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Babus get power 24X 7 at Vijaypur, hospital reels under darkness

PDD pays no heed to Ministers direction

6/30/2016 11:09:41 PM

Early Times Report Jammu, June 30: Government Emergency Hospital Vijaypur has not been provided special power line for the past one decade while the Police Station Vijaypur, SDM Office, PHE Xen Office are getting the electricity round the clock. Sources told Early Times that Government Hospital Vijaypur was established 10-years ago but till date special power line which is mandatory, has not been provided by Power Development Department (PDD) to the health institution due to unknown reasons. "Despite knowing the importance of the hospital which caters to huge population, PDD has ignored the fact that twenty four hours electricity is essential for the health institution to conduct var...

Minister in trouble as CM initiates probe in his ministry's mismanagement

6/30/2016 11:09:19 PM

Early Times Report Srinagar, June 30: Fate of one of the senior ministers in the regime is this time in trouble with the chief minister ordering a thorough probe into the mismanagement and embezzlements into the department that the minister has been heading since inception of the new government in March 2015. Sources revealed that after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) castigated the state authorities over its mismanagement in the education department, the chief minister Mehbooba Mufti issued standing directions to investigate the reasons that led to such crises on ground. CAG in its annual report stated that there is a shortfall of around 44 percent under the central...

PSC conducts 'secret' interviews

6/30/2016 11:09:10 PM

Early Times Report Jammu, June 30: Throwing all the norms to the bin, the Jammu Kashmir Public Service Commission (PSC) has conducted interviews for top posts in the Health Department of the state without informing the forthcoming candidates about the interview dates. Officials stated that 33 candidates were supposed to appear in the interview for Lecturer Orthopaedics, 10 for the post of Assistant Director Health Service/DTO/Principal Regional, five for Medical Record Officer in Srinagar and Jammu and one in Lecturer Pathology. Interviews were held on June 28 and June 29 by the commission at its office in Solina, Srinagar as per notification issued by the PSC, which was also supposed ...

Will DyCM act against influential encroacher?

Shopkeeper squeezes nallah at Gandhi Nagar

6/30/2016 11:08:57 PM

Early Times Report Jammu, June 30: Encroachment over a nallah at Gole market in posh Gandhi Nagar area here under the very nose of government agencies is posing a threat to the entire area. The shopkeepers and the locals are demanding that this illegal encroachment should be removed to save the area from witnessing a catastrophe in near future. Removing encroachment from this posh area could pose a big challenge for the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, who has acted tough again...

Those killing people aren't Muslims: Mehbooba

6/30/2016 11:01:17 PM

Early Times Report Srinagar, June 30: In a passionate speech on the floor of the state Assembly, the Chief Minister said she did not subscribe to the idea of those who resorted to violence in the name of religion. Days after drawing flak for her remarks on Islam, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti again spoke on the subject today. In an emphatic speech made on the floor of the state Assembly, Mehbooba Mufti said she did not subscribe to the idea of those who resorted to violence in the name of religion. There are people who are beheading others while shouting Allah-o-Akbar(God is great); is that Islam? Should I say that is Islam?" she said. The first woman Chief Minister...

Amid ruckus, Govt sends transfer of property bill to select committee

6/30/2016 10:58:33 PM

Jehangir Rashid Early Times Report SRINAGAR, June 30: Amid ruckus and walk-out by opposition members the government today referred the 'controversial' Land Alienation and Transfer of Property Bill to the select committee. The government rejected the demand of opposition of putting the bill to vote. The bill was introduced by Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, while a few BJP legislators made amendments to the bill. The BJP leaders demanded that the bill should be referred to a select committee consisting of nine members to be nominated by the assembly speaker. The BJP legislator initiated the discussion on the bill and while quoting some of the court judgments he said the...

Amid scorching heat, some religious places without power in Jammu

6/30/2016 10:45:38 PM

Early Times Report Jammu, June 30: Even as the winter capital is witnessing scorching heat, the authorities have snapped power supplies to some religious places here. In the latest, the power supply has been snapped to an ancient temple, the Pracheen Shiv Mandir, near Tawi Bridge near Press Club, here. Upinder Singh, a managing trustee of the temple said the power supply has been snapped for the last few days. "They officials snapped the power connection pleading that it was an 'illegal' connection, but it has been so for decades. Why suddenly a change in the government policy," Singh told Early Times. He said since then devotees have been facing inconvenience in offering Puja at the t...

War of words in J&K assembly

News Analysis

6/30/2016 10:45:33 PM

Early Times Report JAMMU, June 30: The other day, the BharatiyaJanata Party's (BJP) Jammu and Kashmir unit demanded that New Delhi order the security forces to "attack and destroy" militant training camps across the border in Pakistan. Accusing the BJP of creating "war hysteria" in the state by "instigating" Pakistan, the legislators of the National Conference (NC) staged a walkout from the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. A report quoted BJP's state unit spokesperson Virender Gupta as saying: "instead of adopting a soft approach towards separatists, the Centre and the state government should adopt a decisive and pro-active policy and formulate an action plan to flush out and eliminate all mil...

Even Anantnag humiliating defeat didn't change NC

6/30/2016 10:45:27 PM

Early Times Report JAMMU, June 30: NC working president and Leader of Opposition in the J&K Legislative Assembly, Omar Abdullah, tried his level best during the election campaign in the by-election to snatch the high profile Anantnag Assembly seat from the PDP. The election was held on June 22. He levelled serious charges against CM Mehbooba Mufti and her government that it had deviated from her path to please Nagpur (RSS) and that she no longer represented the Kashmiri cause (read separatist cause). He also charged her and her government with not delivering on any of the fronts and even accused her of not doing anything to implement the PDP-BJP agenda of alliance. The point is that Omar ...

R&B dept faces cash crunch; works take a hit

6/30/2016 10:45:22 PM

Muhammad Mukaram Early Times Report Srinagar, June 30: The government has not increased the allocation of funds for last four consecutive years to Roads and Buildings Department, which is state's key department, for the developmental works, hence taking a serious toll on its work. "Despite the fact of inadequate funding from the government, R&B has macadamized and repaired around 1500 kms road network across the valley which was extensively damaged due to the September 2014 devastated floods, and in which several part of roads were damaged by the snowfall in March last year," said an official in R&B department, wished anonymous. The government of Jammu and Kashmir has not increased ...

835 schools in J&K without electricity

6/30/2016 10:45:14 PM

Early Times Report Jammu, June 30: It may be sound bizarre but true around 835 Government Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools of Jammu and Kashmir without electricity, has exposed all claims made by state government about to strengthen the school infrastructure across the state. Moreover, state government has proposed to install Biometric Attendance System (BAS) in all government schools to ensure punctuality of teachers in their daily functioning but interesting same has failed to provide electricity facilities to these schools. Sources in School education department informed Early Times that state has a total of 4198 Government and Higher Secondary Schools but 835 schools in the st...

SIT to unravel mystery behind 'missing' of rifle of BJP leader's PSO

6/30/2016 10:45:10 PM

Early Times Report SRINAGAR, June 30: The alleged rifle snatching incident wherein a BJP leader's PSO was said to have been robbed of his weapon and magazine by terrorists on June 28 at Panjan Chadoora in Budgam district has taken a new twist with some startling revelations. Official sources said that during the course of investigation, it had come to fore that BJP leader Ghulam Mohammad Chopan's daughter-in-law had taken out the Assault Rifle and Magazine from the trunk of PSO Bashir Ahmad Hanjoora. It is pertinent to mention here that the PSO, whose service weapon was allegedly robbed by unknown persons, is already in police custody. In order to dig out further details in the case, po...

Work of GPC, Kathua in oblivion

Delay in release of Rs 5 cr to JKPCC

6/30/2016 10:45:05 PM

G S Asgotra Early Times Report Jammu, June 30 The coalition government has failed to release its share of more than Rs. 5 Crores to Jammu Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC) for constructing the Government Polytechnic College, Kathua (GPC). Reliable source in department said that in financial year 2011-12, the Technical Education Department (TED) had sanctioned construction work of worth Rs 14.49 Crores of GPC to the executive agency-JKPCC in which the department concerned clearly mentioned that funds to tune of Rs eight crores would be given by Central government and remaining would be given by the State government. "But unfortunately, the state government has failed so ...

Thanedaars refuse to register FIRs; people fuming

6/30/2016 10:44:47 PM

Raj Sandeep Early Times Report Jammu, Jane 30: The general tendency of most of the policemen heading police stations to avoid registering complaint is causing great harassment to complainants. There are many instances when people in khaki were not found receptive to entertain persons coming in police stations to express their grievances and file complaint there, the sources told adding that their first reaction will be to resist writing complaint on flimsy grounds making complainant to go from pillar to post or finally return back home . The sources told that generally people themselves avoid visiting police stations for redressal of their complaints as police department has not yet be...

Wildlife department cracks down on forest land grabbers

6/30/2016 10:44:21 PM

Saahil Suhail Early Times Report Anantnag, June 30: Under fire for failure to stop massive grabbing of land at Overa-Aru Sanctuary in Pahalgam, Wildlife department on Thursday kick started land eviction drive. On the very first day, according to Range Officer Lidder Valley Range Overa Pahalgam, Abdul Rashid Wani, eviction team headed by him managed to retrieve over 300 kanals of land encroached by locals residents and Gujjars. He informed Early Times that eviction drive will continue till a...

2 LeT militants killed in Pulwama encounter

2016 registered increase in killing of militants by over 110 pc

6/30/2016 10:43:44 PM

Javaid Naikoo Early Times Report Srinagar, June 30: Two local militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit were today killed by security forces in an encounter in Neva area of South Kashmir's Pulwama district. Army spokesman, Col N N Joshi said in yet another major blow to the terror outfits, security forces eliminated two LeT militants in a swift encounter that erupted this morning in Malwar village near Neva- Zudura area of Pulwama. He said that based on specific inputs regarding the presence of militants in Malwar village, an operation was launched by army and police in the morning. As army commenced the search of the suspected house, a heavy volume of fire was opened ...

Govt to set up new prisons in JK

Crime rate on rise

6/30/2016 10:43:26 PM

Saqib Junaid Early Times Report SRINAGAR, June 30: Amid increasing crime rate resulting in rise in the number of detainees in Jammu and Kashmir, the state will have more prisons to overcome the problems of congestion in the existing jails. Presently, there are 14 jails in the state with intake capacity of around 3000. However, the Valley prisons are overburdened due to rapid increase in the number of arrested persons for their involvement in taking part in protests, stone pelting, domestic violence and other crimes. Sources said some of the prisons have been lodging prisoners double then their existing capacity. According to police records, around 70 crime cases get registered on an av...

JKCL showers undue benefits on blue-eyed employees

6/30/2016 10:30:44 PM

Ishtiyaq Ahmad Early Times Report Srinagar, June 30: At a time when its management should have been busy taking corrective measures to revive the fortunes of Jammu and Kashmir Cements Limited, they are allegedly doing the opposite. According to insiders, Atul Kumar Sharma one of the junior General Managers in J&K cements Ltd who as per the government order is looking after the work of the Managing Director till a suitable arrangement is made, is showering undue benefits on some blue-eyed employees in the corporation without caring for the financial health of it. The insiders said that though corporation over the last three years has witnessed sharp decline in all the wings and is a...

BJP MLAs complain against ill-informed party ministers

6/30/2016 10:30:30 PM

Early Times Report Jammu, June 30: There is strong anger among MLAs of the BJP against failure of the BJP ministers to take stand during cabinet meetings on crucial issues. Instead of presenting united face during cabinet meetings, BJP ministers are more concerned about undermine each other credibility thus providing opportunity to the coalition partner to take final decisions on crucial bills. Credible sources in the BJP said that recently many controversial bills were cleared by the State Cabinet in the presence of BJP ministers, who failed to react effectively. These bills were cleared for introduction in the Assembly and the BJP ministers were not aware of the consequences of these ...

As Govt hikes perks of Legislators, 10 year old awaits financial help for his 4th Heart Surgery

6/30/2016 10:30:23 PM

Early Times Report Srinagar, June 30: 10 year old boy from Sopore District of Jammu and Kashmir has to undergo his fourth heart surgery at Delhi's AIIMS later this year, but his family is unable to bear the medical expenses while at the same time the government of Jammu and Kashmir had enough funds available to increase the salaries and pensions of MLAs/MLCs. As per the family members of this boy, his first heart surgery was performed in 2006 in which the doctors at AIIMS planted a shunt in his body which is a mechanical device implanted under the skin that transplants vital cerebrospinal fluid in the human body. After planting shunt in his body, the boy had undergone to next surgery...

Thana police taking lakhs as 'protection money' from traffic, others

6/30/2016 10:30:13 PM

Early Times Report JAMMU, June 30: 'Cops' of a police station in Kathua district are alleged to extracting lakhs of rupees per month from traffic police and another department as 'protection money'. "Traffic cops at a particular naka in Kathua district extract a huge money per day from thousands of vehicle operators who pass from this area," police sources alleged and added, "But they don't collect the money themselves. For this purpose, they have engaged some locals." "The money collected by the locals is taken by traffic cops at the naka in the evening and shared among themselves. The concerned thana police are given lakhs of rupees per month as protection money which the traffic p...