Jammu, Aug 24: At least 45 students of the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) were evacuated to safety in a joint operation by the State Disaster Response Force and police after floodwaters submerged the ground floor of the hostel complex here on Sunday, officials said.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police deployed manpower equipped with boats to reach out the students after more than seven feet of water from the overflowing canal entered their hostel buildings this morning, the officials said.

They said the rescue operation continued for more than five hours and all the trapped students were evacuated to safety.

Director IIIM, an autonomous body under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Zabeer Ahmed said the institute has made arrangements for the safe stay of the students.

Thanking police and SDRF for their assistance in evacuating the students, he said there was no need to panic.

“We have enough alternative arrangements to provide accommodation to students,” he said, adding as the floodwaters started collecting in the ground floor, the institute mobilised all resources, including dewatering pumps for the safety of the students.

S R Choudhary, one of the students, said their colleagues putting up in the ground floor suffered losses due to the flash floods.

“My room is located on the top floor but those in the ground floor immediately shifted to upstairs, leaving behind their belongings,” he said, adding they waited for at least five hours for getting shifted out of the submerged buildings.

Meanwhile, a portion of a road adjacent to a temple near Tawi bridge caved in, while a culvert on the exit gate of Jammu bus stand also collapsed owing to the heavy rainfall.

The overflowing streams and drains aggravated the situation in low-lying areas where the flood waters entered home, damaging boundary walls at several places and dozens of vehicles.

Jammu, Aug 24: The recruitment for just 75 naib tehsildar posts has turned into a windfall for Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) which has collected over Rs 6.43 crore from aspirants in application fees, according to information obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query.

With each form priced at Rs 600 for general and Rs 500 for reserved category, the money collected shows that over one lakh aspirants had applied for the posts but the deferment of the recruitment process last month has now left these candidates in limbo, RTI activist Raman Kumar Sharma said.

“The sheer scale of the response — over one lakh candidates vying for a meagre 75 posts — speaks volumes about the deepening unemployment crisis. It reflects the desperation of educated youth who, despite degrees and qualifications, are left with few opportunities,” Sharma, who filed the RTI application, told PTI.

The JKSSB in its response to the query said that an amount of Rs 6,43,28,400 was collected as fees from the candidates for 75 posts of naib tehsildar in the revenue department on June 9.

Sharma filed the RTI application on July 21, a week after the JKSSB deferred the recruitment until further notice after the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu, stayed the ‘Urdu-only’ rule for the recruitment.

The activist had sought details about the total number of applications, category-wise, received in response to the job notification and the money collected from them.

The Public Information Officer, JKSSB, in his reply on August 2, refused to share the information about the number of applications before the culmination of the selection process, but shared the details about the total fees collected.

“For thousands of aspirants, many from financially strained backgrounds, the deferment of the recruitment process not only means the loss of hope but also the loss of hard-earned money, as there is no return policy for the deposited application fee,” Sharma said.

Shortly after the advertisement, the recruitment ran into controversy over the mandatory Urdu clause, with the BJP leading the protests, seeking revocation of the “discriminatory order” across the Jammu region – a party bastion where it had won 29 Assembly seats last year.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah defended the Urdu only clause and said there was never any intention to prevent anyone from appearing for the exam.

“Even before Independence, our revenue records were in Urdu. How will a staff member in the revenue department work if he/she does not know Urdu?” Abdullah said earlier.

He said that in the past, officers of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service and Indian Administrative Service not versed in Urdu used to be given time to learn basics.

“I do not think staff members of the revenue department who do not know Urdu can be efficient for the job,” the National Conference leader said, and advocated for the policy that grants time to the people to learn the language after appointment.

On July 14, a two-member CAT bench stayed the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Revenue (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules of 2009 that mandate graduation with knowledge of Urdu as the minimum qualification for the post of naib tehsildar.

Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, reacting to the CAT order, said, “It is deeply unfortunate that our judiciary appears to be influenced by divisive politics.”

The People’s Democratic Party president said, “Urdu, a recognised official language for decades, is now being unfairly communalised. Our revenue records and administrative work continue to be maintained in Urdu, and it is only logical that applicants for the post of naib tehsildar possess basic proficiency in the language. This requirement is rooted purely in administrative efficiency, not in any form of divisiveness.”

Jammu, Aug 23: In a major crackdown against adulterated and unsafe food, Drugs and Food Control Organization (DFCO), Jammu Saturday seized 21 quintals of suspected synthetic cheese (Paneer) and 78 tins of expired Mustard Oil from Gangyal in Jammu outskirts.

Giving a detailed account of the raid, the Commissioner, Food & Drugs Administration (FDA), J&K, Smita Sethi, who supervised the drive, said that the seizure was made during ongoing special enforcement inspection drives in compliance with directions from the government.

“Samples of the suspected synthetic paneer were also lifted on-site for laboratory analysis under FSSA norms,” she said.

According to Sethi, a team from the Drugs and Food Control Organization (DFCO), Jammu, on the basis credible inputs, conducted a major enforcement action and unearthed a massive stockpile of unsafe and adulterated food products including 21 quintals of suspected synthetic paneer emitting a foul and putrid smell and 78 tins of expired mustard oil stored in insanitary conditions at Pandita Mohalla, Gangyal, Jammu.

During the drive carried out by the Deputy Commissioner, Food Safety Jammu, Madan Mangotra and his team comprising the Food Safety officers, it was found that the food items were found to be in violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), including breaches with respect to storage under insanitary conditions, improper storage, labelling provisions and operating without a valid FSSAI license.

“The raid was carried out with active support and inputs from the SHO Satwari, officials from Jammu Municipal Corporation and GRP Railway Police, making it a successful and precise operation. This enforcement raid marks another major success in the department’s ongoing campaign to crack down on food adulteration,” Sethi said.

The Commissioner further said that such violations, often found to surge during the summer season, posing an immediate threat to public health.

She however, reaffirmed the department’s zero-tolerance policy towards food adulteration and warned all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to strictly adhere to safety norms.

Sethi revealed that the FBOs would be booked under various provisions of the FSSA for dealing in expired food items and legal action under FSS Act was initiated.

She further added that these enforcement drives would continue rigorously across the UT of Jammu and Kashmir to curb the menace of food adulteration.

However, given the significance of nature of the violations, the department has called on the general public to be vigilant and report any suspected cases of adulteration at the department’s toll-free helpline for Consumer Complaints: 104, for speedy action.

Earlier, the department had issued advisories on unpermitted colours and storage and labelling of meat and meat products, for information of the FBOs and stakeholders, the advisories also contained guidance on hygienic storage conditions, temperature control for perishables, prohibition on the use of non permitted food colours.