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| Sunday, January 30, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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J&K
officers told to explain absence Power
situation better in valley Zargar
in Kashmir? Good
response to ITBP function |
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J&K officers told to explain
absence JAMMU, Jan 29 — At least 50 senior officers in the Civil Secretariat and some departmental heads have been asked to explain why they were not present in the Maulana Azad Sports Stadium on January 26 where the main Republic Day celebrations were held. In a circular issued by the Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Jaitley, these officers have been asked to explain their position immediately because their absence was a violation of the government directive. A number of officers said that they had no received any instructions regarding their presence in the stadium. Since they were not on duty, they had presumed that it was not binding on them to be physically present in the stadium. Other officers told TNS that since passenger transport services were off the road on the morning of January 26, it was not possible for them to reach the stadium from far-off places as the official cars could not be plied owning to the ongoing general strike by the employees. Others have informed the Chief Secretary that they were present in the stadium when the Governor hoisted the national flag on January 26. These officers have claimed that since they had not received an invitation card they could not have entered the stadium in view of the tight security. Reports said that the state government has taken serious note of the absence of a large number of officers during the celebrations with several stands in the sports stadium wearing a deserted look. One senior officer was critical of the Chief Secretary's circular seeking an explanation from those who were not present in the stadium on January 26, saying, "We have been running skeletal services in the Civil Secretariat in view of the employees' strike, which entered the 40th day today, and now we are being subjected to harassment." He felt that if the government pressed for action it could lead to a major confrontation between the Chief Secretary and the officers, further paralysing the state administration.
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Power situation better in
valley SRINAGAR, Jan 29 — With the restoration of the 400 kv Uri-Wagoora transmission line the availability of power in the Kashmir valley has been raised from 85 MW daily to at least 230 MW. The consumers, who have been getting power for two-hour a day since January 14, will now be getting power for at least six hours daily. According to a Power Development Department (PDD) spokesman, there had been a demand of 850 MW daily against which they had been getting only 230 MW. To regulate the supply of power to the consumers the PDD had divided the areas into four groups on the basis of receiving stations which would be getting the supply on rotation basis. An additional supply of 230 MW was awaited due to the repair work on the 220 kv Kishanpur-Pampore and 132 kv Udhampur-Srinagar transmission lines at Qazigund. Power supply from the northern grid on this line was disrupted due to blast in a special 220kv tower near Qazigund on the intervening night of July 13 and 14. Supply of 150 MW was disrupted from Uri due to a blast in a tower of the 400 kv transmission line at Qazigund on January 15. Work is on to restore
the transmission lines at Qazigund. According to reports
reaching here the work that was started yesterday, was
going on a slow pace. There is a possibility of restoring
the line after about two weeks. By the time the
transmission lines at Qazigund, are restored, the
consumers in the valley shall have to be satisfied with a
six-hour power supply daily. |
Zargar in Kashmir? SRINAGAR, Jan 29 — Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, former chief of Al-Umar Mujahideen outfit, who was among the three released militants in exchange of hostages of the Indian Airlines plane last month, has reportedly entered Kashmir. The Al-Umar Mujahideen, now a defunct group in the valley, issued a statement recently from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan in this regard. Some of the local dailies had published the statement. It said Zargar entered the valley through the border district of Kupwara in North Kashmir. However, the police did not confirm the reports of the presence of Zargar in Machhil sector of Kupwara district, which is close to the Line of Control (LoC). Zargar was lodged at the Central Jail, Srinagar.
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Good response to ITBP
function JAMMU, Jan 29 — Snow or slush, men of the ITBP not only continue to guard the Bhaderwah-Chamba border against subversive violence by the militants, but also organise civic and medical camps for the benefit of the people living in remote and inaccessible villages, including Kahal, Jugasar, Seru, Goha and Bharti. In connection with the Republic Day ceremonies, ITBP men held medical camps at several places in the Bhalessa area of Doda district, which was almost buried knee-deep under snow. Old and sick people were brought to the medical camps on piggy backs. It was for the first time in several years that a large number of people trekked through the snow to attend the Republic Day function organised by the ITBP at its camp at Sote. People generally do not dare to attend national functions because of the fear of militants, but the three-year-stay of the ITBP has infused confidence among the people belonging to both communities. Mohinder Singh,
Commandant, ITBP, claims that no civilian belonging to a
minority community has been killed since the ITBP was
posted to check movement of militants on the
Bhaderwah-Chamba border. |
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