JAMMU, Nov 15: Night temperatures dropped further across Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Tuesday as the Drass town froze at minus 15.
Rain and snow occurred in the two UTs during the last 24 hours as the MeT office forecast dry weather during the next 24 hours.
“Weather is expected to remain dry in J&K and Ladakh during the next 24 hours”, an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar recorded 4.5 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam minus 3.4 and Gulmarg minus 4.6 degree Celsius as the minimum temperature this morning.
While Drass town in Ladakh region recorded minus 15 degree, Kargil minus 4.2 and Leh minus 7.5, Jammu clocked 12.3 degrees, Katra 10.4, Batote 2.3, Banihal 2.2 and Bhaderwah 1. (Agencies)
Drass freezes at minus 15, night temps drop further in J&K, Ladakh
Govt determined to revive, revitalise defunct cooperatives: LG
Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday said that the government was determined to revive and revitalise the defunct cooperatives.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that inaugurating the 69th All India Cooperative Week celebrations across J&K during a function at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium, University of Jammu, the LG commended the significant role being played by all stakeholders associated with the cooperative movement in building a strong ecosystem for the growth of the cooperative sector in J&K.
He said that the Jan-Andolan for promotion of social enterprises, its values, and principles to establish equality, equity, and solidarity were pivotal for bringing socio-economic development for inclusive growth in rural J&K.
The LG said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, the cooperatives were being transformed into an effective economic instrument for ensuring growth in sectors like agriculture, handicraft, sugar, dairy, textiles, fisheries, storage, food processing and upliftment of small and marginal farmers.
He said that cooperatives were perhaps the best medium to reach out to the far-flung areas of J&K and the poor and marginalised sections.
The LG said that in the era of startups and unicorns, there was a need to meet the aspiration of the youth and cooperatives need to constantly reinvent themselves.
“Cooperatives should be established as one of the pillars for economic and social development,” he said.
Highlighting the achievements made under the cooperative sector in J&K, the LG shared the government’s vision to strengthen the cooperative movement in J&K.
“This year’s theme ‘India@75: Growth of Cooperatives and Future Ahead’ is our resolve to build a resilient and viable business ecosystem of the cooperatives with the special participation of youth and women and enable the cooperative-based economic model to realise the Mantra of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi,’” he said.
The LG said that the cooperatives need to address the challenges that the rural economy and people were facing and should offer financial and non-financial benefits.
“Since it is driven by local members who understand the needs, it can have a greater impact on health, education, agriculture, credit, tourism, green energy, and hospitality sectors,” the LG said.
He said that the J&K administration was laying special thrust on registration of cooperatives, training and capacity building of stakeholders, modernising cooperative markets, bringing transparency in the system, creating new markets, and enabling government departments to purchase directly from these markets.
“We have registered 1006 cooperatives in the last year and 31,578 members were trained during Jan-Abhiyan. It shows that the determined efforts are being made to widen the network and ensure capacity building for the professional functioning of the cooperatives,” the LG said. “We are also determined to revive and revitalise the defunct cooperatives. Recapitalisation amount of Rs 255.71 crore in favour of three District Central Cooperative Banks was released to improve their fiscal health.”
He said that the cooperatives also need to improve business viability and capacity to create employment and income to empower people.
“The creation of new cooperatives should be people-driven, the demand for new cooperatives should come from society and their success as a commercial entity will encourage others,” the LG said.
He underscored the need to promote close coordination among the primary, district, and state-level cooperatives.
“Cross-marketing efforts among Self-Help Groups and Handicraft Cooperatives can contribute to women empowerment and various income-generating activities. Such efforts can transform cooperatives in rural areas as vibrant entities,” the LG said.
He said that the government’s focus was on the promotional drive for the formation of new multi-purpose cooperatives, reducing regional imbalance by increasing more cooperatives per person and exploring new and commercially viable sectors.
The LG also called for replicating successful models of other states and preparing a comprehensive framework, keeping in mind the viability and the vulnerable sections of the society.
“There should be a proper representation of members of deprived and marginalised sections in the cooperative sector,” he said.
The LG called for providing capital infusion and market access to FPOs through the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and encouraging them to undertake the construction of godowns, as was being done in other states and union territories.
He also spoke on the efforts being made for establishing multipurpose and multidimensional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in every village.
Advisor to Lt Governor Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar said the motto of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’ was dedicated to the upliftment and benefit of the common man through cooperatives.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo said that the cooperative sector was being rejuvenated with renewed energy.
He extended his greetings on the inauguration of the 69th All India Cooperative Week.
In her address Secretary Cooperative Department, Yasha Mudgal highlighted the achievements of the department and informed about the aims and objectives of the 69th All India Cooperative Week.
She said that after three decades, J&K was witnessing the launch of the Dairy Cooperative Federation which would explore the untapped potential of milk production and processing.
On the occasion, the LG handed over registration certificates to FPOs and cooperatives, felicitated cooperative societies, and also inspected the stalls set up by the Cooperative Department.
A compendium of the Cooperative Department was also released.
ADGP Jammu Mukesh Singh was also present on the occasion.
India emerging as bright spot in world’s economy, says Union Minister Piyush Goyal
Hailing the development projects started in last eight years by PM Modi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that today India is emerging as a bright spot in the world’s economy.
“Under the leadership of PM Modi, the country is moving toward development. For our startups, women entrepreneurs, who are manufacturing in India, a dedicated ‘Swadeshi fair’ should be organized where we’ll present quality products in front of the world,” Union Minister said the mediapersons in New Delhi.
“In the last eight years, PM Modi introduced many development projects & due to this, today India is emerging as a bright spot in the world’s economy,” he highlighted.
Goyal on Monday inaugurated the 41st edition of the India International Trade Fair.
He pointed out that, “with the help of India, the world economy will move forward. India will lead the world in future.”
Earlier on Sunday, Goyal talked the idea of every campus must become an incubator for startups and must strive to nurture and develop innovation and entrepreneurship.
During a meeting with the heads of all premier educational institutes in India like NIFT, the commerce minister asked the institutions to introspect if their education was tailor-made to cater to the needs of tomorrow.
He said, “We must aspire to take India’s fashion technology to the developed markets of the world. He also observed that there is a need to expand our faculty base and invest greatly in faculty development” during the meeting with the heads and senior faculty members of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), National Institute of Design (NID), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in New Delhi on Saturday evening.
As per a statement from the commerce ministry, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asked eminent institutions of design in India to increase their student intake by a minimum of 10X.
India saw only 2% hike in petroleum prices against 46% in world, says Puri in Srinagar
SRINAGAR: Despite the exorbitant increase in petroleum prices up to the tune of 46% across the globe, India has seen only 2% increase in past one year, even as the remotest parts of the country have availability of fuel, said Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs.
Addressing the media persons here in Srinagar, Puri said the Prime Minister’s commitment to the development of J&K is turning into reality and work regarding the same is in full swing.
“The people are investing in the economic development in the Union Territory of J&K because of the Central Government’s farsighted decision to remove the bottleneck of Article 370 and 35A,” said Puri.
“The petroleum prices have seen a sharp rise from July 2021 to August, 2022 with 43 percent to 46 percent increase in USA and Canada while as India is the only country in the world where only 2 percent increase has been seen during that period,” Puri told the media persons.
“When many countries in the world are witnessing the shortage of fuel and exorbitant price rise, there is no shortage of fuel in India even in the remotest corners of the country,” the Minister added.
He said that the Prime Minister’s commitment to the development of J&K is turning into reality.
“The PM’s development initiatives in J&K have created an emotional bond between the people and the country. Central schemes directly benefit the people and I am glad that work is going on at the ground level,” the minister added.
Puri said that a new dawn of development is now set in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 that could be judged from the fact that 25 new National Highway Projects have been sanctioned to be built at an estimated cost of 11,721 crores, 168 MoUs have been signed amounting to 13,600 crores, seven new medical colleges have been sanctioned with medical seats increasing from 500 to 955, world’s highest railway bridge constructed in J&K, Vande Bharat Express is in operation from Jammu to Delhi and tourist footfall increased to more than one lakh.
Puri further said that under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, some 12 lakh LPG connections have been provided under PM Ujjwala, 50,000 houses have been sanctioned under PMAY (U).
Interacting with the district administration officers in Srinagar, Puri said that the centre is committed to achieving new milestones with respect to growth and development in Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister reviewed the progress of work on various development projects and work done as per government schemes like PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujwala, PM SVANidhi, SBM 2.0 and Amrut 2.0.
During the review meeting, the minister said that application of modern technology to solid waste management is the need of the hour and Srinagar will be among the cities where such strategies will be adopted on a priority basis. He said that there is a need to process the waste as per modern standards to avoid dumping it at one location, which is hazardous to the ecosystem.
Interacting with the beneficiaries of various centrally sponsored schemes, Sh. Puri said that there are many schemes and projects under Housing and Urban Affairs that people need to take advantage of. He added that we could now improve resource utilisation through the use of technology better than the earlier times.
Elaborating on the work undertaken in Srinagar under the smart city project, Sh. Puri highlighted that urban planning is essential as new settlements in cities have come up and there is a need to replace the old traditions to deal with the new challenges. He said that urban work has one litmus test that is to produce benefits for the citizens, and the voices of the people need to be heard for the same.
Commenting on the economic boost due to development in urban space, the minister said that the urban space had been neglected earlier and the government took the opportunity to reform this sector, which is evident from the fact that cities are now the largest contributors to the GDP of the country.
The minister was briefed about the redevelopment of the city by the district administration. He complimented the admin for working with dedication in order to bring about the timely completion of different projects. He advised district administrators and local bodies to take appropriate measures for dealing with solid waste management, discourage the use of single-use plastic and address the voices of people on a timely basis.
While handing over the sanction letters to the beneficiaries of various schemes, the Minister said that the benefits of development should reach the poorest at the grass-roots level and the government is ensuring that it takes care of people in terms of any adversity.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Sh. Pandurang K. Pole, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Sh. Ajaz Assad, Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation, Sh. Athar Aamir and other senior officers of the district administration were present on the occasion.
‘Have to return to path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine,’ PM Modi says at G20 Summit
Bali [Indonesia], Nov 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reiterated India’s long-standing position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine and said “‘We have to find a way to return to the path of the ceasefire” in Kyiv.
While addressing the G20 working session on Food and Energy Security, PM Modi said, “I have repeatedly said that we have to find a way to return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine.
PM Modi, who arrived in Bali on Monday, said, “Over the past century, the Second World War wreaked havoc in the world. After that, the leaders of that time made a serious effort to take the path of peace. Now it’s our turn. The onus of creating a new world order for the post-Covid period lies on our shoulders. The need of the hour is to show concrete and collective resolve to ensure peace, harmony and security in the world.”
Referring to India as the “holy land of Buddha and Gandhi” PM Modi said that he is confident that the next year when G20 meets they will all agree to convey a strong message of peace to the world.
PM Modi started his speech by congratulating Indonesia for giving effective leadership to the G-20 in a challenging global environment. He further said that Climate change, the Covid pandemic, the developments in Ukraine, and the global problems associated with it have created havoc in the world.
“Global supply chains are in ruins. There is a crisis of essentials and essential goods all over the world. The challenge for the poor citizens of every country is more severe. Everyday life was already a struggle for them. They do not have the financial capacity to deal with the double whammy. Due to the double whammy, they lack the financial capacity to handle it. We should also not hesitate to acknowledge that multilateral institutions such as the UN have been unsuccessful on these issues. And we have all failed to make suitable reforms to them. Therefore, today the world has greater expectations from the G-20, and the relevance of our group has become more significant,” PM Modi added.
Talking about the problems during the pandemic situation, PM said that India had ensured the food security of its 1.3 billion citizens. At the same time, food grains were also supplied to many countries in need. The current shortage of fertilizers in terms of food security is also a huge crisis.
He further said that the fertilizer shortage “is tomorrow’s food crisis,” and the world will not have a solution.
PM Modi said that all the G20 countries have to build mutual agreement to maintain the supply chain of both manure and food grains stable and assured.
“In India, for sustainable food security, we are promoting natural farming and re-popularising nutritious and traditional foodgrains like millets. Millets can also solve global malnutrition and hunger. We all must celebrate the International Year of Millets with great enthusiasm next year,” he added.
Calling India’s energy security “important” for global growth, PM Modi said that it is the world’s fastest-growing economy. He further stated that one should not promote the restrictions on the supply of energy and stability in the energy market should be ensured.
“India is committed to clean energy and environment. By 2030, half of our electricity will be generated from renewable sources. Time-bound and affordable finance and sustainable supply of technology to developing countries is essential for inclusive energy transition,” PM said.
“During India’s G-20 Presidency, we will work for global consensus on all these issues,” he added. (Agencies)
Congress Seva Dal pays tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on the birth anniversary
Jammu
Congress seva dal jammu kashmir unit pay tribute to India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary . Addressing the gathering, Congress Seva Dal President Vijay Sharma Babbi said that Pandit Nehru loved children. His birthday is celebrated as Children’s Day. Describing Nehru as a great statesman, visionary personality and a great freedom fighter, Vijay Sharma said that when the country became independent, not even a single needle was made here. In such difficult times, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru united the entire country and built a strong nation. Due to the visionary thinking of Pandit Nehru, today India is one of the leading countries of the world. He said that Congress believes in promoting brotherhood and communal harmony in the country. People of all religions are equal in the ideology of Congress. He said that if India is one of the leading countries of the world today, then the credit goes to great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and them. Dara Singh, Parvez Wani and other members of Congress Seva Dal were present on this occasion.
RICH HARVEST CELEBRATES CHILDREN’S DAY
Children’s Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and gaiety on November 14 at Rich Harvest School Bari Brahmana. The special attractions were the movie show, group dances and music. The huge applause by the students seem to further cement the bond between teachers and students, as the teachers reminisced about their childhood through their presentations.
Ms. Anita Bhatia, Principal-RHS,expressed her love for the children and praised them for their amazing talents and skills which they had exhibited. She also motivated students to follow the teachings of our former Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.
Narinder hails start of much awaited repair and renovation of RS Pura road
RS Pura: Social Activist and PDP District Jammu Media Coordinator Narinder Sharma today hailed District Administration and PWD Department for taking effective measures for the repair and renovation of RS Pura road to facilitate commuters. Welcoming the prompt response and intervention by District Administration for necessary repairs of RS Pura road which was in dilapidated condition for the last two years.
Sharma further said that due to poor work, blockage of drains and due to non maintenance by executive agency, the road developed potholes and was in dilapidated condition. The matter was taken up several times with the concerned agencies even several protests were organized but nothing was done in this regard. Now finally on the intervention of District Administration, the work for necessary maintenance and repair of the road was to be started today but due to rain, the work temporarily halted.
Sharma further appealed to the District Administration to ensure renovation of damaged stretches of the road from Satwari to RS Pura . He also said that over ten link roads originate from this road connecting a population of several villages including staff and students of over one dozen government schools, two health institutions and other government institutions, besides being of immense importance for defence purposes. He also appealed to concerned department to ensure enforcement of the road maintenance period clause by the contractors to keep the roads in good condition.
Sharma demanded government to pass strict instructions with regard to the quality of the work and contactors must be communicated that any damage on the roads for three years will be their responsibility and they will have to repair it whenever and wherever needed.“This will help us in keeping the roads in better health. For the past many years we have only been repairing patches due to lack of funds. As money has been announced and work has started, contractors will have to follow the set norms of the government,” he said.
To keep a check on the quality of the work, there is need to check the material being used for the process. He said that there should not be any scope for bad work and quality must be maintained.He at the same time asked people to inform him about any shabby work so that he intervenes within time. Sharma claimed that they had been running from pillar to post chasing the departments but to no purpose. The residents finally approached District Administration who acceded to their request and took in hand the initial black topping of the road.
“CEO post continues to remain vacant”
Elections may never be held in J&K as long as BJP remained in power: Harsh Dev
Jammu, 14-11-2022: Former Minister and senior AAP leader Mr. Harsh Dev Singh has claimed that elections may never be held in J&K as long as BJP continued to rule at the centre. With the present bureaucracy enjoying authority without accountability, a ‘free for all’ kind of situation prevailed in the erstwhile state, said Mr. Singh. He said that the ECI was holding elections in other states without uttering a single word about J&K Elections which are being denied for the last four years since 2018 and which may never be held as long as BJP remained in power at the centre. So much so that even the post of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has been kept vacant for the last several months after the posting of Mr. Hirdesh Kumar as Deputy Election Commissioner in New Delhi. And while the date of publication of final electoral rolls was advanced from October 25 to November 25, the present deadline may also be changed and further postponed in view of the highest post of Election authority lying vacant in J&K.
Maintaining that the elections continued to be denied and postponed on one pretext or the other, Mr. Singh said that flimsy excuses were being given from time to time to deprive the people of J&K of their right to have a democratic govt and to continue the proxy rule of BJP therein. “If you can manage to hold the reins of power and run the affairs of state without elections, why at all should the ruling party take the risk of seeking peoples’ mandate? Asserted Mr. Singh adding that the people of erstwhile state and its political leadership seemed to have reconciled to the backdoor rule imposed by the saffron regime. “What an irony! The party which catapulted itself to power on the slogans of “one nation, one constitution” had itself dismantled the age old principles of democracy and denied constitutional rights to the people of J&K for the last four years with no hope of democracy getting restored in the downgraded state under BJP regime”, observed Mr. Singh.
Pointing towards the constitutional provisions and the rulings of the Supreme Court, Mr. Singh said that the top court of the country had categorically observed that fresh Assembly Elections in all states, wherein the legislatures were prematurely dissolved, needed to be conducted and completed within a period of six months. He divulged that even in its recent judgment pertaining to the state of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court re-iterated that there is statutory obligation to fill Assembly seats within six months so as to ensure that the people are not deprived of due representation. “You can’t create a constitutional void, a hiatus situation for the constituencies”, the Supreme Court has again observed adding further that it is the people who eventually suffer in the absence of an elected representative to espouse their cause. It therefore is a punishment to the people, said Mr. Singh while quoting the Judgment of the Apex Court of the country.
Mr. Singh said that delaying the elections on the pretext of non-completion of the Delimitation process is also unjustified. He revealed that when the State of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated and the state of Telangana created, no Delimitation was held and Assembly Elections were held immediately thereafter. It was then stated that no delimitation can take place in the country before first census after the year 2026 in view of constitutional Amendment effected by the then NDA govt in 2001-2002. In the case of J&K however, the very same NDA was adopting different yardsticks to delay and deny elections with a view to continue its proxy rule. He said that Delimitation Commission working at snail pace also had given rise to speculations that it was doing so at the behest of BJP. With the people having been deprived of popular rule and their right to have an elected govt of their own, the onus also lay on the ECI and Delimitation Commission to explain and justify their role as autonomous bodies.
Raj Kumar Goyal inaugurates aap Traders Wing office at block marh
Jammu,
The Traders Wing of Aam Aadmi Party inaugurated the new office of the party at Block Marh. Many people from different political parties and sections joined the party on this occasion. Organized under the chairmanship of Traders Wing President Tanveer Hussain, Traders Wing Organization Minister Raj Kumar Goyal inaugurated the new office by cutting the ribbon. On this occasion, Tanveer Hussain said that all the hopes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir rest on the Aam Aadmi Party. They knows that the earlier governments have betrayed him, only the Aam Aadmi Party can give justice to all. Rajkumar Goyal said that all people associated with business, whether they are associated with any political party or organization, work for their betterment is their priority. At present, traders are facing a lot of trouble due to wrong policies of the government. The business has come to a standstill and the reckless tax has made the life of the traders miserable. In this role, the Aam Aadmi Party will make every effort to take the problems of the traders to the government. Goyal said that the Aam Aadmi Party is the only party that can end the plight of the traders along with the common people. On this occasion, Pratap Singh Jamwal, Vijay Pandey, Darshan Singh, Shankar Singh, Anwar Khan, Sujan Singh, Bhanu Pratap and other leaders were present.