Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3:National Institute ofTechnology (NIT), Srinagarorganized Convocation 2014& 2015 at SKICC here today.

Governor N.N. Vohra, whowas chief guest on the occa-

sion, presented 16 GoldMedals to the toppers of eachbranch of B. Tech and 8 GoldMedals to the toppers of eachprogramme of M. Tech to thepass out batches, besides 9 Ph.D and 3 M. Phil Degrees to

the candidates. About 1200graduates, post-graduates anddoctorates received Degrees atthe Convocation.

Congratulating all thosewho received Degrees andMedals, the Governor askedthem to work hard and achieveexcellence in their respectivefields and earn laurels for theirparents, their alma-mater andtheir country. He asked themto bring new innovations inthe present era of rapid tech-nological transformations andtake the country to newheights.

He urged young engineersand technologists, who arenow embarking on theircareers, to enter the nextphase of their lives with con-fidence and an unwaveringcommitment to work hard,wherever they are deployed,and not to fail or falter in sat-isfactorily executing everytask which they are requiredto handle.

He further urged the gradu-ates to use the knowledge andskills which they have gainedin the past four years to makethe best possible use of the

vast array of attractive oppor-tunities which are presentlybecoming available and willcontribute towards making the“Make in India” initiatives agrand success.

"I believe that institutions

of higher learning must notmerely enable their students tosuccessfully complete theirrespective courses of study butgroom them to become skilledpersons who are dedicated andhave a high sense of responsi-bility which is rooted in strongcharacter and ethical values,"he said, added "I also believethat institutions of educationand learning must inculcateunwavering integrity whichwould enable all profession-als, to whichever stream theymay belong, to effectivelyresist and successfully thwartany unethical practice, no mat-ter whether they work for thegovernment, the corporatesector or for themselves. Theirprofessional integrity mustremain inviolable, whateverbe the pressures or compul-sions."

Director, NIT, Srinagarpresented the report giving theachievements and initiativesof the Institution.

Prof. D.P. Agrawal, ex-Chairman UPSC and Dr. M.J.Zarabi, Chairman Board ofGovernors, NIT, Srinagar alsospoke on the occasion.

DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2015 (PAGE 3)

Dr Jitendra announces Rs 40 lakh MPLAD, KV for Bani

Excelsior Correspondent

BANI, Oct 3: During his twodays tour of Bani AssemblyConstituency in district Kathua,Union Minister in PMO withindependent charge of NorthEastern States, Dr JitendraSingh today announced Rs.40lakh MPLAD for Bani in addi-tion to the proposal for aKendriya Vidyalaya, Regionallanguage Radio FM channel and

a Railway link.Dr Singh who represents

Kathua-Udhampur -DodaParliamentary Constituencyannounced this while addressing amammoth public rally here today.

Dr Jitendra Singh said out ofRs.40 lakh MPLAD, , Rs.20 lakhwill be disbursed immediately andwill be meant for starting the workfor construction of two classrooms in High school in Daparand Duggain Blocks in addition tofencing of ground at Chonuri. At

the same time, toilet complexworks at Doullah and Jodian Matain Duggain Block will also betaken up in near future.

Dr. Jitendra Singh suggestedto the local MLA Jeevan Lalwho was also present on theoccasion to develop a conceptpaper for an Inter-State TouristCircuit including Bani and theadjacent areas of HimachalPradesh, so that the natural sce-nic beauty of Bani could be uti-

lized to promote tourismemployment and revenue gener-ation. For the abundant quantityof fruit which goes waste, hesuggested a fruit marketing planunder which he would himselffacilitate a group of young enter-prising activists from theConstituency to sit with themembers of fruit industry inChandigarh and Delhi in order topromote the export of fruit andfruit juices on the pattern as ispractised in Himachal Pradesh.

As far as VDCs and SPOs ,

Dr. Jitendra Singh said, theirsalary was hiked to double lastyear, but did not receive theemoluments because the StateGovernment said that it had nofinances for the purpose. Hesuggested that the StateGovernment should earmark aseparate amount for the purposein the forthcoming CentralPackage for Jammu & Kashmir.

About the roads, Dr. JitendraSingh said, PMGSY road proj-

ects had beenexpedited onfast track andasked the localMLA to getDPRs preparedfor the roads tobe taken upunder CRF bythe UnionMinistry ofRoad Transport.

MLA BaniJeevan Lal,D i s t r i c tPresident BJPMankotia andBlock PresidentThakur Dashave also spo-ken on the occa-

sion.During his arrival yesterday

Dr Jitendra Singh visited SewaHydel Project and interactedwith the Engineers and officersthere. He was given a warmreception by the senior engi-neers and employees of theProject led by P K Langer ChiefEngineer. Later, the UnionMinister took round of theProject and listened to the prob-lems of the engineers and otherstaff members.

He assured them that he willtake up their problems with theconcerned Ministry at Delhi.

Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh being taken in a welcome procession inBani on Saturday by his supporters. —Excelsior/Madan

CS stresses on extra ordinarycare to preserve green coverExcelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: ChiefSecretary, B R Sharma todaychaired the 90th meeting of theForest Advisory Committeehere.

The Committee gave forestclearance to various proposals toallow use of forest land fordevelopmental purposes includ-ing construction of roads, Siar

Dabri-Bhawan ropeway, 2MWButakulan- Kangan HEP andPakal Dul HEP.

The FAC reiterated thedirection on minimum felling oftrees, calling upon the useragencies to ensure that extraor-dinary care is taken to save theprecious green cover in the for-est areas, while undertakingconstruction of developmentworks. “ As far as possible

alignment of roads should besuch, as would entail felling ofleast number of trees,” ChiefSecretary stressed.

He emphasised on undertak-ing compensatory afforestationin the forests, where develop-ment works are being taken upso that appropriate tree densityis maintained in the area and anyprobable negative impact on thesite ecology is considerably

reduced.The FAC also stressed on the

user agencies to ensure eco-restoration of muck dumpingsites including stabilization ofslopes by construction of retain-ing walls and where ever possi-ble to plant sapplings at thesesites. “Forest Department shouldregularly monitor the ecorestoration of the dumpingsites,” Chief Secretary said.

New recruits of the Border Security Force (BSF) take oathduring passing out parade in Humhama, on the outskirts ofSrinagar, on Saturday. —Excelsior/Amin War

338 BSF recruits pass out from STC

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Aftercompleting 24 weeks of rigoroustraining, 338 Border SecurityForce recruits today took oath toserve the country at an attesta-tion-cum-passing out parade heldat Subsidiary Training Centrenear Airport here.

Jagat Singh, InspectorGeneral of BSF KashmirFrontier, took the salute at thewell turned out parade at STCHumhama here and wished themsuccess in their future endeav-ours, a BSF spokesperson said.

While congratulating thejawans, the IG also lauded therole of officers and training staffof the STC in shaping theseyoung men to shoulder theresponsibility and live to theexpectations of the nation.

Recruit Head Constable/Radio Operator Ajit Kumar com-manded the parade.

The IG later awarded medalsfor all round first and second bestperformance, best shooter, best inPhysical endurance and best indrill, he said.

These 338 recruits, including33 Assistant Sub Inspectors, havesuccessfully completed the rigor-ous basic training in which theywere put through various aspectsof training, involving physical fit-ness and mental robustness, effec-

tive use of arms and map reading,a BSF spokesperson said.

They were also impartedtraining in field engineering,field craft, minor tactics, antiterrorism, counter insurgency,commando operations andrespect for Human Rights tobecome a ‘true borderman’ andcarry forward the legacy ofelite, he said.

He informed that STCHumhama was established onJune 10, 1990 to impart basictraining to recruits and cater tothe training needs of the BSF inthe Valley.

This Centre has so fartrained 15,089 Recruits, 928Communication personneland 4,307 Group ‘C’ Staff,which include 2,178 Kashmiriyouths including surrenderedmilitants who are now per-forming their duty in variousparts of the country, thespokesperson said.

MLC pedals to LC to say "no" to VIP cultureExcelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: To pro-mote awareness about preserva-tion of environment and say 'no'to VIP culture, a BJP MLC rode abicycle to reach the LegislativeCouncil to attend the first day ofthe Autumn session which beganhere this morning.

Chief Minister MuftiMohammed Sayeed and his col-leagues praised BJP MLCSurinder Ambardar for his act.

As the house met this morn-ing, Ambardar rose to speak onthe obituary references, DeputyChief Minister Nirmal Singhinformed the Chief Minister thatthe legislator, a Kashmirimigrant Pandit, rode on a bicycleto reach the Council from theMLA hostel.

Sayeed praised Ambardar forhis move, saying it was a nicegesture on his part.

"My decision behind pedalingmy way to the Council was toconvey a message that we need topreserve our environment and sayno to the VIP culture," Ambardar,who was carrying BJP flag on topof the bicycle, said.

This is for the first time thatany legislator has reached theCouncil on a bicycle.

Ambardar, who was wearingwhite Kurta-Pajama with a saf-fron-coloured waistcoat, said hewant to reform the society andeducate the people about the

urgent need for preservation ofthe environment for the futuregenerations.

"Kashmir is a favouritetourism destination. There isimmediate need to take these typeof initiatives so that there is pro-motion of green energy whichwill eventually reduce the carbonemission," he said.

The BJP legislator suggestedthe legislators to use the bicycleat least once during the currentsession to inspire the people atlarge.

"Such an initiative will inspirethe people and help in reductionin pollution," he said.

He said, he was personallyagainst any kind of VIP cultureand such type of initiatives wouldpromote "No VIP culture" so that"common people do not sufferjust because a particularLegislator is going to office".

Ambardar expressed hopethat his initiative would inspiremany more to promote greenenergy.

"If we protect our environ-ment, we save ourselves fromnature's fury," he said.

Asked about the security, thelegislator said he stronglybelieves that his life is in thehands of almighty.

"I felt no threat while pedal-ing my way to the Council. Thereis no reason to be afriad as lifeand death is in the hands ofalmighty," he said.

J&K Bank and Bajaj Allianz officers signing MoU during afunction in Srinagar on Saturday.

J&K Bank renews tie-up with Bajaj Allianz

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3:Cementing their business rela-tions further, the J&K Bank andBajaj Allianz General InsuranceCompany Ltd (BAGICL) haverenewed their Bancassurancetie-up for three more years.

Having already completedthe business association of 14years, the Executive PresidentParvez Ahmad and SeniorPresident SK Bhat, the bank'sVice President (Insurance)Chetan Paljor signed theMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) with President and ChiefMarketing Officer BAGICLAnamika Roy Rashtrawar hereat the bank's headquarters forthree more years. RegionalHead (J&K/Punjab), BAGICLAijaz Ahmad Khan was alsopresent on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion,Executive President said, "I amglad to be taking our partnershipwith BAGICL forward foranother 3 years. We value ourpartnership with the companyfor, during the deluge aftermathlast year, they stood by us bypaying the claims of our cus-

tomers in time thus helpingthem in rebuilding their livesand I hope the tie-up wouldprove better in future for ourvaluable customers", he added.

Anamika Roy said, "We areextremely delighted to renewour partnership with J&K Bank,a leading financial servicesprovider and a household namein the Valley. This partnershiphas helped us provide insurancesolutions to a large number ofpeople in J&K over the years.The testimony to our strongpartnership was the fact thatBajaj Allianz was able to reachout to its customers and pay over28,000 claims worth Rs. 1,000crore with the support of thebank in the aftermath of thefloods last year."

In response to the sugges-tions put forth by Bank, Ms Royagreed to introduce slew ofmeasures aimed at adding to thedelight of customers whichinclude leveraging of technolo-gy to issue policies on real timebasis, imparting training to theirown people and also to employ-ees of Bank regarding the latestdevelopments and innovationsin insurance industry.

Div Com reviews progress on NHExcelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3:Divisional Commissioner,Kashmir, Asgar Samoon todayreviewed progress of constructionand upgradation of Srinagar-Banihal National Highway.Officers of NHAI & RAMKYattended the meeting.

He directed the concerned toremove all hurdles in land acquisi-tion and removal of structures anddirected concerned DeputyCommissioners and police officersinvolved in the process to haveclose liaison with each other forachieving better progress. He alsotook note of progress on the proj-ect and was assured of its earlycompletion.

Divisional Commissioner wasinformed by representatives ofNHAI that cost of project isRs.1600 crore for 4-lanning of 65Km road from Banihal Tunnel toSrinagar and M/s RAMKY is con-structing the road and work is infull swing with five major and fiveminor bridges besides, two rail-way overhead bridges, threebridges at Padgampora, Goripora

(Awantipora) and Qazigund willbe completed by July next year.

Other 7 minor bridges and 2railway overhead bridges underconstruction will be completed bynext year. Rs 903 crore have beenutilized so far and 24 Kms surfacehas been macadamized while 09Kms will be macadamized thismonth.

Bridges at Sangam andGalander will be completed byDecember 2015 and acquisition ofland and structures is being expe-dited for patches in remaining 3Kms within this month. DeputyCommissioners of Budgam,Anantnag & Pulwama weredirected to remove all bottlenecksimmediately so that entire corridoris provided to NHAI.

Divisional Commissioner,Kashmir reiterated to the con-cerned agencies to make all effortsin close coordination with linedepartments and stakeholders tocomplete the prestigious project atan earliest. He also directed theRevenue officers and police offi-cers to remove the hurdles in roadwidening at Panthachowk at theearliest for smooth traffic.

Geographical Indication granted for Kashmir carpets Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: TheKashmir Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(KCCI) today said the'Geographical Indication' (GI)for Kashmir carpets has beengranted by concerned authori-ties after 'vigorous efforts'.

"In 2013, the KCCI createda society under the name andstyle 'Meeras' in order to beable to seek GeographicalIndication (GI) registration forcarpets manufactured in theState so as to establish its sta-tus and ensure its acceptancein the domestic and interna-tional market as a genuinequality Kashmir handmadeproduct made of purest of thematerials," KCCI said in astatement issued here.

It continued: "TheGeographical Indication is infact a sign used on productsthat have a specific geo-graphical origin and possess

qualities or reputation thatare due to that origin and inorder to function as aGeographical Indication asign must identify a productas originating in a givenplace. The process involves aseries of tests to getGeographical Indication cer-tification before the productgoes into the market."

It is after vigorous effortsKCCI, Indian Institute ofCarpet Technology and'Meeras' through series ofmeetings and continued followup with concerned authoritiesthe Geographical Indicationfor Kashmir carpet has beengranted, the statement reads."The chamber would accord-ingly advise and expect all thecarpet manufacturers getGeographical Indication certi-fication for their productsbefore passing them on to var-ious markets domestic / inter-national for sale," the state-ment reads at the end.

Power shut downExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 3: In order tocarry out the work to checkand rectify the hot spots and toreplace worn outjumpers/droppers in 220 KV,132 KV and 33 KV Bays ofGrid Station Gladni, the powersupply to Gandhi Nagar,Trikuta Nagar, Residency roadarea, Dhounthly Bazar, KaranNagar and Kachi Chawani willremain affected on October 4from 7 am to 1 pm.

Justice Tashi reviewsfunctioning of various courts

Excelsior Correspondent

KUPWARA, Oct 3: TheAdministrativeJudge with J&KHigh Court,Justice TashiRobstan todayconducted anextensive tourof Kupwara, Handwara andSogam courts to review theirfunctioning.

While witnessing the casestabled for the day, Justice TashiRobstan impressed upon theJudges to dispose of pendingcases in a fast track manner sothat desirous people get jus-tice at their doorsteps.

DC Kupwara, SP Kupwara,besides various judges of theconcerned courts were presenton the occasion.

NIT Srinagar organizes Convocation

Governor presents Medals, Degrees

Several mines explode on LoC

Excelsior Correspondent

MENDHAR, Oct 3: Dozensof land mine explosions alongthe Line of Control created panicin Balakote area of Mendhar indistrict Poonch last night.

Reports said that Forest firewhich started from that side ofthe Line of Control also went onspreading to this side of thefence. From Khala Draman areain Balakote it covered around 2-3 sq km of area. It causeddozens of land mine explosionthroughout the night. The Armywent on alert as some gadgetsinstalled along the fence alsocame under the fire range.

The Army and ForestDepartment launched operationand contained the fire today. Itis suspected that fire was delib-erately ignited to ensure mili-tants’ infiltration from that side.

DyCM calls on GovernorExcelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Deputy Chief Minister, Prof. NirmalSingh, called on Governor N.N. Vohra here at the Raj Bhavantoday.

Prof. Singh briefed the Governor about the various steps takenin the past months to energize the functioning of the Housing &Urban and Power sectors and the initiatives recently taken for theArmy occupied land to be restored to the University of Jammuwhose developmental programmes have been long held back forwant of land.

Casual, daily wagers’ indefinite hunger strike enters 2nd day Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: An indef-inite hunger strike by dailywagers, casual labourers, needbased workers, land donors andother temporary employeesentered its second day.

Under the banner of Jammuand Kashmir Casual Daily WagersForum (CDWF) the hunger strikewas started at Partap Park near here, demanding their regularisation.

A spokesperson of the CDWFsaid the hunger strike is indefiniteas State Government has totallyfailed to address their issues ofpermanent employment of thosewho are working in different

offices from 1994 to 2015. The spokesperson said previ-

ous National Conference (NC) andCongress Coalition Governmenthad totally deceived more than61,000 members of the CDWF onOctober 27 last year when the issueof daily wagers for their permanentemployee was deferred because ofsome dispute between two rulingparty Ministers.

He said now the present coali-tion Government of PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and BJPis also trying to delay the issue byconstituting committees.

The strike will continue tilltheir demand was accepted, headded.

Chief Secretary BR Sharma chairing a meeting of ForestAdvisory Committee at Srinagar on Saturday.

Governor N N Vohra presenting degrees and certificates during NIT Convocation at SKICC.

PIL against alleged fake category certificates

DB directs State to file response within 4 weeksExcelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 3: In a mis-cellaneous application filed byMohd Anwar Choudhary,member of State AdvisoryBoard for the development ofGujjar and Bakerwal againstalleged fake ST category cer-tificates, Division Bench ofState High Court comprisingJustice Hasnain Massodi andJustice B S Walia today direct-ed State to set-up ScrutinyCommittee atDivision/District Level toscrutinize the social status cer-tificates (Reserved CategoryCertificates).

After hearing Advocate SMChoudhary appearing for thePIL, DB observed, "the coun-sel appearing for the petitionerhas stated that the Governmentorder claimed to have beenfiled in the compliance to thedirection of court is not in tunewith the law laid down inMadhuri Patil's case and there-fore amounts to disobedienceof the court".

"The instant miscella-neous petition seeking imple-mentation of the court order

dated August 24, 2012, there-fore, is in the nature of con-tempt petition as petitioneressentially seeks complianceof court order and punish-ment of respondents for dis-obedience of the courtorder", the DB furtherobserved.

While treating the petitionas contempt petition, the DBdirected State to file responsewithin four weeks.

It is worthwhile to mentionhere that on August 24, 2012,the Division Bench disposedof the PIL with the directionsto the State to bring the mech-anism under the ReservationAct and Rules for grant/issuance of Reserved CategoryCertificates at par with thedirections of the SupremeCourt so that chances of anymal-practice at the stage ofgrant/ issuance of certificatesare excluded.

The DB had also directedfor setting-up of ScrutinyCommittee at Division/DistrictLevel to scrutinize the certifi-cates already issued andfixed six months time tocomply with the directions.