DOGRA HERALD BUREAU
SRINAGAR, Dec 4
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said the Jammu and Kashmir government should reinstate a statutory order on reservation for admission to postgraduate courses through the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
“It’s imperative that the UT government reinstates SRO 49 (2018) of the J-K Reservation Act to ensure that super-specialty medical courses remain accessible and the interests of J-K’s youth are safeguarded,” the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief said in a post on X.
Mufti was referring to an order passed in January 2018, when she was the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to SRO 49 (2108), 75 per cent of seats in postgraduate medical courses were to be filled on open merit basis, while 25 per cent of seats were reserved for various categories of underprivileged sections.
The postgraduate aspirants are alleging that the new reservation policy adopted by the lieutenant governor’s administration has brought down the open merit quota to around 30 per cent, while 70 per cent seats have been reserved, which is grossly disproportionate to the population ratio in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Having survived years of violence and protests, J-K’s youth, who comprise 65 per cent of the population, now face a new challenge in fighting for merit and justice in the admission processes. The recent NEET PG results crisis exacerbated the uncertainty, leaving their futures in limbo,” Mufti said.
Security Forces search for militants in Dachigam Forest Day after killing LeT Terrorist
SRINAGAR, Dec 4: Security forces continued their search for militants in the Dachigam forest here on Wednesday, a day after a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was killed in an encounter in the area, officials said.
According to officials, the security forces halted their search on Tuesday night but maintained a tight cordon in the area. The search for militants in the vast mountainous and forest area of Dachigam resumed in the morning, they said.
“The search operation in the upper reaches of Dachigam continued on Wednesday and the security forces are conducting extensive searches in the area,” an official said.
LeT terrorist Junaid Ahmed Bhat was killed in the encounter with security forces on Tuesday. The category “A” terrorist was involved in the October 20 attack near a tunnel construction site in the Gagangir area of Ganderbal in which a local doctor and six non-local labourers were killed.
Dachigam, a national park located in the Zabarwan range of the Himalayas, reaches the districts of Pulwama and Ganderbal on either side and covers an area of about 141 square kilometres.
