Govt marks another survey as consultants doubt feasibility of project. Jammu will not be supplied drinking water from the Chenab till 2025, as the government has decided to conduct another survey of the project, after consultants expressed doubts about its success. Sources said fears have been raised over the feasibility of the project after a study was conducted in 2009-10 in a bid to end the water crisis in Jammu and its surrounding districts. The project aimed at lifting 100 cusecs of water from the river to meet the future needs of the city.

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday ordered a probe following reports that as many as 358 children had died in Srinagar’s premier children’s hospital since January 2012. It admitted to 35 deaths having occurred in the last fortnight alone.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “The Cabinet (which met here Wednesday) has taken a serious note of the situation in G.B. Pant Hospital.” He said Sher-i-Kashmir Instit-ute of Medical Sciences director Showkat Zargar has been asked to review functioning and report back to the Cabinet in one week.

JAMMU: The residents of J K Colony Paloura Top near here have expressed their anguish and resentment against the PHE Department which has failed to construct a protection wall around the water reservoir in Paloura whose existence is in danger as the same is lying in a precarious condition after the digging of land and collapse of its side wall.

Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) and three public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — have entered into joint venture agreements for setting up three cross-country natural gas transmission pipelines.

According to a statement filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the GSPL-led consortium executed the agreements on April 30 for developing the pipelines of 3,995 km.

Rs 540-cr project to irrigate 1.05 lakh acres; likely to turn Jammu into foodgrain surplus region
Jammu: The ambitious Ravi Canal project, which will draw 1,150 cusecs of water from the Ravi river in Kathua district and irrigate 1.05 lakh acres of agricultural land in the state, is finally cruising towards the take-off stage. The project will not only make the Jammu region self-sufficient in food grain production but may also result in surplus productivity.

JAMMU: Keeping in pace with the technology and modern scientific wildlife management tools, the department of Wildlife Protection has introduced latest cameras to be installed in different wildlife sanctuaries in Jammu in order to conserve and protect the wild animals in a scientific method.

The Department has recently procured IR as well as flash Camera Traps for studying animal presence, conducting research in different wildlife sanctuaries and conserve the reserves including Nandini, Ramnagar, Sudhmahadev, etc.

Jammu: It seems the efforts of the government to control tuberculosis have not received much success in Jammu and Kashmir as nearly 4,000 cases have been detected in the Jammu region alone during 2010-11. As many as 26,000 people visited the Chest Disease Hospital in Jammu last year with symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis and lung cancer.

Doctors at the hospital say most of the infected people belong to the labour class and those living in dingy houses, particularly in rural and far-flung areas of the state.

PDD flayed for being slow in improving performance

JAMMU: All categories of the electricity consumers in the State will have to shell out more money as the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has approved around 6.2 per cent average hike in the existing power tariff. However, this hike is far less than that proposed by the Power Development Department (PDD) in its tariff petition.

A low-intensity earthquake measuring 4.1 on Richter Scale shook some parts of Jammu and Kashmir during the wee hours of this morning. "An earthquake of magnitude 4.1 occurred at 2:20 AM with its epicentre at India-China border in Ladakh region," a disaster management cell official said here.

The epicentre was located 209 km east of Leh town near the border between Ladakh and Xinjiang region of China. The tremor, however, was not felt in the Kashmir Valley, the official added. There were no reports of any casualties, he said.

Jammu: The state has around nine lakh registered vehicles and just 94 pollution checking centres. To add to the problem, a number of these centres are non-functional due to poor monitoring by the transport department and lack of a “proper system” to track down vehicles with high emission levels. Out of the 94 centres, only 78 (41 in the Jammu region and 37 in Kashmir division) are functional. Most of these centres lack modern gadgets, machinery and equipment or employ untrained hands to check the emission levels of vehicles.