The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	State falls short of 5,600 MUs of power a year Harnesses only 15 per cent of its hydel potential Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, May 7 Water-abundant Jammu and Kashmir is currently facing a shortfall of 5,600 million units (MUs) of power per year, courtesy the failure of successive regimes to “adequately” exploit the hydel potential of the state. As the summer approaches, residents especially in 10 districts of the Jammu region are set to face unscheduled and long power cuts coming. Sources said the present energy requirement of the state was 17,842.69 MUs. “There is a gap of 5,608 MUs between the demand and supply of power. Energy production within the state is mere 2468.29 MUs, while the energy bought from outside the state is 9666.76 MUs,” a source said. Quoting the 18th Electric Power Survey report published by the union Ministry of Power, sources said the state would have a peak load of 4,217 Mega Watt (MW) in 2021-22 with an energy requirement of 21,884 MUs. “The hydel generation capacity in the state is 2457.96 MW comprising 760 MW in the state sector, 1,680 MW in the Central Sector and 17.5 MW in the private sector. The power generation capacity, which has registered an increase of 180 per cent from the 8th Plan to the end of the 11th plan, has not been commensurate with the exponential increase in demand in the state,” the source said. Sources said the estimated hydro power potential of the state was 20,000 MW, out of which 16,475 MW (11,283 MW of Chenab River, 3,084 of Jehlum River, 1,608 of Indus River and 500 MW of Ravi River) has been identified. “Owing to financial and human resources constraints, the state has not been able to fully exploit its hydel potential thus far. Till date, the potential harnessed is 2,457 MW which is 15 per cent of its potential. To increase the capacity of hydel generation in the state, the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) has approved a roadmap for systematic capacity addition and implementation of 58 projects with a capacity of 9,037 MW in the 12th and 13th Plan periods. These include 14 projects in the state sector with capacity of 6130 MW,” sources add. A senior PDD officer said there was need to expedite the process to harness water resources of the state to generate power to meet the future demand for electricity. Minister of State for Power Vikar Rasool said the state government had requested the Centre to extend financial assistance to the state vis-à-vis harnessing the rich hydel potential. “I have also taken up the matter vis-à-vis shortage of power with the Chief Minister, who holds the charge of Power Development Department, who has assured of a comprehensive plan to deal with the situation especially in the summer season,” the Minister of State for Power said.
	Security restrictions hamper seasonal migration of tribals Ranjit Thakur Rajouri, May 7 Many members of the Gujjar and Bakerwal tribal communities have given up their bi-annual seasonal migration to the upper reaches of Shivalik Peer Pnachal and Trikuta Hills owing to the restrictions imposed by the security forces. Though the bi-annual seasonal migration of Gujjars and Bakarwals to the upper reaches of Shivalik Peer Pnachal and Trikuta Hills started as per schedule in April, but many of them have given up this traditional migration for security reasons, which has made their lives very difficult. The restrictions are thus affecting the tradition, culture and economy of these tribes. The migratory tribes are deprived of their logistics in the upper riches in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region. Some of the Gujjars and Bakarwals are forced to work as labourers. Dr Javaid Rahi, Secretary of the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, an organisation working for the Gujjars, has called upon various organisations working for the tribals in the state to mobilise resources to provide necessary logistics to migratory tribes. Dr Javaid Rahi said, “In 1990’s, when militancy was at peak and ongoing firing between Indo-Pak border forced the armed forces to impose restrictions on the entry of Gujjars and Bakerwals in few pastures near the border in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu, Kathua, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Jammu, Kargil and Leh districts.” He said since 2003 when the ceasefire come into force between India and Pakistan, tension had been reduced and it was the right time to allow these tribals to move freely in the restricted traditional areas of the state, to let them carry on with their traditional way of living. “We have written to the Defence Minister and the Northern Command to allow free movement of these tribals on their traditional routes, but we haven’t received any positive response till now,” Dr Javaid Rahi added.
	Army searches for militants in Kupwara forests Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 7 The Army is carrying out massive searches in the dense forests of Kupwara close to the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir to zero in on a group of militants who are believed to have infiltrated a few days ago. The search operation was launched in the forests of Bodnambal, Chowkibal Kupwara in the morning hours but so far no contact has been established with the militants. Army sources said troopers have also been airlifted to Bodnambal, Chowkibal to ensure that the militants don’t escape the cordon. “We received information this morning about the presence of militants in the dense forests of Bodnambal. Immediately troops from the 68 Mountain Brigade were mobilised and a massive search operation was launched. However, so far there has been no contact with the militants,” a senior Army officer said in Srinagar. Sources said troops of 268 Brigade have also been involved in the operation to carry out the searches in the vast forest area. Helicopters are continuously flying above the forest and are being used to track the militants. “The search operation is continuing and we suspect that the group of militants trapped inside the forests has infiltrated through Karnah sector and were on way to the upper reaches of Kupwara before heading towards various parts of the Valley,” sources said. The Army officers, however, said they could not say whether the infiltration was new or the group of militants was active in the area. “We are trying to ascertain whether they (militants) had infiltrated few days ago or they were already active in the area,” the Army officer said. DIG North Kashmir, JP Singh, said the operation was still going on and militants had infiltrated recently. “The group of militants had sneaked into the Valley recently,” Singh said. With the melting of snow from mountains and passes, the Army which guards the LoC apprehends more infiltration attempts in the coming months. The LoC is fenced with barbed wire and sophisticated equipment like UAVs, high-power cameras, thermal-sensing cameras and long-range observation system. A large portion of the LoC fence is damaged during the winter months due to heavy snowfall,” he said. More infiltration likely With the melting of snow from mountains and passes, the Army which guards the LoC apprehends more infiltration attempts in the coming months. The LoC is fenced with barbed wire and sophisticated equipment like UAVs, high-power cameras, thermal-sensing cameras and long-range observation system. A large portion of the LoC fence is damaged during the winter months due to heavy snowfall.
	Kashmir’s armed conflict taking a toll on mental health of people: Study Post-1990 generation to remain sick for life Azhar Qadri/TNS Srinagar, May 7 The most serious fallout of militancy in the Valley is the impact it has had on the mental health of the people. Two detailed reports have found that half of the population here is depressed while those born after the eruption of militancy are likely to remain sick throughout their life. A study by two Kashmiri doctors titled ‘Life in conflict: Characteristic of depression in Kashmir’ has found a “phenomenal increase” in psychiatric morbidity due to continuing conflict in the region. The study concludes that more than half of the population is suffering from mental illnesses-most of them from conflict-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. “The results reveal that the prevalence of depression is 55.72 per cent,” the report, which studied 2,728 cases representing a cross-section of general population over a period of two years, states. The study states the situation in Kashmir could be described as a “low-intensity conflict” where a “vicious circle of events” comprising torture, disappearances, displacement, killings and ballistic trauma are paralleled by a “state of mind” where “grieving, insecurity, oppression, poverty, uncertainties of career and relationships” were the major themes. Armed conflict, which had waned in recent years, between separatist militants and the security forces has been on in the region for 23 years. Medical Superintendent, SKIMS, Dr Syed Amin Tabish, who conducted this study with another doctor, said the research which was completed in 2009 is valid till today as none of the parameters which led to these results have drastically changed so far. “If this research is conducted today, the results will be the same. The result may be 53 or 57 per cent instead of 55 per cent today, but there will be no massive change in the result,” Dr Tabish said. The results provide a grim picture of mental health of the people where suicides have become common over recent years. It has found the prevalence of depression is highest at 66.67 per cent in the 15 to 25 years age group followed by 65.33 per cent in the 26 to 35 years age group, all of whom are a part of the generation born after the conflict began or spent their childhood during turbulent years in the region. The study has also found that women have a higher prevalence of depression in all the age groups than men. Depression is much higher in the rural areas at 84.73 per cent, as compared to the urban areas where it is 15.26 per cent. A deadly manifestation of this depression, Dr Tabish said, is an increase in the attempts to commit suicide across the region. In recent months, those committing suicides in the region include a 14-year-old boy from north Kashmir’s Baramulla, a 19-year-old youth from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, a 30-year-old woman from north Kashmir’s Kupwara and a 70-year-old woman from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Another study conducted in 2012 ‘Armed conflict and children's health - exploring new directions: The case of Kashmir’ found that “exposure to violence” while in the uterus and early in life adversely affects the child’s “age-adjusted height” in Kashmir region which can leave them sick throughout their life. Fact file The prevalence of depression is highest at 66.67% in the 15 to 25 years age group followed by 65.33% in the 26 to 35 years age group Depression is much higher in the rural areas at 84.73%, as compared to the urban areas where it is 15.26% Women have a higher prevalence of depression in all age groups
	Spurious drugs scam Valley bandh call a failure: Cong leaders Tribune News Service Jammu, May 7 Jammu-based Congress leaders and prominent citizens today described the shutdown call given by the civil society of Kashmir on Monday against spurious drugs scam a total failure. They said the criticism should not be on the “communal and regional basis” but on factual position. The leaders and the citizens said when the state government had handed over the investigation of the spurious drugs scam to the Crime Branch of the police and the matter was with the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, then why were some leaders and medical association from the Valley taking up the issue. Some speakers at the meeting asked former Principal of Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, Anniece Choudhary to refrain from issuing statements against Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma. The meeting was attended by Narinder Singh, former mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation, Hukam Chand Sharma, senior Congress leader, Varinder Manhas, Bikram Singh and Kanwal Singh, Congress leaders, Viney Sharma, president of the Panches and Sarpanches Association, Samba, Gulam Haider, convener of the Himalayan Welfare Society, Amar Nath Sharma, organiser of the Save Jammu, and Raj Kumar Sharma, president of the Kandi Welfare Association.
	Mehbooba visits quake-hit Doda, Bhaderwah Amir Karim Tantray/TNS Jammu, May 7 Lashing out at the government for not reaching out to residents of quake-hit Doda-Bhaderwah, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti accused the government of adopting a discriminatory approach towards Chenab valley. Mehbooba was accompanied by members of the legislative Assembly, Muhammad Sartaj Madni, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, and Peerzada Mansoor Hussain. Mehbooba reached Bhaderwah in the afternoon and visited areas where several houses developed major cracks during the May 1 earthquake. She lashed out on chief minister Omar Abdullah for not visiting the area and failing to take measures to address the problems of the people. “Six days have passed since the quake but the Chief Minister has adopted a discriminatory attitude towards the area,” Mehbooba said while addressing people at the Dak Bungalow at Bhaderwah. She visited several areas in Bhaderwah town, including old hospital, Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Pasri Muhalla, where maximum damage has been reported to houses. “The erstwhile Doda district is a bridge between Jammu and Kashmir and the government is ignoring it at a time when people need most attention. The efforts of the administration and the government don’t match the relief operations undertaken by the government during the 2005 earthquake,” Mehbooba said. Asking the Chief Minister to sanction relief on the pattern of Leh flash floods, for the victims in Doda, Bhaderwah, Mehbooba said she would write a letter to Prime Minister demanding a special package for area. Politically, Bhaderwah is the fortress of union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who won the Assembly elections twice from Bhaderwah, in 2006 when he was contesting by-elections after assuming office of the Chief Minister and in 2008. The PDP, in the 2014 elections, plans to field former bureaucrat turned politician Mehboob Iqbal from Bhaderwah and keeping in mind its future plans, Mehbooba is touring the area and reaching out to the quake victims, political observers claim. So far neither the Chief Minister nor any other minister from outside Doda-Kishtwar has visited the quake affected areas.
	JU restricts entrance exam centres to winter capital Vikas Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, May 7 Contrary to previous years, the University of Jammu (JU) has decided not to establish any examination centre for the Jammu University Entrance Test (JUET) outside the winter capital. The university has also failed to make the application process online. The university had established eight centres across the state last year. In 2011, the number of centres stood at nine, including one at Leh. Other centres included Bhaderwah, Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Srinagar, Reasi and Udhampur, besides Jammu. According to sources, the step has been taken to cut down on expenses. “The committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor of the university had noticed that a huge amount of money was spent on previous two occasions. So, a decision was taken not to establish any centres outside Jammu,” a source said. The university is conducting the JUET-2013 on its own i.e without hiring any external agency for conducting the exam and evaluation services. The JUET was first conducted in 2011 when the university had hired the services of an external agency. The process was repeated in the succeeding year. According to sources, the university has purchased OMR (optical mark recognition) scanners to evaluate the answer sheets, which according to the authorities, will further cut down on the expenses. Sources disclosed that there were options to curb the expenses without cancelling the examination centres outside the winter capital. They said the coterie of the Vice Chancellor insisted that there was no need to establish exam centres outside the city for reasons best known to them. A source said the university had several campuses across the province which could have been used as the exam centres. Reacting upon the decision of the JU authorities, state president of the National Panthers Students Union (NPSU) Partap Singh Jamwal said the interest of students was not being watched by the authorities. “Students from far-flung areas, especially women, would have to face difficulty due to the decision of the university authorities,” the NPSU state president said. “Whenever the matter pertaining to the welfare of students comes to the fore, the authorities give excuse of financial constraints while they spend lavishly on themselves,” he said. He demanded that examination centres be set up at distant places to facilitate the students. Registrar of the univerisity Naresh Padha cited financial reasons behind restricting the examination centres to the winter capital. He said heavy expenditure was incurred by the university on the conduct of the JUET on two previous occasions. On the issue of online applications, he said the university lacked expertise but expressed hope that it would be put in place next year. Meanwhile, the sale of admission-cum-information brochures for JUET-2013 is starting tomorrow. The entrance examination will be held for admission to 51 courses and will start from June 10.
	Govt to host spring festival to attract tourists to Valley M Aamir Khan/TNS Srinagar, May 7 As the tourist arrivals have started picking up again after a brief lull in the aftermath of the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the government is working on a multi-pronged strategy to bring more visitors to the Valley. To woo tourists, a two-week spring festival will be organised in the Valley later this month. A delegation of the Tourism Ministry is also currently camping in Dubai to attract high-end tourists to Kashmir. “There is a lot of potential in the Gulf countries as the people there are rich. We are focusing on to bring high-end tourists from the region, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We are exploring untapped countries,” said Joint Director, Tourism Department, Mohammad Hussain Mir. Mir said a delegation led by Tourism Minister GA Mir along with Tourism Director Talat Parvez were currently holding programmes in Dubai to woo tourists from the UAE. The delegation is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia later this month. Another Tourism Department official said they were trying to attract tourists from the Gulf through adventure sports and pilgrim tourism. “Adventure tourism activities such as safaris, aero sports, water-based activities are popular among the Arabs and Kashmir has a natural set up for the same. The Tourism Minister also held a news conference in Dubai yesterday to brief the stakeholders about what the state has to offer,” he said. The Joint Director, Tourism Department, said tourists had started arriving here again in full strength like last year. He said many tourists had cancelled their bookings after Afzal Guru’s execution in February. He said the department was intending to hold a two-week-long spring festival for tourists in the Valley from May 14. “The proposal has been finalised and the festival will be held after approval from the authorities concerned,” Mir said. The Tourism Department and the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages kick-started a two-month-long folk festival on Saturday to introduce Kashmiri folk forms to the tourists. In the festival, cultural programmes are being held at prime tourist spots across Kashmir.
	Stone-laying ceremony of CUK campus on May 28 Ehsan Fazili/TNS Srinagar, May 7 After getting delayed due to a reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers last year, the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Central University of Kashmir is being held at Tulmullah in Ganderbal district on May 28. It was earlier scheduled to be held on November 16, 2010, but Union Minister for Human Resource Development MM Pallam Raju, who had taken over in the Union Cabinet reshuffle from Kapil Sibal, was not available. The event got further delayed by six months due to the winter in Kashmir. “The ceremony, which was earlier scheduled on November 16, 2012, was postponed due to the Cabinet reshuffle in the Union Government and the subsequent change of portfolio in the Ministry of Human Resources Development,” said a statement of the Central University of Kashmir (CUK). “The date was fixed after due consultations with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the state government,” it stated. There had been a delay due to the winter months and the situation in March, said Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir Abdul Wahid Qureshi. The CUK was established four years ago and has been functioning from temporary and rented accommodations. It offers 10 postgraduate courses. One more course, politics (international relations), is being introduced from this academic session, the Vice Chancellor said. The university, with over 500 students, is working from three locations, Sonwar, Magarmal Bagh and Zainakote in Srinagar. Sounding optimistic about the finalisation of the date for the stone-laying ceremony, the Vice Chancellor said the university had taken possession of 500 acres (4,000 kanals) at Tulmulla in Ganderbal district. The construction work on the boundary wall started today. Qureshi said it would take four to five months to complete the master plan. The construction work is expected to take two years, he said.
	BSF foils infiltration bid in Samba Tribune News Service Jammu, May 7 The Border Security Force (BSF) foiled an infiltration bid by a Pakistani national along the international border at Ballad today. At 5 am, BSF personnel observed a Pakistani intruder trying to enter India under the cover of thick bushes in Ballad forward area of Samba sector, DIG, BSF, JS Oberoi, said. “When our boys challenged him and opened fire in his direction, the Pakistan Rangers also opened fire and the gun fire between the two sides lasted around 15 minutes,” Oberoi said. “The intruder could not enter our territory and fled. We sighted only one intruder and we can’t say how many of them were there on the other side,” the officer said. The BSF scanned the area but nothing was found. “We have asked for a flag meeting with the Rangers and are awaiting their response,” he said. The officer said the incident took place at Basantar riverbed. The BSF shares 198 km of the international border with Pakistan in Jammu frontier area.
	1991 ‘mass rape’ case Advocate-General told to apear before HC Ishfaq Tantry/TNS Srinagar, May 7 Describing 1991 Kunan Poshpora ‘mass rape’ case as a “sensitive case”, the High Court has directed the Advocate-General to appear in response to a PIL seeking reinvestigation of the 1991 Kunan Poshpora “mass rape” incident by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The court has asked him to produce the file. Keeping the matter for further consideration on May 8, the court neither granted any interim relief nor passed any orders on the admission of the PIL in today’s hearing. The matter was listed before a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey in the regular cause today. The PIL, filed by a group of students and teachers through human rights activist and lawyer Parvez Imroz, calls for summoning the entire record before the court. It has sought reinvestigation into the case FIR as directed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in 2011. The incident involved the alleged rape of over 32 village women by Army personnel in remote Kunan Poshpora village in Kupwara on February 23, 1991.
	Omar’s plan to revive handicraft sector in state falls flat Sumit Hakhoo Jammu, May 7 Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s grand plans for reviving the handicraft sector in the state seem to have fallen flat as the audit has revealed that 64 per cent of cooperative societies established for promoting crafts and providing employment to unemployed youth are defunct or under the process of liquidation. As per the data, of the 1,789 societies, 1,143 are non-functional. The training centres run by the Department of Industries for unemployed have failed to provide proper skills-improvement courses across the state, thereby defeating the idea propounded by the coalition government to make youth productive and defeat the agenda of separatists to take away youth from the path of peace. The audit has revealed that nearly 350 societies of Jammu province and Srinagar district classified as active were not actually viable as average wages in the range of Rs 29 to Rs 636 per annum were not even touching the basic survival sustenance allowance for human beings. The industrial cooperative wing of the Department of Industries is mandated with the task of placing successful trainees into cooperative societies to generate employment in the handicraft sector. Further, the much-hyped 464 training centres run by the department in the state, (145 in Jammu province and 319 in Kashmir province) for imparting training in 33 crafts have failed to provide skill development as per their capacities. “Against the intake capacity of 58,600 persons in 464 training centres, only 30,901 persons (53 per cent) were trained during 2007-12. A total of 371 cooperative societies involving 4,095 trainees were formed during 2007-12 against the requirement of 2,895 cooperatives,” said an official. Director, Handicrafts, Salma Hamid said, “I will have to check the records. You can get information from the Joint Registrar on the issue.” The Joint Registrar, Abdul Rashid, who looks after the cooperative societies, said, “I cannot talk to you now, call me later. I am travelling.”
	Two injured in accident Our Correspondent Rajouri, May 7 Two youths were injured in an accident on the Jammu-Poonch highway today. Mehtab and Vishu Gupta, both residents of Rajouri were injured critically when a rashly driven truck hit the car in which they were travelling. They were admitted to the Army Hospital here. The car was on its way to Jammu.