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Monday,
June 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Centre assures J&K on power
front NC leader hurt in grenade attack
Moulvi Umar Farooq
gets engaged Fest to market Kargil war sites |
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Centre assures J&K on power
front Jammu, June 17 This assurance was given by the Union Minister of State for Power, Ms Jayawanti Mehta, while laying the foundation stone of the first ever powergrid township here today. The complex is to cost Rs 15 crore. Ms Jayawanti expressed surprise that in Jammu and Kashmir the power shortage during the peak hour was 27 per cent while at the national level it was only 7 per cent. She said the Centre would have to come to the rescue of the state earlier, but lack of effective transmission lines had proved a hurdle. The minister said the successive Central governments had not paid proper attention towards the demand and availability of electricity in Jammu and Kashmir when the state had rich potential for power generation. She suggested to the state government to submit detailed reports of different projects. Ms Jayawanti complemented the powergrid for carrying 40 per cent of the electricity to different states. She said the powergrid had started diversifying its activities and had entered the telecom field by establishing a national telecom network of 13,800 km connecting 56 major cities in a phased manner. The Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta, said there was need for tapping the Chenab water. He said if proper plans were formulated more than 15,000 MW of electricity could be generated within the state. Professor Gupta expressed dismay over the inordinate delay in the completion of the Dhul Hasti power project in Kishtwar and said that had it been completed on time the state would have been spared of the current power crisis. The state Power Minister, Mr S.S. Slathia, requested the Centre to come to the rescue of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by releasing additional power from the northern grid. He said the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 with Pakistan had imposed limitations on the state government for harnessing river water for power generation and as such it needed Central assistance tackling the electricity crisis. The Chairman and the Managing Director of the Powergrid, Mr R.P. Singh, while welcoming the ministers said that the corporation had been playing a major role in the transmission of electricity from the plant to the consumers in the country. He said as a result of laying of transmission lines on a massive scale even in difficult mountain areas the corporation’s annual profit had increased to Rs 692 crore last year against Rs 236 crore in 1992-93. He said the powergrid had formulated an ambitious Rs 80,000 crore plans which would be completed within the next 11 years. |
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NC leader hurt in grenade attack
Srinagar, June 17 Unidentified militants hurled a grenade at the house of NC block president Ghulam Nabi Hakeem at Pusal village injuring him, his son and two of his personal security officers. The house was also damaged in the explosion, the spokesman said, adding that the injured had been hospitalised. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Meanwhile, the militants exchanged fire with the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police at Pakherpora in Budgam district and Khudwani in Anantnag district last night. However, there was no report of any casualty in the shootouts, the spokesman said. The security forces smashed three militant hideouts and seized 50 kg of explosives and other ammunition in the valley since last night. Troops of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, on a specific information, destroyed an abandoned militant hideout at Khrewa in Pulwama district and seized explosives along with three hand grenades and 117 rounds of AK ammunition. The SOG assisted by the CRPF and the BSF detected two militant hideouts at Darashpora in Kupwara district last night and seized three AK assault rifles and some ammunition hidden there. No one has been arrested in this connection so far. Meanwhile, in an intensified drive against the militants after the withdrawal of ceasefire on May 23, the police and security forces have gunned down 236 militants in different operations in the state. Of the killed militants, 138 fell to the bullets of the security forces in the first fortnight of June and most of them were foreign mercenaries, an official spokesman said today. He said in all 678 militants had been killed this year. In the past fortnight, out of the 138 militants, 90 were eliminated in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.
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Moulvi Umar Farooq
gets engaged Jammu, June 17 While kin of the Mirwaiz claimed that it was an arranged affair as Sheba happens to be a friend of Moulvi Farooq’s sister. Reports said it was the case of “love at first sight” when Moulvi had gone to the USA in connection with a conference organised by the Kashmir American Council. What seems to have endeared Sheba to the Moulvi was the former’s keen interest in Islamic studies. She is doing master’s degree in Islamic studies in Buffalo. Indications are that after the completion of the nikah ceremony Sheba would return to the USA as the wedding is to take place next year. |
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Fest to market Kargil war sites
Srinagar, June 17 The festival of peace in Kargil which provided an opportunity to the tourists to view the 1999 Kargil war sites — Tiger Hills, Dras, Tololing and the Makshoh Valley — took off at Goshan-Dras village situated between Tololing and Tiger Hills yesterday. The Minister of State for Tourism, Ms Sakeena Itoo, who inaugurated the festival hoped that the dialogue between Pakistan’s military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would conclude on positive line which would help boost the relations between the two countries. She said the government had accorded priority to promote tourism industry in Kargil. A large number of local men, women and children participated in the festival which is an annual feature to attract tourists to Kargil and other parts of the state. The main feature of first phase of the festival included traditional sword dance, dhani (a local dance), losar, alay yatoo, jabroo, Balti song and chakri besides horse polo match. The festival coincides with the launching of daily flight between Delhi and Leh by Jet Airways, thus bringing closer Ladakh, the cold desert of the country and a tourist’s destination to the national Capital. The highest altitude commercial airfield in the world, Leh, was linked with New Delhi by a next-generation Jet Airways Boeing 737-700 yesterday. Before this there was no regular daily flights in operation, connecting Leh with any destination. Indian Airlines has been operating two flights a week. Some years ago Modiluft Airlines had started a routine flight to Leh which was later withdrawn. The Boeing 737-700 which has been deployed on the route has been specially modified for operations to the 11,800 feet-high airfield in the Ladakh Himalayas. The airline, which now has 200 flights a day to 39 destinations, will charge one-way fare of Rs 5,580 for the business class and Rs 3,670 for the economy class between Leh and Delhi, Jet Airways said here today. Personnel of the armed forces, senior citizens and students of recognised educational institutions could avail 50 per cent discount on the basic fare, it said. A cultural troupe from Delhi and local artistes presented variety and colourful cultural programmes at Trespone and Sankoo in connection with the Kargil festival. Thousands of men, women and children witnessed the show and the artistes received applause from the audience. Trespone, a popular picnic spot, 20 km from Kargil town, is the seat of famous imambaras on hill top with a commanding view of the villages. Trespone is the only place where the tradition of making bow and arrow is still alive. Likewise, Sankoo is an upcoming township surrounded by colourful rocky mountains and numerous villages around dense plantation of poplars, willows and wild roses fill the bowl shaped valley. Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary, Mr Ashoj Jaitly, formally operationalised the Rs 1.17 crore multipurpose Air Rotary Rig in Kargil yesterday. The rig will help in augmenting drinking water supply and irrigation facilities for the people of Kargil town. It will also facilitate installation of hand pumps for the people at different places.
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Kargil gears up to fight FMD Srinagar, June 17 The deadly virus, which had wreaked havoc in Britain and other European countries recently, appeared in frontier villages in the third week of May, killing about 40 animals, officials said. They said the sudden appearance of the disease had gone unnoticed till a group of shepherds, alarmed by the deaths in Matayan, reported the matter to the civil and military authorities. A team of specialists from the Institute of Animal Health and Biological Products, Srinagar was rushed to combat the disease and take preventive measures, the officials said. Later, special teams comprising veterinarians para veterinarians and local volunteers were also fanned into Minimarg, Matayan, Pandrass, Ateth, Choski, Spangla, Mushkoh valley, Muradbeigh, Dras and other areas to contain the spread of the virus. The teams, during their visits to the villages, also arranged awareness camps to educate farmers on how to deal with the disease. Though the situation was now under control, field staff of the Animal Husbandry Department of the institute continued to be on high alert.
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