Jams at Lakhanpur toll plaza to go

Jams at Lakhanpur toll plaza to go
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 19
The problem to wait for hours in traffic jam at Lakhanpur Toll Plaza - the gateway of Jammu and Kashmir - is about to get solved as the construction work of the new toll plaza is almost 90 per cent complete. The modern toll plaza, which came up with the cost of over Rs 32 crore, will have nine computerised weigh bridges.

Lakhanpur, which shares its border with the neighbouring state of Punjab, is the main entry point for surface transport and all commercial or private vehicles entering or leaving the state. for the convince of the commuters, the government has created parking lots for 240 trucks, shelter sheds for drivers, recreational building, animal husbandry complex, banking facilities, canteens, sanitation blocks and power and water supply installations there.

The new toll plaza is spread on an area of 156 kanals and another 108 kanals will be obtained from the railways.

A senior official of the Finance Department said out of the estimated cost of Rs 32.20 crore, Rs 28.48 crore has been spent so far.

Revenue realisation at Lakhanpur toll during 2010-11 has been Rs 249.82 crore as compared to Rs 208.92 crore during 2009-10, thus, showing a growth of 19.58 per cent. Even the taxable imports were recorded at Rs 25,125 crore in 2010-11 and exports during this period were Rs 13,777 crore.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had recently visited Lakhanpur to inspect the construction work of the new toll plaza and told the officials concerned to complete it at the earliest.

Postponement of ETT Exams: Omar urged to look into functioning of education board

Postponement of ETT Exams
Omar urged to look into functioning of education board
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 19
The postponement of the first year examinations of the Elementary Teachers Training (ETT) course by the J&K State Board of School Education seems to have landed the board officials in soup, as various students’ organisations and bodies of private ETT institutes have opened a front against the alleged bungling and nepotism in the functioning of the board.

These associations have asked the board authorities to immediately change joint secretary of the board Sheikh Bashir Ahmed and appoint a suitable person as the chairman of the board, as the post has been lying vacant for the last six months. To prove their charge about bungling in the board, the organisations have also produced some documents as “authentic” evidences.

These associations comprising the Jammu Private Schools and ETT Institutes Association, the National Secular Forum (NSF) and the Jammu Youth Forum (JYF) have alleged that the examinations were delayed to adjust the students of some private institutes.

Showing a document, Deep Singh, president of the Jammu Private Schools and ETT Institutes Association, said, “At a meeting between the Education Minister, the then Chairman of the school education board and the Secretary of the board in 2009, it was decided that the ETT first year exams would be held in October 2010, which were delayed without any reason and had not been conducted as yet”.

He added that, “It was also decided that no new institution would be given permission to enrol students before the completion of the academic session. Still the board officials violated the norm and allowed nearly 6,000 more students of some private colleges to appear in the ETT exams and that too a few days before the start of the exams”.

Deep Singh said it was also decided at the meeting that the admission process would be centralised without involving agents, but nothing had been done so far. “If the education board or the state government does not take any action in this regard within one week, we will go on a relay fast outside Raj Bhawan from April 25,” he added.

Similarly, the NSF has appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to look into the functioning of the education board and also burnt the effigy of Sheikh Bashir at the University of Jammu here today. “The board officials have brought a bad name to the state, as most of the ETT students belong to other states and the education board has delayed the exams without giving any reason. A large number of ETT institutes are functioning illegally in the state and are fleecing innocent students. This will not be tolerated anymore,” said Vikas Sharma, state president of the NSF.