(REOPENS NRG 28)

PDP Jammu: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today appointed Sameer Koul as the chairman of a high-level steering committee of Kashmiri Pandits. The committee aims to educate the community about programmes and policies of PDP and increase its acceptance among all sections of the society. "PDP was committed for the honourable return of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits to their native places," Koul said after being appointment as Chairman of the Committee. ___________________________ JDU Jammu: Lashing out at the NC-led coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir for its failure to provide good governance, the state-unit of Janta Dal (United) today demanded Centre to probe mis-utilisation of funds in three regions of the state. "We urge Central Government to probe as to where the funds from Centre have been utilized in three regions of the State," JD(U) J&K unit chief Ghulam Qadir Wani told reporters here today. The Centre must hold members of the ruling parties and government functionaries accountable for mismanagement and misuse of central funds in the state, Wani said at a function here. ____________________________ FORUM Jammu: Citizens Forum here has demanded extension in the term of N N Vohra whose stint as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir expires on June 21. Lauding the role played by Vohra during his five year tenure as the Governor and Ex-Officio Chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, the Forum appealed to The President of India and the Union Home Minister to offer him one more term at the helm. "Vohra assumed gubernatorial assignment in J&K at a most crucial stage, in 2008, when there was high ranging controversy our Shri Amarnath yatra in Kashmir with sharp regional divide between Jammu and Kashmir, threatening peace in the state. But Vohra as Governor of the State and Chairman of SASB handle the situation very tactfully, defusing the tension," the Forum, headed by R K Chadha, said during a meeting today.