SRINAGAR: The Amar Singh College Authorities today clarified that recently tree auction was conducted by the Forest Development Corporation within the College premises and consequent upon that cutting of Willow/ Robina and Poplar trees was done under due process of law.

The clarification was issued after the College Authorities faced severe criticism on the issue with several people expressing their concern regarding the felling of green avenue of college on social media. Due to this, the college administration came across lot of lapses and misinformation circulating on the social media regarding the issue.

 Divulging the details, it was given out that during 2014 floods in Kashmir the institution remained immersed in water for a long duration of time. The deluge not only damaged the infrastructure but also weekend the trees severally. The trees started uprooting in minor windstorms and causing damage to the surrounding structures and began to pose grave safety concern for the students, visitors and staff.

Several grievances regarding safety and health concerns were received by the college administration during this period and are well documented in the college records. These complaints underscored the urgent need for then administration to address the safety challenges posed by the poplar trees. The matter was taken up with Social Forestry Department in 2018-19 by then college authorities and the trees were numbered by the concerned department and put to auction by the J&K State Forest Corporation vide an Open Auction Notice No. 499-510/CGM/N/SFC/S, Dated: 29/05/2019.

This notice issued by General Manager North J&K Forest Corporation sought bids for the cutting of 202 poplar trees within the campus. The notice listed 15 locations for auction and Amar Singh College figured as 10th location in said open auction bid list.

The bidding process was hampered due to lockdown and subsequent restrictions during Covid-19 Pandemic. With the postponement of the process, the aged and weakened trees within the Amar Singh College campus continued to pose grave safety threats. Over the last few years, the campus witnessed a number of instances where trees got uprooted, highlighting the persistent danger they posed to the safety and well-being of the college community.

The community members living in the vicinity of college complained a number of times about the potential threat caused by these aged trees and also represented their grievances before the district administration. The college also received the communication from Nodal officer Grievance cell under the reference no: DCS/SDM/GRIEV/19/1259-62, dated: 10-05-2019, asking the college administration to take cognizance of  a grievance on LG Grievance portal regarding the health-related problems caused by the pollen seeds from the poplars.

 Also, there were specific instances with in the college where the big trees fell in the campus during wind storms, fortunately after office hours, which contained the extent of damage.

Typically, a poplar tree has a life span of around 50 years the poplars on the avenue had already crossed the 60 years as the trees were planted in 1965.

These factors forced the institution to take this extraordinary measure. However, it is pertinent to mention that the second line of plants had already been planted in time from the main gate to the Heritage Building in tree guards installed by social forestry department in 2018-19. The initiative was taken to compensate for the felled trees; indicative of imminent cutting  of  poplars on the avenue during the period they were  put to auction by Forest Development Corporation in 2019.

'We deeply appreciate the concerns expressed by civil society regarding the campus. We want to reassure everyone that we are fully committed to creating a green, sustainable, and safe environment for our students. The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and visitors are our top priorities" read the official statement.

Amar Singh College is renowned for its rich trees and plantations across its campus. Particularly, the area around the New Block to the Geology department consists of a rich diversity of trees and plants.

"In line with our commitment to increase green cover in campus we have already notified a massive plantation drive of 500 conifer and other trees in the month of April. The college is establishing a micro forest-clusters, within its campus to serve as vital "aeration lungs," contributing to improved air quality and environmental health on campus", the statement further read.

Since student safety is of paramount importance, the difficult decision to remove these aged trees was made. This action not only safeguards the students, but also protects property around the campus.

It is imperative to emphasize that the Amar Singh College administration remains deeply committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its students, faculty, and visitors. We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of all stakeholders during this process.

"We   are   committed to preserve the legacy of Amar Singh College and substantial measures in that direction have been undertaken. The construction of a see-through gate is underway to offer public the unobstructed view of the heritage building, along with this enhancement we are integrating a modern state of the art fountain to augment aesthetic appeal of the institution to create a welcoming atmosphere for visitors", the statement also mentioned.(GNS)

SRINAGAR: The government has announced that the students, who could not appear in the recently held Common University Entrance Test (CUET) 2023 due to allotment of examination centres in distant towns and cities, shall be given an opportunity to take admission in subjects and colleges of their choice.

Principal Secretary, Education, Alok Kumar, while conveying this information, said that the CUET, as per the NEP 2020, is a standardized entrance test conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) that aims to streamline the admission process for undergraduate and postgraduate courses being offered by Universities across the country. This test will assess the knowledge, aptitude and skills of the applicants, providing a fair and equitable evaluation platform for all the candidates. Last year, more than 200 universities (including 47 central universities) participated in the CUET.

The process will give an opportunity to the students from J&K to take admission in prestigious Universities and Colleges of the country. The Higher Education Department of J&K has taken strenuous efforts for implementation of Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for the academic session 2023, following the guidelines outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and Government’s commitment to inclusivity. A total of 87309 (Eighty-seven thousand three hundred nine) unique candidates have been registered from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir for the CUET (UG) 2023. The examination centres were randomly allocated based on availability of requisite infrastructure within the geographical boundaries of J&K and the exam dates were announced by the National Testing Agency. However, some students were allotted centres outside the UT of J&K.

Taking cognizance of the peculiar situation and resentment against the same at the time of scheduled G-20 event in Kashmir after the intervention of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, NTA deferred the CUET (UG) examination for the students of J&K and implemented a centre reallocation process exclusively for J&K students and issued new dates for conducting the examination. Further, in order to save the travel and logistical challenges faced by students while appearing for CUET (UG) 2023 in the examination centres located outside the UT of J&K, the department augmented the requisite infrastructure in the shortest possible time. After a thorough examination, it has come to the notice of the department that some students from Jammu division,  after reallocation of centres were still allotted centres outside the UT of J&K and had discrepancies in the examination dates in certain subject combinations.

Allaying the fears of students community in this regard,  Principal Secretary HED assured that sufficient opportunity would be given to such candidates for admission in the under graduate programmes in various Degree Colleges of the UT based on their merit in the 12th class examination. (GNS)

RINAGAR: Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch Kashmir produced the Chargesheet before the Court of Passenger Tax Srinagar against the two accused running an unregistered International College of Aviation at Barazulla, officials said.

The accused Nazir Ahmad Wani a resident of Tragpora Baramulla, presently staying at Gazali Abad H.M.T, Shala Teng Ghat, Srinagar and Shubnam Fayaz of Ompora Budgam has been booked in the case FIR No.26/2018 U/S 420, 120-B RPC of P/S Crime Branch Kashmir (Now Economic Offences Wing Srinagar).

The instant case had been registered upon a written communication received from the CM’s grievance cell followed by another communication received from the Civil Aviation Department J&K Government, wherein it is alleged that students paid a huge amount for pursuing the Aviation and Hospitality course offered by International College of Aviation Baghat Barzulla, Srinagar which however, is not recognized nor registered, a statement EOW said.

During the course of investigation, it came to fore that the proprietor International College of Aviation has established the said college at his own level without seeking registration from the regulatory authorities of the Government of India.

It also transpired that the proprietor pasted different logos on the course certificates and cheated the innocent students by luring them with tall promises of a bright future and job security etc.

Further, the proprietor who was also the Managing Director of the college lured the gullible aspirants under the garb of imparting six months and one-year course thereby extracting huge amounts from the students deceitfully, dishonestly and fraudulently and causing wrongful loss to the students (complainants), the statement added. (UNI)