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Lt Governor's
Greetings on the
eve of Easter
refugee message bureau
JAMMU, MARCH 30
Lieutenant Governor Shri
Manoj Sinha has extended
his heartiest greetings to the
people on the eve of Easter.
In a message, the Lt Gov-
ernor said: “On the joyous
occasion of Easter, I extend
my greetings and best wishes
to all, especially to all my
Christian brothers and sisters
in J&K UT.
Easter symbolizes the tri-
umph of truth over evil and
love over hatred. The celebra-
tion of Christ’s resurrection
inspires us to follow the path
of love, compassion, sacrifice,
righteousness and forgive-
ness. May the Easter strength-
en the bonds of brotherhood
and fill our hearts with joy,
hope and happiness”.
Rahul, Priyanka,
25 senior Congress
leaders set to
campaign for party
candidates in JK
refugee message bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
As the electoral battle intensi-
fies in Jammu and Kashmir,
the Congress party has rallied
an impressive lineup of star
campaigners, including top
leaders like Rahul Gandhi and
Priyanka Gandhi, to bolster
its campaign efforts for the
upcoming Lok Sabha elec-
tions. With a keen focus on
securing victory in two cru-
cial constituencies, Congress
aims to leverage the influence
of its prominent campaigners
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
Rains lash Jammu and Kashmir for Lok Sabha Polls: Security forces conduct
2nd day, snow blankets Pahalgam flag marches across Kashmir valley
refugee message bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
Several parts of Jammu and
Kashmir witnessed wide-
spread rainfall in the last 24
hours, while the upper reaches
experienced snowfall, bring-
ing down the temperatures.
The Meteorological Depart-
ment’s (MeT) centre in Sri-
nagar predicted widespread
light to moderate rain or
snow and thunderstorms over
Jammu and Kashmir in the
next 24 hours and a decrease
in precipitation from March 31.
In the last 24 hours, Sri-
nagar received 29.7 mm of Kupwara 20.2 mm.
rain, Pahalgam 35.4 mm, Gul- In the Jammu region, Bani- 8 mm. The upper reaches,
marg 26.6 mm, Qazigund 22.6 hal received 43.8 mm, Bhader- including the tourist
mm, Kokernag 30.2 mm, and wah 16 mm, Batote 29.2 mm,
Land, Job rights of people will be restored: Ch. Lal Singh
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Billawar Mar 30
Lambasting the present MP,
Ch. Lal Singh and former MP,
Ex. Cabinet Minister and Con-
gress candidate for Udham-
pur Lok Sabha constituency,
today said that the leaders of
BJP have a record of neglecting
their people and constituencies
after getting elected and they
are visible only in elections
after five years. When elected
to power the people of Udham-
pur Lok Sabha constituencies
have to seek appointment to
meet the present MP, which is
never given. Ch. Lal Singh said
that BJP which ruled the nation
for 10 years indulged only in
vote bank politics, exploitation
of masses and communal poli-
cies. They divided people on
the name of religion, caste and
Jammu | sunday 31, march 2024 | Vol. 19 | Issue No: 75 | Pages 12 | Price: Rs 2/- | REGD. NO. L-29/JK-305/23-25 | RNI NO. JKENG/2006/16811
BJP polarizing J&K to hide its failures: Dr. Farooq... P2
PM Modi pays rich tributes to
Bharat Ratna awardees
agencies
NEW DELHI, Mar 30
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi lauded the contribu-
tions of those conferred the
Bharat Ratna on Saturday by
President Droupadi Murmu,
paying rich tributes to former
prime ministers P V Narasimha
Rao and Charan Singh besides
other luminaries.
“Every Indian cherishes
what PV Narasimha Rao Garu
has done for our nation and
feels proud that he has been
conferred the Bharat Ratna.
He worked extensively to fur-
ther our country’s progress
and modernization. He is also
known as a respected scholar
and thinker. His contributions
will forever be cherished,”
Modi said on X.
He said the Bharat Ratna
for Singh is a recognition of
372 Polling Stations Deemed Sensitive in
Jammu-Reasi Lok Sabha Constituency
refugee message bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elec-
tions in Jammu-Reasi parlia-
mentary constituency, strin-
gent security measures are
being implemented with the
identification of 372 polling
stations as sensitive areas.
The Election Commission's
decision comes amidst the
backdrop of delimitation of
Lok Sabha seats following
Katra 37.4 mm, and Jammu
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
region as it fitted their policy
of vote bank. Ch. Lal Singh
said that that present MP dis-
cusses Amethi in Basholi and
forgets to discuss the plight
of the remote villages of the
Udhampur-Kathua constitu-
ency where there is no drink-
ing water and long power cuts.
The poor people of the con-
stituency have no roads and
their mutations of land have
A constructive force in the community
his contributions to India’s
development, particularly in
agriculture and rural develop-
ment.
“I am sure this honour will
inspire future generations
Jammu and Kashmir's transi-
tion into a Union Territory.
According to news agency
in Rajouri district's Sunder-
bani-Kalakot constituency
alone, 102 out of 124 polling
stations have been flagged as
sensitive, underscoring the
heightened security concerns
in the region. Similarly, 53
out of 1,488 polling stations
in Jammu district and 16 out
of 425 in Reasi district have
been designated as sensitive
also been canceled and now
the poor people cannot plough
the land which they were
doing since independence.
While addressing the people
he assured that after he will
elected as MP, he will person-
ally plough the land which has
been taken away by the dicta-
torial form of the government
and all the jobs will be protect-
ed for the people of J&K. Ch.
Miami Open: Dimitrov overcomes Zverev, sets up...
to uphold the values of hard
work, dedication and public
service that he epitomized,”
he said.
The country’s highest civil-
ian award for Karpoori Thakur
areas.
With the onset of elections
in the Union Territory for
the first time, authorities are
gearing up for robust secu-
rity deployment across the
parliamentary constituency,
especially in areas marked
as sensitive. Security forces
are slated to commence their
duties from April 1, ensuring
comprehensive coverage to
mitigate potential threats,
including the risk of Pakistani
refugee message bureau
SRINAGAR, Mar 30
The security forces conducted
flag marches across the Kash-
mir Valley on Saturday to
instill a sense of security and
confidence among the voters
ahead of the Lok Sabha elec-
tions, officials said.
The officials said the flag
marches were conducted by
the district police and Central
Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)
across the valley.
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channel on WhatsApp
The flag marches were con-
ducted in view of the upcom-
ing parliamentary elections,
they said. The officials said
the flag marches are a part of
Lal Singh Said the Congress is
the party of the poor while the
BJP exists to serve only the big
businessmen. BJP government
has sold the public assets and
all the resources of the Jammu
and Kashmir to big corporate
and their friends. He further
lambasted that this if this dicta-
torial form of the government
has done so much of the
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
is a fitting tribute to a stalwart
who dedicated his life to social
justice and equality, the prime
minister said.
Known as a champion of the
downtrodden, Thakur’s con-
tributions to the uplift of the
marginalized and his relent-
less fight for the rights of the
backward classes have left an
indelible mark on the fabric of
Indian society, he said.
“The Bharat Ratna to him
highlights the values of inclu-
sivity and compassion that are
essential to the nation’s ethos,”
he said.
Referring to agronomist M S
Swaminathan, Modi described
him as a revered figure in the
world of agriculture who is is
widely admired for his pio-
neering work and research in
the field of genetics and agri-
cultural science.
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
shelling along the border.
In addition to fortifying
sensitive polling stations,
measures are being taken to
thwart any disruptive activi-
ties by anti-national elements
in certain areas. The adminis-
tration has devised a compre-
hensive security plan, deploy-
ing special armed security
forces, along with personnel
from the Jammu and Kashmir
Police, to maintain law
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
area domination exercise to
instill a sense of security and
harmony in the society and to
ensure free, fair and fearless
elections.
The senior officers of the
police and CAPFs, and jawans
took part in the flag marches,
they said. There are three
12 candidates in fray for LS in Udhampur
refugee message bureau
Jammu, Mar 30
Twelve candidates in fray
for Udhampur-Kathua-Doda
Lok Sabha seat of Jammu
and Kashmir, which is going
to polls for the first phase of
Lok Sabha Elections as no one
withdraws nominations in the
stipulated time.
As per news agency, the
Returning Officer (RO) for
the 4-Udhampur Parliamen-
tary Constituency, Dr Rakesh
informed that none of the can-
didates withdrew his papers
and 12 candidates remain in
fray for the seat.
Earlier, 15 candidates includ-
ing BJP’s present Member Par-
liament and MoS Dr. Jitendra
Singh and Congress party’s
candidate and former MP
Choudhary Lal Singh along
P12
Raj Bhawan J&K celebrates
Rajasthan Diwas
refugee message bureau
JAMMU, MARCH 30
Jammu Kashmir Raj Bhawan
today hosted the celebra-
tions of Rajasthan Diwas.
Senior officials, students
and the residents of Rajas-
than living in J&K UT were
the special invitees.
On the occasion, the Lieu-
tenant Governor Shri Manoj
Sinha extended his heartiest
Uncle kills nephew in Poonch
VDC weapon used to commit the crime
refugee message bureau
Jammu, Mar 30
An uncle killed his nephew in
Dara Dullian in Jhulas area of
Poonch district last night and
the accused has been arrested
by the police after the inci-
dent.
The deceased has been
identified as Gagandeep
Singh, son of Kulbir Singh.
According to the news
agency the accused identified
as Joginder Singh, son of Jodh
Singh barged into the house
of Gagandeep Singh during
Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir
— Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar
and Baramulla. While Anant-
nag-Rajouri goes to polls in
the third phase on May 7, poll-
ing in Srinagar would be held
in phase four on May 13 and
Baramulla in phase five on May
20.
with their covering candidates
filed papers. After scrutiny, RO
rejected papers of three cov-
ering candidates of BJP, Con-
gress and BSP.
Those who remain in fray
included Amit Kumar of BSP,
Balwan Singh of Jammu Kash-
mir National Panther Party
(Bhim), dr Jitendera Singh of
BJO, Ch Lal Singh of Congress,
Ghulam Mohammad Saroori of
Democratic Progressive Azad
greetings and best wishes to
the people of Rajasthan.
He said, Rajasthan is the
centre of India’s vibrant
culture, spiritual traditions,
architectural heritage and
a significant contributor
to the country’s economic
growth.
The Lt Governor also paid
tributes to the great person-
alities and freedom fighters
of Rajasthan.
the night and fired upon him
from a point blank range and
killed him on the spot. “Imme-
diately after hearing the gun-
shots, other family members
got hold of the accused and
called police. The accused was
handed over to the police and
a murder case has been regis-
tered in police station Poonch
against the accused,” a police
official told KNO.
The incident occurred
under the jurisdiction of
police post Jhulas which falls
under police station Poonch.
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
Ahead of new
fiscal, FD authorises
release of 50 % of
interim budget
refugee message bureau
Baramulla, Mar 30
Ahead of the new fiscal, the
Finance department of J&K
Government on Saturday
conveyed authorisation for
release of 50 % of the capi-
tal expenditure and revenue
expenditure of Jammu &
Kashmir’s interim budget
approved by the Parliament
in February this year.
In two separate orders, the
copies of which are in pos-
session of news agency, the
Finance department today
accorded sanction for the
authorization of 50% of the
interim budget
CONTINUED ON 8 PAGE 8
Party (DPAP), Manoj Kumar of
Ekam Sanatan Bharat Dal, Dr
Pankaj Sharma, Rajesh Man-
chanda, Sachin Gupta, Swarn
Veer Singh, mohd ali Gujar and
Mehraj Din as Independent.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-
tions, Bharatiya Janata Party
candidate Dr. Jitendra Singh
won from Udhampur with a
total of 724311 votes. Vikrama-
ditya Singh, the nominee of
the Indian National Congress,
received 367059 votes. The
Bharatiya Janata Party secured
a majority of 61 percent in the
polls. Similarly, in the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections, Dr. Jitendra
Singh had won from Udham-
pur, securing 4,87,369 votes.
He defeated then Congress
stalwart Ghulam Nabi Azad
of Indian National Congress
with a margin of 60,976 votes.
Azad got 4,26,393 Votes. KNO
02 REFUGEE MESSAGE
BJP polarizing J&K
to hide its failures:
Dr. Farooq
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Srinagar, Mar 30
The Jammu and Kashmir
National Conference Pres-
ident Dr. Farooq Abdullah
on Saturday said that BJP
is in an extreme state of
panic sensing defeat in
the upcoming Parliamen-
tary polls.
This, he said, while
addressing party func-
tionalities here at the
party headquarters Nawa-
e-Subha, Srinagar, a state-
ment issued to the news
agency reads.
"The closer the Lok
Sabha polls come, the
frustration and hope-
lessness of the BJP and
its subsidiaries in J&K is
becoming visible. They
know that their lies are
not swaying people.
Having done nothing,
they are now eying gains
from dividing people on
ethnic, linguistic and
regional lines. However
any misstep at this junc-
ture will have far reaching
implications that will be
born by our future gen-
erations. Ask yourselves
what have you got since
BJP came to power in
New Delhi. They denud-
ed us of our identity, our
unique character. They
snatched our rights, our
jammu, march 31, 2024 SUNDAY NEWS
land resources. Ration
quota was decreased
and it's also being with-
held now. Beneficiaries
of social welfare schemes
are being made to beg of
whatever little monetary
help they used to get.
Horticulture, Agriculture
and handicrafts sectors
are bleeding."
Lashing out hard at the
BJP and its local subsidiar-
ies, Dr. Farooq said these
political parties do not
want a credible voice to
reach parliament. "They
don't want Kashmiris
to have one voice. They
firmly believe that politi-
cians should be produced
from every home in Kash-
mir so as to curb the genu-
ine voice of the people."
“Our fight is with the
divisive forces. We should
utilise our power of vote
to show such forces as are
inimical to our identity in
their right place. They
will use men, money and
machinery to coerce the
voters. However, the need
of the hour demands us
to remain united and
vigilant of their machina-
tions. This time we are
voting for our identity.
Any mistake by us will
have serious repercus-
sions for the coming gen-
erations of ours," he said.
 news
Party will decide on
whether he has to
contest Lok Sabha
election in JK:
Omar Abdullah
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Srinagar, Mar 30
National Conference Vice-
President Omar Abdullah
on Saturday said that the
party high command
would decide on whether
and where he would con-
test the upcoming Lok
Sabha polls.
"Whether I contest
the polls or not, or from
where I contest, this is
not my personal choice.
It will be a decision of
the National Conference.
Whether the party wants
to give me the ticket or
not, and from which
seat, I leave it up to the
party and I cannot say
anything on that," Omar
told reporters in Srinagar.
He was responding to
reports that he may con-
test the upcoming Lok
Sabha seat from north
Kashmir’s Baramulla.
There have been
reports that NC’s district
committee Baramulla has
sent a list of three names
for shortlisting of candi-
dates for the Lok Sabha
seat to the party high
command. Omar’s name
figures on top of the panel
and the others in the list
are former NC ministers.
The NC Vice Presi-
dent , however, termed
it a rumour mongering,
which he said happens
during the election time.
When asked as to
when the party would
announce the names
of its candidates for the
three Lok Sabha seats
in Kashmir, Omar said
they will announce at an
appropriate time.
"Why are you (report-
ers) so desperate to
know who our candi-
dates would be? Which
party has announced
candidates for the three
seats in Kashmir except
for Sajad Lone. No other
party has announced
names of candidates for
three Lok Sabha seats of
Kashmir. You are only
after the NC as if everyone
is waiting for us ... . We
will announce the names
when we are in the mood
to,” the former JK Chief
Minister said.
He added that the
names of the party candi-
dates could be announced
after election notification
or even on the last day of
filing of the nominations.
BJP lacking of substantive agenda, misleading
public with fake narratives: Rattan Lal
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU 30th March
Rattan Lal Gupta, Pro-
vincial President of J&K
National Conference,
today strongly criticized
the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) for its lack of sub-
stantive agenda and tactics
of misleading the public
with fake narratives.
In a statement issued
here today, the senior
NC leader asserted that
the entire BJP leadership
seems to be frustrated,
lacking an agenda, as the
Saffron party has miser-
ably failed to fulfill the
poll promises made with
the people during the 2014
and 2019 elections.
The Provincial Presi-
dent criticized the BJP
for its deceitful tactics in
spreading false narratives
on the name of unprec-
edented development.
He stated that the BJP has
nothing in its kitty to show
the people, and is facing
Mistakes committed in 2014, 2019 to elect
BJP candidates won’t be repeated: Bhalla
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MAR 30
JKPCC Working President
and contesting candidate
from Jammu Parliamen-
tary seat Raman Bhalla
today said that only Con-
gress Party can fulfill the
grievances and demands
of OBC community. He
was speaking in a meet-
ing of OBC Cell of JKPCC
held today at party head-
quarter in Jammu under
the guidance and leader-
ship of Gurinder Pal Singh
Billa National Coordinator
OBC. During the meeting,
he explained in detail the
difficulties and problems
being face by OBC commu-
nities. He said that OBCs
are deliberately ignored
and exploited in all the
fields under BJP rule.
Prominent among
those present on the occa-
sion include Madan Lal
Chalotra OBC Chairman
J&K, newly appointed
Working Chairman Sand-
eep Dogra Sonu, Aditya
Dogra, Darshan Mehra,
Romesh Verma, Sham-
her, Sanjeev Kumar, Shalu
Verma, Rashpal Verma,
Darmpal Dogra, Vikram
Dogra, Sukhvinder Singh
laddi, Aman Kumar, vishal
pangotra, madam Shital,
Madam Jeeti Khan, Suisun,
Munna Billa, Joginder Jain,
Pinki, Radha, Tannu, Vikar
Ali , Ganga, Ram Payari
and others
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Bhalla appealed all
voters of OBC communities
to vote and support Con-
gress Party candidates in
the elections to achieve the
desired goal. He further
reiterated the Congress
party’s belief in the unity
of all people, regardless of
their religious or regional
identities. He appealed
to the public to support
the Congress party, high-
lighting that the BJP, in
contrast, has proven to be
Modi government gave justice to every section: Ashok Koul
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MAR 30
Sarpanches, Naib Sar-
panches, Panches, retired
officials, among more than
200 prominent political
and social personalities
from higher reaches of
Jij and Thakrakot areas
of Reasi District, joined
Bharatiya Janata Party in
presence of Ashok Koul,
General Secretary (Orga-
nization), J&K BJP at BJP
Headquarters, Jammu.
Kuldeep Raj Dubey,
Senior leader BJP facili-
criticism from the public
for inflation, unemploy-
ment, corruption, and
other issues.
Exposing BJP's appre-
hension regarding the
elections, the senior NC
leader claimed that the
entire BJP leadership is
fully aware of the increas-
ing popularity of the
National Conference and
its potential to secure all
the seats of Parliament in
the upcoming polls in the
Union Territory.
“The focus of BJP seems
to solely revolve around
criticizing the NC leader-
ship without presenting
any substantive achieve-
ments or initiatives,”
he said, adding that the
anti-OBC and not a well-
wisher of the community.
He expressed great disap-
pointment against the BJP
Govt for pursuing anti-
poor policies, stating that
it has callously ignored
the interests of other back-
ward class populations.
“The headway made with
regard to empowerment
of weaker sections during
Congress led governments
has been undone.
Bhalla said that the ini-
tiatives taken by the suc-
cessive Congress Govern-
ments in ameliorating the
lot of weaker sections,
especially the Other Back-
ward Class segment of the
society. Bhalla recalled
that during Congress
regime in the erstwhile
state of Jammu and Kash-
mir, the OBC Development
Board was constituted with
the Chief Minister being
the Chairman. He assert-
ed that this Board was
specially constituted with
the sole aim of addressing
the issues of OBC people
from time to time to ensure
their upliftment. More-
over, this community was
granted 4 percent reserva-
tion to pave the way for
the equitable welfare of
these people as an effort
to bring them at par with
tated the joining.
Saraf Singh Nag, DDC
Chairperson, Abdul
Rasheed, DDC member,
S. Pardeep Singh, dis-
Nation cannot forget the
unparalleled sacrifices
made by the J&K National
Conference in restoring
democracy in Jammu and
Kashmir during the tumul-
tuous period of 1996 under
the dynamic leadership of
Dr. Farooq Abdullah. The
courageous actions and
unwavering commitment
of the party members
will forever be etched in
the annals of history, he
added.
Raising serious concern
over the hardships being
faced by the common
masses in absence of
popular government in
Jammu and Kashmir,
Rattan Lal Gupta stated
that the people of Jammu
and Kashmir are facing
numerous problems but
the BJP dispensation at
the Centre and its proxy
administration in J&K are
doing nothing except rhet-
oric and showing dreams
to the people with more
and more promises made
the already uplifted and
prosperous sections of the
society.
Bhalla said that BJP is
running away from the
much delayed Assembly
elections in UT for fear of
backlash and defeat, the
people will teach BJP a
lesson in all forthcoming
elections in Jammu and
Kashmir. He asked the
incharges of different dis-
tricts of the party to hold
regular meetings with
the representatives of the
PRI’s including last con-
tested candidates in the
Panchayts and Municipal
bodies to aggressively pre-
pare for the forthcoming
elections. He announced
that the Congress party
will contest the elections
to the Panchayats, urban
local bodies, assembly and
parliamentary with full
force and complete prepa-
rations to give a befitting
electoral defeat to the BJP
in Jammu & Kashmir which
has utterly failed to come
up to the expectations of
the people of the different
sections and gave lot of
miseries to each and every
section of the society.
Bhalla lashed out at
the BJP for depriving the
people of their basic dem-
ocratic rights in Jammu
trict Reasi Seh-Prabhari,
Parmod Kapahi, Sheel
Magotra, Sukhdev Singh,
Baldev Singh, Renu
Sharma, Chaman Bhagat,
every day as if those sitting
at helm will provide moon
and stars to the people. He
made a bold promise to
the people, asserting that
the National Conference
guarantees to secure their
jobs, lands and dignity.
The senior NC leader
asserted that the people of
J&K have now understood
well that BJP leadership
has expertise in befool-
ing public in the name of
development, therefore it
is the time for one and all
in the UT to extend whole-
hearted support to the
India alliance candidates
in upcoming parliament
polls to bail out people
from the morass created
by BJP Government at
the Centre. He also high-
lighted Party's unwaver-
ing commitment to serve
the people with utmost
dedication and account-
ability, reiterating that the
National Conference will
not rest until the people's
issues are resolved.
and Kashmir. The full
fledged Dogra state has
been downgraded arbi-
trarily and unilaterally
depriving the people of
their identity and rights
and for the past 5 years
there is no elected gov-
ernment after the des-
olation of the assembly
in 2018. Bhalla asked
party cadres to expose
the BJP in all fronts
especially for depriving
the people of J&K of the
basic democratic rights
and ruling Jammu Kash-
mir by proxy. He said
that due to wrong poli-
cies adopted by the BJP
Govt has failed to pro-
vide employment to edu-
cated youth, those already
employed in different busi-
ness enterprises have been
left jobless due to eco-
nomic losses. The unprec-
edented price hike, rising
unemployment, economic
distress, losses caused to
small business enterprises,
he added and said under
BJP rule people are facing
worst on every count.
Bhalla, while address-
ing the meeting, urged the
leaders to continue taking
steps in the direction
to strengthen the party
at the grassroots level.
He said that the genuine
needs of the public should
be addressed openly and
that they should enable
the public to recognise
the ruses of the BJP and its
divisive policies.He added
that the BJP has failed
the people of Jammu and
Kashmir and the Con-
gress will step in and take
charge.He shamed the
BJP government for being
incompetent in tackling
the economic crisis of the
country and ignoring the
middle class and poor.
Bhalla said that the BJP
has lost the moral right to
go to Jammu people after
betrayal after betrayal.
Former Minister took a dig
Raghav Sharma, Shamsh-
er Singh, Prakash Singh,
Suraj Prakash, Kewal
Singh, and others were
also present on the occa-
People eager to make Modi PM again
for 3rd consecutive term: Kavinder
Refugee Message Bureau
Jammu, Mar 30
Senior BJP leader and
former Deputy Chief Min-
ister, Kavinder Gupta said
that people have been
eagerly waiting to make
Narendra Modi Prime Min-
ister once again for the 3rd
consecutive term as ‘Modi
Wave’ has become more
intense this time after
repealing of Art 370, con-
struction of Ram Temple
and BJP’s crusade against
corruption.
Addressing a series of
meetings in connection
with Lok Sabha polls, the
senior BJP functionary
maintained that he has
observed during his recent
public interactions and
rallies about people enthu-
siastically waiting for the
polling days to exercise
their right to franchise and
bring back their favourite
leader Narendra Modi to
jammu, MARCH 31, 2024 SUNDAY
at BJP over deceits and a
failed government in order
to highlight the failures
and performance of the
Modi Government on vari-
ous fronts, including econ-
omy, foreign policy, com-
munal harmony, inflation,
farmers’ income, national
security, welfare for the
Scheduled castes, Sched-
uled tribes, and other
backward classes.“It is not
BJP but tireless efforts of
Congress party that the
people of the J&K are on
the path of development
and prosperity, ” he said.
He said Jammu people are
now realizing their mistake
committed in 2014 and
2019 as these people who
were sent by the voters to
raise their voice remained
unheard for ten long years.
It is hoped that the people
of Jammu will surely cor-
rect the past mistake and
reject such opportunists
and exploiters and show
them their place in forth-
coming parliamentary
elections.
Gurinder Pal Singh Billa
National Coordinator OBC
said that the incumbent
regime in J&K led by Lt
Governor Manoj Sinha
totally ignored the people
belonging to Other Back-
ward Classes (OBC) and
demanded the enhance-
ment of the reservation
quota for the members of
this backward community.
He also demanded that 27
percent reservation as per
the Mandal Commission
should be implemented in
Jammu and Kashmir and
a one-time certificate be
issued to the OBC commu-
nity. He also recalled the
contribution of Congress
towards the upliftment
and welfare of the Other
Backward Class segment
and said that literacy and
socio-economic emancipa-
tion got impetus during its
tenure and the successive
Congress governments.
sion.
Sanjeet Singh, Dalip
Kumar Sharma & Kallo
Devi, Sarpanches, Babu
Ram, Retired SI, Shap-
tain Singh, Congress
leader, Dev Raj, Ashok
Kular, Mohd Ali, Kuldeep
Singh, & Dharamvir Singh,
Panches, Wazir Mohd,
Naib Sarpanch, Girdhari
Lal, Forest Chairman, Tara
Singh, Sukhdev Singh,
Dharam Singh, Onkar
Singh, Retired NHPC, Sunil
Sharma, and others were
among the prominent to
join.
power.
Kavinder said that the
Modi Wave has turned
stronger than the last
two elections after PM
Modi paved the way for
the repealing of Art 370,
construction of Ram
Temple and carried out
a decisive war against the
rampant corruption pre-
vailing under the patron-
age of parties which ruled
the country before BJP
came to power in 2014.
He however said that sce-
REFUGEE MESSAGE 03
Udhampur’s 10 years’ devp
comparable to earlier 6
decades: Dr Jitendra Singh
refugee message bureau aspirations of the youth
UDHAMPUR, Mar 30 have been fulfilled after
PM Modi provided them
Union Minister and BJP equal opportunity and
Candidate for Udhampur a level playing field. As
Lok Sabha constituency a result, today boys and
Dr Jitendra Singh, while girls from here are going
addressing a series of road to Metro cities and com-
side gatherings and public peting with their counter-
meetings in different parts parts there to make a mark
of districts Udhampur in their careers.
today said, whoever has Dr Jitendra Singh said,
visited Udhampur before there are certain critics
2014 will bear out the and cynics who say they
transformational change cannot see any develop-
that has taken place from ment in 10 years but at the
2014 to 2024 under the same time avail the utility
government headed by of all the new projects set
Prime Minister Narendra up in the last 10 years. Dr
Modi. Jitendra Singh said, Modi
Small hamlets, which Govt gave centrally funded
did not even have decent Medical College and Muke-
footpaths for pedestri- rjee tunnel from Chenani
ans, Udhampur has now to Nashri to shorten the
emerged as the country’s travel time by road.
top three districts in the The Minister said that
construction of PMGSY earlier, Udhampur was
rural roads, said Dr. Jiten- known to be a “place of
dra Singh. At one time, it pedestrians” and there
was a common sight to were Dogri folk songs writ-
see patients being carried ten on ” Udhampure diyan
from one place to either Takkiyan” but under the
on foot or in a Palki, par- Modi government, Udham-
ticularly in the upper pur has emerged as coun-
reaches of Udhampur, but try’s top three districts in
the same spots have today PMGSY road construction
been connected with con- even in remotest areas.
crete roads and people are He said, “Among
seen driving motor vehi- over 700 districts in the
cles, he said. country, Udhampur has
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, become one of the top
Udhampur was the first three districts.
district in the country Dr Jitendra Singh
to have achieved almost informed, adding that the
100% saturation in issuing district has now its own
AYUSHMAN Card or health radio station for which
insurance. Similarly, a demand was raised in
almost all the Viksit Bhart 1965, but this genuine
initiatives undertaken by demand was never fulfilled
the have achieved 100% or by the earlier government.
near 100 % saturation. Not only this, Udhampur
At the same time, Dr. has a passport office now,
Jitendra Singh said, the he said.
Missing Person traced
out, reunited with family after
01 year by PS Satwari
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Jammu, MAR 30
A missing report was lodged in PS Satwari on
21/03/2023 of a person namely Rajesh Kumar S/o
Daulat Ram R/o Barjala Tehsil City South Jammu vide
DDR No. 06 Dated 21/03/2023.
Acting upon this, a Police team of PS Satwari did
strenuous efforts, with the help of technical assistance
as well as human intervention traced out the above
mentioned missing person and after completing all
legal formalities the said person was handed over to
his legal heirs & missing report has been closed accord-
ingly vide DDR NO. 08 dated 30/03/2024. People have
applauded the efforts of Jammu Police.
nario in J&K is crystal clear regional parties in J&K
because massive crowds seem to have conceded
and gatherings are follow- defeat before the largest
ing the party leadership political party in the world
whether it is nomination as their workers have gone
filing event or public ral- into hibernation with com-
lies; the situation is fore- plete absence of zeal and
telling devastating defeats zest.
of the opposition parties in “The affection for Modi
both Jammu and Kashmir ji has become so much
regions. that leaders of opposition
The senior BJP leader parties must have been
reiterated that people fearing that their work-
have decided to offer clean ers might ditch them by
sweep conditions for the voting in favour of BJP”,
BJP as Congress and other he added.
04 REFUGEE MESSAGE
IIM Jammu, DICCI conclude third Batch of
CBP on Small Business Development Units
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Jammu, mAR 30
The Indian Institute of
Management (IIM) Jammu
under the aegis of the
Ministry of Skill Develop-
ment & Entrepreneurship
(MSDE), Government of
India, in collaboration
with Dalit Indian Cham-
ber of Commerce (DICCI)
concluded the third batch
of the Capacity Building
Programme on Small Busi-
ness Development Units
(SBDUs). The valedictory
ceremony, held on 30th
March 2023 at its Jagti
Campus, marked the cul-
mination of a five-day pro-
gram aimed at empower-
ing small business owners
across the country.
The valedictory cer-
emony witnessed the
presence of esteemed
dignitaries including Prof.
Jabir Ali, Dean Academ-
ics, IIM Jammu Dr. Muqbil
Burhan, Chairperson, Sri-
nagar Campus, IIM Jammu
and Dr. Mahesh Gadekar,
Chairperson of the Centre
for Small Business Devel-
opment, IIM Jammu, Dr.
Vivek Sharma, CIO, IIM
Jammu and Shri Naren
Karunakaran, Consultant
- Diversity, Sustainability
& Small Business Devel-
opment., IIM Jammu. The
second batch, compris-
ing 35 participants from
diverse backgrounds from
across the country, includ-
ing participants from the
U.T of Jammu and Kash-
mir. Dr. Mahesh Gadekar
presented the highlights of
the program, emphasizing
Police organizes awareness rally
against drug abuse in Awantipora
refugee message bureau
awantipora, Mar 30
Police in Awantipora
have organized an aware-
ness rally against drug
abuse. The rally was
attended by students,
trader federation and
youth/respectables of
Awantipora area.
The awareness rally
was flagged off by SDPO
Awantipora Shri Mumtaz
Ali Bhatti-JKPS along
with Tehsildar Awanti-
pora & SHO PS Awanti-
pora. The rally passed
through various routes
of Sub-division Awan-
tipora and culminated
near Dogripora Crossing
Awantipora. The main
aim of the rally was to
spread awareness about
ill effects of drug abuse
and its consequences.
SDPO Awantipora on the
CBC and PIB Jammu bid farewell to
Accountant Ms Shobha
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MARCH 30
The Central Bureau of
Communication (CBC)
and the Press Information
Bureau (PIB) bid warm
adieu to Ms. Shobha
Gupta Ji who attained
superannuation after an
illustrious career of more
than 40 years, at a func-
tion held in Conference
Hall of PIB here today.
Speaking on the occasion,
Director, CBC/PIB, Shri
Ghulam Abbas stressed the
importance of maintaining
discipline in both one’s
professional as well as in
private life. “A disciplined
life is always fruitful and
fulfilling”, he stated. Shri
Abbas also underscored
the significance of striking
a right work-life balance by
a government employee in
order to discharge his or
her official duties and fulfil
commitments of domestic
life, without the former
jammu, MARCH 31, 2024 SUNDAY
its significance in nurtur-
ing the entrepreneurial
spirit and fostering eco-
nomic growth.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Prof. Jabir Ali, Dean
Academics, IIM Jammu
emphasized the concerted
efforts invested in formu-
lating the program. With
a steadfast focus on Skill
Development and Entre-
preneurship, aligned with
the vision of the Ministry
of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, Gov-
ernment of India, they
have endeavored to create
an ecosystem conducive
to fostering entrepreneur-
ship and supporting busi-
ness aspirations. The pro-
gram signifies not merely
an end but rather the com-
mencement of a promising
new journey. The mandate
has been clear - to facili-
tate the metamorphosis
of informal businesses
into formal enterprises
through comprehensive
capacity development,
personalized guidance,
and provision of busi-
ness incubation services.
He also mentioned that
SIDBI will be joining hands
with IIM Jammu in this
endeavor, opening new
avenues for all budding
event appealed the gen-
eral public to join hands
with Police in fighting
against the abuse of drug
& related substances to
eliminate this social evil
from the society. The
participants were hold-
compromising the latter.
The Director commend-
ed Ms Shobha for her ren-
dering exemplary services
during her career, saying
her vast experience she
gained from her postings
in various government
entrepreneurs. With the
establishment of 22 SBDUs
in the Union Territories
of Jammu and Kashmir,
and Ladakh, the aim is to
draw participation from
entrepreneurs across the
nation, thereby contrib-
uting significantly to the
progress of these regions.
Together, let them embark
on this journey of growth
and prosperity, leveraging
the support and resources
provided through this pro-
gram to realize their col-
lective vision for a thriv-
ing entrepreneurial land-
scape. The valedictory cer-
emony also featured a pre-
sentation session by the
participants, followed by
an interactive session with
Prof. Jabir Ali, Dean Aca-
demics, IIM Jammu, allow-
ing for valuable feedback
and insights. Dr. Mahesh
Gadekar, Chairperson of
the Centre for Small Busi-
ness Development, IIM
Jammu, expressed grati-
tude on behalf of the insti-
tute, concluding the pro-
gram on a positive note.
The Project of Trans-
forming Informal Busi-
nesses through SBDUs
(SBDUs) under the Minis-
try of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship
ing banners and plac-
ards in their hands with
messages against drug
abuse and raised slogans
against the social evil
and pledged to join their
hands to eradicate this
menace from the society.
departments enriched the
CBC. He also hailed her for
her professionalism, punc-
tuality and dedication to
the service, adding that
she was the go-to person
for her colleagues to seek
advice on official mat-
(MSDE), Government of
India, has been envisaged
to strengthen institutions
to deliver quality initia-
tives for entrepreneur-
ship development across
identified locations i.e. 22
SBDUs to be established
across the UTs of Jammu
& Kashmir and Ladakh.
The program aims to
identify existing/ aspiring
entrepreneurs to provide
the necessary skills and
knowledge for business
development and create
an environment that will
enable them to transform
informal businesses into
formal businesses through
capacity development and
handholding. The inte-
grated intervention will
help the skill development
of the potential entrepre-
neurs in starting a new
venture and help them
survive and growth.
The Capacity Building
Program on Small Busi-
ness Development Units
by IIM Jammu DICCI, and
MSDE sets the stage for
transformative growth,
empowering aspiring, and
existing entrepreneurs to
realize their dreams and
contribute meaningfully to
the socio-economic devel-
opment of the nation.
Police organises free medical
camp in Awantipora
refugee message bureau
awantipora, mar 30
In order to provide spe-
cial health care facilities,
Police under the aegis of
Civic Action Programme
(CAP) 2023-2024 organ-
ised free medical health
camp at Zantrag Khrew.
SDPO Pampore Shri Kris-
han Rattan inaugurated
the Medical Camp besides,
SHO Khrew and other offi-
cers were also present on
the occasion.
ters. Among others, the
function was attended by
Media and Communica-
tion Officer, PIB, Shri Zakir
Nazeer, several Field Pub-
licity Officers, officials and
staff of CBC and PIB. It is
pertinent to mention that
Smt. Shobha Ji has ren-
dered more than 41 years
of service in CBC. Her first
appointment was in Field
Office Udhampur in the
year 1982. During her ser-
vice career, she has served
in Udhampur, Bengaluru,
Chandigarh and Jammu.
In Udhampur, she was
posted from 1982 to Febru-
ary 2015. Later, she joined
Regional Office, Jammu on
20th February, 2015. After
her promotion to the post
of Accountant, she was
posted in Bengaluru in
2019, where she served for
two months. Afterwards,
she was transferred from
Bengaluru to Chandigarh
where she was posted as
an accountant for a month.
Amid LS elections DIG JKS Range
chairs meeting regarding Law and
Order in District Kathua
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Jammu, March 30
Dr. Sunil Gupta- IPS, the
Deputy Inspector Gen-
eral of Police ( Jammu-
Kathua-Samba) Range
presided over a compre-
hensive meeting regard-
ing Law and order at dis-
trict Kathua. The meeting
saw the participation SSP
Kathua, Addl. SP Kathua,
Dy SP DAR Kathua, Dy SP
Hqrs Kathua and all SDPOs
of District Kathua.
During the session, SSP
Kathua Sh. Shivdeep Singh
briefed the participants
about overall current
Law and order landscape
of the district. The DIG
JKS Range, in his review,
directed all the officers
to enhance surveillance
through measures such as
area domination, strength-
ening Nakas along with
CCTV surveillance.
Instruc tions were
The Medical camp was
organized to provide basic
health care facilities to the
people of Police District
Awantipora. A team of 09
Doctors and other para-
medical staff examined the
patients from far-off areas
of Khrew. Team of Doctors
consists of Paediatrician,
Dermatologist, Gynaeco-
logist, Orthopaedic, Den-
tist, General Physician etc.
Besides, Doctors from
Health Department, Doc-
tors from CRPF were also
Plantation drive held at
ANMT Doda
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
DODA, March 30:
With the aim of reducing
global warming and as a
part of the Green J&K cam-
paign, the ANMT School
Doda organized a massive
plantation drive in the
school premises at CMO
Office Doda on Saturday.
The drive was held
under the supervision of
Principal ANMT Doda Smt
Anusuya Bhan, which saw
active participation from
both students and staff
members of ANMT Doda.
Principal Anusuya Bhan
commenced the event by
enlightening the students
and staff about the sig-
nificance of tree planta-
tion, added that the aim
of plantation drive was to
make people aware of the
importance of trees and
to enhance the 'Jan Bhagi-
dari' in planting tress so
that everyone can real-
ize their responsibilities
towards planting trees.
given to increase the
installation of CCTV cam-
eras with proper record-
keeping to monitor the
activities of miscreants.
Attendees were encour-
aged to engage with local
communities to facilitate
the installation of CCTV
cameras, which would
improve surveillance
capabilities and create
safer environments.
Addressing the issue of
drugs, the DIG urged offi-
cers to emphasize over the
nabbing of criminals, drug
peddlers/smugglers, prob-
lem shooters and shall be
booked under relevant
sections of law.
The meeting concluded
with the issuance of neces-
sary directives for imple-
mentation of local laws for
prevention of crime and
Code of conduct shall not
be violated at any cost and
the violators be dealt with
heavy hands.
part of comprehen-
sive medical team.
During the camp,
quality medicines
were distributed/
given to locals free
of cost as per their
diagnosis.
SDPO Pampore
in his inaugural
address, laid stress
on importance
of physical and
mental health for all. He
also emphasised upon
importance of hygiene
and other preventive
Health care measures in
one’s life that can help
a person in maintaining
a healthy life style. He
also advised the Youth to
refrain from taking illicit
Drugs. General public of
the area hailed the initia-
tive and were satisfied
with the services provided
by the Police.
Following this, a variety
of plant species were dili-
gently planted across the
college campus.
On this occasion, the
students and staff plant-
ed trees with great enthu-
siasm. Those present
included Smt Indra Devi
(Sr Tutor), Naveed Anjum
(Tutor) and Saima Kouser
(Tutor). A plea was also
taken for a greener envi-
ronment with focus on
taking care of planted
trees. One of the notable
aspects of this programme
was the emphasis on nur-
turing a sense of environ-
mental advocacy among
the students.
PTTI Vijaypur accords warm
send off on superannuation
to SI Amolak Singh
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
Vijaypur March 30
Police Technical Train-
ing Institute (PTTI) Vijay-
pur today organized an
impressive farewell func-
tion upon superannuation
of Sub Inspector Amolak
Singh, on the completion
of almost 36 years of ser-
vices in Jammu and Kash-
mir Police. Principal PTTI
Vijaypur applauded the
services rendered by the
retiree and termed him as
an honest, dedicated and
sincere officer. Principal
PTTI Vijaypur extended
his best wishes to him
President of India
presents Bharat Ratna
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
NEW DELHI, MAR 30
The President of India,
Smt Droupadi Murmu
presented Bharat Ratna
at an Investiture Cer-
emony held at Rashtra-
pati Bhavan today (March
30, 2024). She conferred
Bharat Ratna upon:
Shri P. V. Narasimha
Rao posthumously. On
behalf of the late Shri P.
V. Narasimha Rao, Bharat
Ratna was received by
Shri P.V. Prabhakar Rao,
his son.
Former Prime Minis-
GPWJ distributes completion
certificates to 2nd Batch of
Assistant Barber under PMVS
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MAR 30
2nd batch of Assistant Barber
comprising of 16 Trainees
completed their training
under PM Vishwakarma
scheme. The certificates
to the successful Trainees
were distributed by Er. Suket
news
and wished all the best
for future life.
Among others, Shri
Zia Ul Haq, Dy.SP (Out-
door), Shri Davinder
Gupta , Dy.SP (R&D),
Shri Khuswant Singh,
Dy.SP (Admn.), Shri Sur-
rinder Paul, Dy.SP (Tech/
Indoor), Inspr. Surinder
Singh (CDI), Inspr. Javed
Hussain (RI), Inspr. Ram
Lal (CLI), Inspr. Kanwal
Raina, Inspr. Bhopin-
der Singh, Inspr. Rakesh
Kumar, Inspr. Pawan
Kumar, Insrp. Mulkh Raj,
Inspr. Kapil Raina, Inspr.
Shehbaj Ahmed were
present on the occasion.
ter Chaudhary Charan
Singh posthumously. On
behalf of the late Chaud-
hary Charan Singh, Bharat
Ratna was received by
Shri Jayant Chaudhary,
his grandson.
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan
posthumously. On behalf
of the late Dr. M.S. Swami-
nathan, Bharat Ratna was
received by Dr. Nitya Rao,
his daughter.
Karpoori Thakur post-
humously. On behalf of
the late Shri Karpoori
Thakur, Bharat Ratna was
received by Shri Ramnath
Thakur, his son.
Gupta, Principal, Govt. Poly-
technic for women, Jammu
in presence of the faculty of
the Institution. While inter-
acting with the pass outs,
Principal apprised them
about the procedure of get-
ting the toolkits and availing
loan facility in respect of the
scheme.
 news
Congress District Jammu Rural
team holds workers meeting
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
RS Pura, MAR 30
Congress District Jammu
Rural Working President
Badrinath Sharma on Sat-
urday targeted the and
the Centre for spread-
ing confusion among the
masses and said that the
BJP will never understand
the pain of poverty. "Con-
gress understands what
poverty is and works
wholeheartedly for the
poor and farmers. But
the BJP cannot even think
about the work that the
Congress party does for
villages, poor laborers and
farmers. They just spread
confusion,” Sharma said
while addressing workers
meeting in wake of JKPCC
Working President Raman
Bhalla’s nomination filing
on 2-4-2024 at DC Office
Jammu in shape of huge
rally at Kotli Shah Doula
in RS Pura Jammu South
constituency.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Sharma said people
are fed up with the false
promises made to them
by the Prime Minister and
there is a lot of resentment
against the BJP. It will
reflect in the upcoming
elections, he claimed.He
accused the government
of looting money from the
Chander Mohan Gupta flags off 25th BJP will cross 400 mark in LS polls, Modi
annual Charri Yatra to Sukrala Mata Govt fulfilled all promises: Yudhvir, Priya
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, Mar 30
Former Mayor Jammu,
Chander Mohan Gupta
on Saturday flagged off
the 25th Annual Charri
Mubarak Yatra from
Mahant Lucky Babaji
Vaishno Mandir, Bhag-
wati Nagar for Sukrala
Mata Mandir, in Billawar
on Saturday. The Yatra
is being organized by
Mahant Lucky Babaji
every year in which thou-
sands of devotees partici-
pate with great religious
fervour. A Langar was also
arranged for devotees at
Sukrala Mata by Lucky
Baba. Chander Mohan
Anurag, Ravinder, Sood, Jugal address rally after filing nomination
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MAR 30
Before filing the nomina-
tion papers for Jammu–
Reasi Lok Sabha seat, Jugal
Kishore Sharma, BJP can-
didate for the third term,
alongwith Union minis-
ter, Anurag Thakur, State
President Ravinder Raina,
Seh-Prabhari Ashish Sood,
addressed a massive public
rally at Jammu. He had
reached the rally venue
after passing through vari-
ous bazaars of Jammu city,
where he was given warm
welcome.
Anurag Thakur, while
addressing the public
rally, said that the BJP has
history of agitations and
sacrifices in Jammu and
Kashmir for the cause
of the nation. It was the
tricolor which was disre-
spected in own country
here but under the Modi
government, Tiranga has
got true honour and today
it flows with full respect in
Lal Chowk and other areas
of Kashmir, where it was,
common people in the
name of GST (Goods and
Services Tax) and distrib-
uting it among its favourite
businessmen. The govern-
ment promoted unem-
ployment in the name of
privatisation. The BJP is
working on a system to
destroy small regional par-
ties and the government
is suppressing democratic
values, he said, citing the
recent Chandigarh may-
oral election where the
Supreme Court raised
serious objections over
the process.
Sharma said Congress is
confident of putting up a
good show in the upcom-
ing elections as there is
widespread anger towards
the Modi Government. He
said that there is strong
resentment among people
Gupta expressed the hope
that divine blessings will
strengthen the bonds of
amity and bring peace
and prosperity in the J&K
UT. Hundreds of devotees
accompanied the Charri
Mubarak from Bhagwati
Nagar that left for Sukrala
Mata Temple, Billawar in
District Kathua.
Interacting with the
participants, Chander
Mohan Gupta said that
religious events like this
spread the message of
brotherhood and peace.
He hoped that the Yatra
would bring happiness
and prosperity to the J&K
and also prayed for the
betterment and welfare
once, said that no one
could carry the national
flag in the valley. He said
that during the last ten
years under Modi govern-
ment, all has changed with
the bold and historic deci-
sions taken by the union
government. Article 370
has been repealed, there
is no stone pelting and
bandh calls, with resto-
ration of peace and nor-
malcy. Record number of
tourists have visited Kash-
mir last year, formula car
race, G20 Summit, have
been organized.
While the people are
feeling safe and comfort-
able to carry on day-to-
day activities, the UT
has also witnessed mas-
sive development and
received numerous wel-
fare schemes, which have
changed the lives of poor,
needy, women, farmers,
youth and other sections
of the society.
Making a fervent appeal
to vote BJP candidate in
the upcoming elections
of Lok Sabha, Thakur said
of Jammu region towards
BJP which has miserably
failed to address even
basic issues of the people
of the area.He said that
majority of people main-
tained that no new devel-
opments but only facelifts
of previous works were
done in the area.“BJP was
in power at the Centre and
in the erstwhile J&K State
too, it was easy for the
party to forward issues of
common masses through
their Government in the
State to the Union Ministry
concerned, for mitigating
the sufferings of people
but they took them casu-
ally,” Sharma said .
Sharma pointed out
that there was total chaos
and confusion among
people as BJP leader-
ship has failed to remove
of the people.
Chander Mohan Gupta
hoped that this religious
pilgrimage would culmi-
nate in a smooth and suc-
cessful note. He appealed
to the people to optimally
utilize religious events to
promote peace, brother-
hood and communal har-
mony in the society.
“Such pilgrimages pro-
vide an opportunity to
devotees to seek spiritual
solace while being amid
the serene atmosphere;
he said and hoped that
this yatra will be a har-
binger of peace and tran-
quility between various
segments of the society,”
he added.
that Jugal Kishore Sharma
has been strongly rais-
ing the issues related to
Jammu and Kashmir in
the Lok Sabha and added
that a vote to Jugal Kishore
would mean contributing
in ensuring the formation
of BJP govt under Naren-
dra Modi as PM for the
third term.
Ravinder Raina claimed
it is the BJP which has
always expressed its deep
concern for the sufferings
of the people and the Modi
government did lot to pro-
vide relief to the neglect-
ed, discriminated citizens.
He said that unprecedent-
peoples’ apprehensions.
“On the one hand, there
is complete uncertainty
in J&K, while on the other
hand people are confront-
ing with failure of the
administration to solve
day today problems”, he
said, adding that most
parts of the city are facing
scarcity of potable water
and power .
He blamed BJP for
betraying the people of
Jammu on the issue of
statehood and mislead-
ing the people on vari-
ous emotive issues. He
asserted that BJP Govern-
ment has betrayed people
of Jammu by reducing
status of a state to union
territory and Govt is also
not coming clear on many
issues. Sharma said that
only Congress is a secular
party and never believes
in caste, creed and colour.
He claimed that it is only
Congress which can keep
the whole J&K united. He
said that it is most unfor-
tunate that the common
people have no medium to
raise their voice for their
basic necessities due to
the neglect of the BJP rep-
resentatives. The people
have to come on roads to
express their anger and
seek redressal of their
genuine grievances.
Takes out massive
rally in support of
Jugal Kishore
Refugee Message Bureau
Jammu, Mar 30
J&K BJP Vice President,
Yudhvir Sethi along with
Priya Sethi, National Exec-
utive Member, BJP and
former Minister, today
organized a massive rally
today in connection with
the filing of nomination
of BJP Candidate, Jugal
Kishore, for the Jammu
Reasi Lok Sabha seat. The
rally witnessed a strong
show of Sethis’s support-
ers, party workers and
enthusiastic participation
from the public.
Speaking to media
persons, Sethi expressed
confidence in the BJP's
prospects and declared
that the Party will secure
400 seats in the Lok Sabha
polls, ensuring the forma-
tion of the Government at
the Centre for a third con-
secutive term, with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi at
the helm.
Yudhvir Sethi high-
ed development in J&K
has been big gift to J&K
from Modi Government.
The people have made up
their mind to express their
gratitude to the PM Naren-
dra Modi by voting over-
whelmingly for the good
governance provided by
him. He asked the people
not to get misled by the
false promises of Congress
as it has always befooled
them for vote bank poli-
tics.
Jugal Kishore Sharma,
sitting MP and candidate
for Jammu-Reasi Parlia-
mentary constituency,
said that the Modi govern-
SSH celebrates 21st
Foundation Day
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, Mar 30
Shiv Sena Hindustan (SSH)
here today celebrated its 21st
Foundation Day under the
leadership of Pandit Rajesh
Kesri.On this occasion a plan-
tation drive and Langar were
organized.
Speaking on the occasion,
Kesri asked the government
to keep an eye on elements
trying to disturb communal
harmony in J&K.He said that
violence has no place in a
civilized society. Kesri fur-
ther said that terrorists are
acting on the directions of
agencies in Pakistan so that
Kashmir is kept disturbed and
hurdles are put in the path of
peace.“I am hopeful that the
people in Kashmir will not let
this conspiracy to succeed,”
he maintained adding: “SSH
will leave no stone unturned
to fight against drug addiction
in Jammu.”
Kesri highlighted the sig-
nificance of preventive educa-
tion, awareness generation,
counseling, treatment and
rehabilitation of affected per-
sons and greater involvement
lighted the achievements
and development initia-
tives undertaken by the
BJP-led Government at
the Centre, emphasizing
the transformative impact
they have had on the lives
of the people in Jammu
and Kashmir. He also men-
tioned that Jugal Kishore,
the BJP candidate, is a
deserving and capable
leader who is committed
to serve the interests of
the people and addressing
their concerns effectively.
Priya Sethi also reiterat-
ed the BJP's commitment
in furthering the devel-
opment agenda, promot-
ing inclusive growth, and
ensuring national secu-
rity. She called upon the
people of Jammu Reasi
ment has presented the
true model of develop-
ment in Jammu and Kash-
mir and today J&K has got
a facelift, which is indeed
a big achievement of the
union government. The
Modi government has also
extended the benefits of
various welfare schemes to
all the sections of the soci-
ety. The people are eagerly
waiting for the polling day
and would cast their votes
in favour of BJP. He said
that with the blessings of
the people, the BJP is all
set to sweep the upcom-
ing LS polls. He assured to
keep working with dedica-
jammu, MARCH 31, 2024 sunday
of society in eradicating the
menace. The prevailing situa-
tion vis-à-vis drug menace has
already received the priority
attention of the Government
of Union Territory of Jammu
and Kashmir and Lieutenant
Governor has already passed
instructions to all the con-
cerned agencies to leave no
stone unturned to plug the
smuggling routes and gener-
ate awareness by involving all
the educational institutions.
Kesri made appeal to the
society from various plat-
forms to extend all possible
assistance to the Government
in this regard as it is the col-
lective responsibility of the
society to rehabilitate young-
sters who have fallen prey to
the drug addiction conspira-
cy hatched by neighbouring
country. They appreciated
Jammu and Kashmir Police
and Anti-Narcotics Task Force
for adopting “Zero Tolerance
Policy” towards the menace
and because of collective
efforts of all the concerned
agencies large number of
drugs have been seized as
indicative of the effectiveness
of the policy.
Lok Sabha constituency
to extend their support
and vote for Jugal Kishore
and the BJP, stressing that
the party is determined
to work towards the wel-
fare of the region and the
nation as a whole.
The former minister
Priya Sethi expressed opti-
mism about the BJP's pros-
pects in the upcoming Lok
Sabha elections and urged
the people to rally behind
the party to ensure its vic-
tory. She conveyed the
party's belief in the strong
leadership of Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi and
their commitment to con-
tinuing the transformative
governance that has been
witnessed in the past ten
years.
tion for the progress and
prosperity of Jammu and
Kashmir. Ashish Sood,
said that the nation had
to face scams and corrup-
tion from 2004 to 2014
under Congress govern-
ment, while it has been
BJP-led NDA, which, from
2014 to 2024, gave good
governance with no space
for scams, corruption
and nepotism. It flooded
the discriminated state of
Jammu and Kashmir with
large number of presti-
gious health and educa-
tional institutions, granted
citizenship rights to the
West Pakistan refugees
and worked for political
empowerment of Valmiki
samaj, the STs. He said
that a vote for BJP would
mean a stamp for continu-
ation of development and
social welfare under PM
for third consecutive term.
NEM and former minis-
ter, Priya Sethi, conducted
proceedings of the public
rally, while Jammu district
president Parmod Kapahi
presented vote of thanks.
REFUGEE MESSAGE 05
DBPS to celebrate Bhagwan
Shri Parshuram Jayanti on
May 05, & 10 at Parade, Jammu
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, March 30
Dogra Brahman Pratinidhi
Sabha (DBPS) is going to
celebrate Bhagwan Shri
Parshuram Jayanti by orga-
nizing a series of functions
and events on May 05, and
10 at Sabha Bhawan with
fervor and enthusiasm.
Addressing a well-
attended meeting of
activists of DBPS Channi
Himmat Unit today, Presi-
dent of the DBPS, Ved Par-
kash Sharma gave details
of the celebrations in con-
nection with Bhagwan Shri
Parshuram Jayanti falling
on May 10, 2024. The meet-
ing was presided over by
Sunil Sharma Convener of
the DBPS Channi Himmat
Unit. Sharma disclosed
that the series of events
will begin with a free med-
ical camp by Dr Sushil
Sharma, HoD Cardiology
Super Specialty Jammu on
May 05, 2024 in the prem-
ises of the Sabha at 10 AM.
Whosoever is desirous for
medical checkup, he/she is
advised to register his/her
name at Brahman Sabha
Parade Jammu, he added.
“On May 10th Rath
Yatra and Bike, Car Rally
would be take out at 10:30
AM. The rally will start
from Brahman Sabha
Parade Jammu enroute
Moti Bazar, Pacca Danga,
Chowk Chabutra, Jain
BSP concerned over
rising road accidents in
Jammu region
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MAR 30
General secretary of Bahu-
jan Samaj Party (BSP) and
media head in Jammu and
Kashmir, Rajesh Gupta
has expressed deep con-
cern regarding the rising
number of road accidents
in the region.
Today in a statement,
Gupta specifically referred
to the recent Ramban acci-
dent, in which 10 persons
killed He held the Admin-
istration responsible for
rising road accident deaths
in the region. The BSP
leader said despite repeated
road accidents happening
every other day the Admin-
istration is least bothered
about these accidents.
Expressing shock and
anguish, Gupta urged the
authorities to implement a
preventive strategy to curb
accidents rather than rely-
ing solely on post-accident
measures.
He highlighted the poor
condition of roads in hilly
areas, emphasizing that
their deteriorated state
makes them prone to acci-
Notorious thief arrested by PS Bus
Stand, Jammu within 24 hours
refugee message bureau
Jammu, mar 30
The Police in Bus stand
area of Jammu worked out
a case of theft and arrested
one accused namely Ashfaq
Ahmed Mir S/O Abdul
Hamid R/O Baramulla,
Kashmir involved in crime
on the written complaint
of Vijay Gupta at Police Sta-
tion Bus Stand.
In this connection case
FIR No. 16/2024 u/s 457/380
was registered at Police
Bazar, Link Road, Purani
Mandi, City Chowk, Kanak
Mandi, Rajinder Bazar,
Raghunath Bazar & Shala-
mar etc and culminate at
Chanakya Chowk Parade
in which various religious
organizations are par-
ticipating,” informed Ved
Parkash Sharma and added
that the religious function
would be organized on
same day, the day of Bhag-
wan Parshuram Jayanti, at
8 A.M. Sharma said that
the Jayanti is also being cel-
ebrated at District/Tehsil
level across Jammu region
in which people from all
walks of life are expected
to take part. Sabha will also
hold Bhandara at 2 pm on
May 10, 2024. “We appeal
all Biradaries and other
communities to attend and
participate in the function
and get the blessing of Shri
Bhagwan Parshuram Ji,”
said the DBPS president.
Advocate P C Sharma,
Subash Shastri, Soujanya
Sharma, M L Padha, Shiv
Ram Sharma, Barita Ram
Sharma, Romesh Sharma,
Raman Sharma, Rajesh
Bargotra, Ritiz Khajuria,
Gopal Sharma, Bhoomi
Chand, Yashpal Sasan,
Anil Sharma, Chanchal
Pal, Ramnath, Dr. Vijay
Sharma, Dr. Baldev Shas-
tri, O.P Dubey, Ashok Kha-
juria, Swantantar Bakshi,
and others were also pres-
ent in the meeting.
dents. Gupta stated that
numerous lives have been
lost, and many people have
suffered severe injuries due
to road accidents in these
areas.
Gupta called upon the
Lieutenant Governor of
Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj
Sinha, to prioritize human
lives, emphasizing that a
person’s life is more valu-
able than anything else.
He further emphasized
that Jammu and Kashmir
has witnessed a significant
number of fatalities last
year, marking the highest
toll in a decade.
Gupta acknowledged
that while the conflict in
the region often dominates
headlines, it is essential to
address the issue of road
accidents, which dispropor-
tionately affects the youth
of Jammu and Kashmir.
Station Bus Stand and a
Police team led by SHO PS
Bus Stand Inspector Vikas
Dogra under the supervi-
sion of SP North Sh.Shivam
Siddarth-IPS and SDPO
City North Sh.Devinder
Singh Bandral did strenu-
ous efforts and with tech-
nical assistance alongwith
timely human intervention
traced and arrested the
accused within 24 hours of
lodging FIR. General public
have highly applauded the
efforts Bus stand Police.
06 REFUGEE MESSAGE jammu, march 31, 2024 SUNDAY
EDITORIAL Bridging the skill gap in labour-intensive industries
Dinesh Sood
A
midst rapidly evolv-
No pick and chose ing technologies to
stay globally com-
for action against
petitive, the labour-inten-
sive manufacturing sector
has a significant opportu-
hate speech
nity to address the com-
plex issue of unemploy-
ment in the country. The
A
manufacturing sector has
mid rising incidents of hate speeches and
the potential to accommo-
acts of violence, the Supreme Court of India
date seven to eight million
has observed that the hate speech is hap-
youths entering the labour
pening because the State is impotent. During a force annually, as per the
heated debate in the court, a Bench of Justice ‘India Employment Report
KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagarathna expressed 2024’, recently released by
deep anguish at the continuing instances of hate the International Labour
speeches and said that these keep happening Organisation (ILO) and the
because politicians keep playing such games. Institute for Human Devel-
opment (IHD).
The remarks came as the SC heard a plea seek-
The report reveals that
ing contempt of court action against Maharash- India’s youth account for
tra's police and administration for failing to take almost 83 per cent of the
action against several instances of hate speeches unemployed workforce
and calls for violence against minorities during and the share of young-
public speeches, including speeches by sitting sters with secondary or
MLAs. The contempt petitioner, an activist from higher education in the
Kerala, pointed out speeches made by a sitting total unemployed youth
has almost doubled from
Maharashtra MLA as well as others during a series
35.2 per cent in 2000 to
of processions and public meetings. The plea also 65.7 per cent in 2022.
highlighted that no action has been taken so far The unemployment rate
against those involved. among youths was six
The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, times higher for those
on the other hand, questioned the "credibility" of with secondary or higher
the petitioner. He argued that these petitions are education (18.4 per cent)
and nine times higher for
selective. "This will stop when such spirited PIL
graduates (29.1 per cent)
petitioners are made responsible, and instead of compared to those who
flagging issues from one state and one religion, cannot read and write (3.4
you bring all the issues," Mehta argued, adding per cent).
that the petitioner should incorporate other exam- The brimming chal-
ples of hate speeches, including those by Muslim lenge of unemployment
leaders from Kerala, in his petition. is majorly due to the skill
Earlier, in October last year, the Supreme Court gap towards the adoption
had directed Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttara-
khand Governments to come down hard on hate
speeches and promptly register criminal cases
against the culprits without waiting for a formal
complaint. The apex court also warned that any Prafull Goradia
O
delay on the part of administration in taking
action on this is a "very serious issue" that will ne way of know-
ing about inflation
invite the court's contempt.
in India is to place
Even as the Constitution of India gives free- a series of old coins on a
dom of expression and free speech, it prohibits table, and compare those
hate speech through several sections of the Indian coins with today’s cur-
Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and rency. Today, few would
by other laws. Section 153A of the Indian penal believe that well into
code says: ”Whoever (a) by words, either spoken the twentieth century,
or written, or by signs or by visible representa- there was a pai which
was 1/92nd of a rupee. 16
tions or otherwise, promotes or attempts to pro-
annas made a rupee; one
mote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, anna was divided into four
residence, language, caste or community or any pice; one pice comprised
other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feel- three pais. One could, for
ings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different example, buy puffed rice,
religious, racial, language or regional groups or gram or chana or pea-
castes or communities, or (b) commits any act nuts for one pie. When
that became impossible,
which is prejudicial to the maintenance of har-
the Government stopped
mony between different religious, racial, language minting the coin. The pice
or regional groups or castes or communities, and or three pais together con-
which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tinued to be minted until
tranquillity, . . . shall be punished with imprison- well after World War II.
ment which may extend to three years, or with Today, a rupee is about
fine, or with both. the least required to buy
Even as the law is very clear for action against anything; effectively ten
rupees are required to
hate speech and no one would support an act
acquire anything worth-
which triggers animosity among different com- while, no matter how poor
munities or religions, we believe that alleged pick the buyer is. As a child of
and chose policy is not justified. The law enforcing ten years, I ate my first
agencies as well as the court should not follow two chocobar made by a Brit-
sets of rules in such cases of hate speech. ish company called Mag-
On March 3, 2014, the Supreme Court had dis-
missed a PIL by Advocate M L Sharma seeking
intervention by the court in directing the Election
Commission to curb hate speeches. The Apex
court said that it could not curb the fundamental Himani Sabharwal
S
right of the people to express themselves. "We
are a mature democracy and it is for the public teadfast in its pur-
to decide. We are 1280 million people and there suit of becoming
would be 1280 million views. One is free not to a $5 trillion econ-
omy by 2024-25, India
accept the view of others," observed a bench
continues to ascend to
headed by Justice RM Lodha, adding that it (hate the position of a front-
speech) is a matter of perception. runner in the global shift
However, in the case of petition filed by Sha- towards green energy.
heen Abdullah from Kerala, the Supreme Court Solar power spearheads
on October 21, 2022, directed the Central Govern- this transformative jour-
ment as well as the State Governments of India to ney having contributed
53.2 per cent of the
take strong action against people who make hate
overall capacity addi-
speeches particularly against Muslims. This pick tion to India’s cumula-
and chose, we believe is confusing and has been tive power generation
rightly objected by the Solicitor General of India, capacity, which soared
Tushar Mehta. to 428.3 GW by the close
of December 2023.
The solar industry
statistics above do not
DISCLAIMER NOTICE just paint a bright pic-
“Refugee Message” does not take responsibility for ture; they aren’t just a
the content of notices, advertisements given in this testament to its envi-
daily newspaper. The newspaper does not endorse the ronmental stewardship,
content. Readers are requested to verify authenticity but rather one to its self-
themselves before acting on it. sufficiency and its con-
tribution to the trans-
Edited, Printed, Published & Owned by Rajiv Chuni Printed at DEE AAR Printing Press, Bain Bajalta, Jammu and Published from 451-Bakshi Nagar, Jammu-180001 (J&K)
Ph (LL): 01917967407 (Mob) 94191-91412 E-mail: rajivchuni@gmail.com, dailyrefugeemessage@gmail.com refugeemessage2006@gmail.com.
(All disputes are subject to the exclusive Jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Jammu only.)
of evolving technologies.
The ILO and IHD report
warned of the growing
uncertainties in the labour
market due to rapidly
changing technologies,
including artificial intel-
ligence (AI), which will
significantly impact the
labour market.
AI presents a significant
opportunity to enhance
labour productivity and
increase the incomes of
workers. However, it also
cautioned that disadvan-
taged states are less pre-
pared for this, and active
policies and programmes
need to be formulated
and implemented to skill
youths.
A report by Nasscom-
Zinnov says that India will
face a shortage of 14-19
lakh tech professionals by
2026. As compared to the
current tech workforce in
the country, India needs
52 lakh tech profession-
als. By 2026, India is esti-
mated to have 75-78 lakh
tech professionals. How-
ever, the requirement is
being pegged at 93-96 lakh
techies, reflecting a gap of
14-19 lakh tech workforce.
The skills gap is not solely
due to the digital trans-
formation of the indus-
try; it is creating more job
opportunities in opera-
tions. To bridge this gap,
companies must diversify
and expand their work-
force to include workers
with expertise in robot-
India’s inflation story through time
nolias, delivered at one’s
doorstep by a dry ice-filled
cart at 25 paise. Today, its
minimum price is Rs.10,
which makes inflation look
benign, 40 times between
say and 2024, i.e., 77
years.
The price of the cheap-
est variety of rice against a
Government-issued ration
card in 1945 was three
anas per seer or say nine-
teen paise per 800 grams.
Today in 2024, similar
rice would cost say forty
rupees per kilogramme, or
1,000 grammes, say twen-
ty-five rupees per seer or
132 times. Food grains
have become much more
expensive than ice-cream!
Tea, which was at the first
point of wholesale, was
two rupees for the equiv-
alent of one kilogramme,
which is Rs. 150 today or
75 times higher. Comment-
ing or inflation, a small
shopkeeper or a hawker,
would say no matter the
inflation, we people are
much better off than our
parents and grandparents.
Inflation in the Western
as well as other centuries
India’s green energy comes of age
formation of the global
energy environment.
What a remarkable jour-
ney this continues to be!
Of all RE sources,
the versatility of solar
energy renders it scal-
able and inclusive as a
solution for implement-
ing the green agenda. A
plethora of other fac-
tors have, however, sig-
nificantly contributed
to charting India’s path
towards a shining ener-
gy-efficient future. The
green pivot against the
larger climate change
battle and more particu-
larly directed at plateau-
ing power sector emis-
sions has been driven
by the synergy between
Government initiatives,
technological advance-
ments, and increasing
awareness of the bene-
fits that accrue from RE,
more particularly from
ics, the Internet of Things
(IoT), AI and analytics. Job
openings for roles such as
Robot Teaming Coordina-
tors, Smart Factory Man-
agers, Digital Twin Engi-
neers, and Smart Quality
Assurance (SQA) Managers
are increasingly common.
Companies mu s t
embrace these changes
and take proactive mea-
sures to address the skills
gap to stay competitive in
the market.
Out of the 468 million
people in the workforce,
92 per cent are in the
informal sector. Shock-
ingly, only 31 per cent
are literate, with 13 per
cent having only primary
education and 6 per cent
being college graduates.
Moreover, only about 2
per cent of the workforce
has formal vocational
training, and just 9 per
cent have non-formal
vocational training. There
is a need to increase the
proportion of formally
skilled labour from 5.4
per cent to at least 15 per
cent of India’s workforce
by 2022-23. However,
this goal has not yet been
achieved, and it is crucial
to re-evaluate our strate-
gies to address this gap.
Given these discourag-
ing realities addressing
the challenges requires
collaboration among
stakeholders, including
Governments, education-
al institutions, industries,
is actually much higher
than in India. This phe-
nomenon does not show
up because the exchange
rates are adverse to the
Indian rupee. The British
pound is about Rs. 100
when exchanged, but its
purchasing power in Brit-
ain is not much better
than Rs. 10. This is primar-
ily because India imports
more than exports. The
message is eloquent; must
times our economy to be
able to export more even
if the payment is in rupees
as well as in the importers
currency which is viable.
There seems to be a sys-
tematic policy by Govern-
ment to meet its purpose
of meeting the economy’s
money supply needs.
Some more money has
been provided for moder-
ate growth so the path of
prosperity and growth is
steady. This is like a cor-
porate house increasing
its profit every year and
an unemployed welcom-
ing an increment annually.
To put it another way,
the money or currency
supply is increased moder-
the solar energy poten-
tial that India holds.
When the goals were
surpassed (the Nation-
al Solar Mission that
targeted 100 GW of
solar power capacity
by 2022), more ambi-
tious targets (achieving
280 GW of solar capac-
ity by 2030) were set.
The goals were not just
spelled out, but guided
through a clear road-
map for RE integration
vide the declaration of
trajectory for Renew-
able Purchase Obliga-
tion (RPO) until 2029-
30.
On one hand, util-
ity projects were priori-
tised through increased
tendering and the imple-
mentation of the “Devel-
opment of Solar Parks
and Ultra Mega Solar
Power Projects Scheme”
which accorded approv-
and individuals to create
a skilled and efficient
workforce ecosystem. It
is not enough to simply
have degrees; we must
prioritise inclusivity and
eliminate divisions based
on gender, location, and
organised or unorganised
work. This requires a com-
prehensive approach.
We must bring our skill
development infrastruc-
ture up to global standards
by creating National Occu-
pation Standards (NOS)
and Qualification Packs
(QP) that meet interna-
tional requirements for
various job roles. It is
imperative to act with
urgency and determina-
tion to achieve these goals
for globally competitive
smart manufacturing
Revisit the skill gap:
The labour force from
agriculture predominantly
shifted to the construction
and services sectors, high-
lighting a clear mismatch
between job creation and
the skill sets of the work-
force.
The National Skill
Development Corporation
(NSDC) should collaborate
with industries to identify
skill gaps. Establishing a
District-level Skill Devel-
opment Plan (DSDP) to
create a state-level Skill
Development Plan (SSDP)
is crucial. The central and
state Governments must
share the financial burden
ately every year to enable
the economy to grow and
not shrink. The national
or central bank of every
country should manage
its money. Another way of
looking of inflation is cre-
ating money in advance
of production is order to
expand the economy.
It is like a loan without
having to pay interest by
the country’s economy.
But with it, the duty of
the central bank to watch
the production of goods
and service is increased
commensurately, with the
extra money printed every
year. It is like an interest-
free loan strictly in order
for the economy to able
for invest in the productiv-
ity of goods and services.
This must be done effi-
ciently, and in reasonable
time.
The printing money is
justified, but if there are
delays in expending the
facilities for production of
goods and services, infla-
tion would take place.
This means that prices
would grow and people
would began to demand
al to 50 solar parks
across 12 states. On the
other hand, decentral-
ised generation was not
left behind- the Roof-
top Solar Programme
launched in 2014 that
aimed to install 40 GW
by 2022 was extended
to 2026 and has now
been complemented
by The Pradhan Mantri
Suryodaya Yojana.
To democratise solar
energy access, such
decentralised sustain-
able energy solutions
are being actively rec-
ognised as complemen-
tary means to achieving
India’s green energy
goals. From one of the
largest importers to now
one of those witnessing
the highest dip in solar-
related imports from
China, India is well on
its trajectory of break-
ing this manufacturing
of unskilled workers with
employers for the first six
months. Addressing the
gap between the demand
and supply of skilled work-
ers through on-the-job
training (OJT) is essential.
Fostering a culture of
continuous learning and
upskilling within work-
forces is essential for
maintaining competitive-
ness. Employers should
provide access to training
programmes and resourc-
es to enhance individual
skill sets and foster adapt-
ability and innovation
within the organisation.
Public-private partner-
ships: Encouraging collab-
orations among Govern-
ments, educational insti-
tutions and industries is
crucial for designing and
implementing targeted
training programmes that
directly address skill gaps
in specific sectors. This
collaborative approach
e n s u re s alignment
between educational cur-
ricula and industry needs,
promoting effective skill
development and enhanc-
ing workforce readiness
for the evolving demands
of various sectors.
Creating apprentice-
ship and mentorship
programmes is integral,
enabling experienced pro-
fessionals to transfer their
invaluable knowledge and
skills to the next genera-
tion. These initiatives not
only bridge the skills gap
increase in their income.
Since increasing taxation
would bring further hard-
ship on people’s pocket,
the Government would
have no alternative but
to print more money in
order to satisfy people’s
legitimate demands.
This privilege of Gov-
ernments of printing
money at their discre-
tion, is a luxury, but has
cost quite a few countries,
making them go virtually
bankrupt. What else can
one expect of an economy
that is hit by inflation of
say 80 per cent, year after
year? Zimbabwe eventu-
ally grew tired of print-
ing money, after doing it
wantonly for a long time.
It gave up the chase and
declared the US dollar to
be the only legal tender in
the country.
Pakistan at present is in
the grip of an inflationary
spiral.
Even a much better
organised country like Sri
Lanka nearly went to the
brink of being trapped in
this spiral. Many others
haven’t fared any better;
monopoly, expecting ~
40GWp of PV manufac-
turing facilities to be set
up by 2025.
The approach
towards propelling the
nation’s solar imple-
mentation agenda has
been rather comprehen-
sive and market-driven.
Multiple factors seem to
have been converging
in the market including
the emergence of credit-
worthy commercial and
industrial customers
as demand drivers for
RE, enhanced financial
incentives, tax benefits
and subsidies. Stan-
dards have been estab-
lished for the manufac-
turing of solar PV sys-
tems and inputs,
India is strategically
aligning itself with global
efforts to attain the
SDGs, and very deftly so
by nudging investments
EDIT
but also foster a culture of
experiential learning and
continuous improvement
within the workforce.
Supportive Govern-
ment policies that offer
tax incentives to compa-
nies investing in employee
training play a core role
in progressive workforce
development. These
mechanisms encourage
the private sector to pri-
oritise continuous skill
building, creating a resil-
ient and adaptable work-
force.
In conclusion, it is cru-
cial to have proactive col-
laboration among stake-
holders, make strategic
investments in education
and training, foster a cul-
ture of continuous learn-
ing, and promote diver-
sity and inclusion. These
factors are all essential in
addressing the evolving
challenges of the labour-
intensive manufactur-
ing sector. Ignoring any
of these aspects would
hinder our ability to build
a strong and sustainable
workforce for the future.
-The writer is a
Co-Founder and MD, of
Orane International,
a Training Partner
with the National
Skill Development
Corporation(NSDC),
Network Member, of
India International Skill
Centres, an initiative of
GoI. Views expressed are
personal.
a large country like Turkey
is in the grip of such a
spiral.
Not many years ago,
Brazil found itself in a situ-
ation of having to reduce
the value of its currency
almost every morning.
Hotels in Rio de Janeiro
would quote their room
rents in US dollars for the
day, pasting the same on
the room doors.
Contrast this financial
jugglery with what Wil-
liam Pitt the Younger,
who was Prime Minister of
Britain at the turn of the
18th into the 19th century,
did. He intended to make
his tax collection exceed
the national expenditure
year after year, for a long
enough time, so that Brit-
ain could be governed
without raising taxes and
the nation could run solely
on the interest generated
on treasury surpluses over
the years.
(The writer is a well-
known columnist, an
author and a former
member of the Rajya
Sabha. The views
expressed are personal)
to their right use and
their right IRRs. For-
eign Direct Investment
(FDI) of up to 100 per
cent has been allowed
through the automatic
route, encouraging
international invest-
ment. The solar sector
remains at the forefront
given India’s compelling
solar potential and the
aforementioned factors.
However, tackling chal-
lenges that crop up in its
energy goals’ implemen-
tation shall be rendered
easy with the adoption
of a holistic approach
involving collaboration
across diverse stake-
holders, objectives,
policies, and solutions.
(The author is
an investment
professional and
specialises in green
financing; views are
personal)
 news jammu, MARCH 31, 2024 sunday REFUGEE MESSAGE 07

NYK Doda organizes Neighbourhood J&K Surpasses last year History will repeat on June 4
with Narendra Modi as PM for 3rd
achievement in PMS Scheme
Youth Parliament in GDC Kishtwar of Union Ministry of MSME
consecutive term: Adv Purnima

REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU significance of individual

jammu, mar 30
Nehru Yuva Kendra Doda,
Ministry of Youth Affairs
& Sports, Govt of India
organised “Neighbour-
hood Youth Parliament”
on the theme “Nasha Mukt
Bharat” in collaboration
with Govt Degree College,
Kishtwar on 28-03-2024.
Prof. Basharat Qayoom,
Principal GDC Kishtwar
inaugurated the pro-
gramme along with Dis-
trict Youth Officer Khushal
Gupta, Associate NCC Offi-
cer Prof. Prithvi Raj, NSS
PO Prof. Esarul Haq and
other staff members. The
programme witnessed
participation of hundreds
of youth belonging to dif-
ferent parts of the district.
The event started with
the traditional lamp light-
ening ceremony followed
by the welcome address
by District Youth Officer
Khushal Gupta. He briefed
the audience about the
objectives of organising
such programmes and
urged the youth to get
registered in MY Bharat
portal. All the partici-
pants were given MY
Bharat badges and they
registered themselves on
MY Bharat portal. TOT
Jugnu Bhagat briefed the
audience about MY Bharat
portal and its relevance in
the present era of digita-
lization. Prof. Prithvi Raj
delivered an awareness
lecture on Nari-Shakti.
He explained various
social reforms introduced
from time to time for the
empowerment of women
and focused on various
women who are leading
the nation in numerous
fields. Prof. Esarul Haq
delivered an awareness
lecture on Voter Aware-
ness and New India - New
Initiatives focussing on
the various developments
made by the nation during
the recent years and the
votes for the making of a
nation.
The volunteers of GDC
Kishtwar participated
in the Mock Parliament
organised on “Nasha Mukt
Bharat” thereby propagat-
ing important message
of parliamentary proce-
dures and steps taken by
the govt. to make India,
a drug free nation. The
team led by Prof. Prith-
vi Raj comprised Cdt.
Mehak Sharma, Vivek
Sharma, Ankush Thakur,
Nitin Shan, Vivek Shan,
Rohit, Sarika Rathore,
Madhvi, Purvya, Sonika,
Anish, Simran Thakur and
Muskan Bhagat. Compar-
ing of the programme was
done by Cdt Muen Raja
and Cdt. Mehak Sharma.
The event ended with dis-
tribution of certificates
and mementoes among
the participants.
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
jammu, mar 30
MSME DFO Jammu, Field
office of Union Ministry of
MSME implements vari-
ous schemes and activities
for the benefit of MSMEs
of Jammu & Kashmir. Pro-
curement & Marketing
Support Scheme is one of
them. As per the scheme
guidelines the MSMEs
are eligible to claim reim-
bursement of 80-100 %
Stall charges, Publicity
expenditure and travelling
ber 2023. Number units
participated are 24 units
in Bharth Utsav organized
at Pragati Maidan New
Delhi from 16.12.2023 to
11.01.2024 in which 100%
Stall charges were waived
for the units of J&K as per
the scheme guidelines.
Last year less than 10
units have availed the ben-
efit of participating in the
event at New Delhi. This
financial year 04 differ-
ent trade fairs have been
approved in J&K at vari-
ous locations like Srinagar
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MAR 30
In a historic show of
support, Adv Purnima
Sharma, Spokesper-
son BJP, J&K and former
deputy Mayor Jammu
today organised a massive
rally in Jammu in support
of Jugal Kishore Sharma,
BJP candidate for the
Jammu Reasi Lok Sabha
seat.
Under the leadership
of Adv Purnima Sharma,
the rally generated tre-
mendous enthusiasm and
excitement among the
confidently proclaimed
that history will once
again repeat itself on June
4, when the nation wit-
nesses the reappointment
of our Pradhan Sewak
Shri Narendra Modi as
the Prime Minister for an
unprecedented third con-
secutive term. "His unpar-
alleled dedication and
tireless efforts have trans-
formed the Nation into a
global powerhouse, and it
is now our responsibility
to ensure this journey con-
tinues," she added.
She said "Narendra
Modi's leadership has

GGM Science College, Jammu accords expenditure for participat-

ing in about 200 exhibi-
tions/trade fair approved
and Jammu compared to
previous year only one
fair. 02 Vendor Develop-
local BJP activists and sup-
porters who turned up in
large numbers to extend
been an inspiration to
India and the world. His
transformative initiatives

farewell party to Prof. Veer Singh by the union ministry

REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
jammu, mar 30
A warm send off was
accorded to Prof (Dr) Veer
Singh ,Associate professor
of Chemistry on his super-
annuation by the Principal
and teaching fraternity
of GGM Science college
,Jammu .
In this regard, a farewell
party was organised in the
honour of Prof. Veer Singh
at Conference Hall in GGM
Science College Jammu
by its teaching fraternity
lead by Dr. Chaman Lal ,
Staff Secretary and his Pre-
sidium comprising of Dr.
Shafia Saleem, Dr. Pankaj
Mansotra,Prof. Rohit
Bhardwaj as Joint Secre-
taries, Dr. Deepak Kumar
as a Treasurer and Prof.
Rajiv Kumar as a Press
Secretary.
It was first farewell
party of the current year
in which almost the entire
fraternity gathered to bid
adieu to their revered out-
going colleague .
Prior to this final event,a
series of farewell parties
were organised in the
honour of Dr Veer Singh
initially in the chemistry
department and later
on inPhysics and other
Departments of the col-
lege.
The function com-
menced with the welcome
address byDr Chaman Lal
whereas the proceedings
of the entire programme
were conducted by Prof
Book interaction on transformation of J&K held during Tawi Sahitya Lok Utsav
Refugee Message Bureau
Jammu, Mar 30
Jammu came alive with
the vibrant colours of
cultural diversity as the
Tawi Sahitya Lok Utsav
unfolded from the 29th
to the 31st of March on
the premises of Abhinav
Theatre, Canal Road, here
today. Hosted by the J&K
Academy of Art, Culture,
and Languages in collab-
oration with the Indira
Gandhi National Centre
for the Arts (IGNCA), J&K
Regional Centre, the event
served as a melting pot of
literary, artistic, and cul-
tural expressions.
A notable highlight of
the opening day was the
inauguration of books
authored by various
luminaries, aligning with
the Utsav's theme of cel-
ebrating literature. A
thought-provoking book
interaction on “Trans-
forming J&K: Governance,
Development and Media”
written by Dr. Vinit Utpal,
Assistant Professor at
Rajiv Kumar
Dr Chaman Lal spoke
in depth on the various
aspects of Dr Singh’s per-
sonality and his contribu-
tions in the field of educa-
tion.
He congratulated him
on the successful comple-
tion of unblemished jour-
ney of active service of 35
years- 18 years at plus 2
level and 17years at col-
lege level .
He wished him a
happy,healthy and pros-
perous post retirement life
Dr M.S.Saini, Head
department of Chemis-
try, also talked high of his
counterpart while divulg-
ing on his distinct person-
ality.He,too wished him
a happy and comfortable
post retirement life.
Dr Parshotam Singh
Manhas,Head Depart-
ment of Physics said that
Indian Institute of Mass
Communication (IIMC),
in conversation with Dr.
Ravia Gupta, Lecturer,
Department of Journal-
ism and Mass Communi-
cation, Jammu University
was held at the IGNCA
stall.
Prof Shyam Narayan Lal
from the Department of
History at Jammu Univer-
sity, said the book brings
out the changing scenario
of the UT of J&K and is a
piece of scholarly work.
He added that this trans-
formation that is taking
place now in the region
will be defining the future
for all. Dr. Shah Nawaz,
Editor-cum-Cultural Offi-
cer JKAACL, said that writ-
ing is the mother of all
media and an initiative to
document what media is
writing about is the need
of the hour. The discus-
sion highlighted the con-
temporary history post
the abrogation of article
370 and contemporary
dynamics of Jammu and
Kashmir being covered by
he got a brief period of
4months to serve with
Dr Veer Singh.He further
added that he was greatly
impressed and inspired by
the working style of Dr
.Singh and he expressed
his desire to have worked
with him for some more
time.Dr PS Manhas prayed
for his happy ,healthy
&blissful post retirement
life.
An audio recorded
speech of Prof(Dr)Romesh
Kumar Bhat was displayed
at the end .He said that Dr
Veer Singh is one of his
best friends who always
stands by hm in thick and
thin. He quoted some
examples in which he
explained how Dr Singh
helped him to tide over
the difficult time of covid-
19.
Dr.Rajesh Gupta,worthy
principal of college while
the local media.
During the discussion,
Dr. Vinit Utpal empha-
sised that youth will be
the driving force in not
just writing but also in
creating a new history
and marking several new
beginnings. He added that
the book has mapped
startup initiatives in J&K
under the startup policy
2018-2028 and creating
awareness on such initia-
tives and platforms by the
media will act a guiding
force for the youth who is
on a look out for opportu-
addressing the entire staff
described the services
of Dr Veer Singh as most
indispensable.Dr veer
Singh being his classmate
acted as his advisor and
he always helped him in
resolving all sorts of prob-
lems and issues confront-
ing the college.
Worthy Principal appre-
ciated the staff secretary
and his team for arranging
a nice party in the honour
of out going personally,in
a short notice.
While speaking on the
occasion,Dr Veer Singh
thanked each and every-
one for honouring him .
He assured worthy
principal to visit college
even after his retirement
in order to assist him.
The program came to
an end with vote of thanks
presented by Prof Rajiv
Kumar.
nities for a better future.
The book covers vari-
ous topics spread across
10 chapters from the
beginning of new his-
tory to the new vision its
execution, bounce in agri-
culture, identity change
of marginalised people,
governance and imple-
mentation, Panchayati
Raj Institutions, and rural
transformation, start up
and J&K, J&K as tourism
destination, Digital J&K
to J&K emerging as a film
destination.
Earlier, the inaugu-
of MSME, same can be
accessed at my.msme.gov.
ment programmes under
PMS scheme have been
organised compared to
their support to the Party's
leadership.
Addressing the vibrant
have uplifted the lives of
millions, and under his
able guidance, we have
in/MyMsme/Reg/COM_ one during the last finan- gathering, Purnima achieved remarkable
ViewEvent.aspx . All the cial year. This increase Sharma said, "This rally progress in various sec-
applications are received in uptake of the ben- is a symbol of our collec- tors."
online only without any efits under the scheme tive pledge and convic- Purnima Sharma
manual intervention and is because of the extra tion towards a stronger expressed her gratitude
processed online. It is per- efforts put up MSME DFO and prosperous future to her supporters, party
tain to mention here that Jammu through 30 Entre- for Jammu Reasi. Jugal workers and the passion-
maximum 60 units can preneurship Awareness Kishore's leadership and ate attendees for their
participate in any of the camps conducted in every vision will undoubtedly unwavering support,
approved exhibition. district of Jammu & Kash- take the region to greater urging them to mobilize
During this financial mir regions. More than heights, empowering the their communities and
year MSMEs of J&K par- 800 MSEs have benefited marginalized sections and spread awareness about
ticipated in various Trade by PMS scheme during uplifting the people's aspi- the transformative impact
fairs organized in dif- this financial year 2023- rations." Purnima Sharma of Modi's leadership.
ferent locations includ- 24 which is exponential
ing Srinagar, Jammu, higher in compared to all
Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur,
Telangana etc. Our 13
previous financial years
and has been made pos-
Several join Congress in
units have participated
in Indian International
sible with directions of
G.Velladurai Joint Direc-
Samba Assembly Constituency
Trade Fair organized tor through PMS Section
in Pragati Maidan New of MSME DFO Jammu
Delhi from 14th Novem- handled by Shri D.K.Tyagi,
ber 2023 to 25th Novem- Assistant Director.
3 gamblers arrested and stake money
amounting to Rs 24360 recovered
refugee message bureau
Jammu,30.03.2024
During the intervening night of 29/30-03-2024,a team
of Police Post Pounichak headed by PSI Vijay Kumar REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU est schemes of the Con-
was on patrolling duty in the area of Ranjit pur camp Samba, MAR 30 gress Party, many people
Gole Gujral area. During patrolling duty at about 1200 joined the Congress
hrs when police party reached Ajit colony near petrol BJP snatched away the Party. Whom Kundal and
pump found one auto e-riksaw bearing registration rights of the people within Sanjeev welcomed in the
no.jk02DH/0885 parked along the road side in suspi- 10 years. The status of party. During this, Sanjeev
cious circumstances whille checking the said vehicle the historical state of Sharma said that arbitrary
03 persons namely jagdeep Singh s/o satnam Singh Jammu and Kashmir was rules are being imposed
R/o Bhori 2.Harpal Singh s/o Kul want Singh 3.satinder snatched away. The future on people by bureaucrats.
Singh s/o Randeep Singh both R/o Camp Gole Gujral of the youth of Jammu and Due to which people are
found indulging gambling with playing Cards using Kashmir has been ruined. facing huge problems.
money & accordingly all the three persons got appre- At present, people are Appealing to the youth, he
hended and stake money amounting Rs 24360/- was struggling with important said that they should vote
recovered. Cognizance taken under relevant sections problems like electricity, in the interest of the Con-
of law. Locals have appreciated the efforts of police. water and roads. State gress Party and if the Con-
Vice President Congress gress Party government is
and former minister Yas- formed in the country,
hpal Kundal said this in
a meeting organized in
then Agni Veer will be
eliminated. Addressing
Kandi area under Samba the people, Kundal said
audiences throughout assembly. Former Minis- that inflation, corrup-
the day. The Book Fair ter Yashpal Kundal along tion and unemployment
Exhibition and Artisan with District President are at their peak in the
Haat added a touch of Sanjeev Sharma were country. Kundal said that
local flavour to the Utsav, also present in the meet- the people of the country
showcasing the rich cul- ing organized in Kandi have now woken up and
tural heritage of Jammu. area under Samba Assem- are ready to wipe out the
Local authors and artisans bly. During this period, BJP in the upcoming Lok
presented their works, due to the public inter- Sabha elections.
providing visitors with a
glimpse into the region's
artistic prowess and cul- Two missing ladies traced,
tural traditions.
The event was organ- reunited with family by PS
ised by collaborative
efforts of key organizers, Nagrota, Jammu
ral day of the Utsav wit- Secretary JKAACL, Bharat REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
nessed a range of activi- Singh Manhas, Regional Jammu,30.03.2024
ties, catering to diverse Director IGNCA, J&K,
interests and age groups. Shruti Awasthi, and Addi- On 28/05/2019 missing report of one lady (name with-
From engaging student tional Secretary JKAACL, held) Distt. Jammu was entered at Police Station Nagro-
competitions to insightful Sanjeev Rana and Brajesh ta vide DDR NO 28 dated 28/05/2019.Another missing
workshops conducted by Jha, Executive Editor, Hin- report of a lady was entered at Police Station Nagrota
the National Book Trust dusthan Samachar. Their vide DDR 36 dated 20/02/2024
(NBT), attendees were dedication and vision Police party of P/S Nagrota under the supervision
treated to a plethora ensured a seamless and of SDPO Nagrota Shri Aakash Kohli-JKPS assisted by
of intellectual and cre- enriching experience for SHO Police Station nagrota Inspector Rajeshwar Singh
ative engagements. The all participants. The Utsav searched various places and with technical assistance
Authors’ Corner provid- served as a testament to alongwith timely human intervention traced the said
ed a platform for literary the vibrant cultural tapes- missing ladies and reunited them with their families.
enthusiasts to interact try of Jammu, celebrating After completing all the legal formalities the said
with renowned authors, its heritage and foster- missing ladies were handed over to their legal heirs.
while captivating short ing artistic exchange and Moreover missing reports stand closed.
story sessions enthralled appreciation. People have appreciated the efforts of Jammu Police.
08 REFUGEE MESSAGE jammu, march 31, 2024 sunday NEWS

JK & Ladakh High Court closes Property of drug peddler attached

contempt proceedings against
DM and SSP Baramulla
Refugee Message Bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
Jammu & Kashmir and
Ladakh High Court has
closed contempt pro-
ceedings against District
Magistrate Baramulla
Minga Sherpa and the
Senior Superintendent
of Police (SSP) Baramulla
Amod Ashok after both of
them made their personal
appearance before the
court as directed.
The Court said that
whenever the preventive
detention of a detenue
gets quashed it hoped
the Government of J&K
acts with "reasonable dis-
patch to ensure that the
detenue person is released
from the custody without
unwarranted loss of time".
JKCA Sub-Committee grants approval for
players' participation in local tourneys
refugee message bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
The Sub-Committee of
Jammu and Kashmir Crick-
et Association ( JKCA) has
approved the permission
for its players to partici-
pate in local tournaments
and leagues with a rider
that there will be restric-
tions to players for non-
participation in unrecog-
nized tournaments.
A notification issued
by the Jammu and Kash-
mir Cricket Association,
available with the news
agency, states that the
Sub Committee of JKCA
NC to field Omar from Srinagar, Mian
The court made these
observations in a con-
tempt petition against DM
Baramulla and SSP Baram-
ulla who despite orders
from the High Court had
not ensured the release of
a detenue from detention
and remained in illegal
detention for 79 days.
The High Court made
known to the two officers,
who were present in the
court its "serious concern
about the loss of 79 days
of (detenue's) life" who
remained "under preven-
tive custody without any
legal basis".
A single bench of Justice
Rahul Bharti observed in
his order on March 26 that
the detenue earned his
release "upon interven-
tion of this court when
has approved the per-
mission for JKCA play-
ers to participate in local
tournaments and leagues
recognized by the Associ-
ation. "The Organizers of
the Tournament/League
need to approach JKCA in
writing seeking recogni-
tion for the Tournament.
JKCA, based on the merit
and criteria laid down by
the Association, will grant
permission to organizers
of these Tournaments",
reads the notification. The
notification further states
that the particulars of such
Tournaments will be dis-
played on the JKCA web-
the petitioner came to
file the present contempt
petition", in which he
apprised the court that
despite quashment of his
preventive detention in
terms of judgment dated
30.12.2023 the petitioner
has not earned his release
from the custody, that is
with effect from the date
of pronouncement of the
judgment reading his
detention illegal."
"This court hopes that
such like scenario does
not repeat again and
whenever the preventive
detention of a detenue
gets quashed, the Govern-
ment of UT of Jammu and
Kashmir acts with reason-
able dispatch to ensure
that the detenue person is
released from the custody
site www.jkca.tv, based
on which players can par-
ticipate in that particular
Tournament. A committee
member of the association
told KNO that the notifica-
tion also underscores the
enforcement of restric-
tions on players found in
violation of this directive
for appropriate disciplin-
ary action, as outlined by
the Association.
"The restriction on play-
ers for non-participation
in unrecognized tourna-
ments will continue, and
defaulters will be liable for
suitable action", adds the
notification. KNO
without unwarranted loss
of time", Justice Bharti
observed while disposing
off a contempt petition by
Muneeb Rasool Shenwari
filed through his lawyer.
The court let the peti-
tioner restored to his
personal liberty in terms
of the order on March 18,
and subsequently closed
the contempt petition
against the DM and SSP
concerned.
The Court, however,
made it clear that "with-
out prejudice to the right
of the petitioner", he is
free to "avail appropriate
legal remedy against the
defaulting/erring official
or authority for illegal
detention suffered by him
post quashment" of his
detention order.
Avalanche warning:
Authorities in Kangan
take precautionary
measures
refugee message bureau
Ganderbal, Mar 30
In view of the recent
weather forecast and
advisory issued by the
Meteorological Centre
Srinagar regarding the
heightened risk of ava-
lanches, the authorities
in the Kangan sub-divi-
sion of Ganderbal have
taken proactive measures
to ensure public safety.
According to the news
agency, an order issued
by the Sub Divisional
Magistrate Kangan states
that in light of the "ava-
lanche warning with
medium danger level
likely to occur above 2200
meters in Ganderbal", the
General Manager/Project
under NDPS Act in J&K's Baramulla
Refugee Message Bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
Psychotropic Substances
(NDPS) Act.
The residential house
dent of Dardkote Uri.
"The action was taken
under sections 68-E read
acquired property during
the course of investiga-
tion and inquiry conduct-
Jammu and Kashmir is valued at approximate- with 68-F (1) of NDPS Act ed by police.
police on Saturday ly Rs 30 lakh located in of 1985 & is linked with "The property was
attached a two-storey Dardkote Uri. case FIR No.222/2021 u/s prima facie acquired from
residential house owned A police spokesman 8/21,29 NDPS Act of PS illicit trafficking in Narcot-
by a drug peddler in said the house belongs to Uri," police said. ic drug and Psychotropic
Baramulla district under notorious drug peddler They said the property substances by the drug
the Narcotic Drugs and Azad Ahmad Mir, a resi- was identified as illegally peddler," police added.
Will eliminate
Special training imparted to 1300 cross-border
soldiers ahead of Amarnath Yatra
drug-trafficking,
joint efforts on:
refugee message bureau
Srinagar, Mar 30
diers, the Mountaineer-
ing Rescue Team is well-
individuals from haz-
ardous locations, and
SP East
equipped to mitigate other life-saving tech- refugee message bureau
Preparations are the challenges encoun- niques tailored to the Srinagar, Mar 30
underway to ensure tered by pilgrims along challenging terrain of
the safety and security the route. Rigorous Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir
of devotees embarking training programs are While adverse weath- Police on Saturday said
on the revered Amar- conducted to hone the er conditions, particu- that a joint effort is
nath Yatra in 2024, with skills of team members, larly snowfall along the underway to eradicate
a particular focus on many of whom have Pahalgam and Baltal the cross-border drug-
disaster management previously undertaken routes, may temporar- trafficking, which has
and rescue operations. life-saving missions ily impede progress, caused extensive damage
The Mountaineering
Rescue Team of Jammu
during past yatras.
Presently, personnel
security forces remain
on standby at entry
to the youth, a police offi-
cer said on Saturday.
and Kashmir is actively
engaged in training
from various security
forces, including police,
points to both routes.
As snow melts and con-
Superintendent of
Police (SP) East, Mubashir
activities in the Nad NDRF, and paramilitary ditions improve, efforts Hussain Bukhari as per
area of Samba to facili- units, are undergoing to enhance travel infra- the news agency while
tate the smooth passage specialized training in structure and logisti- speaking to the media
of pilgrims through the the hilly areas of Nad, cal arrangements will persons on the sidelines
challenging terrain. Samba. Notably, 260 accelerate to ensure a of the function ‘Drug Free
Anticipated to com- soldiers and officers, seamless pilgrimage Kashmir Event’ organized
mence at the end of spanning seven batch- experience for devo- at Auditorium SKUAST-K
June and span over two es, have already com- tees. here by Police, said the
months, the Amarnath pleted their training, The formation of the J&K Police wants to save
Yatra draws millions of with additional batches Mountaineering Rescue the young generation
devotees from across currently undergoing Team in 2009 marked from getting indulged in
the country to seek the rigorous instruction. a significant milestone drug menace.
blessings of Baba Bar- The training regimen in disaster prepared- “We want our young
fani. Given the rugged encompasses a wide ness for the Amarnath generation, especially
and inaccessible ter- array of skills essential Yatra. Over the years, the vulnerable lot, which
rain, the authorities for disaster manage- the team has continu- falls under the age group
are vigilant to prevent ment, including rescue ally refined its capabili- of 18-25 years. We want
accidents and address operations in the event ties, with approximate- to reach out to them to
any emergencies that of landslides, floods, ly five thousand soldiers ensure that they don’t get
may arise during the fires, and road acci- receiving specialized involved in drug addic-
pilgrimage. dents. Personnel are training. Their dedicat- tion,” he said.
According to the trained in rope bridge ed efforts have saved Bukhari also said J&K
news agency compris- construction, safe numerous lives during Police has been organiz-
ing 1300 trained sol- extraction of injured emergencies. KNO ing such events in every
nook and corner to send

Altaf from Anantnag- Rajouri

Manager APCO/NHIDCL a message of keeping the
has been directed to keep youth away from drugs.

refugee message bureau Choudhary Muhammad and other political parties.

Srinagar, Mar 30
National Conference is likely
to field Omar Abdullah from
Srinagar Lok Sabha segment
and Mian Altaf from Anant-
nag- Rajouri seat.
Sources told news agency
that the party has almost
finalized the candidature
of Omar Abdullah and
Mian Altaf from Srinagar
and Anantnag- Rajouri seg-
ments, respectively.
According to sources,
the party could field former
minister Mir Saifullah or
Ramzan or Aga Ruhullah
from Baramulla Lok Sabha
seat. National Conference
vice-president and former
CM Omar Abdullah has
recently said that the party
would announce its candi-
dates for Lok Sabha polls
after Eid. In the Srinagar
segment, which includes
eight seats of Srinagar dis-
trict, three seats of Budgam,
two seats of Ganderbal, four
seats of Pulwama and one
seat of Shopian, National
Conference would be locked
in a contest with Apni Party
The Anantnag- Rajouri
seat comprises seven seg-
ments of Anantnag district,
three seats of Kulgam, one
seat of Shopian district, four
seats of Rajouri and three
seats of Poonch.’
There were earlier
reports that the former
chief minister and presi-
dent of Democratic Progres-
sive Azad Party could con-
test from the seat. Peoples
Democratic Party president
Mehbooba Mufti is also con-
templating to contest from
the segment.
the Z-Mohr tunnel open
for safe movement.
This includes facili-
tating the movement
of people, government
employees, laborers, and
machinery, while main-
taining close coordina-
tion with police authori-
ties.
Traffic will be direct-
ed through the Z-Morh
Tunnel as the road con-
dition at Hung is deemed
unsafe for travel. Viola-
tions of this order may
result in penal action due
to the anticipated risk to
life.
Police Station Bishna, Jammu seeks help of He further stated that
depression and lack of
general public in identifying suspected thief activity are among the
main reasons for drug
involved in a load carrier theft case addiction. “When the
youth will not keep them-
selves abuzz with the
refugee message bureau on the intervening night obtained the videos/pho- activities like sports, busi-
Jammu,30.03.2024 of 28/29-03.2024. tographs of the suspect ness, studies and other
Accordingly, a case vide person for the purpose of things, they fall prey to
Police Station Bishna FIR No. 36/2024under rel- investigation. such issues,” he said.
received a complaint from evant sections of law was Police Station Bishna Asked about cross-bor-
an individual wherein registered at Police Station has appealed general der drug trafficking, SP
he stated that Mahindra Bishna and investigation public in identifying these East said that it is causing
load carrier bearing Reg. was taken up. thieves and assured that extensive damage to the
No. JK02AX 4469 parked During the course of identity of the person pro- youth, but “Police, Army
near his godown at Village investigation,Investigating viding clues/information and other security forces
Sarore has been stolen by officer has collected CCTV regarding the same shall are on it to eradicate this
some unknown thieves footage and subsequently be kept confidential. menace.”

From the Front Page...

PM Modi pays rich...
He said, “His efforts propelled India from struggle
to self-sufficiency in food production. May the Bharat
Ratna conferred on him inspire more people to take
up research in agriculture and food security.” All the
four stalwarts were bestowed the honour posthumously.
Their family member received the honour for them.
Veteran BJP leader L K Advani is the only living person
among the recipients of the honour this year. (Agencies)
372 Polling Stations...
and order throughout the electoral process.
In Reasi district, where 2,34,706 voters are registered,
stringent security arrangements will be enforced, with a
deployment of 13 companies of special armed security
forces and 44 companies of armed security personnel.
Jammu district will witness the deployment of three
thousand police personnel, 496 sections of armed secu-
rity forces, and 41 companies of special armed security
forces to ensure a peaceful voting environment.
With 11,78,431 registered voters in Jammu district
alone, and additional voters in Samba and Rajouri
districts, authorities are leaving no stone unturned to
guarantee the safety and security of voters and election
officials alike. As the electoral machinery gears up for the
polling day, efforts are underway to uphold the demo-
cratic process and uphold the integrity of the electoral
system in Jammu and Kashmir. KNO
Uncle kills nephew...
The police official said that the accused was drunk
and had come with an intention to kill. “They had some
family issues which were sorted out in a Gram panchayat.
But the accused was not satisfied with the outcome of
the Gram Panchayat which forced him to take the step
to kill,” he added.
Sources told KNO that the accused was a Village
Defence Committee (VDC) member and used his VDC
weapon to commit the crime.
The source further said that the deceased was wanted
in many crime cases including rape and attempt to
murder and police was planning to slap Public Safety
Act (PSA) on him and put behind the bars.
Police have arrested the accused under murder charg-
es and a case in this regard has been registered in police
station Poonch. KNO
Rains lash Jammu and...
resort of Pahalgam, received light snow last night.
The night temperatures also witnessed a dip, with
Srinagar recording a minimum of 6.8 degrees Celsius
against the previous night’s 8.2 degrees Celsius.
MeT said Pahalgam had 1.3 and Gulmarg had minus
0.5 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
The MeT has predicted wet weather till Sunday. The
weather is generally expected to remain dry between
April 1 and 5, with light rain at isolated places on April 3.
Ahead of new...
(vote-on-account) 2024-25 under CAPEX and Revenue
budget in favour of all the departments/district develop-
ment commissioners.
According to these orders, the Director Finance(s)/
Director(s) Planning/Financial Advisor & CAO(S)/Joint
Director(s) Planning and Controlling Officers of all the
Departments shall be personally responsible for upload-
ing of approved Work Plans (projects/works/activities)
on BEAMS portal with the approval of competent author-
ity by or before 20th April, 2024.
“All the District Development Commissioners shall fur-
nish the District Plans (project/work/activity wise) after
seeking approval of competent authority by or before
30th of April, 2024,” reads the orders.
It further states that in respect of district sector proj-
ects, CPO(s)/AO(s) of each district shall be responsible phases of the election.
for uploading of the work plans on BEAMS portal once Under the banner of the INDIA alliance, which includes
the same is approved by the competent authority within the National Conference and PDP alongside Congress,
the stipulated time—(KNO) the party is gearing up to contest on two seats in Jammu
and Kashmir. While the National Conference is slated
to contest on three seats, official candidate announce-
Land, Job rights of... ments are pending. The alliance strategy entails Congress
developments then why are they running away from the campaigning for National Conference in Kashmir, recip-
assembly elections for the last 10 years. The BJP MP’s rocated by National Conference's support for Congress
discusses Kerla in Kashmir and Kashmir in Kerla. Declar- in Jammu division.
ing Basohli as district is another Jumla of present MP, The involvement of senior leaders like Dr. Farooq
which we are listing only in the elections. Addressing a Abdullah and Omar Abdullah from the National Confer-
series of roadside meetings and public rallies enrooted ence is expected to further bolster Congress's electoral
from Banore, Dambra, Palial, Sari Muni, Parnala, Palan, prospects, particularly in rallying support for Raman
Manger, Phinter, Deol, Billawar, Bhaddu, Dharamkote, Bhalla in the region. KNO
Mandali, Dangra, and culminated in Dharamani.
Ch. Lal Singh was also accompanied by Ex. Minister
Dr. Manohar Lal and he gave a clarion call to the people
to prepare themselves for giving a befitting reply to the
NOTICE
divisive forces led by BJP as the opportunity has come
We the following persons proposed to register a
after five years. He also appealed to the masses that
non-profitable NGO under the name and style of
Kathua district should break all the records of votes in
favor of Ch. Lal Singh. 'Saraswati Sangeet Art and Cultural Foundation,
Samba (J&K) with the Registrar of Societies J&K,
Jammu under Societies Act 1999 (1941 A. D.).
Rahul, Priyanka, 25... Sh. Ravi Dutta Chairman, Smt. Jyotika Sharma
to sway voter sentiment in its favor. Director, Sh. Lok Sevak General Secretary, Ms
As per the news agency the party is fielding Raman Ashwani Kumari Secretary, Sh. Arun Gupta Cashier,
Bhalla from the Jammu-Reasi region and Chaudhary Lal Sh. Abhishek Negi Organizer and Rajinder Kumar
Singh from the Udhampur-Doda-Kathua region. While Publicity Secretary.
Lal Singh has already filed his nomination papers, Raman
Bhalla is scheduled to follow suit on April 2 in Jammu.
Any person having any objection in this regard
A comprehensive list of 27 star campaigners has been may approach in person or writing to the Registrar
released by the party's Organization General Secretary of Societies J&K, Jammu within 15 days from the
KC Venugopal, comprising notable figures such as Mal- date of publication of this notice.
likarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni, Sachin Chairman
Pilot, and others. These campaigners, along with Rahul Saraswati Sangeet Art and Cultural
and Priyanka Gandhi, will traverse the state, lending Foundation, Samba (J&K)
their support to Congress candidates during the crucial
 news
J&K Judicial Academy organizes 2 day training
programme on “New Criminal Laws”
refugee message bureau
SRINAGAR, MARCH 30
J&K Judicial Academy
organized two day train-
ing programme on “New
Criminal Laws” at J&K
Judicial Academy, Momi-
nabad, here today for
Judicial Officers of Kash-
mir Province and UT of
Ladakh, Prosecution Offi-
cers, Police Officers and
Officers from Forensic
Science Laboratories of
Kashmir Province includ-
ing Research Assistants
of High Court of J&K and
Ladakh at Srinagar Wing.
The training pro-
gramme, organised under
the stewardship of Chief
Justice, High court of J&K
and Ladakh, Justice N
Kotiswar Singh, was inau-
gurated by Justice Sanjeev
Kumar, Judge, High Court
of J&K and Ladakh in pres-
ence of Sakal Bhushan,
an eminent lawyer from
Jammu now practising in
Supreme Court of India
who was the resource
person in the training pro-
gramme.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar,
in his inaugural address,
pointed out that earlier
Indian Penal Code, as
the name suggested, was
to penalize the Indians.
He said that overhauling
of these laws was a long
pending demand of the
society and the govern-
ment observed that this
is the right time to revoke
these laws. The govern-
ment entrusted the job to
Tawi Sahitya Lok Utsav showcases vibrant literary, cultural diversity on day 2
refugee message bureau
JAMMU, MARCH 30
The second day of Tawi
Sahitya Lok Utsav, orga-
nized by the Jammu and
Kashmir Academy of Art,
Culture and Languages
( JKAACL) in collaboration
with the Indira Gandhi
Centre for Arts, Jammu,
showcased a vibrant tap-
estry of literary and cul-
tural activities.
Held at the picturesque
venue of JKAACL, the
event captivated attend-
ees with a diverse range
of experiences, including
interactive sessions, book
launches, poetry recitals,
and insightful workshops.
The day began with the
release of Heena Maha-
jan's book titled "Jammu
Di Chidi" by Suresh Kumar
Gupta, Principal Secre-
tary, Department of Cul-
ture.
Afterwards, the event
continued with book
DEO Ganderbal reviews AMF Status of
Polling Stations, SVEEP activities
refugee message bureau
GANDERBAL, MARCH 30
In a significant step
towards ensuring smooth
conduct of the upcoming
Lok Sabha Election 2024
in Ganderbal district, a
meeting was convened
today by District Election
Officer (DEO) Ganderbal,
Shyambir here in the V.C
Room of DC Office.
The meeting held
detailed discussion on
various points including
AMF Status, SVEEP, Dis-
patch and Receipt Plan of
Polling Parties on Poll Day
and logistics.
The status of Assured
Minimum Facilities at each
polling station was metic-
ulously reviewed which
include facilities such as
drinking water, electric-
ity, ramps for persons
reform criminal laws to
Professor Ranbir Singh,
founder Vice Chancellor
of National Law Universi-
ty, Delhi, who is the Chair-
person of Committee for
reforms in Criminal Laws.
The Committee was made
to focus on safety, security
and welfare of Indians and
integrity of the nation.
He also gave an overview
of the three new laws;
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,
2023 (BNS), Bharatiya
Sakshya Adhiniyam,
2023 (BSA) and Bharatiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,
2023(BNSS) and highlight-
ed that these new laws are
in tune with the spirit of
the Constitution and have
been introduced in keep-
ing with the aspirations of
‘we the people’.
Elaborating further Jus-
tice Kumar said that laws
of British-era were aimed
at punishing and enforc-
ing allegiance to foreign
rule whereas, the soul
of new laws is Indianess
and for the first time our
criminal justice system
will be governed by the
laws of India, made by the
Indians and for the India.
He further highlighted
that these new laws are
not just to punish but to
impart justice with equal
consideration to the reha-
bilitation of the victim and
provide justice to one and
all particularly the weak
and marginalized.
Justice Kumar added
that the new way of inflict-
ing punishments like com-
launches facilitated by
the Sarv Bhasha Trust
and Subhi Publication,
presenting the literary
creations of esteemed
authors to eager audienc-
es. The session witnessed
unveiling of four captivat-
ing literary works, enrich-
ing the literary landscape
of the region.
Adding to the literary
fervor, the IGNCA book
stall hosted the prestigious
book launch of Manoj
Misra, a distinguished
author, against the back-
drop of scholarly discus-
sions and interactions.
This momentous occa-
sion furthered the event's
commitment towards fos-
tering meaningful literary
dialogue and exploration.
Interactive sessions fea-
turing prominent authors
from diverse linguistic
backgrounds were held
at the main stall JKAACL,
facilitating engaging
discussions on various
with disabilities, and sani-
tation arrangements. Any
gaps or deficiencies were
identified, and corrective
measures were discussed.
The DEO assessed the
Systematic Voters' Educa-
tion and Electoral Partici-
pation (SVEEP) initiatives
and discussed ongoing
SVEEP activities, evalu-
ated their impact, and
planned additional aware-
munity service reflects
changing sentiments of
public. It's not just about
punishing people but
also about making them
to realise and do some-
thing constructive for the
community. He empha-
sised that idea is to make
them learn from their
mistakes and contribute
positively to the society.
He described the BNSS
to be aimed at providing
faster and more efficient
justice system to address
the issues of delays, huge
pendency, low conviction
rates, minimal use of tech-
nology in legal system and
inadequate use of foren-
dimensions of literature
and culture. The attend-
ees had the opportunity to
delve into the nuances of
language and storytelling,
enhancing their under-
standing of rich cultural
tapestry of Jammu and
Kashmir.
The vibrant ambi-
ence of the event was
enhanced by soul-stirring
performances at the Kavi
Sammelans, celebrat-
ing the poetic traditions
of Kashmiri and Pahadi
languages. Held at the
Main Ground Stage and
Dogri Village, these per-
ness campaigns leading up
to election day.
The logistics for poll-
ing day were meticulously
examined including the
deployment of polling
parties to their respective
polling stations, ensuring
timely receipt of election
materials, and coordina-
tion with security person-
nel.
The DEO emphasized
sics. He further lamented
that all these changes
in laws would not work
unless there was corre-
sponding upgradation in
the infrastructure.
Director, J&K Judicial
Academy, Y.P. Bourney,
presented the welcome
address and highlight-
ed the core of the pro-
gramme. He said that
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
Act, 2023 was present-
ed in the Lok Sabha on
August 11, 2023, with the
primary goal of overhaul-
ing the existing Indian
Penal Code, 1860, as well
as two other bills aimed
at replacing the Code of
formances captivated the
audiences and highlighted
the cultural richness of the
region.
In addition to literary
endeavours, the attend-
ees immersed themselves
in the world of short sto-
ries at designated parks,
where talented storytell-
ers showcased their liter-
ary prowess.
A workshop on cul-
tural journalism, hosted
at Dogra Village, aimed
at promoting the cultur-
al heritage and tourism
potential of Jammu and
Kashmir, provided par-
Lok Sabha Elections-2024
the importance of meticu-
lous planning and seam-
less execution to uphold
the integrity of the elec-
toral process. He stressed
upon strict adherence to
the guidelines of ECI and
urged all stakeholders to
work collaboratively and
ensure that every voter's
right to participate in the
democratic process is safe-
guarded.
The meeting was
attended by key stakehold-
ers involved in election
preparations, including
Deputy District Election
Officer Ganderbal, Assis-
tant Returning Officers
(AROs), Tehsildars, Nodal
Officer for Assured Mini-
mum Facilities (AMF), and
Nodal Officer for System-
atic Voters' Education and
Electoral Participation
(SVEEP).
Criminal Procedure, 1973,
and the Indian Evidence
Act, 1872.
He emphasised that
Act proposes signifi-
cant changes, including
streamlining certain IPC
provisions to reduce its
length. It also introduces
new offenses such as
hate speech and terror-
ism. Additionally, the Act
replaces the sedition with
a more stringent offence
of treason. He described
that BNS, 2023, not only
replaces the old Penal
Code but also consoli-
dates legal provisions
making the crimes against
women and children to be
ticipants with valuable
insights and perspectives.
The event also facili-
tated meaningful interac-
tions between publishers
and authors, fostering
collaboration and knowl-
edge-sharing. Innovative
initiatives spearheaded by
students, such as the pub-
lication of seven books by
MIT students at IGNCA
Park and a thought-pro-
voking talk by Hina Maha-
jan at the Main Stage,
underscored the dynamic
energy and creativity of
the youth.
Special activities and
Distt Admin organizes Voters Awareness
programmes under SVEEP at Warsun, Trehgam
refugee message bureau
KUPWARA, MARCH 30
On the directions of Dis-
trict Election Officer (DEO)
Kupwara, Ayushi Sudan,
mega Voters Awareness
programs under the
(SVEEP) initiative were
today organized at differ-
ent educational institu-
tions (venues) of the dis-
trict.
The programmes were
organized to raise aware-
ness about various vot-
ing-related activities and
promote electoral literacy
among citizens, especially
first-time voters in the run
up to the upcoming Lok
Sabha Elections.
Mega Voters Awareness
programs under the Sys-
tematic Voters’ Education
and Electoral Participation
(SVEEP) initiative were
organized by Nodal Offi-
jammu, march 31, 2024 sunday REFUGEE MESSAGE 09
more stringent for better
administration of justice.
He further added that
by pursuing these pro-
gressive legislations, we
as a nation can work
towards a criminal jus-
tice system that upholds
the rule of law, protects
human rights, and effec-
tively serves the needs of
its diverse population par-
ticularly the poor and the
marginalized.
The working sessions
on the first day were
chaired by Sakal Bhushan,
Advocate, who in his very
opening remarks, said
that he is not here only to
address the participants
but expects questions
from them regarding the
subject programme. He
gave a detailed overview
of the additions, dele-
tions, modifications and
reorganization of chap-
ters and sections under
Bharatiya Nagarik Surak-
sha Sanhita, 2023(BNSS).
The learned resource
person discussed various
newly added provisions
and those amended provi-
sions for the benefit of the
participants. All the ses-
sions remained very inter-
active during which all the
participants actively par-
ticipated and shared their
experiences, difficulties
and also discussed vari-
ous aspects of the subject
topics. They also raised a
number of queries which
were answered satisfac-
torily by the resource
person.
interactions at the IGNCA
stall, including workshops
by the National Book Trust
(NBT) and discussions
on reviving folk culture
and traditions, provided
attendees with enriching
experiences throughout
the day. Dr Rashmi Singh,
Commissioner Secretary
Hospitality and Protocol,
in an interactive session
with Professor Saham
Narayan Lal on the topic
revival of traditional folk
culture, emphasized the
importance of preserv-
ing heritage, promoting
community participation,
and fostering pride in tra-
ditional folk culture for
cultural resurgence.
The Tawi Sahitya Lok
Utsav continues to serve as
a beacon of literary excel-
lence and cultural celebra-
tion, uniting enthusiasts
and scholars in a shared
appreciation for the rich
heritage of Jammu and
Kashmir.
cer SVEEP/CEO Kupwara
at Govt. Higher Secondary
School (GHSS) Warsun,
GHSS Trehgam and GHSS
Ring Payeen (Machil),
close to LoC.
The events were attend-
ed by the principals, teach-
ers, and students from
different schools, officials
from various departments,
general public, first time
voters, community lead-
ers, local artists and other
target groups.
2 more candidates file
nomination for Jammu
Lok Sabha constituency
refugee message bureau
JAMMU, MARCH 30
Two more candidates
today filed their nomina-
tion papers from Jammu
Lok Sabha constituency
for second phase of ensu-
ing parliamentary elec-
tions scheduled to be held
in Jammu and Kashmir on
April 26.
The candidates, includ-
ing Surinder Singh as
Independent candidate
and Jugal Kishore from
Training programme on
Material Management
held at Shopian
refugee message bureau
SHOPIAN, MARCH 30
The District Election Offi-
cer (DEO) Shopian, Faz
Lul Haseeb today chaired
a training programme,
held to educate all rele-
vant staff associated with
the assignments of Mate-
rial Management, receipt
and dispatch of material
on desired SOPs on the
subject. At the outset,
DEO stressed upon all to
take maximum benefits
of the training for smooth
execution of allotted tasks
on ground. He further
EVM/ VVPAT training imparted to
Supervisors, BLOs at Handwara
refugee message bureau
KUPWARA, MARCH 30
In the run- up to the
upcoming Lok Sabha
elections- 2024, a train-
ing program for Super-
visors/ BLOs of all the
polling stations of Tehsil
Handwara was today
organised at Town Hall
Handwara.
The training was
imparted by District
Level Master Trainer,
Syed Saqib Geelani,
who provided full guid-
ance to the participants
on various facets of the
electoral process and
operations of EVM/
VVPAT. Emphasis was
Par tic ipants were
enthralled by colorful
skits presented by stu-
dents who highlighted the
importance of voting.
Scintillating cultural
performances presented
by local artists enthralled
the participants. Interac-
tive sessions designed to
educate the target groups
inspired the young voters
to actively participate in
the democratic process.
Voter Pledge ceremo-
Bharatiya Janta Party filed
their nomination papers
in the office of Returning
Officer Jammu Lok Sabha
constituency.
With filing of nomi-
nation papers by these
two candidates, the total
number of candidates
who have filed their can-
didature for 5-Jammu PC
goes to four.
The last day for filing
of nomination papers
is April 04, 2024 up to
03:00 PM.
asked them to go through
ECI guidelines regarding
their duties and responsi-
bilities during the election
period.
Training was impart-
ed by the District Level
Master Trainers who
spoke on all key aspects of
material management for
the effective and smooth
receipt and dispatch of
material for polling.
ADC, Dr. Zakir Hussain
Faaz, Dy. DEO, Jahangir,
Ahmed, Nodal officer,
material management
and dispatch and other
concerned were present.
placed on the impor-
tance of active partici-
pation and adherence to
the guidelines outlined
by the Election Commis-
sion of India to ensure
smooth and transparent
conduct of the elections.
Addressing the
trainees, the Assis-
tant Returning Officer
(ARO) Handwara-5, Aziz
Ahmad Rather stressed
upon the concerned to
ensure Assured Mini-
mum Facilities (AMFs)
at every polling station,
registrations of Migrant
Voters, strategy for their
voting and provisions
of voting for absentees
voters etc.
nies under SVEEP were
also held where partici-
pants took the pledge to
vote enthusiastically in the
upcoming Lok Sabha elec-
tions.
As a token of appre-
ciation, achiever students
were felicitated with
appreciation certifica-
tions. Plantation drive
during the events was also
organized. Mass aware-
ness regarding electoral
participation was gener-
ated through painting and
Quiz competitions.
Speaking at the events,
concerned Cluster Heads
and Resource Persons
emphasized on the signifi-
cance of electoral literacy
in empowering citizens
and urged everyone, espe-
cially first-time voters, to
exercise their franchise
responsibly in the upcom-
ing elections.
 10 REFUGEE MESSAGE
DC Kulgam chairs SVEEP: GDC Sumbal organises
monthly NCORD meeting Mehndi Art Competition
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
KULGAM, MARCH 30
The Deputy Commis-
sioner (DC) Kulgam,
Athar Aamir Khan today
chaired a meeting of the
District Level Committee
under the Narco Coordi-
nation Centre (NCORD) to
discuss various measures
aimed to curb the drug
abuse and narcotic trade
in the district, and review
the implementation of
decisions and directions
passed in previous meet-
ing. During the meeting,
a threadbare discussion
was held on various issues
pertaining to incidence of
drug addiction, areas of
concern and hotspots of
drug use, and action taken
by the concerned depart-
ments with regard to curb-
ing the menace of drugs.
The meeting was
informed that 11 panchay-
ats are declared drug free
in the district. It was also
shared that 22 Drug Ped-
dlers were arrested and
16 FIRs were registered
Training for Officers/Officials
held at Bandipora
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
BANDIPORA, MARCH 30
The District Election Office
(DEO) Bandipora on Satur-
day conducted a training
programme on election
preparedness at mini sec-
retariat Bandipora.
The training pro-
gramme was presided
over by Deputy District
Election Officer, Moham-
mad Rafeeq Bhat.
The programme aimed
to enhance the prepared-
ness for the upcom-
ing elections, ensuring
smooth conduct and inclu-
sivity.
The programme was
attended by Liaison Offi-
cers appointed with Elec-
tion Observers from the
Training for POs
commences at Kishtwar
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
KISHTWAR, MARCH 30
In run up to Lok Sabha
Elections-2024, District
Election Department
Kishtwar, in collaboration
with the RDD, today con-
ducted a daylong training
programme for Presiding
Officers (POs) as part of
the first phase of general
training.
The training pro-
gramme was presided
over by District Election
Officer, (Deputy Commis-
sioner), Dr Devansh Yadav.
Deputy District Elec-
tion Officer Idrees Lone,
besides officers and
officials of the election
department were also
present.
The training held in two
batches, was imparted to
the election staff by NLMT
ECI, Riaz Ahmed Butt and
District level master train-
ers (DLMTs) in the Con-
ference Hall of DC Office
jammu, march 31, 2024 SUNDAY
during the current month.
The DC instructed con-
cerned to convene meet-
ing of Tehsil and Gram
panchayat level commit-
tees regularly.
Moreover, stringent
measures were directed
towards ensuring zero
cultivation of illicit crops
in the district.
The Social Welfare
Department was tasked
with formulating a com-
prehensive plan for
impactful awareness pro-
grams.
Election Commission of
India (ECI), along with
office assistants.
The Deputy District
Election Officer sensitized
the participants about
their crucial roles and
duties during the elec-
toral process besides the
importance of following
established protocols to
ensure the integrity of the
electoral process.
The programme also
included discussions on
establishing model polling
stations to cater persons
with special ability.
Among others, master
trainer Ishtiyaq Samoon
and Coordinator Man-
power and training, Mir
Irfan Maqbool were also
present on the occasion.
Complex and Auditorium
Hall of GDC Kishtwar.
About 300 POs pre-
sented hands-on training
which will continue for 10
days.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, the DEO stressed on
staff to imbibe rules and
regulations in letter and
spirit and perform their
duties with utmost dedi-
cation, zeal and zest.
He also exhorted on
other stakeholders to
maintain mutual cooper-
ation and support during
the election process to
Assistant Drug Control-
ler reported on the recent
inspections of pharma-
cies, with 106 conducted
during the current month.
She was further instructed
to intensify these inspec-
tions.
The meeting was
attended by ADC, Viqar
Ahmed Giri; ACD, Syed
Naseer; ACR, Mushtaq
Ahmad; SDM Noorabad,
Bashir Ul Hassan; ACP,
Nazia Hassan and other
officers from police and
civil administration.
Poetry
recitation
programme
organised at
GDC Sumbal
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
BANDIPORA, MARCH 30
Government Degree
College (GDC) Sumbal
on Saturday organised
a poetry recitation pro-
gramme.
The programme was
organised by the Literary
Club GDC Sumbal under
the patronage of the
Principal Prof. (Dr.) Sha-
beena Iqbal Shawl and
was attended by faculty
members, participants
from GDC Bandipora,
GDC Sumbal and a large
number of students.
At the outset, the
principal laid emphasis
on the fact that students
must participate in cur-
ricular, co curricular and
extracurricular activities
for their all round devel-
opment.
The opening remarks
were presented by Dr.
Shaista Ahmad, Con-
vener Literary Club in
which she highlighted
the significant role
played by poetry in an
individual’s intellectual
and moral growth.
The poetry recitation
session was followed by
the felicitation of all the
participants.
make these elections a
grand success. Thrust was
laid on learning and fol-
lowing timeliness strictly.
Deputy District Elec-
tion Officer informed that
training programme shall
continue till all the avail-
able manpower is fully
trained.
During the programme,
Master Trainer imparted
training related to EVM
and other election related
activities, besides deliber-
ating upon duties and pre-
cautions to be observed by
Presiding officers.
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
BANDIPORA, MARCH 30
The Women Develop-
ment Cell of Government
Degree College (GDC)
Sumbal in collaboration
with Electoral Literacy
Club and NSS wing today
organized “Mehendi
Art Competition” under
SVEEP campaign to pro-
mote voter awareness.
The theme of the event
was Importance of Voting
in Democracy.
The programme con-
ducted under the patron-
age of Principal Prof. (Dr)
Shabeena Iqbal Shawl was
intended to build a truly
participatory democracy
by encouraging all eligible
citizens to vote and make
an informed decision
during the forthcoming
elections.
At the outset of the
competition Dr. Mehraj
uddin (HOD Political Sci-
ence) highlighted the
importance of voting in
democracy.
He emphasized the
significance of this civic
duty as an opportunity to
actively shape the destiny
of the nation.
On the occasion, Dr.
Lok Sabha Elections-2024: DEO Doda
reviews transport plan in district
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
DODA, MARCH 30
District Election Officer
(DEO), Doda Harvinder
Singh, today chaired a
comprehensive meeting
here in the conference
hall of the DC office com-
plex, to assess the trans-
port plan for upcoming
Lok Sabha elections.
The stakeholders,
during the meeting, pre-
sented roadmaps for
smooth movement in
view of election activities,
followed by a detailed dis-
cussion on all routes per-
taining to the event.
Adc Bhaderwah, ACR,
District Program Officer
Poshan Project, SDM
Assar, ACD, Deputy Dis-
trict Election Officer,
DC Bandipora chairs NCORD meeting
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
BANDIPORA, MARCH 30
The Deputy Commis-
sioner (DC) Bandipora,
Shakeel ul Rehman on
Saturday chaired the
NCORD (Narco Coordina-
tion) meeting at Mini Sec-
retariat, here.
The meeting discussed
various steps taken to
curb the drug menace
in the district and action
taken in freezing and
attachment of financial
assets of drug dealers and
pharmacies selling sched-
uled drugs without pre-
scription.
The DC also took feed-
back from the Excise
department regarding
measures taken against
illicit crop cultivation and
destruction.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, the DC said that
the need of the hour is
to strengthen preventive
measures, rehabilitation
services, and community
outreach initiatives to
address the root causes of
Nuzhat Gull (HOD Chem-
istry) highlighted the
importance of voting
not just as a right but as
a duty.
The competition began
with the orientation ses-
sion by Prof. Manzoor
Ahmed Parey wherein he
instructed students about
AROs, CMO, CEO, ARTO,
Tehsildars and other con-
cerned officers attended
the meeting.
The meeting discussed
various aspects related
to elections like power
supply, lighting, accom-
modation, and toilet
facilities at election sites.
Intermediate strong room
facilities and arrange-
ments for Electronic
Voting Machines (EVMs)
were also addressed,
along with plans for the
movement of polling par-
ties and voter awareness
programs during the elec-
tions.
The DEO laid empha-
sis on the proper func-
tioning of strong rooms.
The AROs were tasked to
ensure adequate facilities
substance abuse besides
providing support to
affected individuals and
families.
The DC, on the occa-
sion, asked the concerned
from the education depart-
ment to create awareness
about the ill-effects of
drugs in the schools/col-
leges to make Bandipora a
drug free district.
rules and regulations to be
followed during the com-
petition.
A number of enthu-
siastic female students
participated, showcas-
ing their artistic prowess
by adorning their hands
with intricate designs and
empowering messages.
at polling stations.
The DEO stressed on
the need to enhance voter
participation through
SVEEP campaign and
awareness programs.
Additionally, officials
were directed to conduct
cleanliness drives at poll-
ing booths to ensure their
hygiene.
Detailed planning,
including vehicle arrange-
ments for sector officers
and zonal magistrates,
was outlined through
route maps prepared by
concerned Tehsildars.
The meeting con-
cluded with directives to
maximize voter turnout
and ensure meticulous
arrangements at every
stage of the electoral pro-
cess.
He said that drive
against drug abuse and
awareness programs
must be converted to mass
mobilization, which can
be instrumental in elimi-
nating the drugs menace.
He stressed the drug
control department to
ensure that all the medical
shops and Jan Ashudi Ken-
dras have installed CCTVs
DLSA Ramban holds first
quarterly meet of UTRC
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
RAMBAN, MARCH 30
As per NALSA’s annual
calendar of activities
for the year 2024, the
District Legal Servic-
es Authority (DLSA)
Ramban, under the aegis
of J&K Legal Services
Authority, today con-
ducted the first quarter-
ly meeting of the Under
Trial Review Committee
(UTRC) at District Court
Complex here.
The meeting was
chaired by Chairman,
DLSA, (Principal Dis-
trict & Sessions Judge),
Ramban, Ranbir Singh
Jasrotia along with other
members of the UTRC.
The meeting was held
in order to expedite the
identification and review
of prisoners belonging
to district Ramban, who
are lodged in district jail
Udhampur and are eli-
OSC Ganderbal raises
awareness on Child
Related Crimes
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
GANDERBAL, MARCH 30
One Stop Centre (OSC)
Ganderbal, operating
under the auspices of She
Hope Society for Women
Entrepreneurs (SHSFWE),
Ganderbal, spearheaded a
series of awareness camps
across five Panchayats in
Ganderbal district.
These initiatives were
carried out under the
directive of the District
Development Commis-
sioner, Shyambir.
The awareness camps,
which drew the enthusi-
astic participation of Aan-
ganwadi workers, helpers,
and beneficiaries, served
as crucial platforms to
address and discuss perti-
nent issues related to child
welfare and safety.
Approximately 200 indi-
viduals actively engaged in
these sessions, showcas-
and computer bill-
ing.
The DC asked the
concerned depart-
ments to work in
coordination and
identify key areas
for intervention,
strengthen enforce-
ment measures, and
intensify commu-
nity outreach pro-
grams. He empha-
sized the prevention
of youth from drug
abuse and address-
ing the growing
concern of drug
abuse within the
society. The meet-
ing was attended by
Additional Deputy
Commissioner, Umar
Shafi Pandit; ACD Mumtaz
Ahmad Pir, CMO Dr. Rafi
Ahmad Salathi, DIO Dr.
Naseer Ahmad, ARTO
Anees Ahmad, DSWO Sahir
Ahmad, Tehsildars, BMOs,
MS District Hospital, Rep-
resentatives of Addiction
Treatment Facility, Drug
De addiction Centre and
other concerned.
news
gible to be considered
for release as well as to
accelerate the regular
functioning of the com-
mittee and review the
state of all eligible under-
trial prisoners (UTPs)
The committee
reviewed the cases of the
eligible UTPs shortlisted
by the Secretary, DLSA,
Ramban, Anjana Rajput.
The Committee took
up and discussed five
cases, however, no case
was recommended for
early release. The meet-
ing among others was
attended by Additional
Deputy Commissioner,
Varunjeet Charak, Addi-
tional Superintendent of
Police, Ramban Gourav
Mahajan, Deputy Legal
Aid Defense Coun-
sel Abdul Hamid Itoo,
and Additional Legal
Aid Defense Counsel,
Ramban Kumar Harsh-
vijay Singh.
ing a deep commitment to
understanding and com-
bating child-related crimes.
The facilitators from OSC
Ganderbal raised aware-
ness on various forms
of child-related crimes,
including child marriage,
child labour, sexual abuse,
trafficking, among others.
They elucidated how
these crimes perpetu-
ate cycles of poverty and
deprivation of fundamen-
tal rights among children.
Moreover, remedies and
interventions to tackle
these issues were shared
among the participants,
empowering them with
actionable insights.
The events were lauded
for their informative and
engaging nature, fostering
heightened awareness and
sensitivity towards safe-
guarding the rights and
well-being of children in
the community.
Traffic Police
City Jammu
bids adieu
to retiring
officials
REFUGEE MESSAGE BUREAU
JAMMU, MARCH 30
A warm farewell
was accorded to SI
Tarsem Lal and SI
Rajinder Singh of
Traffic Police city
Jammu on their
retirement.
In this connection
a farewell party was
organised at Traffic
Police office here
which was attended
by senior officers as
well as staff of the
unit.
The exemplary
work of the retir-
ees was highlighted
during the function
and warm wishes
were extended to
them for their future
life.
 NEWS
DEO Udhampur joins mega voters’
awareness programme at Basantgarh
refugee message bureau
UDHAMPUR, MARCH 30
A mega voters’ awareness
program, as part of Sys-
tematic Voters’ Education
and Electoral Participation
(SVEEP) initiative, was suc-
cessfully organized today
at Basantgarh.
District Election Officer
(DEO), Saloni Rai orches-
trated this meticulous
SVEEP plan, particularly
focusing on low voter
turnout areas.
As part of the voters’
awareness today the DEO
joined a mega awareness
programme at Basantgarh
organized by Assistant
Returning Officer (ARO)
Ramnagar Rafiq Ahmad
Jaral and SDM Basantgarh
Waheed Ur Rehman at the
local Government Higher
Secondary School, as a key
component of the SVEEP
campaign for the Lok
Sabha Election 2024.
Senior Superintendent
of Police, Joginder Singh
Sambyal also participated
in the awareness program
and inspected the vul-
nerable polling booths
amid briefing the Security
forces for the upcoming
Lok Sabha election.
While addressing the
gathering, DEO Saloni Rai
encouraged the public,
especially first-time and
female voters, to actively
participate in the upcom-
ing Lok Sabha elections,
emphasizing their cru-
cial role in strengthening
democracy. She under-
Awareness programme under
SVEEP held at GHS Moud
refugee message bureau
UDHAMPUR, MARCH 30
An awareness programme
under SVEEP was today
conducted at Government
High School Moud here on
the directions of Deputy
District Election Officer,
Udhampur, Dr. Anirudh
Rai.
During the programme,
a series of cultural activi-
ties featuring Nukkad
Nataks, Dogri songs,
dance, speech etc, were
performed by the stu-
dents of GPS Moud, GMS
Yug and GHS Moud under
the guidance of staff mem-
bers.
Closing ceremony of the International Year of Millets 2023 took
place at the FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy in a hybrid set up
refugee message bureau
new delhi, mar 30
The Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) orga-
nized closing ceremony
of the International Year
of Millets (IYM) 2023 on
29 March 2024 at the
FAO headquarters, Rome,
Italy. The high-level hybrid
event that allowed par-
ticipants to join both in-
person and virtually and
was graced by esteemed
dignitaries from various
parts of the world, includ-
ing Additional Secretary,
Department of Agriculture
and Farmers Welfare Smt.
Maninder Kaur Dwivedi
from Govt. of India.
A group of people
standing in front of a sign-
Description automatically
generated
Additional Secretary,
Smt. Maninder Kaur
Dwivedi, from Govt. of
India, underscored the
significance of India’s
scored the importance of
women’s active involve-
ment in the electoral pro-
cess for the nation’s prog-
ress.
The event featured
theme-based cultural
performances related to
SVEEP by Subash Brahma-
nu and party and Master
Tirath Ram, besides an
impressive Nukkad Natak
presented by Mohammad
Akram Khan to educate
and inspire active public
participation in the demo-
cratic process.
Speaking about the
ongoing SVEEP activities,
Dr. Anirudh Rai (DDEO)
urged the young voters
to inspire their families,
friends, relatives and
neighbours for partici-
pating in upcoming Lok
Sabha elections with
enthusiasm.
Dr. Preeti Sharma (Dis-
trict Panchayat Election
Officer) exhorted the
young voters to act as
ambassadors of democ-
racy. The programme was
attended by Anganwadi
workers, Asha workers,
BLOs of part no. 61-75,
61-76 and local residents
of panchayat Moud.
thriving Millet ecosystem
comprising various Start-
Ups, Industries, FPOs, in
increasing promotion and
adoption of millets.
Director-General, FAO,
Dr. QU Dongyu in his
opening remarks at the
official closing ceremony,
commended the interna-
tional community for their
commitment to advanc-
ing millet-related initia-
tives and emphasized the
crucial role of millets in
achieving food security
and nutrition for all.
A group of people sit-
ting in chairsDescription
automatically generated
Minister and Permanent
Representative of the Fed-
eral Republic of Nigeria to
FAO Mr. Yaya Adisa Olai-
tan Olaniran shed light on
the significance of millets
and outlined strategies
for integrating millet cul-
tivation into sustainable
agricultural practices in
Nigeria.
Similar awareness pro-
grams were conducted
at GDC Dudu, GHSS Sia
Mehari, GHSS Panara, and
other educational institu-
tions under the supervi-
sion of SDM Dudu, SDM
Basantgarh and Tehsildar
Basantgarh.
ARO Ramnagar, Rafiq
Ahmad Jaral outlined the
broad spectrum of aware-
ness being conducted
under SVEEP. He high-
lighted that every polling
station was covered with
over 50 awareness pro-
AP&FW Deptt Jammu bids
farewell to Joint Director
refugee message bureau
JAMMU, MARCH 30
Agriculture Production
and Farmers Welfare
(AP&FW) Department
Jammu today bid farewell
to Joint Director, SLUB,
Mahesh Verma who
attained age of superannu-
ation today after dedicated
service of over 30 years in
the department.
The event was held in
the Auditorium, Krishi
Bhawan here today.
Speaking on the occa-
sion, Director Agriculture
Jammu Arvinder Singh
Reen said that Mahesh
Further in the ceremo-
ny, attendees were treat-
ed to a captivating video
showcasing the diverse
range of activities and
events organized under
the International Year of
Millets 2023 across differ-
ent regions, fostering the
global reach and impact of
the initiative.
A group of people in a
conference roomDescrip-
tion automatically gener-
ated The ceremony came
to a close with the con-
cluding remarks of Deputy
Director-General FAO Ms.
grams conducted through
Nodal Officer; besides cre-
ating 158 WhatsApp groups
covering 80% voters to dis-
seminate information with
the assistance of Election
Icons, Influencers, and
prominent personalities.
Furthermore, experts
and speakers emphasized
the significance of elec-
toral literacy in empow-
ering citizens and urged
everyone, especially first-
time voters, to responsibly
exercise their franchise in
the forthcoming elections.
Verma has been an inte-
gral part of the depart-
ment and has played a
pivotal role in shaping its
success through his lead-
ership, commitment, and
unwavering dedication.
Throughout his tenure,
he has exemplified the
highest standards of pro-
fessionalism and has been
a source of inspiration for
his colleagues and peers.
The event included spe-
cial presentations, testimo-
nials, and a token of appre-
ciation to commemorate
Verma’s achievements and
mark this significant mile-
stone in his career.
Beth Bechdol expressing
gratitude to all partici-
pants for their unwaver-
ing commitment and
dedication to the success
of the International Year
of Millets 2023 and high-
lighting the importance of
sustaining momentum in
promoting millets beyond
the designated year.
Following a proposal by
India, backed by more than
70 countries, the United
Nations General Assem-
bly, at its 75th session in
March 2021, declared 2023
as the International Year
Expenditure Observer
visits Samba, chairs meet
refugee message bureau
SAMBA, MARCH 30
Expenditure Observer,
Samatha Mullamudi today
visited Samba District
Election Office and held
a meeting with members
of Expenditure Monitor-
ing team constituted for
the upcoming Lok Sabha
elections.
District Election Officer,
Abhishek Sharma gave a
PPT presentation detail-
ing the chair about steps
taken by district adminis-
tration for monitoring of
election related expendi-
tures.
The Observer urged the
officers to carry out their
responsibilities diligently
until the conclusion of
the election process. She
assured the team of her
accessibility through-
out the election period,
encouraging them to
reach out with any queries
or concerns.
Additionally, she under-
DIPR Jammu bids
affectionate farewell to Prem
Saini on superannuation
refugee message bureau
JAMMU, MARCH 30
Department of Informa-
tion and Public Rela-
tions, bid an affectionate
farewell to Prem Saini,
Field Publicity Assistant
of Joint Director Informa-
tion, Jammu who attained
the age of superannuation
today.
Saini throughout his
illustrious career has
exhibited exceptional pro-
fessionalism and unwav-
ering dedication to the
values and goals of the
department.
In this connection, a
grand farewell ceremony
of Millets. The year-long
celebration successfully
raised awareness about
the nutritional and health
benefits of millet con-
sumption, the suitability
of millets for cultivation
under adverse and chang-
ing climatic conditions,
and the benefits of creat-
ing sustainable market
opportunities for produc-
ers and consumers. The
closing ceremony served
as a forum to take stock
of the accomplishments
of, and lessons learned
from, IYM 2023 and iden-
jammu, MARCH 31, 2024 sunday REFUGEE MESSAGE
scored the importance of
working with profession-
alism, reminding the team
members significance of
their services towards the
nation and its welfare.
After the meeting, the
Expenditure Observer
inspected MCMC, Com-
plaint management Cell,
Video viewing team and
Assistant Expenditure
Observers cell estab-
lished in Conclave Hall.
She reviewed expense
records, verified expen-
diture authenticity and
stressed on adherence to
election laws by the elec-
tion office.
The Exp e n d i t u re
Observer was accompa-
nied by District Election
Officer, Samba Abhishek
Sharma, SSP Samba, Vinay
Kumar, ADDC Samba,
Champa Devi, ADC Samba
Suresh Chander, Deputy
District Election Officer
Samba, Harvinder Singh
and others district and
Sectoral officers.
was held at DIPR office
Jammu where colleagues,
friends and well-wishers
came together to honour
Prem Saini and share their
fond memories.
Joint Director Informa-
tion Jammu, Atul Gupta,
Deputy Director Informa-
tion (PR), Ankush Hans,
Deputy Director (HQ),
Varinder Gupta, Deputy
Director (AV/PR, Director-
ate), Deepak Dubay, Field
Publicity Officer, Mukesh
Kumar, Cultural Officer,
Nasir Ahmed, Youth Infor-
mation Officer, Monika
Sambyal and officials of
DIPR were present on the
occasion.
tify priorities for future
investments, particularly
to address identified con-
straints and strengthen
millets value chains.
The event showcased
a series of insightful dis-
cussions and presenta-
tions underscoring the
importance of millets
in achieving sustainable
development goals and
its emergence as ‘Global
Superfood’. Director,
ICAR-IIMR Dr. C Tara
Satyavathi shared insights
into India's R&D endeav-
ours to develop a robust
Millets value chain at a
Roundtable Discussion
on 'Research and Devel-
opment for the Millets
Sector,' a significant side
event convened as part of
#IYMClosingCeremony,
A special exhibition
featuring showcase of mil-
let-value added products
from across the world and
a live cooking were also
organized.
SVEEP team spreads electoral
awareness among Border
residents in Nowshera
refugee message bureau
NOWSHERA, MARCH 30
As part of ongoing Sys-
tematic Voters’ Educa-
tion and Electoral Par-
ticipation (SVEEP) cam-
paign, District SVEEP
Team, under supervision
of District Election Offi-
cer Rajouri, Om Parkash
Bhagat, visited forward
areas of border belt in
Nowshera to promote
electoral awareness.
The team consisting
of Prof. Manzoor Ahmed
Dar, Prof. (Dr) Khalid
Rayaz, Prof. Ajaz Nazir,
Mohammad Ayaz Raina,
lecturer, and Dr. Sajjad
Ahmed Mir, journeyed to
GMS Sarya via Jhanngar,
where they engaged with
the local staff and resi-
dents, imparting crucial
Bahujan Samaj Party Intensifies
Election Campaign for Jammu-
Reasi Lok Sabha Seat
refugee message bureau
Jammu, Mar 30
Bahujan Samaj Party has
intensified its election
campaign for the Jammu-
Reasi Lok Sabha seat to
be held on April 26. On
Saturday, Bahujan Samaj
Party organized meetings
in about half a dozen vil-
lages of Nagrota assembly
Segment and appealed to
the people to make Bahu-
jan Samaj Party candidate
Jagdish Verma successful
by casting their precious
votes. While attending a
series of public meetings
in the areas including
Nagola, Madeen ,Chalat,
Kanyala, Ponthel in
Nagrota Assembly con-
stituency. During this
meeting, Bahujan Samaj
Party's Jammu and Kash-
mir President Darshan
Rana was mainly pres-
ent, besides senior party
leaders Sardar Raja Singh,
Satpal Bavouria, Girdhari
Lal Mohan Lal and Master
Bhagat Ram and other
party leaders were also
present. Addressing the
meeting on this occasion,
State President of Bahujan
Samaj Party Darshan Rana
said that BSP is getting
full support from people
from every region, which
proves that Bahujan Samaj
Party will be successful in
Nss winter camp concludes
at Gdc Dharmari
refugee message bureau
Dharmari, Mar 30
Special Winter Camp
organized by National
Service Scheme Unit of
Government Degree Col-
lege, Dharmari concludes
here at Dharmari in which
50 NSS volunteers had
participated. The camp
was organized from 20th
March to 30th March,
2024 (except holidays) in
which various activities
like Cleanliness Drives,
Door to door Awareness
Campaigns on Electoral
Literacy, Nasha Mukht
Bharat, Environmental
Protection, Plantation,
Nutrition, Poster and
Slogan Writing Competi-
tions were organized in
the adopted village and
college premises. The
District Neighborhood
Youth Parliament was
the centre of attraction of
11
awareness about the
significance of exercis-
ing voting rights in the
upcoming election.
The residents were
encouraged to participate
actively in the electoral
process, ensuring that
every eligible voter con-
tributes to shaping the
democratic landscape.
Before the visit, the
SVEEP team held aware-
ness campaign to GMS
Makri, enlightening
households about their
voting entitlements and
stressing the importance
of maximum voter turn-
out.
The meticulous execu-
tion of these activities are
being conducted under
the vigilant supervision of
DNO SVEEP, Prof. Moham-
mad Iqbal Raina.
these elections with huge
votes. He said that all the
governments in Jammu
and Kashmir till date have
betrayed the people of
Jammu and Kashmir. He
said that the people have
already seen that there is
a difference between the
words and actions of the
governments of Congress,
BJP, National Conference
and PDP and the people
of Jammu and Kashmir
are seeing Bahujan Samaj
Party as the only option.
Rana said that Bahujan
Samaj Party has been
raising issues related to
common people with
prominence and will con-
tinue to raise themthem.
He said that only Bahujan
Samaj Party fights for the
rights of the needy and
downtrodden sections
of the society. He said
that if the Bahujan Samaj
Party candidate wins from
Jammu Reasi Lok Sabha
seat, then every possible
effort will be made to
solve the problems of the
people and people will
be given their full rights.
He told that this time the
people of Nagrota assem-
bly constituency have
made up their mind to
make the Bahujan Samaj
Party successful. Other
people were also present
during the meeting.
the camp in which more
than 350 students and
NSS volunteer’s drawn
from the various institu-
tions of the district have
participated and learned
about the working style
of Indian Parliament
which was organized in
collaboration with Nehru
Yuva Kendra, Udhampur.
Certificates were distrib-
uted to the winners of the
various competitions of
the camp. The Camp was
organized under the NSS
Special Camping Scheme
of Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Sports, Gov-
ernment of India, under
the guidance of college
Principal Prof. Dr. Preet-
pal Kour and supervision
of NSS Program Officer,
Prof. Ajay Kumar. Others
present on the conclud-
ing function includes Dr.
Safeer, Dr. Shabir, Prof.
Vishal Kumar Sharma etc.
 12 REFUGEE MESSAGE jammu, march 31, 2024 SUNDAY SPORTS

IPL 2024: Social media reacts
positively as Gambhir and Kohli
bury the hatchet with a hug
AGENCIES
Bengaluru, March 30
Ahead of the Royal Chal-
lengers Bengaluru (RCB)
and Kolkata Knight Riders
(KKR) there was a lot of
talk about the controver-
sial relations between
former India teammates
Gautam Gambhir and
Virat Kohli, which seems
to have ended when the
two hugged and made up.
Gambhir and Kohli have
shared an acrimonious
relationship following an
intense on-field alterca-
tion following a match
between RCB and the Luc-
know Super Giants (LSG)
-- Gambhir was mentoring
LSG at that time.
Before the start of Fri-
day's clash, Gambhir, who
has taken over as mentor
of the KKR team, told the
official broadcaster that
RCB is the only team he
wanted to beat every time,
even in his dreams.
"One team I wanted to
beat every time and proba-
bly even in my dreams was
RCB...The second-most
high-profile team and
flamboyant team with the
owner and with the squad;
Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli,
AB de Villiers," Gambhir
told official broadcaster
Star Sports.
However, everyone was
surprised when the official
broadcaster showed visu-
als of Gambhir and Virat
Kohli apparently burying
the hatchet and embracing
and having a brief interac-
tion during the match at
the M. Chinnaswamy Sta-
dium in Bengaluru.
Both of them were
shown interacting during
the second strategic
time-out of the Benga-
luru innings as Gambhir
hugged Kohli left the field
and had a brief cordial
interaction. Former India
allrounder Irfan Pathan
credited Gambhir for his
attempt to break the ice
while the social media too
reacted positively to the
two stars, who were part
of the Indian team that
won the 2011 World Cup
at home, burying their
controversial past.
Hockey India Annul Awards: Abhishek credits
team for his nomination in two categories
AGENCIES
New Delhi, March 30
Indian men's team for-
ward Abhishek is on a high
after being nominated for
two awards in the Hockey
India Annual 2023, which
will be presented at a
function in New Delhi on
Sunday. Abhishek, who
enjoyed a tremendous
year for his consistent
display, has been nomi-
nated in two categories
-- Hockey India Dhanraj
Pillay Award for Forward
of the Year 2023 (Men) and
Hockey India Balbir Singh
Sr. Award for Player of The
Year 2023 (Men).
This year's awards cer-
emony boasts an unprec-
edented total prize pool
of INR 7.56 crore. A total
of 32 nominations span-
ning eight categories have
clinched a spot on the
shortlist for these annual
accolades. The prestigious
awards ceremony will be
graced by Hockey leg-
ends including Olympians
Raghbir Lal, A.S. Bakshi,
Harbinder Singh, Ashok
Diwan, Zafar Iqbal, Ajit
Pal Singh, Romeo James,
Jagbir Singh, M.P. Singh,
and Vineet Kumar. Hockey
India President Dr. Dilip
Tirkey, Secretary-General
Bhola Nath Singh, and
Treasurer Sekar J. Mano-
haran will be present,
along with Hockey India
great honour for me to
be nominated this year
in two categories. I wish
to thank the Hockey India
support staff, our coaches,
and my teammates who
constantly supported me
and always advised me
whenever I was in need.
Because of their constant
backing, I gained confi-
dence and was able to
perform freely."
Abhishek, who scored
three goals in six games
at the FIH Odisha Hockey
Men's Hockey World
Executive Board Members. Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-
Other notable attendees Rourkela, continued his
include R. Vineel Krishna, form at the Hangzhou
IAS, Commissioner-cum- Asian Games, where he
Secretary DSYS, Odisha; scored nine goals in seven
Dr. Atulya Misra, IAS, games, helping his side to
Additional Chief Secretary a gold medal win. He was
to Government of Tamil also named the Player of
Nadu, and Meghanath the Match after India's
Reddy, IAS, Member Sec- thrilling 2-2 (8-7 SO) win
retary SDAT, Tamil Nadu. over Spain at the FIH
Speaking on his dual Men's Hockey Pro League
nominations, Abhishek 2023/24 last month in
said, "It is a matter of Rourkela.

Miami Open: Dimitrov overcomes Zverev, sets
up Sinner showdown, earns Top 10 return
AGENCIES
Miami, March 30
Grigor Dimitrov followed
his ruthless upset of Carlos
Alcaraz with another bril-
liant display to beat Alex-
ander Zverev on Friday at
the Miami Open and set
up a summit clash with
Italian Jannik Sinner, a
top-5 player. With his 6-4,
6-7(4), 6-4 victory, Bulgar-
ian Dimitrov advanced
to his third ATP Masters
1000 event and his first
in Miami. The result also
moved Dimitrov up to No.
9 in the ATP Live Rank-
ings, securing his return
to the Top 10 in the ATP
Rankings for the first time
since November 2018. The
gap of 260 weeks between
his Top 10 standings is the
third-longest in the history
of the rankings.
His victory set up
another clash against a
Top 5 opponent: Jannik
Sinner awaits in Sunday's
final after his 6-1, 6-2 result
against Medvedev earlier
on Friday. The Italian leads
their ATP head-to-head 2-1,
with wins in Miami and
Beijing last season.
Dimitrov earned his
20th Top-5 win by wres-
tling control away from a
surging Zverev, who was
bidding for his 11th ATP
Masters 1000 final. The
German remains in search
of his first final at that level
since Madrid in 2022, with
his most recent hard-court
Masters 1000 final coming
in Cincinnati in 2021.
"It was like a dogfight on
both ends," said Dimitrov.
"I think we really went
at each other, especially
after that first set, I felt
like he upped his game a
little bit and he was very,
very strong throughout
the whole second set and
even in the tie-break. He
was constantly putting a
lot of pressure on me.
"And then in the third
set, he had one [break]
chance. I served good and
then I stayed, and I kept
on going after my shots. I
think in the end, I played
with a little bit more
authority and was moving
the ball very well," the Bul-
garian star added.
Dimitrov converted on
both of his break points
to earn the victory, snap-
ping a seven-match losing
streak in his ATP head-
to-head against Zverev.
Now 2-7 in the series, the
Bulgarian's lone previous
victory came in their first
meeting, in Basel in 2014.
A high-quality opening set
ended when the 32-year-
old Dimitrov won four
straight points to break
from 30/0 with the help
of a brilliant shoestring
Chinese paddlers continue winning streak at WTT Champions Incheon
AGENCIES
Incheon, March 30
also advanced.
In the women's singles,
world No. 1 and top seed
volley and three untimely Chinese paddlers domi- Sun Yingsha got the better
Zverev errors. nated the WTT Champions of Swedish paddler Linda
The German regrouped Incheon as all seven play- Bergstrom 11-3, 11-3, 9-11,
in set two with a near- ers secured their places in 13-11 to cruise into the
flawless serving perfor- the quarterfinals here. quarterfinals. She will face
mance. He did not miss In the men's singles, No. 5 seed Hina Hayata
a first serve until deep world No. 3 and second- from Japan on Saturday.
in the second and made seeded Liang Jingkun Sun admitted her move-
82 percent (32/39) of his came from behind to see ment at the beginning
first serves in the set. That off Slovenian Darko Jorgic was quite good, but with
freed him up to swing out 3-1 (7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-7), the opponent's changing
in the rallies, and he never reports Xinhua. of tactics from the third
trailed in the tie-break, "I had played with which led to the loss of the win," Liang said. game, she was too hasty in
which he closed out from Darko Jorgic several times the first game. After that Third seed Ma Long got dealing with some crucial
4/1 up. before, so I prepared well I adjusted my mental- past South Korean paddler points. In the last game,
Dimitrov, who saved a for this match. I was not ity, tried to fight point by Lim Jong-hoon 3-1, while she calmed herself down
break point at 2-2 in the fully mobilized at the start, point and finally sealed top-seeded Fan Zhendong to seal the victory.
first set, again had his
back to the wall down a
break point at 1-2 in the
third. But he kept his cool
once more, working the
corners with crisp ball
striking to stay level in the
set. That escape seemed
to shift the match back in
his favour. Soon after, a
brilliant volley-winner —
in which he fell to the floor
as he contorted his body
to react to a net cord —
sealed his second break of
the match for what proved
to be a decisive 4-3 lead in
the decider.
Having previously
fallen one match short of a
return to the Top 10 in the
ATP Rankings, admitting
nerves spoiled his effort
in the Indian Wells fourth
round against Medvedev,
Dimitrov stood tall to
serve out the match with
two love holds on this
occasion.

Jason Holder signs up with Worcestershire for

first five matches of County Championship
AGENCIES
New Delhi, March 30
West Indies fast-bowling
all-rounder Jason Holder
has signed up with
Worcestershire for the
first five matches of the
upcoming County Cham-
pionship season. Holder,
a former No.1 all-rounder
in the ICC Test rankings,
will be available from
Worcestershire’s opening
County Championship fix-
ture against Warwickshire
at Edgbaston beginning
on April 5.
Holder, 32, is a recipi-
ent of the Wisden Crick-
eter of the Year in 2021
and is also available for
the home fixtures with
Durham and Somerset
at Kidderminster and the
away games with Notting-
hamshire and Kent.
He is the latest in a
group of distinguished
West Indian cricketers
to play for Worcester-
shire including Vanburn
Holder, Chris Gayle,
Andre Russell, Shan-
non Gabriel and Kemar
Roach. Holder has pro-
duced many memorable
performances including
a double century in 2019
against England at the
Kensington Oval in Bar-
bados. “I always enjoy
my time in England and
I’m looking forward to
helping Worcestershire
get off to a good start to
life in Division One of the
County Championship.
I know Worcestershire
have had strong links
with the West Indies in
terms of players playing
for them over many years
and I hope I can make my
mark over the five games.”
“When you get pro-
moted, if you can make a
decent start, it gives you
that confidence and belief
to build upon for the rest
of the season. You speak
to people on the circuit,
and they said Worcester-
shire have a tight-knit but
friendly dressing room
and I’m looking forward
to playing my part on and
off the field,” said Holder
in a statement.
The all-rounder has
captained his country
in more than 100 inter-
nationals across all for-
mats and became only
the second West Indian
player after the great Sir
Garfield Sobers to score
2,500 runs and take 150
wickets in Test cricket. He
didn’t play West Indies’
Tests against Australia
earlier this year as he
was playing ILT20 in the
UAE, after turning down
a central contract. West
Indies are scheduled to be
in England for three Tests
in July, shortly after play-
ing Men’s T20 World Cup
at home from June 1-29.