SRINAGAR, MAY 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday handed over regularisation orders to Contingent Paid Workers (CPWs) of the School Education Department at Civil Secretariat function here.

Minister for School Education Sakina Itoo was present on the occasion.

Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, Special Secretary School Education Ghulam Rasool Mir, Director School Education Kashmir Naseer Ahmed Wani and other senior officers of the concerned department were also present during the programme.

The Chief Minister individually handed over the regularisation orders to the CPWs from Ganderbal and Bandipora districts and extended his best wishes to them for their future service. He expressed hope that the employees would continue to work with sincerity, commitment and dedication towards strengthening the School Education Department and improving public service delivery.

The beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister and the government for addressing their long-pending issue and providing them regularisation orders.

Reviews preparations at Hazratbal

SRINAGAR, MAY 25: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday visited the sacred Hazratbal Shrine to review the preparations for the upcoming auspicious festival of Eid ul-Adha.

He was accompanied by Dr Syed Darakhshan Andrabi, Chairperson, J&K Waqf Board; Mufti Reyaz ul Haq, Chief Imam Hazratbal Shrine; Anshul Garg, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Rajiv Omprakashn, DIG CKR; Dr. GV Sundeep Chakravarthy, SSP Srinagar; Akshay Labroo, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar; Faz Lul Haseeb, Municipal Commissioner Srinagar and officials from all line departments.

During his visit, the Lieutenant Governor took appraisal of the water supply, sanitation, electricity and other facilities being put in place for smooth conduct of the festival. He instructed the senior officers to ensure that every arrangement is carried out with diligence.

“The festival reminds us of the virtues of humility and charity, inspiring us to dedicate ourselves to the greater good of humanity. We will ensure that the celebration is not only well-organized but also truly grand, marked by devotion and festive fervor,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

Spiritual leaders, Waqf officials, senior officers of Police and Civil administration and prominent citizens were also present.

Srinagar May 25: Budgam Police on Monday claimed to have solved the Galwanpora minor girl rape and murder case within 36 hours, announcing the arrest of a local resident after what officials described as a confession and corroborating material evidence.

Addressing a press briefing, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Budgam K.K. Hari Prasad said several suspects had been detained and questioned during the investigation before police zeroed in on one individual whose alleged involvement matched the material evidence collected during the probe.

“Within 36 hours we have solved the murder and rape case,” SSP Hari Prasad said.

The accused was identified by police as Mudasir Ahmad Mir, a resident of Galwanpora.

According to the SSP, the accused was confronted during questioning and allegedly confessed to the crime.

“Many suspects were detained. One particular suspect corroborated the material evidence. When confronted, he confessed,” Hari Prasad said.

Police said some material evidence was recovered on the disclosure of the accused. The SSP said the motive behind the crime remained under investigation and further forensic and investigative procedures were continuing.

The case had triggered widespread outrage across Kashmir after the minor girl was found dead near her residence following her disappearance. Police had earlier termed the incident prima facie a case of rape and murder and constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the crime. (KINS)

Calls on Minister Itoo

SRINAGAR, MAY 25: Director General of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), Lt. General Virendra Vats Monday called on Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo, and apprised her of the activities and outreach programmes being undertaken by the NCC across Jammu and Kashmir.

During the meeting, the Director General highlighted the role of the NCC in shaping youth through discipline, leadership, patriotism and community service. He informed the Minister about various initiatives being carried out to encourage greater participation of students in NCC activities, especially in remote and border areas of the Union Territory.

Lt. General Virendra Vats also briefed the Minister about the ongoing training programmes, adventure activities, awareness campaigns and social service initiatives being conducted by NCC units in J&K. He underscored the organisation’s efforts towards youth empowerment and nation-building by engaging cadets in constructive and character-building activities.

He also briefed the Minister about the participation of J&K Youth in NCC, especially the girls/women folk.

The Minister appreciated the contribution of the NCC in nurturing discipline, confidence and a spirit of service among the youth. She lauded the organisation for providing young students with opportunities for personality development, leadership training and national integration.

The Minister also assured the Director General of all possible support from the Government for carrying out various activities across J&K for the welfare of youth.

Sakeena Itoo reiterated the Government’s commitment towards supporting initiatives aimed at empowering the youth and promoting their holistic development.

ADG, NCC, Major General, Anupinder Bevli was also present.

Departments asked to accelerate

SRINAGAR, MAY 25: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Monday chaired a high-level review meeting with Administrative Secretaries of all departments to assess the Action Taken Reports (ATRs) on implementation of actionable points emerging from the Prime Minister’s interaction with Secretaries to the Government of India, with special emphasis on strengthening the “Whole of Government” approach, enhancing Ease of Living through end-to-end digitization of public services and undertaking comprehensive process reforms across the country.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary reiterated that the core objective of these reforms is to establish integrated governance, citizen-centric administration and technology-driven systems aimed at ensuring efficient, transparent and accountable delivery of services. He emphasized that departments must move beyond conventional silo-based functioning and work in close coordination to achieve larger developmental goals envisioned under Viksit Bharat @2047.

A detailed presentation on the Action Taken Reports pertaining to various reform initiatives was given by the Planning Development & Monitoring Department. The meeting was informed that several departments including Finance, School Education, Skill Development, Health & Medical Education, Housing & Urban Development, Agriculture Production, Social Welfare, Public Works, Tourism and Higher Education Departments have already adopted convergence-based governance models involving inter-departmental coordination, digital integration and collaborative implementation mechanisms.

Regarding the points of School Education Department it was revealed that vocational education has been expanded to more than 1,350 schools across Jammu & Kashmir with enrolment of over 1.41 lakh students, besides integration of digital platforms, ICT laboratories and smart classrooms under the framework of NEP-2020.

Similarly with respect to the Skill Development Department it was highlighted that flagship initiatives including Mission YUVA and PM Vishwakarma are being implemented through coordinated institutional mechanisms involving multiple departments, financial institutions and academic organisations.

The Health & Medical Education Department proposed integrated planning with allied departments for convergence of health, sanitation, nutrition, education and livelihood initiatives, while the Housing & Urban Development Department highlighted its focus on technology-driven governance, sustainable urban planning and citizen-centric reforms for improving urban living standards.

The meeting was further informed that departments including Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, ARI & Trainings, Disaster Management, Labour & Employment and Information Department have introduced integrated digital governance systems, interoperable platforms and real-time monitoring mechanisms aimed at improving transparency, accountability and ease of access to public services.

Reviewing reforms aimed at enhancing Ease of Living, the meeting was apprised that under the J&K Jan Vishwas reforms, around 32 criminal provisions across 20 Acts have been decriminalized to reduce compliance burden and improve citizen convenience, while 19 obsolete laws have been repealed for simplification of the statutory framework and promotion of ease of doing business.

The Chief Secretary also reviewed the proposal for achieving 100 percent end-to-end digitization of Government-to-Citizen (G2C) services across the Union Territory. The meeting was informed that 1,548 G2C services have already been digitized under the E-Unnat platform, while nearly 300 additional services are presently under development.

The meeting was informed that in the first phase, 302 services across key departments including Agriculture, Higher Education, Housing & Urban Development, Revenue, Health and Power Development Departments have been identified for elimination of offline processes and full digital transformation.

The implementation roadmap includes phased execution covering policy notification, digitization audit, workflow re-engineering, system integration, capacity building, real-time monitoring and third-party audits.

Stresssing upon departments to undertake comprehensive process re-engineering before digitization, the Chief Secretary directed all departments to simplify existing G2G, G2B and G2C procedures in order to eliminate bottlenecks and promote faster, simpler and citizen-friendly governance mechanisms.

The meeting also reviewed progress achieved under Vision 2030 and Vision 2047 targets. It was informed that several departments have already submitted quantifiable targets, achievements, gap analysis and timelines for bridging developmental gaps, while the remaining departments have been asked to furnish their inputs for preparation of a comprehensive Vision document for Jammu & Kashmir.

SRINAGAR, MAY 25: The J&K government Monday ordered the regularisation and promotion of 3 In-charge Information Officers and 14 Assistant Information Officers as Information Officers and equivalent in the Information Department.

According to a Government Order issued here by the Information Department, the promoted officers included Showket Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Fazili, Parshotam Dass, Rajinder Paul Singh, Gulshan Sumbria, Majeeb Ahmad Ganai, Gulshan Ara, Ashok Kumar Sharma, Sayed Gulam Jeelani Qadiri, Shabir Ahmed Bhat, Gurpreet Singh, Liyaqat Ali Mir, Mohammad Owais Gurkoo, Natyapal Singh, Parvaiz Ahmad Lone, Sajad Ahmad Shah and Hardeep Singh Choudhary.

Showket Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Fazili and Parshotam Dass have been regularised with effect from September 5, 2018, while the promotions of the remaining officers will take effect prospectively, according to the order.

The officers shall continue to work at their present places of posting until further orders.

Srinagar, May 25: In a major crackdown against drug trafficking and substance abuse in parts of Kashmir, Police have arrested six drug peddlers in a series of successful anti-narcotics operations in Baramulla, Pulwama and Anantnag, recovering significant quantities of contraband substances from their possession.

In Baramulla, during naka checking at Jhandiya Dardkote on Uri National Highway, a police party from Police Post Uroosa intercepted a suspicious individual who attempted to flee after noticing the naka party. Acting swiftly, police apprehended the accused identified as Waseem Ahmad Mangral son of Shair Zaman Mangral resident of Nambla Uri. During search, approximately 60.5 grams of charas was recovered from his possession. In another operation in the Madiya area of Kamalkote, a patrolling party from Police Post Kamalkote apprehended a suspicious person identified as Muhammad Safir Sheikh son of Abdul Majid Sheikh resident of Madiya Kamalkote. During search, approximately 29 grams of charas-like substance was recovered from his possession.

Meanwhile in Pulwama, Police achieved a major success after arresting two drug peddlers and recovering approximately 273 grams of heroin-like substance during naka checking at Parigam Khalsa. A scooty bearing registration number JK13H-6074 coming from Lerve towards Parigam was intercepted by Police Post Parigam. The accused were identified as Mohd Aslam Malik son of Mohd Yousuf Malik resident of Hanji Mohallah Bongam Kakapora and Nasir Ahmad Dar son of Mohd Shafi Dar resident of New Colony Kakapora. Both were taken into custody on the spot and the contraband substance was seized.

In Anantnag, a police party from Police Station Srigufwara apprehended Nazir Ahmed Sheikh son of Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh resident of Trail, at Sakhras Crossing Chowk. During search of a bag in his possession, 6.566 kilograms of ganja-like substance was recovered. In another operation conducted by Police Station Kokernag near Tangpawa Petrol Pump, a Tavera vehicle bearing registration number RJ38TA-1602 was intercepted during naka checking. During search of the vehicle, a brown sugar-like substance concealed inside the dashboard drawer was recovered. The driver, identified as Huzaif Ahmad Ganai son of Mohammad Ayoub Ganai resident of Soaf Shali Kokernag, was arrested and the contraband was seized.

Regarding the incidents cases under relevant sections of law have been registered at respective police station and investigations have been initiated.

Police reiterated their firm commitment towards eradicating the menace of drugs from society and appealed to the public to cooperate by sharing information related to drug trafficking and substance abuse in their respective areas.

Srinagar, May 25: Sustaining its intensified drive against the drug menace, Police in Shopian continued its crackdown on illegal narcotics cultivation by acting on specific intelligence regarding poppy cultivation in the Check Sideeqkhan Imamsahib area of the district.

Acting promptly on the information, a police team from Police Station Imamsahib along with officials from Revenue Department reached the spot and detected illegal poppy cultivation on land belonging to Farooq Ahmad Dar son of Gh Nabi Dar resident of Check Sadeeq Khan. The illicit crop was immediately destroyed on the spot. In this regard, a case vide FIR No. 37/2026 under relevant sections of law has been registered at Police Station Imamsahib and further investigation has been taken up.

J&K Police reiterated its firm commitment to eradicating the menace of drug abuse and illegal narcotics cultivation from the society. The general public is urged to cooperate with the police and share any information related to drug trafficking or unlawful cultivation to help build a drug-free society