Precious Kashmir

Tectonically active fault line found in Ladakh

Front

27/10/2020

New Delhi, Oct 26: A recent study on the fault line in Ladakh region, where India and Asian Plates are joined, has been found to be tectonically active and calls for the relook into existing evolutionary models in the Himalayas zones, the Department of Science and Technology said here on Monday.
As of now, this area was considered a locked zone but the new findings could have major implications in terms of earthquake study, prediction, understanding the seismic structure of the mountain chains as well as its evolution.
A group of Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, under Department of Science and Technology,have found through observations and detailed mapping of geological features that the suture zone of Himalaya that was conventionally thought to be locked is tectonically active.
They carried out the mapping of the remote regions of Ladakh that forms the most hinterland part of the Himalaya.
The geologists of WIHG have observed that sedimentary beds are tilted and thrust broken, the rivers are associated with uplifted terraces, and the bedrock shows brittle deformation that occurred at much shallower depths.
These deformed geological features were then dated in the laboratory at Dehradun using a technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) (method for carrying Luminescence dating of geological sediments) and data of seismicity and denudation rate reviewed.
“The combination of field and lab data suggested the region of the Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) has been neo-tectonically active since the last 78000 — 58000 years and a recent earthquake in 2010 of low magnitude 4.0 near the village of Upshi that occurred due to a thrust rupture”, the study said.
Himalaya were known to be made up of north dipping thrusts like the Main Central Thrust (MCT), the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT).
The new findings, which suggest a more remote fault at the suture zone being neo-tectonically active, could call for a serious relook into the existing evolutionary models using new techniques and a larger geological database.

CJ highlights importance of mediation as an alternate dispute resolution

Front

Precious Kashmir

27/10/2020

HC’s Mediation and Conciliation Committee launches online mediation training for JOs

Precious Kashmir News

Srinagar, Oct 26: Mediation and Conciliation Committee of High Court of Jammu & Kashmir, under the patronage of Chief Justice of J&K High Court, Gita Mittal and under the guidance of Chairman Mediation and Conciliation Committee, Justice Tashi Rabstan and members of the committee including Justice Sindhu Sharma, Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani today launched online 40 hour mediation training for the Judicial Officers of Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh so as to make the judicial system more effective and useful besides bringing down the arrears of pendency pending for disposal before the courts.

Mediation is also an inexpensive and quick mode of resolving disputes between the parties without wasting the precious time of Courts and the contesting parties.

The first phase of mediation programme will be conducted from 26th October 2020 to 28th of October 2020, second phase from 9th November to 11th November and the third phase would be held from 17th of November to 21st of November 2020.

The online Mediation programme is being conducted by eminent resource persons from Delhi including Senior Advocate, J.P. Sengh, Senior Advocate Veena Ralli, Advocate Sumit Chander and Advocate Mitali Gupta.

Chief Justice Gita Mittal highlighted the importance of Mediation as an alternate dispute resolution and portrayed the role of judges in providing non-conventional alternate system of speedy justice to the parties.

She said that there is need for training Judicial Officers, as judicial work cannot be performed by mere intelligence or knowledge but it requires wisdom, intellect and comprehension in performing the sacred duty assigned to them. Training is required to shape the personality of a judge so as to make him/her more efficient and accomplished.

Masarat Roohi, Co-ordinator J&K Mediation and Conciliation Committee said that under the kind patronage and guidance of Patron-in-Chief Gita Mittal, Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and members of the Committee, such online mediation programmes for judicial officers shall be conducted frequently so that the concept of mediation reaches to every household in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Traffic resumes on Srinagar-Leh highway, Mughal Road

Front

United News Of India

27/10/2020

Srinagar, Oct 26: Traffic was resumed on Monday on the highway, the only road linking Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh with Kashmir, after remaining suspended due to snowfall on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, traffic suspended on Sunday due to slippery conditions following snowfall was resumed on Monday on 86-km-long historic Mughal road, connecting Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region.
The 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was through for traffic, a traffic police official told UNI today.
He said traffic was resumed on 434-km-long Srinagar-Leh national highway today after remaining suspended since Sunday afternoon due to snowfall at Zojila and Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia.
The road had become very slippery due to snowfall, he said adding after improvement in the weather today road become safe for journey, he said.
He said similarly traffic on Mughal road, considered as alternative to Srinagar-Jammu highway, was also suspended due to snowfall at Herpora and Pir-ki-Gali yesterday afternoon. However, snow melted after improvement in the weather, he said adding traffic was resumed today. However, vehicles had to ply from 1100 hrs to 1600 hrs only, he said adding no vehicle will be allowed after cut off time.

Former Union Minister Dilip Ray gets 3-yr jail in coal scam case

National

United News Of India

27/10/2020

New Delhi, Oct 26: In this matter, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has a registered a case pertaining to allocation of 105.153 hectares of an abandoned coal mining area in Jharkhand’s Giridih district in favour of Castron Technologies Limited by the 14th screening committee of the Union coal ministry in 1999.
Ray was an hotelier and in 2002 elected to the Rajya Sabha (RS) as an Independent candidate with the support of some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers from Odisha and in 2004.
After joining the BJP, he was elected as a legislator from Rourkela constituency in the Odisha assembly polls in 2014 but left the saffron party in November 2018 after the CBI charge sheeted him in 2016 in the Brahmadiha coal scam case.
Special CBI Judge Bharat Prashar convicted Ray on October, 06 for the offences under various sections including 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 120B (criminal conspiracy) 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various sections of the Prevention of the Corruption (PC) Act, 1988.
Counsel for CBI had sought life imprisonment for Ray and other convicts by submitting that white collar crimes are on the rise and maximum punishment would act as a deterrent.
The court today, after hearing arguments on quantum of sentence, said that they had conspired together beyond shadows of all reasonable doubts to procure allocation of the Brahmadiha coal block in favour of Castron Technologies Limited. The court further said that there was a concerted effort by way of criminal conspiracy to facilitate misappropriation of the important Nationalised natural resources of the country.
Special CBI Judge Bharat Prashar after hearing submission on behalf of Prosecution and Defence Counsel passed an order to three imprisonment to Dilip Ray, two former officials of the Union Coal Ministry Pradip Kumar Banerjee and Nitya Nand Gautam – and also Mahendra Kumar Aggarwalla, Director Castron Technologies Limited.
The court further imposed fine of Rs 10 Lakh each on all the convicts and fine of Rs 60 Lakh and Rs 10 Lakh was imposed on the corporate entities, Castron Technologies Ltd and Castron Mining Ltd, respectively.
The court immediately granted bail to Ray after he was sentenced to three years imprisonment with the conditions to furnishing a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh.

SDH Sogam Lolab without specialists, patients Suffer

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

27/10/2020

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Oct 25: Residents of sogam and Adjoining areas on Monday expressed strong anger against authorities for failing to upgrade Sub District Hospital in Sogam area of North Kashmir’s Border District Kupwara.
According to the aggrieved residents the tall claims of the successive governments regarding up gradation of health infrastructure in rural areas of the Valley falls flat at Lolab in District kupwara with authorities failing to provide the basic facilities to the Sub-District hospital Sogam in the area.
They said that SDH, which caters to the population of the Lolab and people coming from remote villages of the area, is lacking staff, Blood Bank and other infrastructure.
They further said “This hospital caters to the people from over 100 villages,” the residents said, adding that the two Gynaecologists posted here can give only a day for the patients who wait for days in OPD. “This Sub-District hospital of Sogam Lolab has not been provided advanced equipments causing a lot of problems to patients,” the locals told claiming that the area is the only area without proper health facilities.
Irony is that despite surgery is being done in the hospital but it lacks blood bank, “We requested hundred times to higher officials for installing blood bank in the hospital but no one is ready to listen this grave problem. Locals said adding that many lady patients lost their lives on way while referring them to LD hospital because of non availability of Blood bank in the SDH Sogam.
The SDH, despite few resources, continues to witness the ever increasing rush of patients. According to official records, on an average more than 200 patients visit the Centre’s OPD regularly.
“The doctors are unable to do justice with the increasing number of patients,” the residents said, and urged the Health Department to transfer the doctors who are hailing from the area back to the hospital.
It is pertinent to mention here that SDH sogam has Dialysis facility available but due to non availability of Specialist no Dialysis has been done from past few months they alleged.
The inhabitants accused the successive regimes of failing to fulfil the long pending demand of Blood Bank of the people that the SDH should be provided with Blood Bank “Their promises prove hollow every time,” they said
Locals are demanding that SDH should be provided Blood Bank, Staff and other infrastructure.
They have urged Commissioner secretary health and Medical education Atul Duloo to intervene in the matter and provide all the facilities to SDH so that the people of these remote areas will not suffer.(KNS)

KU’s postgraduate students demand resumption of offline classes

City

Precious Kashmir

27/10/2020

Bhat Imran
Srinagar, Oct 26: Postgraduate students of the University of Kashmir (KU) on Monday demanded resumption of offline classes, saying that their studies were getting affected badly in the milieu of low speed internet.
One of the students said they aren’t able to understand the online lectures following the frequent buffering of the online session.
“Students were not able to follow their lectures because of slow speed internet connection and the students got worse experience with these online classes,” a student said.
“The resumption of every sector including private as well as public sector had kept student fraternity in Agony, chaos and confusion as they had compromised with their studies a lot. Everything is functioning normally here in Kashmir but the studies are only getting affected,” she said.
“Last year we have already suffered a lot of academic losses and now this year again we are being compelled to lose one more academic year,” the students said.
The students said that they even approached the KU authorities and requested them to go conduct offline, “However nobody is listening to our problems.”
Officials at KU said the university is bound to follow government and UGC directions. “As of now, KU has no other alternative other than continuing with the online classes. We are just following the guidelines recommended by the government,” the official said—(KNO)

Employees of Wool Dev Board face pay disparity

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

27/10/2020

Sumaya Jan
Srinagar Oct 26: Mohammad Shafi (name changed) is working in the Wool Development Board for over 20-years. Shafi is now nearing his retirement. He is one among 85 employees of Wool Development Board who are on deputation to Sheep Husbandry Department since 2005. However, they are not entitled benefits at par with employees of the Sheep Husbandry Department.
“We do work like employees of Sheep Husbandry Department despite that we are not provided any benefit which employees of Sheep Husbandry Department or other departments get as per service rules,” he said.
It is becoming difficult for him to manage things at home.
“There are eight members dependent on me in my family. It becomes difficult for me to even pay fees to my three children on a meager salary. Most of employees of Wool Development Board are suffering from depression because of discrimination with us by the government,” Shafi said in a dejected voice.
It was during Ghulam Nabi Azad’s tenure as chief minister of erstwhile state that these employees were sent to Sheep Husbandry Department on deputation. Since then they are not getting benefits as per service rules like employees of other departments. “We see our future very bleak. Despite working in Sheep Husbandry Department for last 15-years and our service records have also been sent there, we are still facing pay disparity around Rs 20,000,” he added.
Another employee said that when they were sent on deputation they were told that Wool Development Board will be merged with Sheep Husbandry Department. “During Azad’s tenure, a file was also forwarded to Finance Department for approval. However, since then there has been no action,” he said.
He said the nature of job for employees of Wool Development Board and Sheep Husbandry Department is same. “Then why discrimination with us? A lower rank employee from Sheep Husbandry Department is getting Rs 40,000 salary and we are still stuck less than Rs 25,000 per month salary.”
The employees said after fall of Azad’s government, the file was shelved.
“Naveen Chowdhary when he was Principal Secretary Finance Department made a progress before he was transferred and then file remained pending,” he said.
The employees are yet to get 7th pay commission benefits neither they have 10 months leave benefits.
Principal Secretary Animal and Sheep Husbandry Navin Kumar Chowdhary said he will look into the matter. (KINS)

Thousands of daily wagers, casual labourers start 2-day strike

Jammu & Kashmir

United News Of India

27/10/2020

Srinagar, Oct 26: Thousands of daily wagers and casual labourers of different government department began two-day strike from today, demanding among other things regularization of their service, implementation of 7th pay commission and minimum wages Act in the Jammu and Kashmir.
After holding dozens of protest demonstrations during the past several months, the daily wagers and casual labourers under the banner of J&K Casual and Daily wagers Forum had threatened to go for pen down strike from October 26.
As the government failed to do justice and resolve our problems, we have started two-day strike from today which could be intensified in future if our demands are not met.
The Forum president Sajjad Ahmad Parray told reporters at Jal Shakti office at Exchange Road that thousands of workers are on strike today. We were forced to take this step, he said adding those associated with the Forum remained absent from their duties.
He said in some departments daily wagers and casual labourers are working for more than two decades without being regularized when the government had announced that all those who complete seven years will be made permanent.
He said in several departments these workers have not been paid their wages for months.

Centre misusing institutions: Sonia

National

Precious Kashmir

27/10/2020

New Delhi, Oct 26: In a scathing attack on the NDA Government at the centre, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday alleged that Democratic institutions in the country are being targetted by its political opponents.
In an article in an English daily, Ms Gandhi said that all the pillars of a democratic system of governance are under assault.
”The world’s largest Democracy is at the crossroads. That the economy is in deep crisis is clear. But what is less appreciated is that all the pillars of a democratic system of governance are under assault.
The fundamental right to freedom of expression has been systematically suspended through suppression and intimidation. Dissent is deliberately stifled as ‘terrorism’ or branded as an ‘anti-national activity’.
“Many institutions that are meant to uphold the rights of citizens and society at large, have been co-opted or subverted,” Gandhi said.
Alleging that all organs of the state are being used to target political opposition, Gandhi said, “The Indian state now diverts attention from real problems of the people by pronouncing bogus threats to ‘national security’ everywhere. Of course, some of these threats are real and have to be dealt with uncompromisingly but the Modi government and the ruling BJP conjure up sinister conspiracies behind every political protest, indeed behind any and everything they see as opposition to them. The system unleashes investigative agencies on dissenters and deploys proxies through sections of the media and online troll factories.”

Shalimar link road in bad condition

City

Precious Kashmir

27/10/2020

Faizan Wani
Srinagar, Oct 26: Shalimar link road, the one kilometer road stretch, which connects Dargah Hazratbal and SKIMS Soura via Foreshore Road speaks volumes about the slipshod approach of the government vis-à-vis its renovation.
Dicey potholes have made this vital road stretch much vulnerable for even pedestrians to walk on, not to talk of plying vehicles as the authorities seem least bothered towards the safety of the people.
The macadamization of this road was done some two years ago and ever since the government did not bother to spend a single penny on it except for hollow promises vis-à-vis its renovation.
The locals living around Shalimar Link Road accused the government of turning a blind eye towards the depilated condition of this vital road link.
“After 2014 floods this road became vulnerable for traffic movement as the deep potholes spreading around a half kilometer from both sides not only poses threat of serious accidents but also resulted in irksome traffic jamming,” Suhail Ahmad, a local from Telbal said.
The situation of roads in old city and some uptown localities are no different as the same are yet to see macadamization despite promises by the successive regimes.
“We don’t expect anything from the government as the promises they made with people from time to time proved to be hoax. I want to draw the attention of Lieutenant Governor towards the dilapidated roads of the old city which have never been repaired,” Ajaz Ahmad from Rajouri Kadal said.
He said the condition of the roads in the old city has become worse due to the authorities’ casual approach with regard to their renovation. Ahmad said the situation is going to be much worse in winters—(KNO)

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