J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

8 Lashkar militants killed
Srinagar, February 21
Eight Lashkar-e-Toiba militants and a soldier were killed and a subedar injured in a fierce clash in Khanatar forests in Poonch district last evening while elsewhere in the state, an SPO was injured in militant attacks on security force pickets and posts during the past 24 hours.

Festivity missing in valley
Srinagar, February 21
Mahashivaratri, the most sacred festival of Kashmiri Pandits, commonly known here as Hehrath, was celebrated with less number of Pandits in the valley today. A majority of pilgrims from outside the valley participated in the celebrations as thousands of them paid obeisance at the Shankaracharya temple, the temple of Lord Shiva on Sulaiman Hills overlooking Dal Lake here.

Power crisis beyond Banihal to stay
Srinagar, February 21
The hopes of rich and blossoming spring that would have improved power position beyond Banihal tunnel across the valley have been shattered as it has been covered by a complete darkness by power failure under “mysterious circumstances” since Saturday last. This follows an equally angry and dry spell of winter dotted with a couple of rainfalls and snow, endangering the strength of resources of irrigation and power generation during the summer ahead.

2 jawans die in avalanche
Srinagar, February 21
Two Army personnel died after being caught in a snow avalanche in the Machil sector in Kupwara district in north Kashmir, official sources said yesterday.

8 Lashkar militants killed

Srinagar, February 21
Eight Lashkar-e-Toiba militants and a soldier were killed and a subedar injured in a fierce clash in Khanatar forests in Poonch district last evening while elsewhere in the state, an SPO was injured in militant attacks on security force pickets and posts during the past 24 hours.

The militants hurled a hand grenade followed by firing on a police post at Chogal in the frontier district of Kupwara last evening, injuring SPO Ghulam Mustafa. UNI

Festivity missing in valley
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 21
Mahashivaratri, the most sacred festival of Kashmiri Pandits, commonly known here as Hehrath, was celebrated with less number of Pandits in the valley today. A majority of pilgrims from outside the valley participated in the celebrations as thousands of them paid obeisance at the Shankaracharya temple, the temple of Lord Shiva on Sulaiman Hills overlooking Dal Lake here.

But the traditional festivity of Mahashivaratri for which the Kashmir valley is known was missing. There were no exchanges of wet walnuts on the occasion. Neither was there any heavy rush in the fish and vegetable markets on the occasion. The weather gods also played indifferent, as drizzling which is regarded as a good omen did not occur. “On the day of Shivaratri the Hindus swarm like ants up the picturesque hill, which looks over the city and Dal Lake on the one side and over the twisting course of the Jhelum on the other”, a historian has written on the occasion.

For Suneeta, a resident of Indira Nagar, it was an individual affair to offer special prayers with most of the Pandit families having left the valley. There were hardly any exchanges of festivities like the pre-militancy years, Suneeta, who is among those who stayed back, felt. Small gatherings of the community members were held at the temples of Lord Shiva in many uptown localities. For Reeta Kumari, a student of a local high school, it was not so fascinating an occasion.

Another resident of Indira Nagar, Daya Krishan, who took part in the special prayers at the local temple, was busy meeting his close neighbours and friends of different communities in the locality. Most of the Pandits residing in the area, according to him, joined their relatives outside the valley, in Jammu or still far away. “These people will be returning after a couple of days”, the elderly Daya Krishan, a teacher, said.

The main celebrations this morning at the Shankaracharya temple were held under tight security arrangements. The pilgrims, most of them top security officers and their families, and those belonging to the lower rung, had formed a beeline at the Shankaracharya temple since early morning. By noon more than 5000 pilgrims had already paid obeisance according to Mr Ramnik Singh, a police officer. The festival remains the most attended to at the temple, which is followed by the festival of Rakshabandhan.

The Shankaracharya temple is the oldest temple in the city of Srinagar, according to a British writer on Kashmir, and is located on the Takht-i-Sulaiman. Usually the pious would toil up the steep hill every Monday, according to the writer.

“The hill is a noble site for the guardian deities of Srinagar and has at various times been sacred to the Buddhists and Hindus. Its old name was Sandhimana Parvata and the common people say that though Sikandar the Iconoclast spared the temple he changed the name of the hill from Sandhiman to Sulaiman. Many of the villagers gravely assert that King Solomon once lived in the valley and that the hill was named after him,” writes the British author on Kashmir.

Power crisis beyond Banihal to stay
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 21
The hopes of rich and blossoming spring that would have improved power position beyond Banihal tunnel across the valley have been shattered as it has been covered by a complete darkness by power failure under “mysterious circumstances” since Saturday last. This follows an equally angry and dry spell of winter dotted with a couple of rainfalls and snow, endangering the strength of resources of irrigation and power generation during the summer ahead.

At present, the valley is having meagre supply of 50 MWs from its own hydel power projects including the Uri Civil, against a total demand of more than 700 MWs. Out of the total supply, only 40 MWs are being discharged from the Uri Civil Hydel Project while remaining 10 to 20 MWs are generated from other projects. The essential supplies of 30 MWs has been maintained out of the available power supply to the hospitals and VIP installations. The remaining 10 to 20 MWs are being supplied one hourly in 24 hours to the remaining consumers in the valley.

The reason, according to the state Power Minister, Mr S.S. Salathia, is that militants damaged one of transmission towers of the 220 KV transmission line linking Kishanpur to Pampore in the valley, the main supply line from the northern grid to the valley. As of now at least two weeks may be needed for the restoration of the power supply in the valley, while permanent restoration would take about two months.

This is for the second time that such a power crisis has hit the valley. The breakdown in the power supply from northern grid also took place in January last year when one of the towers was damaged in an explosion at Qazigund. The damage to the tower means breakdown of the power supply on both 220 KV Kishanpur-Pampore and 132 KV Udhampur-Srinagar transmission lines. The damage to the tower at Qazigund was followed by another explosion at a tower of 400 KV transmission line at village Kuthipora near here which resulted in disruption of power supply from the Uri Power House. The two explosions led to the dark days and nights in the valley for about two months, when the two towers were completely restored by March last year.

Over the years the valley has been facing acute power shortage particularly during the winters. This is in spite of the capacity of a generation of over 15,000 MWs from its own hydel resources. But by dint of the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan, there is no power generation from the hydel resources in the valley. The Jammu and Kashmir government has been approaching the central government for compensation on this account for the hydel resources could not be utilised to overcome its own.

There is power shortage in the valley as there is no sufficient water level in the rivers here due to the less snowfall during the winters. This year again, only three mild snowfalls have been witnessed since December last year. The valley that was known for heavy snowfall during winters has been facing dry winters over the years leading to acute power crisis in the winters.

In order to overcome the power crisis during the winter months with over 300 MWs supply from the Northern Grid, which also comes under strain due to the financial constraints by the state, the Power Development Department (PDD) has been formulating a load-shedding schedule. So far there were four different schedules formulated since October last year. By dint of the first schedule there was a daily shedding of eight hours from October 15 last year. Then the next schedule from November 25 last year the load-shedding was increased to thirteen hours daily. The last schedule was a different one with three hours power supply after every six-hourly shutdown, which increased the curtailment further to 18 hours daily. However, there was a weekly relief of six hours in two instalments introduced since the first week of this month. But, with the damage to the transmission towers at Sher Bibi near Banihal, darkness continues throughout the valley.

The cause of the damage to the transmission tower is also being doubted. While on Saturday it was announced that the power supply in the valley would remain affected due to ongoing repair work on the transmission lines. But later, it was stated that the transmission towers were damaged due to explosion caused by militants.

2 jawans die in avalanche

Srinagar, February 21
Two Army personnel died after being caught in a snow avalanche in the Machil sector in Kupwara district in north Kashmir, official sources said yesterday.

Naik Krishan Chand and Lance Naik Ganga Singh of Kumaon Regiment were buried alive in the snow avalanche while on patrol duty near the Line of Control last evening, they said adding that bodies of both soldiers were recovered yesterday. PTI