Jammu, January 27
Governor NN Vohra has emphasised the need for optimally channelling the energies of the youth for taking the country to the pinnacle of development and prosperity.

Interacting with a group of students from JK Public School, who called on him at Raj Bhavan, here today, the Governor said, “Youth power is the most potent force in the country that can make a real difference in bringing about prosperity in all spheres of development and nation building.”

Referring to the chapter on Fundamental Rights and the prescriptions with regard to Fundamental Duties of the citizenry enshrined in the Constitution of India, the Governor observed that both must go in hand-in-hand.

The delegation comprising 11 students and two teachers presented to the Governor a pledge with signatures of student representatives from 16 schools of Jammu on a sheet, resolving to create awareness among people about environment protection. They also pledged to promote and strengthen communal harmony and brotherhood, abjure violence and safeguard public property. The pledge was signed by the students at JK Public School, Kunjwani, on January 25.

Appreciating the idea behind the pledge taken by the students, the Governor said they should organise such programmes by associating a much larger number of students at various places and launch cleanliness and awareness campaigns collectively. These activities should be well publicised so that a desired impact was created with regard to spreading awareness among people at large, he added.

The Governor advised the students to frame this pledge and charter and display it at a prominent place in their school so that everyone could read the pledge and draw inspiration from it. He also asked them to keep him informed about the initiatives being taken by them in its realisation.

The Governor also enquired from the students about their academic and extra-curricular activities and wished them a bright career.

Srinagar, January 27
While the Republic Day celebrations passed off peacefully amid tight security arrangements, a complete shutdown called by separatists paralysed normal life across the Kashmir valley yesterday with stray incidents of protests in Srinagar downtown. There was no hoisting of the Tricolour at Clock Tower in Lal Chowk.

The police and the security forces, on a high alert in view of intelligence inputs, also busted a militant hideout in Budgam district and averted a major tragedy with the timely detection of an IED at Beijbehara on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway yesterday. The police seized 145 AK rounds, 27 LMG rounds, one pistol round and two carbine rounds from the open field of in the Beerwah area of Budgam district yesterday.

A major tragedy was averted when the police seized an IED weighing 2.3 kg planted at Naina bridge, Beijbehara in Anantnag district. It also seized 17 AK 47 rounds, nine electronic detonators, one grenade and 1.5 kg explosive material. The IED was defused by the bomb disposal squad without causing any harm.

All shops and business establishments in the valley remained closed and transport was off the roads throughout the day yesterday. However, a thin private transport was plying later in the afternoon in many areas after the security cover around the venues for Republic Day celebrations and at vital installations was relaxed. At least 20 persons were injured during the clashes between the police and youths pelting it with stones at Maisuma in the heart of the city and other downtown localities.

Mobile phone services also remained suspended across the state till afternoon as part of security measures in the wake of intelligence inputs that militants could create trouble on the occasion.

There was no hoisting of the Tricolour at Clock Tower in Lal Chowk, which continues to be guarded by the paramilitary forces. The troops had been hoisting the national flag at Clock Tower on Republic Day, while the CRPF this time had decided not to hoist the national flag.

An official spokesman reacting to these reports said the decision not to hoist the flag was the internal decision of the CRPF. It added that the official function was held at Bakshi Stadium here, in which at least 8,000 persons participated yesterday. 

Jammu, January 27
A day after Republic Day was celebrated across the Jammu region, border became calm with no Pakistani misadventure reported till 5 pm today. “Till now (5 pm), not even a single intrusion bid or firing from across the border has been reported,” said a senior BSF officer.

Similarly, there was calm on the LoC as well. There was no incident of ceasefire violation or infiltration bid. “Though the Republic Day celebrations passed off peacefully, we did not lower our guard. It’s a 24x7 job for us,” said a senior defence official.

However, an officer from the counter-insurgency wing of the state police said threat from militants was serious till January 29 when the beating retreat ceremony would be performed.

It had always been the top agenda of Pakistani militants to create disturbance in the state during national festivals “because they know that if they succeed, they will get the attention of the international community,” he said.

He recalled how militants had triggered three blasts on January 26, 1995, at MA Stadium here, when the then Governor KV Krishna Rao was delivering the Republic Day speech in a jam-packed stadium.

“Now the R-Day celebrations are over. We anticipate peace on the border and as a result we can now hope to cultivate our fields on the other side of the fence,” said Thoru Ram, a farmer of Changiya village.

Echoing similar views, Laxman Dass of Chak Gorian village said Pakistan’s misadventures had hit them hard. To hope that Pakistan would stop fuelling militancy in the state would be a wishful thinking on our part, but we could now anticipate that the frequency of misadventures would come down, he said.

It may be stated here that yesterday Pakistani troops had opened fire at the Alpha Machail post in the Kanachak sector, forcing the BSF to retaliate. A group of militants had unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate under cover fire from the Pakistan troops. Meanwhile, the cellphone services were jammed in the entire state for over eight hours yesterday. 

Jammu, January 27
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil conferred Shaurya Chakra upon Major Akash Singh posthumously on the occasion of the 61st Republic Day in New Delhi yesterday.

The young officer had killed two terrorists while thwarting an infiltration bid on the LoC in the Sunegali area near Mendhar in Poonch district during the intervening night of September 8 and 9 last year. On the fateful night, the young officer had singlehandedly killed one terrorist and injured the other, who also died later.

In a fierce gun battle, Major Akash even after being grievously injured fired on the terrorists and saved the lives of five colleagues.

The operation resulted in the killing of three terrorists and the seizure of a huge cache of ammunition and warlike stores.

The young Army officer laid down his life for the nation after successfully foiling a major infiltration bid.

An alumnus of the Officers Training Academy, he was commissioned in the 5th Maratha Light Infantry on September 4, 1999, in the post-Kargil era when the unit was deployed for the ‘Operation Vijay’ in the forward area of the state.

As a young officer in those trying circumstances he proved himself and kept the troops motivated.

He had also served with the battalion well in ‘Operation Parakaram’ as Adjutant and Platoon Commander.

He also served in the insurgency-hit areas of Northeast where he led a number of successful operations.

Major Akash is survived by his wife Deepti, a four-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son, who reside in Shiv Nagar here.

Jammu, January 27
Shaurya Chakra to Major Akash Singh, who sacrificed his life in the prime of his youth, has disappointed his family here.

“Though medallions and honours wouldn’t bring back my son and I am proud that he sacrificed his life for the country, those at the helms of affair should have given a serious thought before announcing Shaurya Chakra for the exemplary bravery of my late son,” Shanker Singh told The Tribune over the phone.

“Despite being seriously injured, my son not only killed two terrorists with an SLR, but also saved his fellow soldiers before sacrificing his life,” said Shanker, who felt that the leaders should have announced an award matching his sacrifice.

The government announced Kirti Chakra for Rukhsana Kousar, a girl who had killed a Lashkar militant in Thannamandi last year.

“We appreciate her (Rukhsana’s) bravery and hope that women take inspiration from her. But people should themselves judge whether justice has been meted out to Major Akash,” he said.

None from our family is going to wear his medallion, but the government should encourage brave youth with matching honours, Shanker said, adding that the Army today was short of 15,000 commissioned officers. We had been hoping that considering the supreme sacrifice of my son the government would at least announce Kirti Chakra, he added.

My sources had informed me that Kirti Chakra had been recommended for my son’s bravery, the father of the martyr said.

Akash’s wife is also feeling let down. To a television news channel, she said the supreme sacrifice of his husband was not duly honoured by the government. The award should have been the one, which could have inspired the youth to join the Army. What he deserved was not given to him, she told the channel.

Srinagar, January 27
As normal life resumed here after a complete shutdown on the occasion of Republic Day, at least 20 persons were injured when the locals protesting against the presence of the CRPF in Batamaloo and Qamarwari localities here were cane-charged by the police today.

The protesters pelted the security personnel with stones. The police lobbed tear gas shells and fired in the air to quell demonstrators in the Batamaloo locality, who were demanding the removal of three bunkers of the CRPF from three places in the area — Reka Chowk, a residential house of a former NC leader and a school 
building.

The trouble started when residents and local shopkeepers held protests in the locality demanding the removal of the CRPF bunkers. Shops and business establishments were also closed, as the shopkeepers joined the protests.

The agitating residents blocked traffic on the link road that connects with the airport road near the Exhibition Grounds. The police swung into action and resorted to a cane charge and lobbed tear gas shells, injuring at least 20 persons. The trouble continued intermittently throughout the day, disturbing normal life in the area, close to the General Bus Stand.

Protests were also held in the Qamarwari area today, where the shopkeepers alleged that CRPF personnel had harassed them and damaged several shops on Monday evening. The protesters demanded immediate action against the CRPF personnel. Traffic on the crossing, which mainly leads to the three districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore, was also blocked for some time, which, however, resumed after assurances to the agitators from the police and civil officers.

Srinagar, January 27
As temperature improved amid continued dry chill across the Kashmir valley, rain and snowfall are expected in the next two days.

In view of the approaching western disturbance, rain or snowfall was likely to occur in the state on January 28 and 29, Aamir Ali, in charge, Disaster Management, and OSD to the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, said here.

The Meteorological Department recorded 14.3°C in Srinagar today with the minimum at 2.0°C. There had been an increase in the temperature over the past three days, it added.

There was an increase in the temperature in the Jammu areas during the past few days after foggy conditions.

A continued dry spell is being witnessed across the valley this winter. Rain and a thin layer of snow were witnessed in the valley on January 3, after which there had been a continued dry spell.

The people in the valley are worried over the continued dry weather conditions in winter as it would adversely affect agriculture and horticulture in the coming months. It would also lead to decline in water level in the rivers and streams thereby leading to lesser generation of power from hydro power stations.

The winter snow remains as a treasure of water resources in the upper reaches for the summer months. 

Srinagar, January 27
Finance Minister AR Rather has said there has been a considerable decline in militancy related incidents and civilian causalities in the state during the last year. He has added that violence was no solution to any problem and appealed to all sections of society to join the dialogue process to sort out all issues.

Rather said this while addressing the Republic Day function at Bakshi Stadium here yesterday. He said the coalition government had taken up massive development programmes for ‘saddak, paani and bijli’ across the state since it assumed office. He revealed that 20,500 educated youth had been provided employment, dearness allowance had been released and the employees had been granted the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations. The state exchequer had to foot Rs 1,800 crore on this account, he added.

On the recently announced Sher-e-Kashmir Employment Policy, the Finance Minister said the policy envisaged various employment avenues for the unemployed educated youth, besides providing government employment. He said the Overseas Employment Corporation headed by the Chief Minister had also been constituted for arranging employment for the youth abroad.

In his Republic Day address at Ganderbal district headquarters, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Ali Mohammad Sagar impressed upon the leaders of India and Pakistan to restart a serious and purposeful dialogue process to resolve all issues that could bring prosperity and happiness to the people of Kashmir. “We can change friends, but not neighbours”.

He said, therefore, it was imperative for India and Pakistan to settle all issues, including Kashmir, like good and sincere neighbours. Sagar said the NC and the Congress were serious about resolving the Kashmir issue. The Chief Minister was personally keen on an amicable and peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue, he added.

The Republic Day functions were held at all other district headquarters sub divisions and tehsil headquarters across the Kashmir valley and the Ladakh region. The ministers, who took the salute at different district headquarters in Kashmir included Taj Mohiuddin at Kupwara, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed at Baramulla, Qmar Ali Akhoon at Bandipore, Ghulam Hassan Mir at Budgam, Ajaz Ahmad Khan at Anantnag, Sakina Ittoo at Pulwama, Agha Rohulla at Shopian and Mian Altaf at Kulgam.

Leh, January 27
Tsering Dorjey, Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, hoisted the national flag at Polo Ground in Leh yesterday.

In his Republic Day address, Dorjey declared that Leh would be developed as a model hill district by 2025, despite its harsh climate, difficulty in accessibility and terrains.

Highlighting developmental activities being carried out by the LAHDC, Leh, Dorjey also mentioned about the new projects to be implemented in the coming years. These include the Prime Minister’s package for renewal energy development of Rs 600 crore for Leh and Kargil districts, Rs 86 crore for water supply, slum development and waste management for Leh town out of the proposed master plan of Leh town, Rs 100 crore financial assistance from the 13th Finance Commission for upgrading power transmission, development of sports infrastructure, creation of cold storage and the promotion of eco-tourism and the national snow leopard project.

Dorjey said the micro planning at the block level was being done along with Tata Institute of Social Science in the district . He added Nyoma, Durbuk and Kharu blocks had already been covered and at present Leh and Chushot blocks were under the process. He said the government had granted power to run micro hydel projects of less than 2 mw in the district and the LAHDC had submitted 16 report projects for approval.