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Wednesday,
January 8, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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Govt takes tough measures Arms store of ultras unearthed 1,719 flee J&K border villages Nation page: Plan to revive tourism in Gulmarg |
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Children’s hospital for Srinagar
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Govt takes tough measures Jammu, January 7 What has compounded the government’s efforts for streamlining the power supply system in order to reduce the debt burden, incurred owing to round-the-year purchase of additional electricity from the northern grid, is that there are 10 lakh unauthorised power connections against nine lakh legal connections. The government has launched a drive for getting all these 10 lakh unauthorised connections regularised so that monthly tariff could be realised from the consumers. Another problem confronting the government is the gap between the demand for electricity and its availability. Against the demand, during peak hours, of 1650 MW, the availability power from 11 hydel projects ranges between 480 and 594 MW. This has left not other alternative for the government except purchasing additional electricity from the northern grid. Last year, the state government had to spend over Rs 897 crore on the purchase of additional power from the northern grid. As part of the healing touch, the government has reduced the power curtailment by four hours and Rs 1 crore expenditure is incurred on it per day. The power bill during 2002-2003 is expected to touch Rs 1200 crore when the state has to pay Rs 1700 crore to the Centre. Part of the debt could be covered if the government is able to recover the targeted power tariff arrears of Rs 485.70 crore by the end of March. At present, the industrialists have to clear arrears to the tune of Rs 82.35 crore, Rs 190.70 crore to be realised from the domestic sector, Rs 76.20 crore from Central government offices, Rs 161.43 crore from the Public Health Engineering and municipal administration and Rs 16.70 crore from the Army. Government employees have threatened to launch an agitation in case their salaries are stopped from March, if they do not get no-objection certificates from the Power Development Department, confirming that they had cleared the power tariff arrears. Leaders of the employees’ association said first of all ministers, legislators, political leaders and senior bureaucrats should be asked to clear their power dues. Besides resorting to tough measures for the recovery of power tariff arrears, the government has identified more than 20 micro and mini-hydel projects for which it has invited investment by the private sector. The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has already taken up with the Centre the issue of counter-guarantees for the execution of major power projects in the state. He has also requested the NHPC to start work on seven hydel projects which had been handed over to it. |
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Arms store of ultras unearthed Srinagar, January 7 Troops of the Kupwara Infantry Division, on specific information captured an administrative store of militants from Palnar forest in north Kashmir, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. Among the large quantity of day-to-day necessities, 36 blankets, 13 inner clothing, 20 pairs of gloves, 15 pairs of socks, one foam roll, 10 utensils, a tape recorder, a steel drum, 95 litres of refined oil, 300 kg of assorted ration, 16 litres of kerosene oil, a political map of Jammu and Kashmir, a transistor, six Urdu books and a koran were seized from the store. Four remote controlled devices and 21 litres of liquid material for explosives was also recovered from the site.
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1,719 flee J&K border villages Jammu, January 7 As many as 357 families comprising 1,719 people left their homes in Laroka and Kampla villages in the Noushera sector last evening and took shelter in a school in Darhal, they said. Pakistani troops continued light machinegun fire at the Mangucha border outpost in the Samba sector and Pindi in the RS Pura sector to disrupt the ongoing fencing work, the sources said. Indian troops repulsed the attack, they said, adding that there was no report of any casualty. Pakistani troops also opened small arms fire from across the Line of Control in the Bhawani sector of Rajouri district last night, they said. |
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Plan to revive tourism in Gulmarg Gulmarg, January 7 The Tourism Department of the Jammu and Kashmir Government plans to “revive tourist flow and see possibilities for promotion of tourism” in this tourist spot, about 50 km north-west of Srinagar. The past 14 years of militancy had badly affected the tourist trade, even as the National Winter Games were held here in 1998. There are plans to create a tourist village that will provide all facilities ranging from accommodation to other facilities for the stay during the conduct of various sports events. For the purpose at least three chairlifts are being installed in the upper reaches of Khilanmarg. An amusement park in Dhobi Ghat with a unique natural feature of a nullah, is also being developed, Mr Nazir Ahmad Bhat, Joint Director of the Tourism Department said. The park would have mobile toilet and drinking water facilities. This would help in keeping the green slopes and golf courses clean throughout the year, he said. “We have been lifting truckloads of waste eatables from the green slopes frequently, after hundreds of visitors visit this tourist spot. The movement of visitors, mostly locals, in these slopes, however, has not been restricted only to encourage the tourist flow”, he said. In the winter sports, there are plans to hold Gulmarg Ski Cup, second annual Gondola Ski Cup and a talent search event to be organised by Jammu and Kashmir Bank. All these events, however, are subject to heavy snowfall. Among other things the existing tourist attraction includes the 2.5 km-long Gulmarg-Kongdori cable car facility. Training courses for skiiing lovers, snow mobiles, rescue scooters, ski patrol, and medical facilities, are available. A three-week-long basic traiing course for youngsters being conducted by the Youth Services and Sports Department, is already underway, while other training and advanced courses have been planned to be held till the end of March, but all subject to a heavy snowfall. “We are trying to revive
skiing in winters and all possible measures are being taken”, said Mr Bhat, “but all these measures avait a heavy snowfall and a message across that Gulmarg is a peaceful tourist destination in the trouble-torn Kashmir”. He said as part of these measures, the department had sent slides showing beautiful and peaceful environs of the tourist spot of Gulmarg to various embassies in New Delhi. Over twentyfive tour operators and Principals of various top schools in New Delhi were recently invited to the place impressing upon them that “it is safe here” and they should make their students participate in various sports events. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed, is keen to give boost to tourism in Gulmarg, particularly during winter. |
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Children’s hospital for Srinagar Srinagar, January 7 The minister asked officers of the Health Department to identify a suitable site for the construction of the hospital and put up a note in this regard to the Chief Minister. He said the government was giving top priority to streamlining the health sector which unfortunately had not got much attention in the past.
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