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| Tuesday, May 1, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Need to review Indus Water
Treaty Militants kill eight in valley Tearful adieu to BSF, CRPF jawans Killed ultras had assaulted
women Bankers told to implement
schemes |
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Dalit’s house burnt over caste
feud Clash over temple’s possession, 12 hurt
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Need to review Indus Water
Treaty Jammu, April 30 This question has assumed significance following enormous difficulties being faced by one crore people and several thousand industrialists in the state owing to acute electricity crisis. The power shortage has been an old phenomenon, but during the past four years the state government has been forced to resort to 11 to 14-hour power shedding. The failure of rain during the past winter season, has caused massive damage to the rabi crops in the state. Initial estimates have revealed that at least 50 per cent crops have been hit by drought and the Central Government has sent a team to assess the extent of the loss. Experts are of the opinion that all problems have emanated out of the treaty of 1960. They have explained that the treaty has imposed severe limitations on the use of river waters for power generation and on lift irrigation schemes. Under the treaty, waters of the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus have to be used for power generation and lift irrigation to a particular extent. No massive reservoirs or dams can be built on these rivers for storing water for irrigation and power generation without the prior approval of Pakistan. For the first time in the living memory, the otherwise gushing and roaring Chenab has turned into a stream in many areas of Jammu thereby belying hopes that at least a dozen major power plants can be built with water from this river. The Jhelum has been behaving in an erratic manner for the past 20 years. And during the past 10 years its water level has dropped to such an extent that teenagers play cricket on its bed at several places between Pampore and Chhatabal in Srinagar. Since Uri-I, Mohra and Lower Jhelum Hydel projects bank on its waters, the generation from these units falls to mere 30 to 40 MW during four months of winter against their installed capacity of 515 MW. In the autumn, the daily generation from the projects does not exceed 100 to 150 MW. Similarly, the 600 Salal project, which has an installed capacity of 600 MW, has not been able to generate power to its optimum capacity for six months resulting in the rapid fall in the generation thereby affecting drastically electricity availability. The state government has to bank on more power imports from the Northern Grid and till date the arrears have touched over Rs 1600 crore. And whenever the state is in a position to meet at least 80 per cent of the demand, it exports power to reduce the size of the arrears. The Indus experiences rise and fall in its water level. Also, not many projects have come up to tap the Indus waters as it flows usually over the mountain belts. The government has decided to build two major power projects, Bhagliar and Sawalakot. The fate of these projects is tagged to the behaviour of the Chenab. According to the experts, if the treaty is scrapped the government can build massive reservoirs and dams for storing waters of the Jhelum and the Chenab. This water can be used during the lean period for power generation. Though
Pakistan has approved the construction of Uri-I Sawalakot and Bhagliar, the success or failure depends on the availability of water. The experts fear that the major power projects will not, when completed, generate electricity to their installed capacity. What then is their utility? The state government has calculated that the treaty has been a source of major loss to the state’s economy and on an average the state suffers a loss of Rs 6,000 crore annually. It has demanded compensation from the Centre which has not been given so far. On the political front, leaders, including the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah and a former Chief Minister, Mr G.M. Shah, have been favouring the scrapping of the treaty. Several BJP leaders have said it was unfortunate and an irony of fate that India “exports water to Pakistan and the latter exports terrorism to the former.” They have urged the Government of India to review the treaty and stop exporting water to Pakistan. |
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Militants kill eight in valley Srinagar, April 30 The militants hurled a hand grenade towards a police station at Lalpora in the frontier district of Kupwara late last night. However, the grenade exploded outside the police station building, injuring Abdul Rahim Mir, who later died, an official spokesman said. He said panic gripped Gouriwean Bijbehara in south Kashmir when the militants lobbed a hand grenade towards a security force picket today. However, the grenade missed the intended target and exploded without causing any damage. The militants shot dead Mohammad Hussain at Mahore while Allah Din Gujjar was killed at Banihal last evening. He said the police recovered the bodies of two persons kidnapped by the militants from Sogam in Kupwara this morning. A note found near the bodies accused them of working with the security forces. A Food and Supplies Department employee, Hilal Ahmad, who was injured in militant firing at Khanyar recently died at hospital this morning. The spokesperson said the militants shot a person in his Lachipora Handwara house this morning while another was gunned down at his house in Gundipora of central Kashmir district of Badgam late last night. The Special Operation Group of Jammu and Kashmir police arrested a guide, Abdul Rashid Dar, with a kg of explosives, one Chinese hand grenade and two gelatine rods at Ganderbal last evening. Dar was reportedly responsible for taking Kashmiri youths to Pakistan occupied Kashmir for arms training, the spokesman added.
UNI Our Correspondent from Kathua adds: Two men and a woman from Bangladesh were killed and 50 arrested by the BSF at the International Border near Paharpur village in the Hiranagar sector at Kathua early on Monday. According to the police, 53 Bangladeshis were trying to cross the Indo-Pak border at Paharpur village near Kore-Punnu of the Hiranagar sector. BSF personnel ordered them to stop but the Bangladeshis tried to cross the border. In the firing, three Bangladeshis were killed and the others arrested. |
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Tearful adieu to BSF, CRPF jawans Srinagar, April 30 While three BSF personnel, including an Assistant Commandant Jai Singh, laid down their lives in a fierce encounter which also left three militants dead in the Chrar-e-Sharief area, six CRPF personnel were killed when militants blew up their vehicle with a powerful improvised explosive device in the Beerwah area. The coffins of the BSF personnel covered in the Tricolour were brought to the sector headquarters of the BSF in Srinagar, where the DIG of the force, R.K. Thakar and other senior officers and ITBP officers laid wreaths amid the lowering of guns. The Inspector-General of CRPF, P.C. Joshi, joined senior officers and jawans to bid adieu. While two of the deceased BSF personnel, Sushil Kumar and Shabir Ahmad, belonged to Udhampur and the Beerwah area of Badgam, Assistant Commandant Jai Singh hailed from Himachal Pradesh, BSF sources said. Three of the deceased CRPF personnel belonged to Maharashtra, two to West Bengal and one to Madhya Pradesh. PTI |
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Killed ultras had assaulted
women Jammu, April 30 According to Army and police sources the militants operating in Poonch and Rajouri were involved in cases where women were kidnapped, raped and killed. Major-Gen Richar Khare, who is in charge of the counter-insurgency operations in the border belt of Poonch and Rajouri, said yesterday’s incident in which 11 hardcore militants were killed had spared Poonch and Rajouri districts from a major trouble which the rebels were planning to kick up. General Khare said between 200 and 300 militants, 80 per cent of them foreign mercenaries, were active in Poonch and Rajouri districts. He said, “We abide by the ceasefire, but if we are attacked or my men are threatened we will kill these foreign mercenaries.” He said between January and April, 101 militants had been eliminated in Poonch and Rajouri districts. He said several rebel outfits, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba,Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat Jehadi Islami and Hizbul Mujahideen, were operating in the two districts. General Khare explained that two Gujjar youths had given information about the militants’ hideout to the police which was followed by a joint operation. He gave credit to the successful operation to Col S.K. Jha, Col Harbinder Singh and Dr Kamal Saini, SSP, Poonch. He said there were 13 militants in the hideout and two managed to escape. A massive search operation has been launched to nab the remaining two rebels. He disclosed that Army operations had been launched at five separate places in Poonch and Rajouri districts this morning so as to flush out other groups of rebels. |
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Bankers told to implement
schemes Jammu, April 30 At the district-level bankers’ committee meeting for 2000-2001 in Doda today, the minister urged the officers to work for the uplift of the people living in hilly areas of the district. He also asked them to implement the centrally sponsored schemes which are aimed at the welfare of the people. They should fan out in far-flung areas of the district to make the people aware about the schemes. Professor Gupta observed that while there was an urgent need to check the activities of militants in the district, the development works should not suffer. Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Mr Shalindra Kumar, apprised the Union Minister about the progress made by the banks in the implementation of annual credit plan for the 2000-2001. He was informed that the State Bank of India had contributed a lot in the implementation of various schemes in the district. Out of a total credit of Rs 1047.42 lakh provided by the banks during 2000-2001 to 2,761 beneficiaries, 88.71 per cent of the target was achieved. |
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Dalit’s house burnt over caste
feud Kathua, April 30 According to the police, five accused persons led by Girdhari Lal, attacked the house of Bhikham Singh, a Scheduled Caste, and burnt down his two huts to avenge the abduction of their girl Sunita Kumari by a Scheduled Caste youth some months back. Sunita was later married to another boy Shamsher Singh of the same village. The police registered a case and arrested Girdhari Lal. Five other accomplices have been identified as Lal Singh, Omkar Singh, Swaran Singh, Jaswant Singh of the same village who have absconded. Meanwhile, the father of the girl, Girdhari Lal, has reported to the police that a group of seven persons of SC community had attacked their house, led by Tirath Ram S/o Bhikham Chand and tried to kidnap Sunita when she had come to her parents’ house. A case has also been registered in this connection and arrested Bhikham Chand, Tirath Ram. Three persons identified as Dev Raj, Nasib Chand, Thakur Dass have absconded. |
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Clash over temple’s possession, 12 hurt Kathua, April 30 According to the police, Gayatri Prasad followed his father Chhajju Ram as priest. He had married Asha Devi, but they separated after seven years of married
life. A few months ago supporters of Asha Devi forcibly took possession of the temple and she started performing pooja in the
temple. Today hundreds of devotees led by Gayatri Prasad equipped with lathis and hockeys, attacked the temple and re-occupied it. Both sides clashed causing injury to more than 12 persons. The injured have been identified as Mohinder Paul Khajuria, Asha Devi, Suman Swarna, Madhu Khajuria, Tara Devi, Leela Devi and Sujan
Lal. The police has registered a case, arrested seven persons and appointed another priest with the consent of the Beopar Mandal and some citizens. The temple trust was also urged to solve the dispute. |
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