News Kashmir Magazine

Tribute to General Bipin Rawat
In a great loss to the country , the first ever Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat, were among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu Wednesday, 8 December, 2021.The entire  country is in mourning over such a great class as General Bipin Rawat was a legendary figure of the country as he became symbol of much needed reforms.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami paid respects to General Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat at their 3, Kamraj Marg residence. The bodies of General Rawat, his wife and the defence personnel killed in the clash were flown in from Sulur in Tamil Nadu to Delhi .It is worth mentioning that General Rawat and 12 people on board an Mi-17 V5 helicopter were on their way to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington when the crash took place. The Indian Air Force has ordered an inquiry into the helicopter crash. The flight data recorder of the helicopter has been recovered.
Bipin Laxman Singh Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, was appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on December 30, 2019. The former Indian Army Chief assumed office from January 1, 2020.General Rawat had taken over the reins of the Indian Army from General Dalbir Singh Suhag on December 17, 2016, as the 27th Chief of Army Staff (COAS). 
The first CDS was a veteran of counterinsurgency warfare and served in some of the most difficult terrains of India, including the northern and eastern commands.
During his four decades in service, Rawat served as a Brigade Commander, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-C) Southern Command, General Staff Officer Grade 2 at the Military Operations Directorate, Colonel Military Secretary and Deputy Military Secretary in the Military Secretary’s Branch and instructor in the Junior Command Wing .He was undoubtedly a great Military man .

Grievance Resolution in Jammu and Kashmir
Grievance solution is the integral part of ensuring smooth governance . If people’s issues are not heard then Grievance resolution is a must .In Jammu and Kashmir people not being heard in the offices and administration has been a big concern . Now, in a positive development it is learnt that  Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha few days back interacted with randomly selected applicants from across the UT during the monthly edition of “LG’s Mulaqaat- Live Public Grievance Hearing” and took first-hand appraisal of the public issues and grievances through virtual mode.
  Terming ‘Grievance Redressal’ as one of the biggest aspects of good governance, the Lt Governor directed the Deputy Commissioners and officials to resolve public complaints promptly as soon as they are received.It is worth pointing outhere that The Lt Governor passed explicit directions to all concerned officials in districts and secretariat for ensuring that public welfare services are delivered, and requests and complaints from people are responded to within a reasonable timeframe.  “Every district office must have a performance management system in place to audit, assess and improve performance and to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of services”, the Lt Governor said.The lack of effective system to get a heed to the problems of people of Jammu and Kashmir had in past increased the people’s anger and one hopes same will be solved on top priority.
One hopes on ground zero the Grievance resolution mechanism in Jammu and Kashmir would become more vibrant with every passing moment .

Fulfilling Jammu and Srinagar Smart City Dreams 

To have Jammu and Srinagar as mega smart cities is a dream of everyone living here .
The Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta recently chaired a meeting to review the progress of the Smart City Mission in Jammu and Kashmir.Administrative Secretary Housing &UD, Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu divisions and Chief Executive Officers of Jammu Smart City Limited and Srinagar Smart City Limited participated in the meeting.CEO, SSCL informed that out of 137 projects to be executed under the project, 42 projects have been completed while 35 projects are ongoing. Out of the remaining projects, 23 projects have been tendered out while in respect of 47 projects, detailed project reports are being prepared.The Chief Secretary expressed concern at the delay in the execution of the projects saying that even after 4 years of commencement, many projects are far from completion.Dr Mehta asked the department to develop the entire ensemble of the surroundings along with the heritage sites in the downtown Srinagar to create real aesthetic impact for the visitors.He advised the department to fix timelines for each of the ongoing as well the project that are yet to be taken up and work earnestly to achieve those timelines.One hopes that these plans are executed soon and we have in coming times both Srinagar and Jammu as smart cities .Jammu and Srinagar are among the most important cities of the country and to make them smart City will go a long way in making the country progressive.

Farmers Laws Repealed

In a big announcement, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday morning that the Central Government will take steps to repeal the three contentious farm laws.
“We have decided to repeal three farm laws. We will finish the constitutional process to repeal the law in upcoming Parliament session”, Prime Minister Modi said in a special address to the nation on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti.
The Prime Minister said that though the laws were enacted for the benefit of farmers, the Government could not convince them, and a section was opposing the laws.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, on Friday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to repeal the three farm laws. It also said that the SKM will take note of all developments and will hold its meeting soon and announce further decisions. “The agitation of farmers is not just against the repeal of the three black laws, but also for a statutory guarantee to remunerative prices for all agricultural produce and for all farmers. This important demand of farmers is still pending,” it said.We tried our best to explain to farmers. We were even ready to modify the laws, suspend them too. The matter reached the Supreme Court as well. We haven’t been able to explain to our farmers. This is not a time to blame anyone. I want to tell you that we have taken the farm laws back. We are repealing the farm laws”, the Prime Minister said.
Supreme Court-appointed farm panel member Anil Ghanwat on Friday described as regressive the Central government’s decision to repeal the three farm laws which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year. “This is the most regressive step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he chose politics over farmers’ betterment,” Ghanwat told PTI.
The repeal of farmers law is a big step towards agricultural prosperity .

Welcome Move of JK Government on Winter

Power supply 

Jammu and Kashmir especially the Kashmir valley is known for having a very harsh winter . Often power cuts make life of people quite difficult during the winters . Now the latest vision of Jammu and Kashmir Government on smooth power supply in Jammu and Kashmir is a welcome Development .
It is learnt that a vibrant, disruption free winter remains the topmost priority of the government this year. This was stated by the Chief Secretary Dr. Arun K Mehta here recently . He was chairing a meeting to review the power scenario in Kashmir valley.
It was said that the Chief Secretary was apprised about the existing electricity scenario in Kashmir valley, the current energy consumption pattern and future power requirement during the winter season. He was informed that the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation has already touched a peak load of 1653 MW which is nearly 100 MW higher than the peak load of 1546 which was served last year. Similarly, the power supply to the Kashmir valley this year alone had been of the order of 5719.6 million units- an increase of 12% over the previous year.

While acknowledging the efforts of the department, the Chief Secretary also directed the officers to undertake greater efforts to ensure smooth power supply during winters. He directed inspection of all transformers by 30th November 2021 to ensure good health of transformers, besides simultaneously inspecting all HT/LT fuses within 15 days.
Masses are hopeful that Jammu and Kashmir Government would maintain a regular power supply during the upcoming winter season that is just round the corner .In a welcome sign , Dr. Mehta further directed prevention of unscheduled power cuts due to overloading and formulation of proper protocol to manage scheduled power cuts. He also directed the initiation of the IEC campaign for raising awareness on agreemented power load, schedule of electricity cuts and helpline number for complaints.

Bringing Down Transformer Failures in JK

Transformer Failure has been a great problem for our power sector especially in Kashmir valley . Now in a positive stride forward, The Power DISCOMS JPDCL and KPDCL will aim at reducing the transformer failure rate by at least 15% in the current year. This target was set by Principal Secretary Power, Rohit Kansal at a meeting held at IIT Jammu few days back.

Pertinent to mention he was presiding over the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU between Jammu Power Development Corporation Limited, JPDCL, Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited, KPDCL and IIT Jammu here today. The MoU was signed by MD JPDCL, Gurmeet Singh and MD KPDCL Basharat Qayoom on behalf of the two corporations respectively. The IIT Jammu was represented by its Director Manoj S Gaur. The Chairman JPDCL, Jagmohan Sharma and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

Under the MoU, IIT Jammu would help in providing an end to end solution for procurement, analysis and maintenance of Distribution transformers. The institute would incorporate smart technologies and data analyses to provide preventive maintenance, data-intensive monitoring, damage analysis and smart metering technologies for end consumers. Real time monitoring and e-governance facilities would also be provided under the agreement. It would also facilitate capacity building of engineers of both distribution companies and also provide smart technological interventions.

The agreement provides for undertaking research and consultancy projects, and for developing course modules for training of engineers in addition to internship opportunities for IIT students. Nominated members from the engineering institute and the distribution companies would also form Joint Working Groups for implementation of the MoU. Experts and IT tools from the UT administration would also be provided to augment the joint efforts under the MoU. 

Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Secretary hailed the MoU as an excellent example of Academia-government interface. He says that while the DISCOMS would benefit from a massive reduction in infrastructure damage rate, and in identifying vulnerabilities in the overall power infrastructure, the staff and students at IIT would be enriched by exposure to real life problems. He also hoped that the technical expertise would help the power corporations procure the most suitable and effective equipment. Our aim is to provide improved and quality power supply to the end consumers while cutting down on the losses, said the Principal Secretary. He also lauded the Director IIT, Manoj Gaur for his support and proactive approach.

Improving Road Projects Accountability
In  a bid to improve the quality of infrastructure in road sector and fix responsibility for proper maintenance of assets, the Administrative Council (AC), which met recently  under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the rollout of the 3rd party inspection guidelines in Jammu and Kashmir.

The quality of roads made in our region has been point of debate , with past experiences of roads being repaired with sub standard material a perception and reality.  Now with these reforms the things are set to change in a right direction .
In this regard , Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting.

The new guidelines have been framed on the lines of established regulations in respect of the road network created under the PMGSY scheme. Accordingly, a structured control mechanism is being established in the PW(R&B) Department to carry out scientific and periodic independent inspections for all district roads and state highways by undertaking monitoring via in-house departmental engineers and empanelled consultants of National stature.

The quality control mechanism also defines procedures and timelines to properly govern preparation of realistic detailed project reports (DPRs); preparation of bid documents and effective selection process for procurement of works; quality control on material and workmanship through enforcement of technical standard; and quality control requirement by regular testing, close supervision and inspection.
One hopes that roads in Jammu and Kashmir will soon meet global standards and commuting in geographically tough areas of the region becomes a nice experience .The new guidelines make it mandatory to conduct independent quality tests in accordance with the standard codal requirements and verify that the quality management system is achieving its intended objectives. They also prescribe non-release of payments to the contractors until works are inspected and graded satisfactory by the quality monitor.

Further, the Directorate of Design, Inspection & Quality Control which has the mandate for designing and quality control, shall be the Nodal Agency for implementation of Quality Control Mechanism independently under overall supervision of PW(R&B) Department as Quality Control Unit.

India’s One Billion Covid-19  Vaccination Milestone

Recently, India reached the one billion COVID-19 vaccinations milestone this morning. The government wants all of India’s 944 million adults to get vaccinated this year.As a matter of pride fact , Three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and around 30 percent are fully vaccinated, the government says.On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the RML hospital in Delhi to mark the milestone, congratulated the country and called it “the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians”.The five states that have administered the highest number of doses are Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.VK Paul, NITI Aayog member and chief of the government’s vaccine panel, said it was remarkable to reach the 1 billion dose mark in just over nine months since the vaccination program started in India.Daily vaccine shots have averaged 5 million this month, a fifth of September’s peak, though states are sitting on record stocks of more than 100 million as the domestic output of Serum Institute of India’s Covishield vaccine soars.
To celebrate the record, the government plans announcements over loudspeakers on trains, planes, and ships. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will launch a song by singer Kailash Kher. The largest national flag, weighing around 1,400 kg, will also be raised at the Red Fort, news agency PTI reported.India has always been a global leader when it comes to vaccination . From the peak crisis of rising Covid cases we have come a long way to take a right direction towards Coronavirus fight .Undoubtedly, one billion vaccination achieved is a big milestone for india .

Adding Critical care Ambulances in Jammu and Kashmir
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals.Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient.In modern times ambulances have assumed much importance in the health care system of any place, with many ambulances now capable of providing health care facilities within the ambulances .Just few days back, the Lieutenant Governor, J&K, Manoj Sinha flagged off 68 critical care ambulances and facilitated all the covid warriors, doctors and other essential contributors of the UT’s health system few days back .
LG said on microblogging website twitter that he flagged off 68 critical care ambulances that will be integrated with the existing fleet of 108 ambulances. He further said that he also monitored round-the-clock through 108 centralised call centres. 
Besides this, LG Sinha also felicitated covid warriors, doctors, nurses, para-medical staff, ambulances drivers for their selfless service to humanity in trying times, he said. 

These critical care ambulances are likely to boost the health sector of Jammu and Kashmir in much much big way .Health experts are welcome the move , as they believe it will ensure taking measures to ensure that the emergency and critical care facilities were augmented at the peripheral level in addition to making the transit of patients to a referral center safer.

Mega Tunnels in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh 
 The mega Tunnels in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region are a great sign for our progress in right direction. The infrastructure development would be taken to new heights especially the connectivity part bringing geography vise tough terrains closer.

During his visit to review progress of work on Zojila and Z Morh tunnels recently Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari said that extensive road networks in the Himalayan Region will help boost the tourism sector in the area. The minister is on a two day visit to the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

Addressing the media persons the minister gave the detailed information about the two tunnel projects and said that the Central Government has given a new impetus to the construction of new highways, tunnels and bridges which will bring transformative changes in the lives of people and will create huge employment opportunities to the local people. 

He said that Zojila tunnel project will provide all weather connectivity to the Union Territory of Ladakh. He assured that work on the Zojila Tunnel is in full capacity and NHIDCL is geared up to continue the work in winter months. He stressed for putting in every effort in place to complete the project well before the scheduled date.

Shri Gadkari expressed his satisfaction on the work progress and said that the Zojila tunnel is of a significant importance to the development and tourism for both UTs of J&K and Ladakh as it will provide round the year connectivity to Ladakh region.

Pertinent to mention that, once completed the Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel. Several bridges are being constructed along this route and a connecting tunnel from Z-Morh in the National Highway-1 to Zojila tunnel will be constructed in the Zojila Ghats between Sonamarg and Kargil. The entire work is divided into two divisions in the 33 km span.

The state of art infrastructure in the  region is bound to boom after these tunnels start operating.