JAMMU: Renowned Bollywood celebrities like Imtiaz Ali, Rahul Mittra, Umesh Shukla, Sara Khan, Rahat Kazmi and Tariq Khan will be in Jammu for the ‘Dil Maange More Short Film Festival’ being organised by the Indian Army from November 12-16.

Organised with the objective of empowering the Youth of J&K and Ladakh, curtain raiser event for the five day film festival will be organised on Sunday, at Chinar Complex, Udhampur.

The festival is organised by the Northern Command of Indian Army in association with Innovations India and will be dedicated to the independent, talented and discerning film makers from J&K and Ladakh, who crave to showcase their deftness and craft of film making to the world via short films, said an official spokesman.

“Masterclasses by award winning and renowned filmmakers of India like Imtiaz Ali, Rahul Mittra & Umesh Shukla would be organised in Udhampur on November 12 in the offline mode for the benefit of participants,” the spokesman said, adding that same would also be telecasted online across J&K and Ladakh for the benefit of those who are unable to attend offline.

Besides, model and actress Sara Khan, internationally acclaimed film director and writer Rahat Kazmi, and filmmaker, producer & actor Tariq Khan will also be a part of the festival.

The festival will have three themes- Nation Building: Rashtra Nirmaan; Change: Badlav; and Distinguished India: Shreshth Bharat, under which the participants can submit their short films.

The top 3 winners would be awarded with Cash prizes, Trophies and Merit certificates by the Indian Army, besides will be given a golden opportunity to be a part of renowned film production houses in Mumbai under the mentorship of acclaimed film makers of India.“The winning Short Films would also be screened at International Indian Film Festivals across the globe that would catapult the talented young filmmakers into international limelight,” the spokesman said.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today attended the ‘Meritorious Students’ Award’ function organized by Amar Ujala Group at Baba Jitto Auditorium of SKUAST-Jammu.
The Lt Governor congratulated all the students and wished them very best for their future endeavours.
The Lt Governor said, “The biggest power for a student is critical thinking, and curiosity is the only real identity. Critical thinking and curiosity helps a student to earn the values of courage, caring and cooperation”.
Both knowledge and values in the education system is need of the hour. At this impressionable age, classroom must stimulate students’ intellectual capacity and enrich their personality, he added.
Observing that the National Education Policy prepared under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister has redefined the entire education eco-system, the Lt Governor stressed upon schools to promote innovation, creativity, flexibility and experiments. The culture of innovation and invention will enable the students to confidently tackle the challenges of the future and contribute to nation building in various capacities, he further added.
Any region, any nation will prosper only when the younger generation gets the right environment to nurture critical thinking and curiosity. Focus on your independent thinking, individual growth and never stop looking for answers for your queries to unlock the vast potential of knowledge, the Lt Governor told the students.
The Lt Governor highlighted the reforms introduced in the education sector and significant decisions taken in line with the National Education Policy to transform the education sector in Jammu and Kashmir in the last two years.
In our effort to achieve the goal of education for all, we have made effective interventions to offset the dropout rate. Last year enrollment drive registered a 14.5% increase, said the Lt Governor.
We are developing necessary infrastructure for girls’ education, bridging gender gaps, developing Atal Tinkering Labs & Computer-Aided Learning centres, providing scholarships, extending handholding for individual growth and ensuring quality education for all sections of society, the Lt Governor added.
Leading educationists of the country have been invited to be a part of the Higher Education Council of J&K. We are preparing a pragmatic road map to enhance the potential of human resources, re-aligning the Higher Education ecosystem to meet the needs of present-day challenges and strengthening the academia-industry relationship, observed the Lt Governor.
Initiatives like Aao School Chalen Campaign, Talaash Survey, Teachers-Students mentorship programs are yielding favorable results. Today 70,000 boys and girls are taking vocational training in 14 different trades and 1420 Computer Aided Learning Centers in Upper Primary School are promoting Curiosity, Critical Thinking in children, he further added.
Uday Kumar, Group Editor Amar Ujala in his welcome address gave a detailed briefing about the endeavour. On the occasion, the meritorious students of 10th and 12th standards were felicitated.
Rajinder Sharma, Mayor JMC; Bharat Bhushan, Chairman DDC Jammu; Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu; Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary to Government, School Education Department; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, besides senior officials, teachers, parents and students in large numbers were present.
Prof. JP Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu; Prof. Umesh Rai, VC Jammu University; Prof Bechan Lal, VC Cluster University Jammu and members of Amar Ujala group were also present on the occasion.

New Delhi, Nov 11: The CBI has arrested seven more people, including some police personnel, in connection with the alleged manipulation of recruitment process for sub-inspectors in Jammu and Kashmir Police, officials said Thursday.
They said the arrests were made after these suspects were questioned in Jammu, they said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had conducted searches on Tuesday at seven locations in Jammu, Pathankot, Rewari and Karnal in connection with the recruitment scam.
The CBI took over the investigation into the case on August 3 on a reference from the Jammu and Kashmir government.
It had arrested 13 persons in connection with the case earlier.
The case pertains to the leak of question paper for the examination through which 1,200 posts of sub-inspectors were to be filled by the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board. (Agencies)

SRINAGAR, Nov 11: The Meteorological (MeT) department on Friday forecast dry weather with generally clear sky in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.
The weather was generally cloudy on Thursday.
“Dry weather with generally clear sky is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours”, an official of the MeT department said.
Meanwhie, Srinagar recorded 3.6 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam minus 4.2 and Gulmarg minus 3.2 degrees as the minimum temperature this morning.
Drass town and Leh in Ladakh region registered minus 8.6 degree while Kargil had minus 4.3, while Jammu clocked 10.6, Katra 10.4, Batote 4.9, Banihal 5.2 and Bhaderwah 1.7. (AGENCIES)

Srinagar, Nov 11: A foreign Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, police said.
The militant has been identified as Kamran Bhai alias Hanees, they said.
An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in the Kapren area of Shopian district in the early hours of Friday, a police official said.
“One FT of JeM #terror outfit killed, identified as Kamran Bhai @Hanees who was active in #Kulgam-#Shopian area. Search is still going on,” ADGP, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar tweeted. (Agencies)

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood should be restored before the assembly elections are conducted, Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari said here on Thursday.
Bukhari also said under an elected government not only the good work of the officers will be appreciated, but they will be held answerable for any wrongdoings too.

“Elections or no elections, as a political party, we are always ready for it. Our job is to serve the people and we will continue to do that,” he told reporters here.

He said the Apni Party wants the assembly elections to be conducted in J-K so that the problems faced by the people are resolved by an elected government.

“We also want that the statehood be restored immediately. Why are they (Centre) waiting for the elections? This is a promise of the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah),” he said.

We live a democratic country, and people have the right to elect their own government to represent them and address their grievances, Bukhari said.

“Once an elected government is there, it will analyse what has been done by the (current) bureaucratic set-up and while the good work will be appreciated, they will be answerable for their wrong doings,” the Apni Party president said.

He said his party will continue to fight for the aspirations of the people including the restoration of statehood, fighting for Articles 370 and 35-A in the Supreme Court, and for their land and job rights.

Asked about the decision to not contend election by Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti both former J-K chief ministers as long as J-K remains a UT, Bukhari said “it is their personal decision.”

“We are not for power, we want to serve the people So, it is their own decision, but we will contest in all 90 constituencies, secure a majority and form the government,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Congress party’s former district president Bandipora, Imtiyaz Parray joined the Apni Party.

Parray is a son of Mohammad Yusuf Parray alias Kuka Parray, the founder of counter-insurgency force Ikhwan’ in the valley.