Jammu, July 20
With the three districts of Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch reeling under power crisis after the Gladni grid station caught fire on July 2, the authorities have claimed that normal supplies would be restored by the end of August.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Sandeep Naik, commissioner secretary, Power, said the authorities had taken up the matter on priority but it would take at least a month to restore normal power supplies to the affected areas.

“After the 133.33 MVA transformer was burnt at the Gladni grid, the government initiated measures on a war-footing,” he said. He added that under the four-point action plan, the authorities had transported the damaged transformer to BHEL's workshop at Jhansi where repairs were going on.

The state had already ordered a 160 MVA capacity transformer with the BHEL that would be ready for delivery by the third week of August, Naik said. He added that as soon as it reached here, it would be commissioned immediately.

“Following a major crisis, the government had also started exploring other possibilities and we had been trying to purchase new transformers from others sources as well,” he said.

“Under the action plan we approached the Haryana Vidyut Nigam for another 100 MVA transformer. Hopefully they would agree to our request. If they concede to our request then the transformer from Mumbai is expected to reach here by the end of next month,” Naik said.

Similarly, the matter was taken up with the Union power ministry, which asked the Power Grid Corporation to provide transformers to the state.

Naik said, “Consequently a transformer of 150 MVA capacity is being diverted to the state from Bihar and it would reach here by August 3 or August 5. Once it reached, it would be installed and commissioned by August 15,” he added.

Srinagar, July 20
“God has smiled on us after a long spell of troubles” was among the first mobile conversation that security forces intercepted between two Hizbul Mujahideen militants after the deadly blast on the Army convoy on Srinagar-Baramulla highway yesterday.

The first indications are, official sources told The Tribune, that hardcore and well-trained Pakistani militants, who have infiltrated into the state this year, might have helped HM’s local cadres.

The militant outfit has suffered the worst in the last two years during counter insurgency operations but its indigenous character means that its strength is necessary for their Pakistani mentors to keep running their several terror fronts, manned largely by Pakistanis, in the valley successfully.

The explosive planted by the roadside was a sophisticated device, which was likely to have been put together by militants trained across the border, an official said.

The Hizbul Mujahideen has still a strong presence in north Kashmir, where the blast occurred, and its divisional commander Md Shafi, alias Doctor Dawood, has long been a thrown in the flesh of security forces. However, most of his cadres were either killed or nabbed in the last one year and sources said the new bunch of infiltrators, most of them foreigners, might have sent here to help the outfit.

The first blast of this magnitude in a long time yesterday was reminiscent of some of the most fatal IED attacks security forces have seen in the last few years. One such attack killed five CRPF personnel in Awantipora on August 17 last year while 11 soldiers including an Army major were killed in another such blast on December 5, 2004.

However, the most deadly blast was on a bus carrying BSF personnel and their families, which left 30 dead — 19 soldiers, six women and five kids — on May 23, 2004, in Qazigund in south Kashsmir.

A senior CRPF official said they would be taking stock of road security measures in coming days and some loopholes are likely to have crept in. The paramilitary force is responsible for the sanitisation of the Jammu-Srinagar-Baramulla highway where military convoys and VIP vehicles ply as a routine. He said the long spell of lull seems to have made officials less alert.

Srinagar, July 20
The security forces today killed two militants, including a Pakistani, in Chali Wan Arigam area of Bandipora district.

One of those killed was Abu Zaid, a Pakistani national who was a Lashkar-e-Taoiba commander and had been active in north Kashmir since 2001. He was also involved in the killing of the territorial Army soldiers in 2006.The another militant was Gowhar Ahmad alias Akash, a local militant from the Al-Bader outfit. Troops of 23 Punjab and 10 para units of the Army had cordoned off the area after getting a tip-off and were fired upon by the holed up militants.

The local police also joined the operation and in the ensuing encounter both the militants were killed. The police said two AK guns and loads of ammunition were recovered from the spot.

Jammu, July 20
The police busted a Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) module today and arrested three militants, including a Pakistani commander of the outfit from the Jammu railway station, official sources said today.

Acting on information provided by the state intelligence (CID) of the Jammu & Kashmir Police, cops arrested Abdu Adil, LeT coordination commander, who hails from Gujranwala in Pakistan, along with two of his associates last evening when they alighted from the Himkund Express originating in Lucknow.

The other two have been identified as Shafiq Ahmed and Khalid-ul-Haq, both residents of Rajouri. Personnel of the state police's Special Operation Group (SOG) cast a security cordon around the station on receiving the information about the LeT militants, sources said.

As soon as trio alighted from the train, security and intelligence agency sleuths arrested them easily without any resistance as they were caught unawares.

CID inputs said the militants travelled in a Tata Safari vehicle from Lucknow to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh from where they boarded the Hemkunt Express.

Immediately after their arrest, the trio was whisked away to a secret location for interrogation during which they disclosed the identity of their 'divisional commander' and other members of the network, mostly operating in Jammu and Rajouri districts, sources said. — PTI

Jammu, July 20
The ongoing power crisis in Jammu region has started taking a toll on the livelihood of thousands of workers who were earning their bread and butter from the industry.

The breakdown in Gladini power grid station has forced many industries to sack contractual employees as they are not getting adequate power to run the industry to its full capacity. Obviously the crisis has also hit the industry hard.

Talking to The Tribune, Association of Small Scale Industries president Rajesh Jain said, "We have no option but to retrench contractual employees and daily wagers as we are not receiving electricity enough to run even a single shift. Not only that we have also resorted to lay-off of a section of permanent employees. The power crisis has certainly snatched away the livelihood of many workers."

He said the industry is receiving eight hours of "declared power supply". However, he said the power department resorted to power cuts in those eight hours too and what they actually get was four to six hours of power supply.

Federation of Industries Chairman Anil Suri said over 30 per cent of workers engaged in the industry had been retrenched in the wake of the crisis. Squarely blaming the power department for the crisis, Suri said the shortfall in power was not as much as the "mismanagement" on the part of the department. "Power shortage is only 30 per cent, but the department is curtailing power to the extent of 50-60 per cent. What we will produce in eight hours? Suri, who owns an industry in Bari Brahmana, felt that at least 12 hours of power supply was must for the industry to survive.

Industries association, Samba president Vinod Rishi, who owns Vinayak Synthetic, said, "An industry like ours is suffering a loss of Rs 20,000 daily. Many of our 90 units in Samba are forced to operate with generators, which is costing them anywhere between Rs 30,000-40,000 per day." Terming it as a grim situation for the industry, Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ram Sahai said since the breakdown in Gladini power grid the industry had suffered losses of about Rs 2,000 crore. He also admitted that a large number of daily wagers have lost their livelihood due to the crisis.

Jammu, July 20
Even as the process for return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley has virtually come to a halt in the aftermath of the Amarnath land row, unfazed by the turmoil that followed the controversy, Raj Lakshmi Koul has decided to return to her native land along with her son and grandson.

Presently staying in New Delhi, she had migrated from the valley in mid-90s after she was forced to vacate her house by some "anti-social elements". "I had been to Srinagar recently. I stayed there for a week and nothing seems to have changed in so many years. The people there are as amiable as ever and I never felt insecure among them," she said while talking to The Tribune at the relief commissioner's office here today. Replying to a query regarding the unrest in the state over the land row, she said, "I met all my acquaintances in Srinagar and they received me with warmth. I also visited one of our most reverred shrines, Khir Bhawani, and have returned safe and sound. I don't feel there is any such threat in the wake of the recent happenings over the land row." Recalling her past, Koul said she still remembers the day when some people came to her house and threatened her to vacate it or else face the consequences. "I didn't give up easily and tried to take up the matter with government officials. However, they followed me there too and again tried to intimidate me. I continued to fight and left only when it became impossible to stay there," she averred. To Koul, the Prime Minister's package for the displaced Kashmiri community seems to have offered a ray of hope for rehabilitation at her native place.

"My son used to work in a hotel in Srinagar prior to our displacement from the valley. However, after shifting to Delhi he could not get a job," she said.

Jammu, July 20
Reacting strongly to the just released list of short-listed candidates for the posts of Accounts Assistants (state cadre), state BJP vice-president and spokesperson Prof Hari Om today said it was yet another instance of indicating the extreme bias of the Kashmiri-dominated political establishment towards the people of Jammu region.

“Besides the revocation of land transfer order passed by the Congress-led minority government to appease the Kashmir-based communalists, the Kashmiri-dominated Service Selection Board (SSB) has perpetrated another injustice on the people of Jammu province by inviting 252 candidates from Kashmir for interview as against just five (three Muslims and two Hindus) from Jammu province,” he said.

The BJP spokesperson said they wanted perfect parity between Kashmir and Jammu in all spheres and at all levels. He added he would urge Governor N.N. Vohra to intervene in the matter and do something concrete to give the Jammu youth their due share.

He warned the powers-that-be in the state that the people of Jammu province, who had resolved to obtain their due share in the state’s polity and economy, would be left with no other alternative but to resort to radical methods, in case, the SSB goes ahead with its “anti-Jammu decision.”

The state authorities just cannot treat the Jammu youth so shabbily, he added.

Srinagar, July 20
Governor N.N Vohra has indicated the urgent need for the enactment of a suitable framework for preserving and conserving heritage monuments in the state.

“The rich vernacular architecture has to be preserved for posterity to know about their glorious past, besides attracting a large number of tourists, both domestic as well as foreign,” the Governor observed yesterday while being briefed on the rich treasure of such buildings.

Vohra stressed the need for identifying heritage monuments and magnificent old buildings and observed that, in the first instance, effective time-bound steps would need to be taken for their conservation and preservation of the surroundings.

He was informed that, presently, there was no law for listing or protecting heritage buildings.

The Governor called for the formulation of a master plan in this regard and indicated that implementation of the conservation programme must be carried out within a specified time frame.

He sought the preparation of a calendar of all such activities and the same being monitored on a fortnightly basis.

Vohra suggested creation of a monumental corridor for incoming tourists with the facilities of guides and planned package tours. He also called for creating awareness among the people about the upkeep of the buildings having historical value.

“Such monuments may not be used as dwelling units by them presently; however, those who own such buildings must be made conscious of being the owners of the heritage bequeathed from their ancestors,” he added.

The Governor was given a detailed briefing on monumental buildings surveyed by the Jammu and Kashmir Chapter of INTACH and some of the conservation works undertaken during the past few years.

These include the Ali masjid in Srinagar and the ancient Shiva temple in Manasbal. He was also informed about the status of the first phase of conservation work on the Mubarak Mandi complex in Jammu taken up at a cost of Rs 4. 37 crore.

Vohra was also briefed about the futuristic plans of conserving various forts, buildings and monumental structures across the State and he desired to visit some of these in the coming days, along with all concerned officers.

Udhampur, July 20
Keeping in mind the forthcoming Assembly elections, the Congress and BJP leaders have intensified their "war of words" on the Amarnath land row to "convince" the common masses.

While as the BJP has stepped up attacks on the Congress for, what it alleged, succumbing before the anti-national forces on the land row issue, the latter blamed the former of whipping up emotions of the people for petty political gains.

Following directions of PCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz and former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the "defensive" party cadre has launched an aggressive damage control exercise, but party workers are finding it difficult to counter allegations of the BJP.

Recent statement of veteran Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Mangat Ram Sharma, who had dubbed the PDP as an anti-national party, has provided enough ammunition to the BJP to corner the Congress. "For almost six years, the Congress remained partner of the anti-national party", Pawan Gupta, BJP secretary, said.

Gupta regretted that being a partner, the Congress leadership, intentionally or unintentionally, had supported secessionist agenda of the PDP.

Meanwhile, the Congress party in Udhampur is organising meetings in different localities to gauge peoples' mood. The party leaders have stepped up counter attacks on the BJP and the Sangh Parivar to remove misconception on the Amarnath land row.

"The main agenda of the Sangh Parivar's campaign was to dislodge the Congress-led regime in the state", R.S. Pathania, general secretary of the Youth Congress alleged and added that the decision to involve the tourism department for the smooth conduct of the yatra was right. "The BJPhas nothing to do with the emotions of Hindus and their only aim is to consolidate vote bank for the Assembly elections", he said.

Jammu, July 20
Violating norms, the defacement of walls continues unabated in the winter capital right under the nose of the Jammu Municipal Corporation.

Various advertisements had been painted and fixed by students and youth organisations on the walls of various colleges.Not only here but nearby areas also showed how easily the Defacement of Property Act,1985 had been prohibited. With the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state, political parties will also try to exploit the available space to propagate their agendas.

Mayor Kevinder Gupta said though the violation of the aforesaid Act by any individual or organisation was punishable with imprisonment upto three months or fine of Rs 1000 or both, nobody had been punished so far in this regard.Certain locations had been earmarked for public advertisement for which the corporation was annually earning Rs 1.21 crore. He said despite knowing the details of defaulters notified on their illegal advertisements, the officers concerned had not taken any action against them so far.