1109 votes and retained the seatfor the third consecutive time.Yaseen polled 26649 voteswhile Bhat polled 25540 votes.

The residents of the villageKandoora said that being one ofthe largest amongst the villagesof Khansahib constituency, itfaces a lot of problems due todilapidated condition of linkroads as it is full of potholes andis in need of macadamization.

They said the up-gradationof the High School to Higher

Secondary level is a long pend-ing demand of the villagers asthe High school was establishedin 1971 but the demand wasnever fulfilled despiteapproaching the MLA severaltimes.

Inhabitants in Krimshorevillage, the entry point toKhansahib area, fume at theirrepresentative blaming him forcarrying out "partial" develop-ment works in the constituency.

"Our former MLA has beenunfair and partial in sanctioningworks to our area. Krimshore iscentrally located surrounded by30 villages like Bugroo,Parnew, Wagadh, Dreigam,

Bogund, Choudhrybag,Nanzbal and Khasiporm and itshould have the status of eithera CD block or tehsil. All thebylanes and lanes in these vil-lages are dilapidated," GhulamMohammad Khan, a residentsaid.

He said Krimshore is thecentral market for many sur-rounding villages. It has amakeshift bus stop from whichminibuses and autos ferry pas-sengers to other villages. It hasno parking area or bus yard.

The residents of several vil-lages of the constituency blamethe former MLA for "choosing"all the facilities which theGovernment provides to thepeople to his own village.

"The former MLA tookeverything, be it DegreeCollege, Sub district hospital,

Mixed response on development of KhansahibEx-MLAs’ Report Card

Constituency: KhansahibHakeem Yaseen

http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ex-mlas-report-card/

JAMMU : Generally cloudy

TEMPERATUREMax: 21.5 Degree C Min: 9.5 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 83.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 57.0 per centSunset on Tuesday: 06.14 p.m.Sunrise on Wednesday: 07.17 a.m.

SRINAGAR:Possibility of light rain/thundershowers

TEMPERATUREMax: 11.8 Degree C Min: -0.4 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 81.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 45.0 per cent

LEH: TEMPERATURE

Max: 0.0 Degree C Min: -8.2 Degree C

WEATHER

Clear Rs 1985 cr dues by Feb 19or face blackout: NTPC to Govt

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 11: In whatcould spell serious trouble onelectricity front in Jammu andKashmir especially when thewinter was at its peak in theentire State, the NationalThermal Power Corporation(NTPC) today asked the StateGovernment to clear Rs 1985crore worth due or face black-out by February 19.

A warning to this effect bythe NTPC was issued today andcame at a time when entireJammu and Kashmir especiallythe Kashmir and Ladakh regionswere reeling under extreme coldwith temperature dipping tominus in several areas andalready there was power crisis inmany parts of the State includ-

ing Doda and Kishtwar.A notice issued by the NTPC

to Jammu and KashmirGovernment said it will regulatepower supply to the State for notclearing Rs 1,985 crore dues andasked the State to either clear thepending dues or face blackout.

The NTPC notice pointedout that out of Rs 1985 crore, Rs1626 crore dues are outstandingfor last more than 60 days andwere required to be clearedurgently.

Jammu and Kashmir can losepower supply of 939.03 MegaWatts from NTPC's plantsincluding Dadri, Koldam,Farakka, Auraiya, Rohiand andUnchahar if the dues were not

cleared by the StateGovernment, sources said.

NTPC has been supplyingaround 940 mw of power toJammu and Kashmir from vari-ous power stations.

"For more than two yearsnow the payment from Jammuand Kashmir has been irregu-lar and as on date the out-standing dues of NTPC havereached a staggering Rs 1985crore," sources disclosed.

They said Jammu &Kashmir's electricity demand isaround 1,950 MW.

The NTPC has been follow-ing up at various levels withPower DevelopmentDepartment of the State for real-

ization of payments. "However,there has been no significantimprovement in payment posi-tion," they added.

The NTPC notice said thepower supply to Jammu andKashmir would be regulatedfrom 00:00 hours of February19.

"In case of outstanding duesor in case the required letter ofcredit or any other agreed pay-ment security mechanism ismaintained as per the agree-ment, the generating companymay serve a notice for regulationof power supply on the default-ing entity, for reducing the drawlschedule,'' the NTPC said.

Sources confirmed thatJammu and Kashmir could be infor major trouble following the

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Sets up high-level Panel to address Kargil’s concerns

Comm to submit recommendations to Govt soon

(Contd on page 11 Col 3)

Kargil tense, DivCom forced toreturn to LehTension mounted in

Kargil late this evening aslarge number of peoplemarched to Pashkum, about

14 kilometers from the dis-trict headquarters on Kargil-Leh National Highway andblocked the entry of newlyappointed DivisionalCommissioner of Ladakh,


J&K faces major power crisis



Div Coms fail to accomplish task assigned by H&UDD

No decision taken on appointmentof CEOs, other staff


HC seeks report on nutritionalitems supplied to ICDS centers

(Contd on page 11 Col 3)(Contd on page 11 Col 3)







Valley running out of essentials, prices skyrocket



707 passengers airlifted, NH blockedExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 11: TheIndian Air Force (IAF) air-lifted 707 stranded passen-

gers as the Jammu-SrinagarNational Highway remainedclosed on the 6th consecutiveday today.

Official sources said thatfresh landslides which had hitthe highway at Marog near


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