J A M M U   &   K A S H M I R

Voting without fear after 15 years
Leh, May 10
People living in the border areas of Leh and Kargil cast their votes in their respective villages for the first time after 15 years.

107-yr-old casts vote in Udhampur
Jammu, May 10
A 107-year-old man was the oldest voter to exercise franchise at the Dote polling station of Udhampur district of Jammu region this morning.

Voters whose names were missing from the poll rolls show their photo I-cards in Udhampur on Monday. — PTI

Strike cripples life in J&K
Srinagar, May 10
Life was paralysed due to a general strike called by several separatist organisations in protest against the fourth and final phase of polling in the Udhampur and Ladakh constituencies.

Women outnumber men in Doda
Jammu, May 10
Braving militant threats, a large number of women exercised their franchise in Doda which went to the polls in the final phase of the elections today. Most of the 15 per cent voters who exercised their franchise in the first four hours were women, officials said.

A Kashmiri woman gets an ink mark on her finger before casting her vote during the last phase of the elections in Doda on Monday. — Reuters photo

Coordination panel to review govt’s performance
Jammu, May 10
The PDP-led ruling coalition has decided to set its house in order after poll results are out. The Coordination Committee, the body that frames policies and monitors working of the Government, will meet in Srinagar to review implementation of the common minimum programme formulated in November 2002 when Mufti Sayeed-led Cabinet assumed office.

Ladakh gets IIT experts to tap geo-thermal potential
PUGAS VALLEY: The Pugas valley in the Changthang area of Leh may soon offer the best solution to the ever-looming power crisis in Ladakh. A bed of innumerable hot springs, this area has been identified as a belt with a very high potential for generation of geo-thermal energy.

Cholera claims 2 lives, medical team rushed
Jammu, May 10
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has directed the Director, Jammu Health Services, to immediately rush a team of doctors to Chaladh in the Arnas area of Udhampur district, where cholera has claimed two lives.

Minister suspends employees

A family rows its boat as sun sets in Srinagar on Monday. For years, there was only one word in the election vocabulary of Kashmiris living close to Muslim rebel strongholds in the Himalayan mountains—boycott. However, on Monday, hundreds of war-weary people in the troubled region shrugged aside militant threats and voted in the last phase of a marathon election in the world's largest democracy. — Reuters photo

 

 

 

PDP worker killed, 10 hurt in blast

Srinagar, May 10
A PDP worker was killed and 10 others, including two securitymen, were injured when militants exploded a grenade in Sopore of north Kashmir today, official sources said.

Meanwhile, in another incident, the militants barged into a house at Shadag village of Thanamandi tehsil in Rajouri district on Sunday and slit the throat of a 55-year-old woman, identified as Masarrat Akbar. — PTI

Voting without fear after 15 years

Leh, May 10
People living in the border areas of Leh and Kargil cast their votes in their respective villages for the first time after 15 years.

“This time we have set up polling stations in the villages which come under the direct target of Pakistani army near the border because of total peace due to ceasefire,’’ the returning officer of the constituency spread over four assembly segments of Kargil and Leh districts, Mr Satish Nehru, said.

He said about three polling booths were set up in Nobra which were close to the border. “In the past we were shifting these polling stations to safer places,’’ he said and added this time a polling station was set up at Turtuk which was being hit by Pakistani shells once in a week in the past.

This time the polling stations were also set up in the village near the Batalik, Kaksar and Hardas sectors which were being used as battle fields by the Pakistani intruders five years ago.

Ghulam Mohammad said this was for the first time during the past 15 years that people of the border areas came to cast their votes without any fear.

He said in May 1999 it was shelling in Kargil, Drass, Batalik and Kaksar when Indian troops were fighting against Pakistani intruders. “Thanks to the ceasefire by the two countries, we are living in peace in our own houses,’’ he said. Ghulam Nabi Zia, resident of Drass, said there was no restriction on their movement even during the night because there was no shelling from Pakistan. — UNI

107-yr-old casts vote in Udhampur

Jammu, May 10
A 107-year-old man was the oldest voter to exercise franchise at the Dote polling station of Udhampur district of Jammu region this morning.

Sant Ram, who arrived at the polling booth at 9.30 am, was accompanied by his sons, grandsons and greatgrandsons, the police said. — UNI

Strike cripples life in J&K

Srinagar, May 10
Life was paralysed due to a general strike called by several separatist organisations in protest against the fourth and final phase of polling in the Udhampur and Ladakh constituencies.

The day also marks the fourth day of “fateha” (prayers) for slain Hizbul Mujahideen operational chief who was killed on May 6.

Shops and business establishments and educational institutions in Srinagar and some other major towns of the valley remained closed and traffic was also off the road.

Normal activity resumed in Srinagar city and elsewhere, barring parts of south Kashmir’s Anantnag and Pulwama, around forenoon. — UNI

Women outnumber men in Doda

Jammu, May 10
Braving militant threats, a large number of women exercised their franchise in Doda which went to the polls in the final phase of the elections today.

Most of the 15 per cent voters who exercised their franchise in the first four hours were women, officials said.

Long queues of burqa-clad women were seen at several polling booths in the constituency. — UNI

Coordination panel to review govt’s performance
M.L. Kak

Jammu, May 10
The PDP-led ruling coalition has decided to set its house in order after poll results are out. The Coordination Committee, the body that frames policies and monitors working of the Government, will meet in Srinagar to review implementation of the common minimum programme formulated in November 2002 when Mufti Sayeed-led Cabinet assumed office.

Main partner in the coalition, the Congress, has decided to press for the implementation of the Wazir Committee report, and the setting up of the delimitation commission.

The ruling coalition will settle for good relations with the Panthers Party led by Prof Bhim Singh. The Panthers Party has four MLAs and two of them are in the Council of Ministers.

The Congress took a serious notice of Prof Bhim Singh who was given a seat in the Upper House after he assured that he would not contest for the Lok Sabha poll. By fielding himself from Udhampur constituency Prof Singh, according to Mr Azad, had violated the commitment.

Role of coalition partners in the election will also be discussed. PDP leadership has felt hurt by the way a son of Mr Sarfaraz Khan, Minister of State, contested the election from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Senior functionaries of the coalition partners said here today that “the PDP and the Congress leadership have decided to work together in order to fulfil promises made to the people during the 2002 Assembly poll.”

A Congress Minister said “there is no danger to the Governmet.”

PCC Chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad, is confident that the coalition Government would survive. He said in Jammu the other day “even if we have to part with the Panthers Party we feel for us the Peoples’ Democractic Forum, is more important.”

The PDF with 13 MLAs is a force and in case the two Panthers Party ministers are dropped their places may be filled by two from the PDF. Mr Azad also hinted that the Congress ministers whose performance had not been good might be dropped.

Ladakh gets IIT experts to tap geo-thermal potential
Aditi tandon
Tribune News Service

PUGAS VALLEY: The Pugas valley in the Changthang area of Leh may soon offer the best solution to the ever-looming power crisis in Ladakh. A bed of innumerable hot springs, this area has been identified as a belt with a very high potential for generation of geo-thermal energy.

Panamik in Nubra valley and Demchok in Changthang are other geothermal belts in Ladakh, which lies on the zone of collision between the Indian and the Eurasian plate. Ladakh is so rich in renewable energy sources that it has the potential to become the laboratory and demonstration site for non- conventional energy projects in entire India.

Rated at the top among the other highly probable geothermal energy sources in the region, Pugas has invited the attention of reputed energy technology consultants from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, which has taken up this first project of geothermal electricity generation in Leh.

With the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) recently clubbing Ladakh with the North East as a high focus area for the development of non- conventional projects, the flow of funds for the project will also be ensured. Any high focus area is entitled to a grant of 90 per cent for all renewable energy initiatives.

Pugas, which has a capacity to generate 30 to 40 MW of electricity, was earlier tested for its potential by the Geological Survey of India. In fact, it was when the Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council forwarded the case of geo thermal power generation in Ladakh to the Ministry of Non-Conventional Sources (MNES) that MNES asked the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, to survey Pugas valley and prepare a pre-feasibility report. For some reason the project was not taken up then.

It has now been revived with LREDA approaching the IIT, Mumbai, which sent two experts to conduct preliminary surveys on the geo-thermal energy potential of Pugas. The two experts, Dr Milind V. Rane, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT, and Dr Chandrasekharam, Professor and Head, Department of Earth Sciences, IIT, Mumbai, have already completed the first field. In the second round which will begin anytime now, LREDA will start generation of electricity from geo-thermal energy source in Pugas.

Significantly, Ladakh despite being remote and inaccessible, is lucky to have abundant renewable energy sources. After maximizing solar energy for power generation in villages, the region is now focusing on the untapped area of geo-thermal energy.

Mr Jigmet Takpa, Project Director, LREDA, informed The Tribune that geo-thermal energy generation was a significant means to end the power crisis in Ladakh, where per capita energy consumption is 9800 Kcal per day. This is double of that in the plains. “Such amount of energy is required just for sustenance and the cost incurred on generating it is exorbitant. In that sense, geo-thermal energy will go a long way in helping Ladakhis, because this source of energy is inexhaustible.”

At present, Ladakh requires 7000 litres of diesel daily to meet its electricity requirements that include space heating and energy use for lighting. The annual electricity consumption is 175 kwh. In remote villages people still use kerosene-based lighting sources among which wick lamp and petromax are the most common. Electricity generation in the region is either diesel-based or hydro-based. But both forms of energy generation have their limitations. While the hydel power plant is closed down for five months during winter due to freezing of canals, diesel transportation is very costly.

This makes a solid case for tapping geo-thermal energy belts in Ladakh.

Cholera claims 2 lives, medical team rushed

Jammu, May 10
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has directed the Director, Jammu Health Services, to immediately rush a team of doctors to Chaladh in the Arnas area of Udhampur district, where cholera has claimed two lives.

The Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma made this directive when a deputation from the area led by the Sarpanch Mr Raman Kumar, informed him about the spread of the disease.

An official spokesman said when Mr Sharma came to know that two persons had died of cholera in the area, he ordered the Director, Health Services, to despatch a team of doctors there.

The deputation also urged Mr Sharma to post a Block Medical Officer in Arnas as the post has been lying vacant for sometime. — UNI 

Minister suspends employees

Jammu, May 10
Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Sheep and Animal Husbandry, Mr Yashpal Kundal, has suspended three doctors and five other officials of the Animal Husbandry Department for being absent from duty. — UNI