M A I N   N E W S

Security up in Srinagar for spl Diwali guest — PM
Arun Joshi
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 22
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Srinagar tomorrow, he would see an entirely different city – the flood-ravaged colonies and the people frozen in their tracks by the tragedy.

The surprise announcement of Modi’s visit to Srinagar on Diwali to spend the day with “sisters and brothers affected by the unfortunate floods” has stirred national and international attention. It evoked instant response of gratitude from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and others charged him with seeking a “political gain” ahead of the Assembly polls.

Security has been beefed up across the Valley as separatists called for a general strike tomorrow against Modi’s visit. Srinagar has turned into a fortress.

This high-profile visit comes at a time when Pakistan has upped the ante against India by repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement along the border and launching an aggressive campaign on the Kashmir issue at the international level.

Pakistan remained as hostile to the PM’s visit. Its Rangers resorted to small arms firing today at Narainpur border outpost along the IB in Ramgarh sector of Samba district at 10.30 am.

Appreciating Modi’s gesture of visiting the state on Diwali, Omar said on the Twitter: “I also hope that he will accept our good wishes (the only gift we can give) while gifting us the acceptance of our package.” The state government has sought a Rs 44,000-crore package from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation measures. Srinagar was beautiful and serene when Modi here on July 4 to inaugurate a hydro-electric project and interacted with the soldiers at the Badami Bagh cantonment. On September 7, when the PM came to assess the flood situation, the city was submerged. Now the city is full of dust and slush. “Will Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, which today present a haunting sight, ever regain the old glory”, wonder residents of these localities .

On September 7 , now referred as “ black Sunday” in Srinagar, when the maddening waters of Jhelum drowned the city and left more than three lakh people marooned, the Prime Minister could not cover a distance of more than one km from Srinagar airport as flood waters were rising alarmingly. The Centre had initiated the rescue and relief works from Day 1 with the help of the Army, Indian Air Force and National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF). The local youth had mounted their own rescue operations to save the people.

The police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in strength and are conducting random checking of vehicles at dozens of places in the city and elsewhere, a senior police officer said. Special checking points have been set up at various places in the city including entry and exit points as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.