Newborns in Jammu and Kashmir are more vulnerable to death in comparison to any other state, a survey by the Census Department has cautioned.

The survey under Sample Registration System (SRS) has shown that J&K was recording the highest death rate among neonates belonging to the age group of below 29 days.

SRINAGAR: Minister for Tourism and Culture, Nawang Rigzin Jora today said that tourism potential of Dodhpathari is being explored fully by creation of tourist related infrastructure and development of scenic spots of the area. He said to upgrade infrastructure facilities at the destination the Government has submitted a project of Rs 4.91 crore to Union Ministry of Tourism for approval of funding.

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 risk of there not being enough water in the stream — the ‘hydrology risk’ — is the “single largest risk” that a small hydro project faces, says a study of the rating and analysis agency, ICRA.

The study went into the question of why small hydro projects — projects of less than 25 MW capacity — have not been happening on a scale consistent with the potential in India. It found out that after ‘hydrology risk’, the risk of ‘containment of capital cost’ was the second biggest stumbling block.

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.

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) has been given the "Powerline Award 2012" as the "Best Performing Generation Company of the Country-hydro" category. The award has been conferred based on the judgment of an eminent jury headed by former Union Power Secretary R.V.Shahi, supported by research conducted by Powerline magazine in recognition of outstanding performance of JKSPDC in the Indian Power Sector.

Process on to give jobs to members of displaced families
Jammu: After a struggle of nearly two decades, there is some good news for the displaced families of Ranjit Sagar Dam which had been left out from the employment package offered by the dam authorities, which have now initiated the process to fulfil their commitment of providing jobs to them.

With power in India shifting to the states due to an increasingly weak central government, secretary of state Hillary Clinton chose Kolkata as the first stop of her India tour to advance US foreign-policy interests. In a televised interview before meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Clinton pushed for India permitting foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and for an “amicable” water-sharing arrangement with Bangladesh on the Teesta River — issues stalled by Banerjee’s opposition.