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Ladakh hails Cabinet's nod for Zojila tunnel
Pakistan army helping Rangers on border
The floodlit international border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu district. A Tribune photograph
Mirwaiz expresses concern over border skirmishes
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Seven new faces to join Cong in Srinagar today
Recognising valour of ITBP inspector, BJP offers financial help to family
BJP party leaders handed over a token amount of Rs. 5.5 lakh to Renu Rani, wife late ITBP inspector Bhim Singh, at the party headquarters in Jammu on Saturday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma
13 states for postal cricket meet
Soldier hurt in militant attack
Army soldiers cordon off the area and launch searches to trace the attackers in Handwara area of Kupwara district on Saturday. Tribune photo: Amin War
Despite heavy influx, state govt fails to register migrant labourers
State leads North in unemployment rate: BJP
NC for border talks
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Ladakh hails Cabinet's nod for Zojila tunnel
Jammu, October 19 Though the project will take nearly seven years to complete, people of the Ladakh region had been eagerly waiting for the announcement. They had been demanding an all-weather surface link for decades. Approved by the Centre on Thursday, the project envisages construction of an all-weather road at a cost of Rs 9,090 crore. It will hold an immense strategic value for India in the defence at the Pakistan and China borders. The project is a part of two-tunnels system that include the 6.5-km Z-Morh tunnel, foundation stone of which was laid by by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on October 5, 2012, and the 15-km Zojila tunnel that cuts the formidable Zojila mountains range of the Himalayas. “We welcome the announcement about the Zojila tunnel. When completed, it will end the isolation of the region. We hope the Z-Morh tunnel and Zojila tunnel will be made operational on fast track basis. People here have to face shortage of essential commodities during winters,” said former minister and National Conference leader from Kargil Qamar Ali Akhoon. Work on the Z-Morh point near Sonamarg on the Kashmir-Kargil highway is already underway. The tunnel will be constructed between Gagangir and Sonamarg on the existing national highway. “Movement of men and material will be possible throughout the year once the tunnel is complete. It will also boost tourism and other economic sectors. The region remains cut off from the mainland for six-seven months during winters,” said Thusptan Chewang, former Chief Executive Officer, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. These two routes are important for the
Army also, which has to send supplies to the troops stationed at the Siachen glacier. |
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Pakistan army helping Rangers on border
Jammu, October 19 “The Rangers have been joined by Pakistani army regulars in certain areas on the other side of the IB,” said a top intelligence source. “The Rangers are being assisted by Pakistani army regulars at a few places opposite Pargwal, Samba and RS Pura sectors. That is why these sectors have become hot,” he added. Usually, the 191.5-km international border from the Paharpur post on the Kathua-Punjab border to the Chicken Neck area in Akhnoor subdivision stays quiet compared to the 744-km Line of Control (LoC). A senior BSF officer admitted on the condition of anonymity that the Rangers were being assisted by the Pakistani army at few places on the IB. “Normally, the Rangers indulged in sniper fire on the IB and used normal calibre weapons. But now, they are also using PIKA gun fire. We have credible intelligence inputs that Pakistani Army regulars have been deployed in areas that have turned hot,” he said. The officer attributed the spurt in skirmishes on the IB to the ‘changed’ attitude of the BSF. “They had been killing and injuring our boys in sniper fire, to which we kept quiet for a long time. When started paying them back in the same coin, they were caught off guard,” he said. Now, the Rangers, assisted by the Pakistani army, were opening heavy fire in a bid to inflict casualties and at the same time, push in armed militants through rivulets, he said. “We are foiling all their designs, which is adding to their frustration,” he added. The officer also said in the current scenario, the Pakistani forces had been making tactical moves in the night and so was the BSF. “In such a tense situation, tactical moves are made in the night,” he said. He admitted that the Rangers had been targeting floodlights on the barbed fence on the border to push in militants in the darkness. Besides barbed fence and sensors all along the IB, the BSF had installed floodlights for effective surveillance. “In RS Pura and Samba sectors, they targeted floodlights in the last three or four days. Some of those were partially damaged because such lights have three or four focuses. In RS Pura, they fired on an electricity transformer, thinking that it supplied power to our lights,” he said.
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Mirwaiz expresses concern over border skirmishes
Srinagar, October 19 Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has termed the prevailing tension along the Line of Control (LoC) in the region as a “ploy” to defame the 'Kashmir movement' and a “well-thought-out strategy” to attack Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “The growing tension between the two countries along the border in J&K is threatening peace in the region. The leadership in both countries should start a meaningful dialogue to resolve the issues, including Kashmir, which are the real precursors for this border tension between the two nations,” a spokesman of the moderate Hurriyat faction headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said here. “The price of border tension between the two nations is being paid by the people of J&K living in the frontier regions, where every now and then, people are losing lives on both sides of the divide. Even at some places, people are being forced to migrate,” he said, urging India and Pakistan to leave the path of hostility and move ahead by initiating a trilateral dialogue over Kashmir. Questioning the recent operation of the Army in the Keran sector and the prevailing tension along the LoC in J&K, hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Geelani termed it a “pre-planned strategy” by India to attack PoK. “By creating a hype over infiltration across the LoC and enacting a drama in the Keran sector, India is trying to malign the 'Kashmir movement' and contemplating to attack PoK. It is also a ploy to make Pakistan accountable,” Geelani said during an Eid 'milan' party at his Hyderpora residence in Srinagar today. “The Keran operation lasted 15 days and at one stage, it was said 40 infiltrators had captured a village at the LoC and 22 of them were killed,” he said, raising a question mark over the Keran operation. “But so far, it has not been verified and no dead body has been recovered from the spot,” Geelani said, terming the Keran operation a “drama”.anwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Javed Ahmad Rana expressed serious concern over the ceasefire violation on the LoC in J&K.
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Seven new faces to join Cong in Srinagar today
Srinagar, October 19 A week ago, the party high command had approved the induction of 15 leaders from across the state into the Congress. Seven of these leaders, belonging to the Kashmir division, will seek an entry here tomorrow, while others would join the party in Jammu on Monday. The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) is holding a meeting of its workers at the party headquarters that will be presided over by PCC president Saifuddin Soz on Sunday. All Congress ministers, MLAs, MLCs and other party functionaries will address the gathering of workers, said a Congress spokesman. The party has chosen the function for the entry of seven leaders into the fold ahead of the next year’s general and Assembly elections. Those getting into the party fold include Ghulam Hassan Geelani, former minister and three-time MLA from Budgam; Farooq Renzu, former Director of Information of Jammu and Kashmir Government; Tafazul Hussain, a former Vice-President of J&K Bank; and Wali Mohammad, retired Police officer. Others include Bashir Ahmad Shah, Ghulam Hassan Rather and Haji Bashir Ahmad Malla. Even as there is yet no indication about any pre-poll arrangement with its coalition partner, the National Conference, the Congress has geared up for the elections next year. It would be the third major congregation of the party workers in Jammu and Kashmir during the past three months, since Ambika Soni took over as in-charge of state party affairs.
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Recognising valour of ITBP inspector, BJP offers financial help to family
Jammu, October 19 Rajya Sabha member and state in-charge of the BJP Avinash Rai Khanna along with state president of the party Jugal Kishore Sharma gave the money to his wife in the presence of other senior leaders. Speaking on the occasion, Khanna said it is the valour and dedication to duty exhibited by brave people like late Bhim Singh that act as beacons of inspiration for the entire society and the youth. “The money being paid to Renu Rani is not a substantial amount as it cannot fill the void created in her family by the death of their head of the family, but it is meant to convey a message to the society that the BJP is committed to the high values of public service and utmost dedication to the duty. It should inspire the youth for public service and duty,” he said. Jugal Kishore Sharma, in his address, said it was saddening that the state government had funds and resources for rehabilitating and settling those persons who started with anti-national goals, but had no concern for those who not only lose their lives in the line of duty but also bring laurels to the state. Ashok Khajuria, Jitendra Singh, Prof Hari Om, Ranjit Singh, Chander Prakash Ganga and others were also present on the occasion.
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13 states for postal cricket meet
Srinagar, October 19 He said the participating teams were state postal department cricket teams from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and hosts Jammu and Kashmir. He added that J&K had successfully hosted the All-India Postal Athletics Tournament in 2011 and the All-India Postal Football Tournament in 2012. The Board of Control for Cricket in India holds selection trials for cricketers in state postal departments which play at the national level. "The cricket tournament will be played at three venues in Srinagar, which are Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Kashmir University Cricket Stadium and Islamia College Cricket Stadium. A total of 19 matches will be played in the tournament," Chandra Prakash said. He said cricket was a very popular game in Jammu and Kashmir and was widely played across the state. He added that the tournament would showcase J&K as an excellent destination for sports and tourism. "The hosting of the tournament in Srinagar will boost the morale of local cricketers and give them wide exposure. J&K has been showing excellent progress in the national level in the field of cricket by producing brilliant cricketers," he said.
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Soldier hurt in militant attack
Srinagar, October 19 Sources said the attack took place at 7.30 am near Sudergund
Hanga, over 87 km from here, when six or seven Armymen of the Road Opening Party
(ROP) of 30 Rashtriya Rifles were sanitising a portion of the Chutipora-Mawar road in Kupwara district ahead of the routine movement of Army convoys. “Two or three militants were hiding in apple orchards when they attacked the Army patrol, injuring one jawan of 30 RR who was identified as Bhim
Rao,” the sources said. The injured soldier was rushed to a hospital where his condition is stated to be stable. The militants, the sources said, were armed with assault rifles and managed to escape after carrying out the attack. Immediately after the shootout, the Army and the J&K Police launched a massive manhunt to track the militants who were involved in the attack. The police said the searches in Sudergund Hanga were going on. “The search operation is continuing around the area where the firing took place,” Handwara Superintendent of Police Mohammad Aslam said. No militant group has so far claimed the responsibility for the attack. This is the first ambush on Armymen in Kashmir after militants carried a deadly attack on an Army convoy on June 24 which had left eight Armymen dead and scores injured on the Srinagar bypass road.
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Despite heavy influx, state govt fails to register migrant labourers
Jammu, October 19 About four years ago, the state government had announced to register the labour force working in the state, but the procedure was never initiated. The state administration has no specific data about the number of people from different states working in Jammu and Kashmir. The trend of migrant workers in the state picked up about three decades back when Jammu witnessed a boom in the construction sector. Labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have played an important role in the development of the city. They are in demand in Kashmir. However, the state government has failed to ensure proper working conditions for them and safeguard their rights as they do not have the exact data. Officials said there was a well-knit contractor system through which the men and women come and get absorbed in different sectors. “Registering people to work in the unorganised sector on an individual basis became cumbersome and the process was stopped,” said an official of the Labour Department. There was a proposal to register non-local labourers at Lakhanpur, the gateway to J&K, but nothing had been done so far, he added. The trend of migrant workers in the agricultural sector was in past limited to the neighbouring state of Punjab, but it was now fast picking up in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the southern parts of Jammu and fruit-producing areas of the Valley. The southern part of the state, starting from Hiranagar in Kathua district to RS Pura in Jammu, is considered to be the rice bowl of the state. Besides, thousands of hectares is under paddy cultivation.
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State leads North in unemployment rate: BJP
Jammu, October 19 The survey cited that the current unemployment rate per 1000 persons (general category) in the state was 100 which accounted for 10 %, thus, J&K had registered the highest rate among northern states followed by, Himachal Pradesh (69), Haryana (50), Punjab (48), Delhi (43) and UT Chandigarh (40). He also said J&K had the second highest unemployment rate in north India in the Scheduled Castes (SC) category. As per the survey, the unemployment rate per 1000 persons, in age group of 15 years and above among SC population, was highest in UT Chandigarh at 151, followed by J&K (132), Delhi (82), Punjab (55), Haryana (42) and Himachal Pradesh (36), he said.
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Amid rising hostilities and bloody skirmishes on the 191.5-km international border, the Pakistan Rangers have got more teeth now.
In a gesture of gratitude towards the brave security personnel, the BJP today handed over a token amount of Rs 5.5 lakh to Renu Rani, wife of late ITBP inspector Bhim Singh, who lost his life on duty in the rescue operation in Uttarakhand this year.
An Army jawan was injured in a militant ambush near Handwara town in north Kashmir on Saturday morning.
Sources said the attack took place at 7.30 am near Sudergund Hanga, over 87 km from here, when six or seven Armymen of the Road Opening Party
(ROP) of 30 Rashtriya Rifles were sanitising a portion of the Chutipora-Mawar road in Kupwara district ahead of the routine movement of Army convoys.
