Jammu, January 25
A few hours before the Republic Day celebrations, security forces averted a major tragedy by recovering a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the Mahore area in Reasi district.

The police and the 61 Rashtriya Rifles had launched a joint search operation two days ago in the forest area of Falsa Top in Shadole Kundala area of Reasi. A senior police officer said a hideout of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit was busted this morning, and a huge cache of arms and ammunition and utensils were seized. One magazine of AK-47, 15 rounds of AK-47, one RPG round, seven blankets, one pair of shoes, medicines and some steel utensils were seized.

Anand Jain, Reasi SSP, said the militants managed to flee, but the search operation was on to nab them. IGP, Jammu Zone, Ashok Gupta appreciated the role of the police and security forces. He said: “The police will continue such operations to frustrate the evil designs of anti-national forces in the region.”

Meanwhile, tight security arrangements have been made for the Republic Day celebrations. Raghunath Market, Bikram Chowk, Tawi Bridge, Panama Chowk, Gandhi Nagar and Talab Tillo and Amphalla were decorated with the National Flag.

A heavy posse of armed forces has been deployed outside the MA Stadium, which is the main venue for the celebrations here. Checking has been tightened in the inner as well as the outer areas of the city.

Jammu, January 25
Major-General DL Chowdhary, SM, VSM, a son of the soil, will be conferred the prestigious Ati Vishisht Seva Medal(AVSM) by President Pratibha Patil for distinguished service of an exceptional order on Republic Day.

General Chowdhary is presently serving as President, Army Standing Establishment Committee (ASEC) in New Delhi, according to a release issued by the Jammu-based Defence PRO.

General Chowdhary was commissioned in the JAT Regiment in 1973. In a career spanning 36 years he has held various staff and command appointments, including a Colonel General Staff in an infantry division and the command of an infantry division. He is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

He has already been bestowed with the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal.

General Chowdhary had commanded the Jammu-based Tiger Division during the trying conditions of the Amarnath land agitation. He is not only popular in Jammu but also fondly remembered by the locals of Kalakote where he had commanded an infantry brigade.

Jammu, January 25
Asserting that country’s liberal democratic process provides ample space for divergent thoughts and opinions, Governor NN Vohra said today that conciliation and dialogue were the best means to resolve all issues.

Greeting people on the eve of Republic Day, the Governor urged all those elements who have not so far inclined to pursue the democratic path for the resolution of their demands, to seriously reflect on the untold losses suffered by people in the past few years and recognise the futility of continuing on the path of confrontation.

He said: “We must bring this unfortunate phase of agitations and confrontations to an end.” He said all those who hold contrary beliefs should come forward to participate in a meaningful dialogue.

Observing that the people of the state are rightly proud of their centuries-old pluralistic ethos and invaluable traditions of communal harmony and brotherhood, Vohra emphasised that there was an urgent need for re-invigorating and strengthening these bonds to foil the nefarious designs of elements inimical to the unity and integrity of the state.

He said the three regions of the state comprise one organic whole and the surest path to grow and prosper would be for each of the three regions to develop and prosper in complete harmony with each other.

Towards this objective, the government would need to ensure that the present and future developmental strategies harmonise with the urges and aspirations of the people, he added.

He said while devoting high priority to enhancing economic growth, the government would need to ensure equitable distribution, particularly addressing inter-regional and intra-regional concerns to secure balanced development of all parts of the state.

He said special attention must also be given to meet the pressing needs of people residing in the remote, far-flung and backward areas, and speeding up the pace of identified projects which are aimed to serve the interests of Gujjars, Bakarwals, Pahari-speaking people, members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other minority groups and a suitable environment would need to be created to enable the return of the Kashmiri Pandit migrants.

Jammu, January 25
Dogri poet and writer Dr Jitender Udhampuri who has been selected for the Padma Shri has fulfilled the dream of his late mother, Krishna Devi, who wanted her son to become a man of letters.

Being a cancer patient, she lost the battle for life when he was just 15. He braved all the challenges and completed honours in Hindi, Urdu and English and went on to do post-graduation in all the three languages, education and mass communication. Eventually, he did PhD on development in Dogri drama.

He could not remain a regular student at any institute due to financial constraints. He completed education while doing different jobs.

“This morning I got a phone call from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that I have been selected for the award. This is an honour for all the Dogri-speaking people and I attribute it to my mother,” he stated, and added, “She never wanted me to be a doctor or engineer. She wanted me to be a literary personality.Today, I have fulfilled her dream.”

Commenting upon the present status of Dogri, Dr Udhampuri said he did not feel any threat to the language as it had the adaptability with changing times by keeping its originality intact.

He, however, demanded that there was a strong need for introducing Dogri at the school level and appointing lecturers in the other educational institutions where it was being introduced as a subject.

He also appealed to the literary organisations working for promotion of Dogri to work in sync with each other.

Dr Udhampuri retired as Director of the All- India Radio and has authored 25 books in Dogri. A large part of his literary work has been translated into several other languages.

He is considered a trendsetter in modern Dogri poetry and has introduced several innovative themes and new styles. In 1981, he was felicitated with the Sahitya Akademi award and in 1991 he won the national award in Hindi literature.

A four times recipient of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages award, he has to his credit others recognitions like Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti Samman, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, American Medal Honour and state award in 2005.

Jammu, January 25
The Nirbhow Nirvair Organisation today criticised the traffic police for poor traffic management.

Addressing a press conference here today, president of the organisation Harjeet Singh said: “Matador operators hardly care for traffic and road safety norms. It clearly shows that they (traffic police) get kickback from matador operators for giving them a free hand.”

“Instead of boarding and de-boarding passengers at the demarcated spots along the routes, they run vehicles as per their own whims and fancies,” he said. “The matador operators frequently indulge into rash driving, causing frequent accidents,” he added.

“The matadors operators run their vehicles beyond the prescribed sitting capacity. However, traffic cops are bothered to check this illegal practice,” he further alleged.

“Despite proper norms formulated by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), drivers and helpers are not donning uniforms,” he stated and alleged that the events like ‘traffic week’ were just eyewash.

“We want to bring it into the notice of the authorities concerned that the traffic police is compromising with its duties by blatantly ignoring the problems and repeated complaints of the aggrieved passengers for their vested interests,” he said.

Srinagar, January 25
Strict vigil with frequent checking and frisking by security forces over the past few days has led to little transport and scanty pedestrian traffic along the roads in the summer capital today, ahead of the Republic Day celebrations.

The police and security agencies in the state are on high alert to thwart any designs of militants to create trouble on the occasion, while separatists have called for a general strike tomorrow. After a prolonged lull, at least six encounters between militants and the security forces took place across the Kashmir valley this month, including the Lal Chowk encounter on January 6.

A complete security ring has been thrown around the Bakshi Stadium, venue of main Republic Day function here, while the main function of the state is being held in the winter capital, Jammu. Tight security arrangements have also been made around other vital installations here and at the district headquarters across the valley.

Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather will be hoisting the National Flag at the Bakshi Stadium here tomorrow.

The two roads around the Bakshi Stadium, shooting off from the airport road and leading to Wazir Bagh and Jawahar Nagar, have been sealed off for vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic.

“The road (towards Jawahar Nagar) has been closed for the past two days,” a cop on duty said. Only those living in the area and emergency cases were allowed, he added.

The road also leads to the high security Tulsi Bagh, where a number of senior politicians, ministers, legislators and senior officers are residing in government houses.

“This is a cumbersome process and it is very difficult to come out for any work in any office or market place”, Gulzar Ahmad, who was subjected to repeated checks while travelling from Sanat Nagar to Lal Chowk this morning, said.

Most of the residents preferred to remain indoors to avoid frequent checking and frisking throughout, as the main roads and market places wore deserted look today.

All arrangements are in place at other district headquarters of the valley.

Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar would be hoisting the Tricolour at Ganderbal.

Jammu, January 25
To educate students about disaster management, the Civil Defence Organisation organised an awareness programme on the premises of a private college at Udhampur yesterday. SSP Surinder Gupta was the chief guest .

The experts explained the various safety measures to be adopted during any man-made or natural disasters and gave a practical demonstration related to rescue operation in case of a calamity.

The participants were also made aware about the safe driving, right way of using parking zones, zebra crossing, traffic signals. The chief guest lauded the efforts of the Civil Defence Organisation in spreading awareness among the students and staff of the institution on various issues.

He added students could play a vital role in spreading awareness about disaster management. He said holding of such programmes, especially in educational institutions like BEd colleges, would go a long way in educating the public about the disaster management through active participation of the student community. He assured full cooperation to the organisation from the police.

Appreciating the role of civil defence, the chairman of the college said the organisation was putting up its sensor efforts in both urban and rural areas of Udhampur for generating awareness about disaster management.

Deputy Controller, Civil Defence, Udhampur, Bodh Raj; Chief Warden, Civil Defence, Surinder Khajuria; Deputy Chief Warden Vaid Parkash; volunteers and others were also present.

Srinagar, January 25
Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir Range, Abdul Qayoom Manhas has been awarded the President’s Police Medal for distinguished services this year.

Manhas was inducted in the Indian Police Service in 1994 and had received the DGP Police Commendation Medal (1996), state’s Silver Medal (1997), Wound Medal (1999), Police Medal for Meritorious Services (2000) and the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Medal for Meritorious Services (2006), a police spokesperson here said.

He has served at important posts like DIG, CID, in 2007 and DIG Jammu-Kathua Range in 2008. Also, he has held many other vital posts like AIGP PHQ, SSP CID Headquarters, SSP Security J&K, SSP Baramulla, SSP Anantnag, SP Ops Kupwara, etc. His assignment as SSP CID Headquarters was pivotal in the framing of SB manual. As SSP Security, he contributed a lot in the revision of Blue Book which was lauded by senior officers. His contribution was also appreciated during his unrelenting exercise of the smooth conduct and opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road as SSP Security.

He was promoted to the rank of DIG, Police, in 2007 and was posted at CID Hqrs followed by the posting of DIG Jammu-Kathua range where he had to face a stupendous task of dealing with law and order during the Amarnath land row.

His professional acumen was lauded by all the senior officers, including many political parties, as well. His zeal for professional excellence led to the smooth and transparent conduct of the state Assembly elections 2008 followed by the Parliamentary elections.

Jammu, January 25
The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) today turned down the demand of mobile service providers that re-verification of Customers’ Application Forms (CAFs) of pre-paid moblile customers in the state be permitted at the level of retailers.

“Now retailers can only do re-charge and top up of such pre-paid connections,” Deputy Director of the DoT Term Cell Jammu and Kashmir DR Paul said.

The ban was enforced because there had been a lot of violations at the retailers’ level in verifying the customers’ credentials and, hence, we decided that no verification job would be performed at their level, he said.

He added that from now onwards direct outlets of cellphone companies or their franchisees would perform the verifications of CAFs.

Chief Operating Officers of seven cellphone companies, who had met Paul, had raised the demand of allowing collection, re-verification and issuance of pre-paid mobile connections to subscribers in the state.

“We even made it clear that the retailers cannot do any such activity,” Paul said. Because of the faulty system in place, the pre-paid connections were misused by militants in the past in the state and posed a threat to the security.

Srinagar, January 25
Even as the controversy over the melting of Himalayan glaciers is far from over, the Kashmir valley, which is famous for its beautiful mountains and lush green meadows, will soon lose its charm.

The impact of global warming is clearly visible in the valley as during this winter it has been devoid of snowfall. Moreover, there is a steep shift in the temperature across the valley, which is 10 degrees above normal.

The famous hill resort of Gulmarg, which every year during the winter used to attract flocks of tourists, also wears a deserted look as the resort this year has witnessed scant snowfall.

People associated with the tourism industry are also feeling the heat as they say that it has happened for the first time in the past 23 years that the hill resort has witnessed almost no snowfall.

“For the past many decades I am associated with tourism. First it was in 1987 when there was almost no snowfall here, and now after 23 years the situation is same,” Abdul Aziz, hotelier in Gulmarg, said.

The sledge pullers who used to earn their livelihood by giving tourists a ride on snow also feel the heat as they say that their business is almost finished this year. “Our livelihood is dependent on snow, but due to non-availability of snow, a large of sledge pullers like me have no business this year,” Manzoor Ahmed, sledge puller in Gulmarg, said.

Not only in Gulmarg, but the scant snowfall in the valley has also affected the topography of the area as many places, which otherwise used to remain cut off from the mainland due to heavy snowfall, are connected with the valley.

Experts say that snowfall is essential for the very survival of the valley as most of the water resources there are snow-fed and if there is no snowfall, it could lead to famine-like situation in the valley. “No snowfall means no water, as a majority of rivers are snow fed. Even the Jehlum river, which is fed from a glacier, also needs snowfall to maintain continuous supply of water,” an officer of the state MET Department said. He said the shift in the temperature was also worrisome.