All stakeholders to be taken onboard while finalizing the Policy

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today chaired a high level meeting to review the proposed J&K Film Policy-2021, here at Civil Secretariat.

“J&K Film Policy will be among the best in the Country and all the stakeholders would be taken onboard while finalizing it”, observed the Lt Governor.

During the meeting, point wise discussions were held on measures needed to be incorporated to attract and facilitate the film-makers coming to the UT, besides maximizing the potential of promising local film sector and talents for transforming J&K into the most preferred film destination.

The Lt Governor advised the concerned officers to consult the renowned names in the Indian Film Industry to seek and incorporate their suggestions.

He also emphasized on streamlining the Single Window Clearance & Facilitation System, and bringing renowned filmmakers from across the country and abroad for exploring the unexplored scenic locales available in abundance in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Director Information and Public Relations, Rahul Pandey gave a detailed presentation on Advantages of Jammu and Kashmir for the Indian film Industry, besides Administrative structure and the way forward for the film sector in J&K.

BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner, Finance Department; Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education; Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary, Home Department; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, PDD and Information; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Ranjan Prakash Thakur, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce; Sarmad Hafeez, Administrative Secretary, Tourism Department, and other concerned officers attended the meeting, in person and through virtual mode.

Directs for strict action against officials not attending to public grievances

Kathua: To take a firsthand appraisal and review the effectiveness of Block Diwas platform in redressal of public grievances, besides to assess the on-ground coverage under various government services and welfare schemes being provided to the people, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today participated in Block Diwas at Hiranagar, Kathua.

The visit of Lt Governor proved to be yet another milestone in augmenting the water supply in the region, with Lt Governor e-inaugurating 04 Water Supply Schemes worth Rs 7.52 cr, besides other developmental projects costing Rs 90 lakhs.

At the outset, the Lt Governor inspected the stalls displayed by various departments, and enquired about the grievances received and the measures taken by the respective departments for redressal of the same.

Speaking on the significance of Block Diwas, the Lt Governor observed that the aim of the public outreach initiative being organized across the UT is to address the day to day grievances and issues of the people by making the public welfare services of various departments available at one place.

The Lt Governor asked the concerned officers to be well versed with all the welfare schemes and put in their best efforts to mitigate the problems of people, and be sensitive to their issues. “Strict action shall be taken against officials not attending to public grievances”, he asserted.

The Lt Governor said that the government is putting untiring efforts to remove all difficulties and making services & welfare schemes easily accessible to citizens.

“Government is working on the mission mode to ensure availability of basic necessities viz. roads, drinking water and electricity, to every citizen of the UT, besides working earnestly towards bringing substantial Industrial Investment, promotion of tourism and creating employment avenues for youth. We are committed to ensure 100% saturation of all Farmers’ welfare, Social Security and beneficiary oriented schemes so that the benefits of such schemes reach to every eligible beneficiary. Besides, providing better livelihood to farmers by tapping the vast potential of the agriculture and horticulture sector in J&K is the focused area of the government”, the Lt Governor maintained.

The Lt Governor observed that the Government is sensitive towards the issues of farmers and population living in border areas. Their issues would be resolved on priority. Various farm centric initiatives have been taken by the government, several laws have been relaxed wherein farmers can now avail benefits from different government sponsored welfare schemes and programmes which were previously not available owing to restrictive enactments, said the Lt Governor.

High density plantation is now a reality in Jammu region also. Now, any farmer can develop orchards and can go for High density plantation irrespective of their land holding. Youth would be given every possible assistance and handholding to become successful entrepreneurs, he added.

The Lt Governor said that a number of initiatives have been launched and many others are in pipeline for overall development in every village and block of the UT.

Referring to the release of 50% revenue and capital outlay, the Lt Governor said that it is for the first time that funds have been released on the very 1st day of the financial year.

The recently approved highest ever budget of Rs.1,08,621 crore for the Union Territory witnessed a quantum jump in the allocation of Budget in all sectors, including PWD(R&B), Power, PHE, Tourism etc, he added.

Emphasizing on empowering and strengthening the grassroots democratic setup, the Lt Governor underscored that Functions, Functionaries, Finance, and Framework help operate a Panchayat effectively.

I assure that every Panchayat will get Rs 1 crore for development purposes, which will be double from the previous allocation. All remaining Panchayats will get Panchayat Bhavans at the earliest, maintained the Lt Governor.

A provision of Rs 10 crore has been kept for every DDC, besides funds are being allocated to Panchayats and Blocks, he added.

DDC members and PRI representatives who were present on the occasion in large numbers expressed their gratitude towards the Lt Governor led UT Administration for empowering the 3-tier Panchayati Raj system in J&K. They also extended their full support and cooperation to the Government’s efforts for complete grassroots development in the UT.

DDC Chairperson Kathua, Col Mahan Singh and DDC Vice Chairperson, Raghunandan Singh spoke on the occasion and thanked the government for being sensitive to the hopes and aspirations of the people, besides apprising the Lt Governor about the developmental needs and public issues of the region.

While addressing the issues and demands of the area projected by the public representatives present there, the Lt Governor directed the Deputy Commissioner to prepare a comprehensive development plan addressing the urgent developmental needs of the region so that necessary measures can be taken in this direction.

He further directed the concerned officers for speeding up the process of distribution of Golden cards under SEHAT scheme.

Underlining the importance of Jan Bhagidari, the Lt Governor termed the Government as a facilitator to the people. He said that people and the public representatives must themselves decide what development should be done in their area on the basis of their needs and requirements, and monitor the execution of the work.

On employment generation, the Lt Governor said that the unprecedented new Industrial development scheme of Rs 28,400 cr would generate more employment. We are also expecting to bring in investment of Rs 20,000 cr-Rs 25000 cr in coming two years. 24,000 posts are being filled through the accelerated recruitment process.

Terming transparency, accountability, and responsiveness as the core objective of the government, the Lt Government said that regular review and monitoring of the progress of development works is being done at all administrative levels. Now people can also monitor the utilisation of funds and the execution of development works, he added.

All the departments have been directed to make their respective e-office functional at the earliest for establishing paperless and minimum human interface governance, the Lt Governor said.

To address the issue of water supply in the area, the Lt Governor said that 100 % saturation under ‘Har Ghar Nal se Jal’ in 13 districts of the UT would be completed this year.

Underscoring the measures being undertaken for meeting the developmental aspirations of the people, the Lt Governor observed that Dry port and cold storage being established in Kathua would give fillip to the socio-economic development of the region, besides generating substantial employment for the local youth.

He also noted that, recently 12 villages of Hiranagar tehsil and 5 villages of Marheen tehsil have been declared as border villages taking the total to 90 villages (51 in Hiranagar and 39 in Marheen).

Referring to the ongoing celebrations of Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, the Lt Governor said that the Stories of courage and valour of brave-hearts like Brig. Rajinder Singh, Maqbool Sherwani, Ms Mali and other unsung heroes of every area would be told in schools, and are being included in curriculum so that the young generation would know about their sacrifices.

The Lt Governor also urged all eligible people to get vaccinated, besides following all the precautionary measures and COVID related SoPs.

Later, the Lt Governor handed over various certificates and sanction letters to beneficiaries under different departmental schemes as a token of service delivery to be ensured by the Government in such camps regularly.

Hearing Aid, Financial Aid under Marriage Assistance Scheme, Pass books under Ladli Beti scheme, Micro debit cards, Tablet computers to meritorious girls and teachers, Schools bags were provided to the beneficiaries on the occasion.

The Lt Governor also handed over the keys of subsidized Laser Land Leveler and Combine Harvester to the beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, the Lt Governor held interaction with DDC members, BDC Chairpersons, members, Sarpanches, PRI representatives and listened to their issues and demands.

Dr Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Sh. Rahul Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, Kathua; public representatives and large number of people from all walks of life were also present on the occasion.

The projects which were e-inaugurated today included Water Supply Scheme Gadyal at Panchayat Gadyal, Block Hiranagar costing Rs 1.15 cr; Water Supply Scheme, Kore Quasba at Panchayat Kore Quasba, Block Hiranagar, costing Rs 2.16 cr; Water Supply Scheme, Kheri Maltha at Panchayat Kheri Maltha, Block Dinga-Amb costing Rs 1.88 cr; Water Supply Scheme, Satoora at Panchayat Satoora, at the cost of Rs 2.33 cr; CFC building of RDD under BADP Model Village Scheme at Kore Punnu, Marheen worth  Rs 50 lakhs besides, Upgradation of Government High School in Marheen done at the cost of Rs 40 lakhs.

New Delhi: India and China are likely to hold the eleventh round of top commanders’ meeting on April 9 to further resolve the border tension in remaining areas of eastern Ladakh,

Confirming the development, a senior Army officer said, “The talks between the two armies will be held in Chushul sector on the Indian side to discuss ongoing issues and friction point in Gogra, Hot Springs and Despang plain in Ladakh.

The Indian side will be led by Leh-based 14 Corps commander Lt Gen P G K Menon.

Earlier, during the 10th round of Corps Commander-level talk between the two Armies resulted in first disengagement process from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso in February.

“To reach a mutually acceptable solution for complete disengagement from all friction points at the earliest, India and China have agreed to continue their dialogue. This would enable two sides to look at broader de-escalation of troops in the area and work towards the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas. They also agreed that in the interim two sides should continue to maintain stability at ground level and prevent any untoward incident,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said earlier.

The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of front line troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along LAC in Western Sector, a senior army official said.

The last corps commander-level talks between the two countries were held on in Moldo on the Chinese side.

New Delhi: China can disrupt systems by launching cyber attacks on India and a mechanism is being readied to combat any such move, Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), General Bipin Rawat, said at an event here on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Vivekananda International Foundation on shaping the armed forces to meet the likely current and future challenges, General Rawat said, “We may not be able to fully catch up with China. So we are trying to develop some kind of a relationship with the western nations and see how better we can get some support from them, during peace time at least, which will help us overcome this deficiency.”

Rawat said that China has the first movers advantage as India was slow to adopt cyber warfare capabilities, which has led to the gaps.

“The biggest differential lies in the cyber field. We know that China is capable of launching cyber attacks on us and it can disrupt a large number of systems,” he said.

According to the official data presented in the Parliament, India witnessed a nearly 300 per cent spike in cyber attacks last year in comparison to 2019, from 3,94,499 cases in 2019 to 11,58,208 in 2020, which is alarming for the government.

“What we are trying to do is create a system which will ensure cyber defence. We have been able to create a cyber agency within the armed forces and each service also has its own cyber agency, so that even if we come under a cyber attack, the downtime of the attack doesn’t last long,” Rawat said.

The CDS said while China has a lead in this respect, India is evolving its technologies to match up.

“While we are trying to create firewalls for cyber attacks, someone may break through them. We are trying see how long your systems will be down and how will you be able to operate through the phase of cyber attack that we have been put through. That is what we are seriously looking at.”

The CDS said the key for combating such attacks is to integrate the resources of the three services. “The Navy is far ahead of the Army and the Air Force in the way it has imbibed technology,” he said.

On other security challenges, Rawat said that India faces multiple and varied security threats and challenges across the full spectrum of conflict – from proxy war to hybrid to non-contact, conventional and collusive wars under a nuclear overhang.

“There is an emergent need to develop a vision for the region. However, one must be careful to not ‘bite more than one can chew’. The vision for the region or even our global vision must be intrinsically linked to our national interests, which are directly linked to national security,” the CDS said.

Srinagar: Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar on Wednesday said that he has issued written directions to all district SSPs to take legal action based on facts in case any media person comes closer to encounter site or “law and order” situation.

“I have already issued written directions to all districts SSPs yesterday. District SSPs will take legal action on facts,” the IGP told GNS.

When asked who comes under this advisory, the IGP said it implies for both national as well as for local media outlets.

Yesterday he had said that the media persons should do not carry any live coverage of any encounter or law and order situation.

“The freedom of speech and expression is subject to reasonable restrictions that should not violate other person’s right to life guaranteed under Article 21 or putting the national security in jeopardy,” he said, adding, “Do not interfere in professional and bonafide duty of police and security forces at encounter site.”

He said no operational content should be carried which is likely to incite violence or contains anything against “maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national sentiment.” (GNS)

Srinagar: A boy from other Kashmir, who had inadvertently entered this side in the frontier district of Kupwara on April 5 was handed over to Pakistan Army on Wednesday, officials said.

They said the boy identified as Mausam, son of Manzoor Ahmad, resident of Lipa valley had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC) into this side in the border town of Karnah on the night of April 5. However, the boy was kept in a barrack by troops guarding the LoC.

Later, Pakistani troops were informed about the boy entering this side after crossing the LoC. Troops from both sides talked on the hotline and it was decided to repatriate the boy as a humanitarian gesture.
The boy was handed over to Pakistan troops at Teetwal crossing point at 1150 hrs.

By: Nasir Azam

Srinagar: The Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of Schedule Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs) is set to visit Kashmir on April 14.

Headed by BJP’s MP from Gujarat, Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, the panel will undertake a study tour of Srinagar next week to look into the matters concerning SCs and STs, sources told KNO.

Ahead of the visit, Jammu & Kashmir government has designated director Social Welfare Kashmir as nodal officer to coordinate between divisional administration and other agencies for making necessary arrangements for the study tour of MPs.

The panel undertakes tours to study the problems of the scheduled castes and scheduled Tribes and the measures taken or being taken for their welfare and prepares reports which are tabled in the Parliament.

J&K has 19 percent SC and ST population- 7.38 percent Scheduled Caste (SC) and 11.91% Scheduled Tribe (ST).

Both the communities have political reservation in Jammu and Kashmir. Before enactment of “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act”, only SCs had reservation in the Assembly of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Seven seats were reserved for SCs in the Assembly.

The delimitation commission is expected to reserve 18 seats for SCs and STs in Assembly of J&K UT. Of which 11 seats would be earmarked for STs and seven for SCs.

Over the past few years, there have been instances of members from   Gujjar- Bakerwal community being assaulted by hoodlums in Jammu.

Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture visited Kashmir and recommended a slew of measures for improving road connectivity and giving impetus to the tourism sector in the Union Territory.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking on “Pariksha par Charcha” on Wednesday said that “Exams are not the last chance to prove yourself”, but it is an opportunity to take your first steps towards your dreams.

“Parents, relatives and teachers make a big deal of small exams. Exams are not the last chance to prove yourself, but it is an opportunity to take your first steps towards your dreams,” he said.

“We become conscious more than necessary and start over-thinking. I think this is not the end. Life is very long, this is just a small halt. We should not create pressure.”

“Liking and disliking things are part of human nature. But we have to learn to distribute our abilities equally. Distribute your time to each subject equally” he said to the students.

“You knew of exams. They did not come suddenly. It means you are not scared of exams but of something else. But such atmosphere has been created around you that exams are everything. Sometimes schools, parents, relatives create an atmosphere that you have to undergo a big event, a huge crisis,” he said.

The Prime Minister also responded to questions about how the food habits of children can be changed and how parents can help children to eat healthy food rather than junk food, and how to sharpen their memories.

The PM interacted with students, parents and teachers regarding the upcoming Board exams virtually and shared tips on how to deal with academic stress. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced to conduct Class 10 and 12 Board Exams 2021 from May 4.

‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ is an event where the Prime Minister responds to questions related to examination stress and related areas posed by students in his uniquely engaging style in a live programme.

The first edition of the Prime Minister’s interaction programme with school and college students ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0’ was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018.

Srinagar: The 18-hour long search operation which was launched on Tuesday evening in Gulab Bagh area of Zakura in outskirts of Central Kashmir’s Srinagar district was called off on Wednesday after no militant was found. There was some damage reported to the under construction house in which the police and CRPF suspected that the militants were hiding.

A senior Police officer told GNS that a joint team of Police and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Zakura on Tuesday evening after having specific information about presence of two militants.

The police officer said that it was a huge building due to which it took so long to carry out searches. “Some tear smoke shells were also fired inside the building. There was however no response.

Hence after 18 hours the operation was called off and the joint team retrieved from the site, the officer added.

As per the official sources militants might have escaped while the forces were laying cordon.

Meanwhile, militants fired upon on government forces in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Wednesday.

Official sources told GNS that militants attacked the joint naka party of Police and CRPF at Imamsahib area of the district. However there was no loss of life or injury reported in the incident.

Meanwhile whole area was cordoned off to nab the fleeing militants and when this report was filed no arrests were made.

Anantnag: Four persons, including a retired soldier and a policeman, were arrested for alleged sexual assault on a minor teenage girl in south Kashmir district of Kulgam, official sources said.

They said a 16-year-old, who is now pregnant, was sexually assaulted by the accused persons.

However, a case was registered recently and all the accused have been arrested, they said adding further investigation has been taken up.

A case FIR Number 61/2021 U/S 342, 109, 376D of IPC under the POCSO Act in police station Qazigund has been registered.

On Monday two local residents, including a driver were arrested for allegedly trying to rape a girl inside a truck in the same area.