Precious Kashmir News
Kulgam, Dec 22 : Police in Kulgam recovered a kidnapped girl and arrested the person involved in the crime.
On 15/12/2020, Police Station Devsar received a complaint stating that a girl has been kidnapped by one individual identified as Ishtiyaq Ahmad Wagay son of Abdul Ahad Wagay resident of Pazalpora Kounsarbal.
Accordingly, a case FIR No. 127/2020 under relevant sections of law was registered in Police Station Devsar and investigation was initiated.
During the course of investigation a special team was constituted. The special team headed by DySP PC Kulgam along with SHO PS Devdar while acting on specific leads were able to recover the kidnapped girl and arrested the kidnapper. He has been shifted to PS Devsar where he remains in custody.
After fulfilling all medico-legal formalities, the girl has been handed over to her legal heirs. Investigation into the matter is in progress. (KNT)
Kulgam Police recovers kidnapped girl, accused arrested
CB lodges FIR against officials involved in floating tender norms
Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Dec 22: Crime Branch Kashmir on Tuesday registered a case against officials of Rural Development Department who found involved in floating tender norms related to procurement of plant material in block Alosa of north Kashmir’s Bandipora.
According to officials, a case under FIR No. 46/2020 U/S 420, 409, 120-B RPC r/w 5(2) PC Act. was registered. “After conducting a preliminary verification into a written complaint received from Rural Development Department J&K, prima facia indicates that procurement of plants has been done without inviting tender and subsequent distribution into the selected villages by the then BDO and other officials, which clearly shows involvement of Block Development Officer Syed Shabir Rizvi, MPW’s Mohammad Amin Shah and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sheikh”, officials said.
They added the supply orders were issued to particular suppliers for extraneous considerations. The investigation of the case has been set in motion accordingly. (KINS)
Man arrested in Uri
Precious Kashmir News
Baramulla, Dec 22: Police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a person and recovered one packet of heroin like substance from his possession in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
In a statement, police said that during the routine checkup of vehicles at Uri Sumo stand today, one person namely Amir Aftab, son of Aftab Ahmad Magral of Sultan Daki was seen roaming in a suspicious way.
“He was asked to stop by the naka personnel but he tried to flee away, he was however caught by the prompt and quick action of the naka party,” police said, adding that during his personal search, one packet of Heroin like substance was recovered from his possession on the spot.
In this regard, police said that a case under FIR number 176/20 under section 8/21 NDPS Act stands registered in Police station Uri, adding that the accused person has been arrested and investigation has been taken up—(KNO)
Farmer unions defer decision on Centre’s letter for fresh talks
New Delhi, Dec 22: Protesting farmer unions on Tuesday said that a decision on the central government”s offer for fresh talks has been deferred to Wednesday, even as they remained adamant on the demand to repeal the three farm laws.
Addressing a press conference at Delhi”s Singhu Border, farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu said that 32 farmer unions from Punjab held a meeting and discussed the next course of action.
He said that a meeting of farmer leaders from across India would be held on Wednesday where a decision on the government”s talks offer will be taken.
Sandhu said that they would also write to Britain MPs, urging them to press their Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to attend India”s Republic Day celebrations on January 26. Johnson will be the chief guest at the event next month.
In a letter to 40 union leaders, the Joint Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry, Vivek Aggarwal, had on Sunday asked protesting farmer leaders to specify their concerns over its earlier proposal of amendments in the laws and choose a convenient date for the next round of talks so that the ongoing agitation could end at the earliest.
The sixth round of talks on December 9 was cancelled following a deadlock with the farmer unions refusing to budge from their demand for repealing the three laws.
SCERT pays tributes to mathematician Ramanujan
Precious Kashmir News
JAMMU, DECEMBER 22: With an aim to bring awareness on the contributions made by the renowned mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, SCERT J&K, Divisional office Jammu Tuesday celebrated National Mathematics Day.
National Mathematics Day was celebrated under the directions of Prof.Veena Pandita, Director SCERT J&K and overall supervision of Joint Director, H.R.Pakhroo, wherein members on faculty paid tributes to the great mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Earlier, Surinder Kumar, Field Advisor (Mathematics), SCERT Jammu, J&K highlighted & discussed about life, struggles and achievements of Ramanujan as the day emphasizes the necessity to carry out the legacy of the world-famous mathematician forward and to promote and cultivate the magnificent tradition of Indian Mathematics.
Faculty members commemorated the legendary Indian mathematician and remembered him for his extraordinary contribution to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series & continued fractions which will remain memorable forever.
Those present in the commemoration included Irvinder Kour (HoD), Research officers, Deepak Sharma, Tapsaya Sharma, Nahida Anjum, Dr Sabeta Kohli, Arun Dutta, Dr Meenakshi Chandan, Ravinder Verma, Manju Chowdhary, Avinakshi Kargotra, Ruchi Mohan, Pratibha Jamwal, Akash Khajuria, Pallavi Joshi and Satpal Sharma.
Protecting Past
Amar Singh College, Srinagar has been awarded the prestigious Award of Merit in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
The award was announced last week by a jury, comprising nine international conservation experts.
As per the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Jammu and Kashmir chapter, the restoration of the Amar Singh College brought back one of the most prominent institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory.
The award, the jury said, is recognition to a high level of technical proficiency that led to reversing major deterioration, resulting from years of inappropriate additions, poor maintenance, and catastrophic events such as the once in a century flooding in 2014. The award also serves as a noteworthy model for safeguarding a unique 20th-century architectural asset in the Victorian neighborhood of the old city of Srinagar, the jury added.
The ward is significant in the sense as it signifies that such structures of importance in terms of heritage can be restored.
The original conservation plan for Amar Singh College was prepared a year before the 2014 floods and the “new approach and budget” allowed the restoration only as the building was robust. Apart from making the building excessively dirty and wet, the floods did no major damage to it. Put in another way, the structure stood the devastating floods. It has been said that living in harmony with heritage enhances the quality of life, and it is the duty of every citizen as per the Constitution of India.
There are many buildings of the era which were affected but not destroyed by floods. Also, there are buildings of importance in terms of heritage which were spared by floods but damaged over the years due to neglect.
All these buildings need to be restored and properly retrofitted. Much of the damage could be still prevented. There is a need to constitute a committee comprising conservation experts to study the condition of the building based on scientific analysis. There is a need for a comprehensive plan to highlight the heritage value of the buildings and plan accordingly.
Hope has been generated by the partnership of INTACH, J&K Chapter and UNESCO in the restoration of the heritage building like Amar Singh. It should set a good precedent and must show the way for the restoration of the other buildings.
‘DDC poll results will decide fate of politics in Kashmir’
Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Dec 21: The results of the recently held District Development Council elections are all set to be declared on Tuesday.
The DDC polls were a litmus test for Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD)—an amalgam of Kashmir based parties comprising of National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Conference and other parties. “Results of these elections will decide how politics will shape up in coming days in Jammu and Kashmir. If the PAGD wins good number of seats, it would set the tone and tenor for the forthcoming elections that would be held in J&K,” an analyst told Precious Kashmir.
He said that the DDC elections were not that big polls but these were important as these were maiden elections after the abrogation of Article 370. “Participation of people have made these polls very interesting. Many parties don’t know whom the people have voted for. The results of these elections are likely to throw many surprises,” the analyst added.
A politician said, “Participation of the people in the DDC polls is a hint that they want to become a part of the development process and are keen on getting their day to day issues resolved.”
He said, “People coming out to vote is a signal for the political parties that they will have to come forward with an agenda which is acceptable to the masses. These parties cannot keep on beating around the bush and whosoever wins will be left with no other option other than to deliver. Hollow promises won’t work.”
An analyst said, “ The DDC elections were just a beginning parties will face the real test in assembly elections after the delimitation exercise is completed. We can have a situation like Jammu versus Kashmir. There are many aspects which the Kashmir based politicians will have to consider in coming days.”
He said, “The results of the DDC elections will draw the battle lines between Kashmir and Jammu based parties. If the PAGD is able to keep the flock together then it can have some say in the future but if the constituents of the amalgam keep on locking-horns then there is every possibility about the PAGD crumbling under its own weight.”
During the election campaign it was evident that the parties that have got a strong foothold in Jammu were claiming that they will turn the tables on the Valley based parties but these parties seem to be unaware of the fact that there are many regions in Jammu where Kashmir based parties have been holding the fort for the past many years. “Results of the DDC elections will make the picture clearer. We will come to know who stands where after votes are counted. Political parties in Kashmir are anxious and are hoping that they don’t get jolted,” said an observer.
DDC Polls: Counting of votes today
Fate of 2178 candidates to be decided, results can be accessed online
Srinagar, Dec 21: The fate of 2178 candidates for the 280 District Development Council (DDC) seats in Jammu and Kashmir will be decided on Tuesday as counting of votes starts on Tuesday.
The State Election Commissioner (SEC), KK Sharma on Monday said that the District Development Council (DDC) election results would be accessed online dynamically.
While briefing the media about the availability of election results on a website: http://ceojk.nic.in, the SEC stated that the State Election Authority would facilitate people and media alike to access election results and trends on a dynamic basis.
He said that soon after the randomization and time-tested protocols the ballot boxes would be opened and ballot papers would be mixed subsequently for counting and added the updated information would be given to the people on the website.
The elections to this third tier of the Panchayati Raj system were held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir and were the first mass polls after the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 in August 2019.
The polling was held over eight phases beginning November 28 and ending on December 19 as 51 per cent of the 57 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise in the elections, which were largely peaceful.
The SEC added that Tuesday’s counting would decide the fate of 2178 candidates for 280 DDC seats and counting would begin at 9 am.
He also informed that the overall voting percentage in all eight phases across the Union Territory is 51.42 percent and tomorrow over thirty lakh votes would be counted at counting centres.
While giving a demonstration, Secretary State Election Commission, Anil Salgotra briefed the media persons about the functioning of the website. He said that people along with the media would be able to have access to the counting trends, final results and party-wise trends for all 280 DDC constituencies.
He added that the website can also be accessed for trends with respect to particular constituency in a given district and particular party, besides the information for top two leading candidates and the overall votes polled for all the candidates can also be accessed.
SEC reviews arrangements
Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, Dec 21: The State Election Commissioner, K K Sharma on Monday stated that the State Election Commission has made all necessary arrangements for tomorrow’s counting of votes for District Development Council (DDC) elections which concluded on December 19.
The counting for 280 DDC constituencies will begin from 9 am on Tuesday at all district headquarters across the Union Territory.
The SEC chaired a meeting to review the final arrangements with regard to the counting process to be held tomorrow (December 22).
The meeting was attended by all Deputy Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir through video conferencing whileas Secretary State Election Commission and other senior election officers attended the meeting in person.
The concerned DCs informed the SEC about all the arrangements of counting of votes for DDCs regarding halls dedicated for counting at counting centres in their respective districts.
Each counting hall will have dedicated tables with each table with counting assistants monitored by one counting supervisor.
Elaborating further about the process, the SEC said that the process in each centre will be supervised by a Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officer and added that the counting exercise will be recorded by CCTV cameras, and will be overseen by observers also.
Explaining the counting of ballot papers, the SEC stated that the counting will begin with opening of ballot boxes and subsequently the ballot papers will be made into bundles of 25 each, and compared with the actual number of votes polled in each polling station.
The bundles of each polling station will then be mixed together as per the counting guidelines, he said.
The SEC also directed the concerned DCs that COVID-19 protocol must be observed through mandatory masks, and hand sanitisers at each table, besides all the counting staff and other officials should compulsorily wear masks before entering the halls.
Also, the SEC complimented the Deputy Commissioners for successfully conducting the DDC and Panchayat by-polls in their respective districts. He also thanked the health department, security forces and police for elaborative arrangements during the polling phases.
Industry Connect Meet-Himayat 2020
LG calls for creating ecosystem to promote self-employment for skilled youth
MoUs signed for training, skill development, industry tie-ups
Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, Dec 21: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today called for creating an ecosystem to promote self-employment & continuous encouragement for the skilled youth. Through the Himayat Programme, we can reconstruct a better & more resilient workforce in J&K, which will also be able to bridge social inequality, he said.
The Lt Governor made these remarks during Industry Connect Meet-Himayat 2020 organized by Himayat Mission Management Unit, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
Baseer Ahmad Khan, Advisor to the Lt Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Leena Johri, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, GOI; Sh. Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Ms. Sheetal Nanda, Secretary to the Government, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Sh. Kapil Sharma, COO Himayat; Representatives of Corporate Planning, Research, Skilling, Consulting, Sales and Marketing, Brand Management and Biotech Healthcare were present on the occasion.
While addressing the gathering of representatives from over 60 organizations from private sector, the Lt Governor termed ‘Himayat Programme’ as a perfect example of great synergy between the government, training partners, job providers and the people. “Himayat is an unprecedented initiative for those youngsters who have had to quit studies due to one reason or the other. It provides them a second chance to realize their dreams and earn a livelihood”, he said.
The Lt Governor observed that the Youth requires both conventional as well as evolving skills. The industry, demand and skill set requirements are changing at a faster pace. Since skill training can only be commensurate with levels of education, it is important to focus on the sectors, which are known to be employing a large workforce, he added.
For people under Himayat Programme, which covers youth between the age group of 15-35 years, in both Rural and Urban areas, technical as well as soft skill training which is basically a set of skills as defined by the World Economic Forum is a must, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor said that in the coming days, we will have huge requirements of skilled workforce in Electricity, Gas, Water, Construction, Electronics, Wholesale and Retail Trade, E-commerce, Hotels, Transport, Information and Communication Technology, Finance and Insurance, Real Estate, IT enabled Services, Health and Social Services, Manufacturing, Horticulture, Education, Automobile and Packaged Food Industry.
The Lt Governor observed that according to a global research firm, job opportunities for skilled, but inexperienced, workforce have increased from 43% to 67% between 2015 and 2019. Last year, under Himayat programme of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, youth were given skill training in 77 trades. Ubaid Hussain, of Baramulla, is one youngster who was trained under Himayat and is working as a robot operator at present, he added.
He also gave example of Meenakshi Devi, from a remote area of district Doda, who had to drop out of school due to some domestic circumstances. Though she may have given up formal studies, she had not yet given up on her dreams. Himayat provided her with an opportunity to step out and get professionally trained in the hospitality sector. Today she is earning a living in Hyderabad, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor advised the skill training agencies to start providing training in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain and cyber security at the earliest after the COVID crisis subsides.
“We have to meticulously craft the skilling programme as per requirement with certain strategic interventions to ensure more and more people completing the training are immediately provided with jobs”, he maintained.
“It is estimated that 88,354 young boys and girls are to be trained within the next three years. More than 16 thousand candidates have been trained and more than seven thousand are already working in the private sector, all because of the Himayat programme. Big companies like Tech Mahindra, Amazon Pay, Greenply, Yazaki India, Apollo and others have recruited these candidates”, he added.
It was informed that the Himayat Mission is also conducting counseling sessions and mobilization and promotion activities in association with the project implementing agencies in various villages.
The Lt Governor also suggested for carrying out skill mismatch challenges in the villages and urban areas, to identify such youth who may be a perfect candidate for different dimensions of skill set and is keen to participate in innovative learning initiatives. This exercise may reshape the upcoming skilling and job market, he added.
The Lt Governor observed that suggestions have already been made to the Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras to adopt Panchayats for facilitating and setting up food processing units in private sector. That is another opportunity to provide redefined skill training in this sector, he added.
He stressed on the urgent need of reallocation of activities and production factors in skill education programmes in face of the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. Since, pandemic is reconfiguring the society, job market and work culture, the industries and business leaders are looking for creative and innovative talents. With additional skill sets, Himayat programme can make the transition little smoother and easier for our youth, he maintained.
Himayat can provide adequate and appropriate support for all future candidates, especially those who have been affected by global pandemic and belong to vulnerable section of the society. 1500 candidates have been given job offers in two virtual job fairs. Today, more than 60 organizations are participating who have to see the training aspects of 54,000 prospective candidates, said the Lt Governor.
Relevant training is required for re-skilling and up-skilling of the existing skills-set of the youth, besides digital literacy will certainly enhance the job opportunities for the younger generation, he observed.
The Lt Governor also interacted with participating organizations and extended full support and assistance of the Government for making J&K a land of opportunities.
During the Industry Connect Meet, Four Panel Discussions on technical subjects were held covering various facets of Himayat programme including- Challenges and Opportunities in Himayat, Experience sharing by PIAs; Employment Sectors Post COVID 19 for DDUGKY Candidates, Employers Perspective, Innovations and Best Practices in Skilling Ecosystem, Experts Speak and Skilling the Youth of J&K – Roadmap from Prospective PIAs.
For Training, skill development and Industry Tie-ups, Himayat Mission Management Unit JKRLM signed MoUs with Instrumentation Automation Surveillance & Communication Sector Skill Council of India and Electronics Sector Skills Council of India.
