Author: snskashmir

‘Several IAS, IPS officers on central deputation may return to home cadre’

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 09 :

After merging J&K cadre officers with Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT), a major reshuffle of top bureaucrats is on the cards with many officers who are on central deputation may be repatriated to Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. 
The Centre on Thursday merged Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS, IPS and IFS officers with that of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT), also called the Union Territory cadre, through an ordinance.
The move will allow officers posted in these states and UTs to work in J&K and vice versa.
Top sources in the administration told news agency KINS that the government is set to make a major reshuffle in the bureaucracy at the top level in J&K.
“Many senior IAS and IPS officers are likley to be transferred. The reshuffle will also be for several officers who are holding major departments in the administration,” the sources claimed.
Sources said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Singh recently also discussed with Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the major reshuffle in J&K.
“Transfer of top officers is on the cards which were discussed in the meeting. Many IAS and IPS officers who are on central deputation will be repatriated to J&K,” sources said.
Sources said that the central and the state government looks to roll out key development projects in the state, which may require additional administrative support.
Among the key proposals under government’s consideration to fill vacant administrative posts in J&K also include bringing back officers on deputation to the Centre,” sources maintained.
Sources said that the Union government has agreed to direct the senior bureaucrats who have completed their deputation at the Centre to return to cadre instead of seeking an extension which requires the state’s no objection certificate.
Sources also claimed that several top bureaucrats who are holding principal secretary posts will be transferred.
“Some IAS and IPS will also be brought from states of AGMUT,” they said.
The local bureaucracy of Kashmir is already feeling the heat as officers of the valley are apparently given insignificant posting.
All key departments like Finance, Home, Power, and various important departments are headed by officers from outside Jammu and Kashmir.
Non-local officers are also holding top posts like Divisional Commissioner Kashmir.
Similarly, most posts of DCs and SSP are held by non-local officers in Kashmir.
A bureaucrat from Kashmir, wishing not to be quoted by name for fear of reprisal, said it was difficult for non-local officers to manage things in Jammu and Kashmir. “They (non-local officers) are culturally, socially, geographically different with the result that there remains a gap between bureaucracy and the public,” the officer said.
The merger of the existing J&K cadre of IAS, IPS and IFS officers is both a political and administrative move.
The ordinance has replaced sub-sections 2-6 of the law with two sub-sections, which say that members of IAS, IPS and IFS for the existing J&K cadre “shall be borne and become part of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territories cadre, and all future allocations of All India Services Officers for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh shall be made to Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territories cadre for which necessary modifications may be made in corresponding cadre allocation rules” by the Centre.
It says officers “so borne or allocated” on AGMUT cadre shall function in accordance with rules framed by the Centre. (KINS)

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 8 :

Two more people succumbed to the covid-19 during the last 24 in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the fatality count due to the pestilence to 1909 in J&K, officials told GNS on Saturday.

Both the victims were from Jammu division—a man from Ploura area of the winter capital of J&K and a woman from Gandya area of Kathua, they said.

With these deaths, the total fatality count reached 1196 in the Valley while 709 have succumbed to the virus in Jammu region.

Srinagar district with 451 deaths tops the list followed by Jammu (364), Baramulla (172), Budgam (111), Kupwara (93), Pulwama (88), Anantnag (84), Doda (64), Bandipora (60), Udhampur (57), Kulgam (53), Rajouri (55), Kathua (50), Ganderbal (41), Shopian (39), Samba (39), Poonch (24), Ramban (21), Kishtwar(22), and Reasi (15). (GNS)

Asks youth to positively transform their energies in right direction, Directs Youth Services and Sports Department for ensuring best arrangements and facilities for all the trainee skiers

SNS KASHMIR

JAMMU JANUARY 09 :

Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today flagged off a batch of Girls contingent for a 15 day Ski Course and Training to be conducted at Gulmarg.

In a statement issued to news agency-kashmir news service(KNS), While interacting with the trainee skiers, the Lt Governor asked the youth to grab opportunities provided by the government, and positively transform their energies in the right direction.

“J&K Government is creating an appropriate platform for productive engagement of youth and to give necessary exposure to the budding sportspersons; besides providing access to the best of the coaches to hone the skill sets of the youth”, observed the Lt Governor.

He said that the UT Government is dedicated towards identifying and promoting the young talent of J&K by providing sustained handholding with necessary equipment, infrastructure and facilities to nurture the skills.

The Lt Governor directed the Department of Youth Services and Sports for ensuring best arrangements and facilities for all the trainee skiers and keeping staff available at all the difficult locations for assistance of the trainees.

The trainees who have already completed their Ski course also shared their experiences and thanked the UT Administration for providing them with the opportunity to be trained by best coaches and trainers.

It was informed that food, lodging, equipment, transportation, training, coaching, lift charges, heating arrangements and other facilities are being provided free of cost to the trainees.

The current batch consists of girls from different Government run schools from Poonch, Kathua, Jammu, Ramban, Kishtwar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Baramulla and Kupwara. A total of 600 budding skiers (Boys and Girls) in a 2 and a half month long programme will be trained under Olympian Gul Mustafa and other experienced coaches and trainers.

Sh. Farooq Khan, Advisor to the Lt Governor; Sh. Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary to the Government, Youth Services and Sports Department; Dr. Saleem-ur-Rehman, Director General, Youth Services and Sports, J&K and other officers were present on the occasion.

Asks Sajad Lone for introspection for allying with PAGD

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 9 :

 Prominent Shia leader and General Secretry People’s Conference Imran Raza Ansari has accused the PAGD leadership of fielding proxy  candidates in DDC elections and asked his party Chief Sajad Gani Lone to go for introspection for trusting  PAGD .

Ansari in a letter to Sajad Lone that lies with KNS said, “I am writing to you in reference to the recent statements made by Mr. Abdul Gani Vakil. From the outset, I would strongly urge you take this letter of mine in the proper spirit and not in any manner think that this is a letter challenging your decisions and authority in the party. 

“The call of introspection made by  Vakil must be taken in the proper spirit in which it has been made. It does not mean that we are against the spirit of PAGD or the objectives of the PAGD. But in wake of the deceitful behavior shown by our allies by fielding proxy candidates in almost all DDC constituencies, we need to seriously think whether PAGD collectively possesses the sincerity that the people of J & K deserve.In the context of proxy candidates, I will narrate my own personal experience. Pattan had two DDC segments and both were allotted to Peoples Conference and we fielded two candidates on behalf of the PAGD. Would you Sajad sahib care to explain why did the NC leaders including the current Parliament member of NC, and their constituency head hold indoor meetings and campaigned against these two candidates of PAGD. Their involvement in Pattan was so much that the member of Parliament fared very badly in his own Assembly constituency because he was solely focused on defeating the Peoples Conference candidate fighting on the PAGD mandate,” reads letter issued to KNS.
“Now let me bring to your kind notice the other facet of deceit. We were allotted seats to fight in the neighboring Sonawari Assembly segment but NC put up candidates and not by proxy but on proper NC mandate. You would know better Sir that the party nomination form is signed by the party president. The president of PAGD Dr Farooq Abdullah signed the mandate for a particular DDC segment in our favor and then Dr Farooq Abdullah as the president of NC also signed the nomination form of an NC candidate in the same DDC segment. So what are we up against. This is not gossip or something unverifiable. This a documented fact. You can check the records. This has happened with other parties too.Now let me draw your attention to our bastion district Kupwara. May I ask you who did we fight against in the DDC seats allotted to us. The BJP candidates got hardly a few hundred votes. Who voted against us? Sajad sahib is it not time to tell the truth to the people. Our cadres know it, NC cadres know it. We were fighting the NC. It was a typical NC vs PC fight. When you went out to campaign who were you campaigning for and who were you campaigning against. Our senior leader and ex MLA Bashir Ahmed Dar sahib openly named the top NC leaders of the area on the stage in a large public gathering where you were also present. Did you not promise the people in your speech that you will ensure that action is taken against those who fielded proxy candidates? I am just asking, “where is the action against those leaders who defied PAGD and fielded proxy candidates against PAGD,” it reads.

The letter alos reads, “I also want to take up the issue of seats allotted to us. We did not object and did not question you when out of 140 seats in the valley we were allotted ten seats. In the last parliament elections held in 2019, you have said in many interviews and meetings that we stood second in the valley and secured approximately 27% of the vote share amongst the three parties combined vote share (PC/NC/PDP). Even as per the selective and flawed process by the PAGD for allocation of DDC seats, is this all that they had on offer for us. When Vakil sahib and me confronted you, we were shouted down. In our recent meeting with the elected DDC members you talked about PC having a strike rate of 80 % while both NC and PDP have a strike rate of less than 40%. You also said that PC has taken about 5000 votes per seat that they contested while NC has taken around 1000 votes per seat contested and PDP has taken about 800 votes per seat contested. Sir, have you discussed these statistics with the PAGD leadership. Have you discussed the blind greed in taking mandates with poor results to show now?”

” You served the same notice to me when I met the Lieutenant Governor. Why was I prohibited from going when today an official delegation of the National Conference and Mr. Yusuf Tarigami have gone to meet the Lieutenant Governor. I don’t for a moment challenge your authority and your leadership but I am saying that too much of simplicity and taking people on face value may do a lot of damage to the party. Sir, let me also draw your attention to the political aspects. Mr. Omar Abdullah said that these elections were a referendum on August 5.  Our party position is clear. We are against August 5 and will do what it takes to fight for the restoration of our rights. I have a simple question for Mr. Omar Abdullah. If indeed it was a referendum who did the NC cadres vote for or against in the referendum. It is simple. A vote for PAGD was a vote against August 5. But in many constituencies NC voted against PAGD through their proxies. So NC in Pattan, Singhpora, Ramhall, Chowkibal etc segments voted against PAGD thereby voted in favor of August 5. Isn’t this cheating. How can you keep quiet on such issues? And if it was such an important referendum why didn’t the NC come out and campaign. This is a question which Sajad sahib I ask you. Their absence from campaign raises doubts about their seriousness in, as Omar sahib puts it, referendum on August 5,” it states.

” have written this letter in all sincerity. I want you to introspect. I want our party to be at the forefront fighting for the cause of the people in a transparent manner. I am in no way against the stated objectives of PAGD. We support the stated objectives which you have coscripted with them. But it is difficult to convince the people about the sincerity of intentions when they are themselves witness to deceitful behavior during the elections. People have asked me that if you PAGD guys cannot be trusted with cheating each other during DDC elections how can we trust you with bigger objectives.”

“Seventeen months have passed since August 5 2017. It is too little time for us political leaders to go back to the old and cheap political rhetoric. There is a lot that has to be achieved and that can only be achieved in a fair and transparent manner. Please don’t underestimate the forces that you are pitted against. It will be a mammoth job. We are with you. And we believed in your vision of collective action. But collective action will work if there is sincerity. The past two months have shown that there is no sincerity in this alliance.

I implore upon you to convene a meeting of the working committee and also of the newly elected DDC members. With all humility Sajad sahib you have to be ready to answer questions that we all have,  ” he asked Sajad Lone.(KNS)

Applauds role of JK Police in providing helping hand to the people during heavy snowfall

Says strict action to thwart ill designs of Pakistan, terrorists must continue

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR JANUARY 09 :

Put extra efforts to create more conducive atmosphere for the people of Jammu and Kashmir so that gains of 2020 are consolidated. This was stated by the Director-General of Police J&K Shri Dilbag Singh while chairing first 2021 review meeting with the senior officers of Kashmir Zone at Police Control Room Srinagar today afternoon.

At the very outset, the DGP appreciated role of JK Police personnel during recent snowfall throughout Kashmir valley. He said that besides assistance in snow clearance at various places medical emergency calls were attended by the policemen and helping hand was extended to the people in the cities and also in the far-flung areas which shows the commitment and resolve of force towards the public service. He applauded the role of JK Police in assisting the civil administration for restoration of essential services. He emphasized that readiness of the force plays a pivotal roll in any contingencies to ensure better service to our own people.

He commended the efforts of various district Police units and the district SSsP under whose supervision police personnel have evacuated pregnant women, sick persons to hospitals and trapped persons to safer locations.

The DGP stressed upon officers to put elaborate security arrangements in place as Pakistan and its sponsored elements are looking for soft targets to foment trouble. He said that stringent action should be taken against the elements found involved in anti-national activities. He stressed for increased anti-terror operations to provide peaceful environment in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the strict security measures must continue to thwart the ill designs of Pakistan sponsored terrorist outfits and elements inimical to peace.

Shri Singh said that JK Police along with its sister agencies and security Forces is carrying forward the agenda of peace and added that every possible effort should be made to bring lasting peace to this place . The DGP directed the officers to gear up and put extra efforts to create more conducive atmosphere for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that a lot of good work has been done in the past year but there is much more to be done in the near future.
The DGP congratulated the officers for the commendable work done during the previous year on the various fronts and accomplishing every challenge with fortitude. He said that 2020 was a successful year for JKP and other forces and agencies working together on different fronts.
DGP stressed for strengthening the highway security grid and added that mobile patrol vehicles along with CCTV and other gadgets will be provided to Kashmir Zone for further deployment on the national highway. He said that these vehicles will enhance the capabilities of the local police to respond better to any contingencies along the highway. He said that after dovetailing these patrols with already established nakas better sense of security will be provided to the commuters on the national highway.
IGP Kashmir Shri Vijay Kumar briefed the DGP regarding the security measures put in place in Kashmir Zone. He also apprised the DGP about the work done by the JK Police personnel at different places during the recent snowfall.

IGP Kashmir Zone Shri Vijay Kumar, DIG CKR Shri Amit Kumar, SSP Srinagar Dr. Haseeb Mughal, SSP Anantnag attended the meeting at PCR, DIG South Kashmir Shri Atul Goel , North Kashmir Shri M. Suleiman Choudhary and other district SSsP of Kashmir Zone attended the meeting via video conferencing.
DGP expressed his deep gratitude to Hon’ble PM,HM and LG for continuing appreciation and support to JKP.

SOPORE, JANUARY 9 :

Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested five Lashker-e-Toiba over ground workers in Sopore area of north Kashmir Baramulla district.

“Acting on specific human and technical inputs, Sopore Police and Security forces arrested Khursheed Ahmad Lone of Nowpora Jagir Kreeri Baramulla, Bashir Ahmad Zargar of Behrampora, Rafiabad, Javid Ahmad Pandith of Dangerpora, Sopore, Waseem Ahmad Lone of Botingoo, Sopore and Arif Ahmad Khanday of Zaloora, Sopore,” police said in a statement. “They were involved in providing logistics and other assistance/ transportation to the LeT militants and were also in constant contact with the active (militants) of the outfit to carry out subversive activities within the jurisdiction of Police District Sopore”.

The police said that Khursheed has been arrested in case (FIR No. 122/2020) of police station Tarzoo, Bashir in case (FIR No. 154/2020 of police station Dangiwacha, Javid and Waseem in case (FIR No. 360/2020 of police station Sopore while as Arif in case FIR No. 84/2020 of police station Bomai.”The investigation of these case are going on.”

JAKARTA (Reuters) – A Sriwijaya Air plane with 62 people on board lost contact after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on a domestic flight on Saturday and rescuers said suspected debris had been found in the sea off the city.

The Boeing 737-500, en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, disappeared from radar screens after taking off just after 2.30 p.m. (0730 GMT).

Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya told a news conference that 62 people had been aboard, including 12 crew. Another official had said earlier there were 56 passengers and six crew.

Bagus Puruhito, head of the country’s search and rescue agency Basarnas, said teams had been dispatched to search the waters north of Jakarta. No radio beacon signal had been detected, the agency said.

Agus Haryono, another official with the agency, told Reuters that debris suspected to be from the plane had been found in the sea, but it had not been confirmed that it came from the missing flight.

Reliable tracking service Flightradar24 said on its Twitter feed that Flight SJ182 “lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta”.

Sriwijaya Air, an Indonesian airline, said in a statement it was gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it could make a fuller statement.

The nearly 27-year-old Boeing 737-500 was much older than Boeing’s problem-plagued 737 MAX model, one of which crashed off Jakarta in late 2018, killing all 189 people aboard the Lion Air flight. Older 737 models are widely flown and do not have the system implicated in the MAX safety crisis.

A Boeing spokeswoman said, “We are aware of media reports from Jakarta, and are closely monitoring the situation. We are working to gather more information”.

Indonesian television channels showed pictures of suspected wreckage.

“We found some cables, a piece of jeans, and pieces of metal on the water,” Zulkifli, a security official, told CNNIndonesia.com.

Nurhasan, a fisherman in the area known as Thousand Islands, told local media that he and his crew had found several pieces of metal.

It was raining at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport when the plane took off for Pontianak, around 740 km (460 miles) away.

SEARCH OPERATION

Rescue official Agus said 50 people were taking part in the search and that they would search into the night.

Founded in 2003, Jakarta-based Sriwijaya Air group flies largely within Indonesia.

The airline has a solid safety record until now, with no onboard casualties in four incidents recorded on the Aviation Safety Network database, though a farmer was killed when a Boeing 737-200 left the runway in 2008 following a hydraulic problem.

The Boeing 737 is the world’s most-sold family of aircraft and has undergone several makeovers since it entered service in 1968.

The 737-500 is two generations of development before the most recent 737 MAX, which has been embroiled in a worldwide safety crisis following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. It does not use the software system implicated in those crashes.

Nonetheless, experts say planes such as Sriwijaya’s leased 737-500 are being phased out for newer fuel-saving models. Civil jets typically have an economic life of 25 years, meaning they become too expensive to keep flying beyond that compared to younger models, but they are built to last longer.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Calls reduction in age bar for civil service aspirants an arbitrary decision

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 09 :

Apni Party President SyedAltaf Bukhari on Saturday strongly reacted to the enforcement of SRO-103 that has unjustifiably reduced the age bar for civil services aspirants by five years.

In a statement issued to GNS, Altaf Bukhari termed the new rules arbitrary in nature and demanded immediate roll back of the SRO-103. “Such capricious rules are fraught with dangerous consequences,” Bukhari observed.

He said the implementation of this SRO will not only impede the participation of those KAS aspirants who have crossed the age limit of 32 but will also add to the rising levels of frustration among unemployed youth in J&K.

“It will be a sheer injustice with those aspirants who for the past five years have toiled so hard, day and night, to participate in the upcoming KAS-2021 examination,” Bukhari remarked.

Apni Party President said the applicability of SRO-130 has come as a bolt out of the blue for the civil services aspirants across Jammu and Kashmir. “It is quite exasperating for our qualified youth who want to pursue their careers in the civil services.”

He said the youth in J&K have already been facing the tide of unemployment and now this move will make the situation further gloomy. “There is no reason to reduce the age limit of civil services aspirants to 32 when the upper age limit in rest of the country even exceeds 38 and 40,” he pleaded.

He appealed to the government to roll back this new amendment and provide a respite to the resenting KAS aspirants who currently are in a condition of extreme distress.

“I appeal to the Government of India and in particular to the Lt. Governor of J&K to address the genuine grievances of civil services aspirants of J&K by repealing the SRO-130. We must realize that J&K youth want to excel in all the fields especially in the civil services provided they are given a level playing field and encouragement,” he concluded.(GNS)

PATTAN JANUARY 9 :

Sub-District Magistrate made a surprise visit to Trauma Hospital located in Pattan town of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district and found at least ten staffers including five doctors absent from duties.

Among those who were found absent were President of one of the factions of Doctors Association Kashmir Dr Suhail Nayak, Dr Asim Rather (USG) Dr Zeeza (Dentist) , Dr Mehmooda (Dentist) , Dr Arshid Hussain (Physician) and others.

During the inspection SDM Pattan also found NRHM, Dental, RNTCP, USG Sections locked.

SDM Pattan Syed Faheem told news agency KNT that he made the surprise visit at around 1:15 PM after receiving complaints that in absence of doctors and para-medical staff, patients are suffering immensely. “I was told most of the patients who visit the Trauma Hospital from far flung areas return back, when they found doctors absent. This is unacceptable and during my visit I found ten employees absent,” he said.

Syed Faheem added that he has recommended their suspension before Deputy Commissioner Baramulla till then Block Medical Officer has been asked to withhold the salaries of these employees.

A couple of patients who talked to KNT demanded stern action against the absentees saying snowfall can’t be an excuse for a doctor on whom ailing patients rely. (KNT)

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 9,:

NIA court has granted bail to Peoples Democratic Party leader Waheed-ur-Rehman after remaining in custody for over a month.

The Central agency arrested Para in November, just ahead of the District Development Council (DDC) polls in J&K, in connection with its probe into suspended DySP Davinder Singh’s links with the Hizbul.

Para, who won the polls from his constituency in Pulwama, was currently in jail.

Sources told KNT that Parra was produced before court today where he was granted bail. (KNT)