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Tributes paid to Kargil martyrs
Drass: An annual pilgrimage for this retired Col
No intrusion by China, says Lt Gen Parnaik
Tension in Bandipore; Antony orders probe into youth’s killing
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BSF officer, driver washed away in flash flood at Seri
Kargil-like situation won’t be repeated: Army
Governor for multi-pronged strategy to improve road safety
Minister urged to keep Indo-Pak talks going
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Tributes paid to Kargil martyrs
Drass (Kargil), July 26 The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Ladakh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Rajan Bakshi, and the GOC of 8 Mountain Division, Maj Gen Raymond Noronha, laid wreaths at the war memorial. Bollywood singer-musician trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy and singer Akriti Kakkar performed at Drass as part of the anniversary commemoration. Meanwhile, the Ace of Spades Division today celebrated Vijay Divas at Hall of Fame, Rajouri, to pay homage to those brave soldiers who lost their lives on the battlefield during the Kargil War.
The celebrations of the 13th anniversary of the victory of the Indian Army in the 1999 Kargil War began with a wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial in Hall of Fame, where JK Tiwari, Deputy GOC of 25 Infantry Division, paid tributes to Kargil War heroes.
The day commemorates the culmination of the Kargil War. The Kargil War took place between Indian and Pakistani soldiers between May and July 1999 in Kargil area of Ladakh. The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers into positions on the Indian side of the LoC. The Indian Army supported by the Indian Air Force later recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LoC. With international diplomatic opposition, the Pakistan army withdrew from the remaining Indian positions along the LoC. The Indian Army launched its final attacks in the last week of July. As soon as the Drass sub-sector was cleared of Pakistani forces, the fighting ceased on July 26. By the end of the war, India had gained control over all its territory to the south and east of the Line of Control, as was established in July 1972 as per the Simla Agreement. The day is marked by a wreath laying ceremony at the India Gate by the Chief of Army Staff in New Delhi and is celebrated throughout the country. A similar function was organised by the Army in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri district, where prominent civil dignitaries and ex-servicemen paid tributes to the Kargil martyrs. Sunil Kumar, Tehsildar, Thanamandi, and Mohammad Bashir Magrey, Principal, Degree College, Thanamandi, were present on the occasion.
Drass: An annual pilgrimage for this retired Col
Majid Jahangir
Drass, July 26 Colonel VN Thapar (retired) while pointing towards the peak near Tiger Hill, where his son was killed, said coming to Drass on Vijay Divas was an annual pilgrimage for him and his family. “It is a silent tribute to my brave son. I come here to ensure that we have a sense of belonging with those who laid down their lives for our tomorrow,” said Thapar. “My son may not be physically here, but he is somewhere here in these mountains witnessing us,” the father said. After attending the wreath-laying ceremony at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, located close to the Srinagar-Leh National Highway, the retired Colonel said he would walk up to the place near the Knoll peak tomorrow where his son fell to bullets. Captain Vijyant Thapar of 2 Rajputana Rifles was posted in Kupwara in north Kashmir when the Kargil War broke out. He was shifted to Drass to fight the Pakistani army and intruders. His assault team, comprising 12 men, was initially tasked to capture “Barbad bunker” near the Tololing peak. He successfully managed to capture the bunker. His team was later assigned the task of capturing the Knoll peak during the Battle of Three Pimples. “It was in this battle that Vijyant was hit by a burst of bullets. He died on June 29, 1999,” the father said. Last year, he along with his other son and daughter-in-law had visited the spot where Vijyant was killed. “There is a strong reason for us to embark upon the annual pilgrimage. When my son was fighting the Kargil War, he wrote a letter asking me to visit the place to see where he had fought. ‘If you can, please come and see, where we fought for your tomorrow’,” Vijyant wrote in the letter a month before he was killed. More than 500 Indian Army officers and soldiers were killed in the Kargil War. For the first six years after the Kargil War, families of the slain soldiers used to come to Drass to pay homage, but the practice was later discontinued. For the past few years, only widows of soldiers from the Ladakh region are invited to the Kargil anniversary celebrations. |
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No intrusion by China, says Lt Gen Parnaik
Drass (Kargil), July 26 “We are well aware about the Chinese notion of becoming a regional and global power. As part of their effort to rise to that status, they have taken a lot of steps. They have built infrastructure. They have made inroads into our neighbouring countries,” the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Northern Command, Lt Gen K T Parnaik, told mediapersons after paying floral tributes at the war memorial in Drass to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Kargil War. Troops of the Northern Command are responsible for guarding the sensitive Line of Actual Control with China in the Ladakh region. “They (China) are developing relations with neighbouring countries and to that extent we need to ensure that this kind of relationship does not result in any problem for us on our borders or to our security,” he said. Lt Gen Parnaik said there were five-six disputed areas on the LAC where both countries patrol. “I don’t think there has been any intrusion here, but since the Chinese come into some areas which we also think are ours, we informally call those areas as disputed areas. There are five-six such disputed areas where both countries patrol. The solution will come only through talks, and the situation now is not at all worrisome. China has done infrastructure development in its area and it is also our effort to develop infrastructure in our area,” the GOC-in-C said. “Our border with China in Tibet is not demarcated and until it is not marked on ground, there will always be suspicion and perception about where the border begins. This perception between us and China has been like that for years because there has been no resolution of the boundary issue.” |
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Tension in Bandipore; Antony orders probe into youth’s killing
Srinagar, July 26 A complete shutdown was observed in the area in protest against the killing of the youth by the Army
in Aloosa village on Tuesday night. Traffic remained suspended on the Srinagar-Bandipore-Sopore roads. There were reports of clashes between the protesters and the police in the main market of Bandipore town. The police fired a gun shot in air and resorted to teargas shelling and cane-charge to disperse the protesters. The police, however, said clashes were reported from Watpora and Aloosa in Bandipore. “Miscreants threw stones at the police and security forces. The police exercised maximum restraint, handled the situation tactfully and dispersed the miscreants. There are no reports of any serious injury to anybody so far,” a police spokesman said. Meanwhile, the Army authorities have said detailed investigations were being carried out into the operations in which the youth, Hilal Ahmad Dar, was killed at Aloosa village. A Defence spokesman here said that based on specific information in the Aloosa-Halmatpura area, a surveillance-cum-ambush was launched in Ashtingu Nar on Tuesday night. “At 11.45 pm suspicious movement was observed. On being challenged, the ambush party was fired upon and a brief fire fight ensued. Later, one body and an AK-47 along with ammunition were recovered from the encounter site,” the Defence spokesman said. The body was identified as that of Hilal Ahmed Dar, a resident of Aloosa, Bandipore. The Army assured that it was carrying out detailed investigations into the incident. It said the investigations would be fair and transparent and added that it was cooperating with the police in the investigations. Action will be taken as per the law of the land, the Defence spokesman said. The Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani, visited the area and expressed condolences with the bereaved family. He was accompanied by DGP Ashok Prasad, Principal Secretary, Home, BR Sharma, IG, Kashmir, SM Sahai and Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora, Manzoor Lone. The Minister, while expressing sympathies with the bereaved family, said the youth’s death will be properly investigated. Local PDP MLA Nizamuddin Bhat condemned the killing and said the incident had created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the Valley. He condemned the police action on protesting mourners and demanded the release of the detained persons. |
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BSF officer, driver washed away in flash flood at Seri
Rajouri, July 26 The Deputy Commandant has been identified as Tarun Gupta (of the Intelligence Cell of the BSF), a resident of Rajasthan, and his driver has been identified as sepoy Udhay Kumar. They were patrolling the area around 3 am near the Line of Control at Seri, when a flash flood washed them away. Hundreds of BSF jawans along with expert divers launched a manhunt in the presence of senior BSF officers from 7 am onwards. The bodies were not traced till reports last came in. The BSF officers did not deny the probability of the bodies being washed away to PoK, which is a few metres from where the incident took place. Reports said the Indian Army and the BSF were trying to contact the Pakistan army to seek their help to retrieve the bodies. BSF rescue teams later found the vehicle a few hundred metres from the spot. |
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Kargil-like situation won’t be repeated: Army
Drass (Kargil), July 26 We are holding the defenses in a very deliberate and strong manner. The soldiers and officers are committed to this task and we continue to dominate the Line of Control in a manner that we will not allow any kind of intrusions. I want to assure that the Kargil-like situation will never repeat,” said General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Northern Command, Lt Gen K T Parnaik. Infiltration attempts The Army Commander said 35-38 militants had managed to infiltrate into the state this year. “In 2012, I think they (militants) have made 40-50 small and big infiltration attempts. But, according to the MAC (Multi Agency Centre) figures there have been 14-15 infiltration attempts till June this year in which 35-38 infiltrators have succeeded to infiltrate. This process continues every year, but the Army’s counter-infiltration grid is very strong on the border and it is multi-tiered. Because of multi-layered deployment, it is very difficult to infiltrate. But since the area is too vast, some infiltration takes place,” he said. About attacking militant training camps across the LoC, Lt Gen Parnaik said that was a decision which had to be taken at the national level. No conflict on AFSPA The Northern Command has no issue over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) with the J&K Government, declared Lt Gen Parnaik. “As far as I am concerned, we are on the same page with the state government. The AFSPA is an issue over which the Army has always given professional advice and I have said it on many occasions and I continue to maintain that we have been giving professional advice on various aspects of the AFSPA and the government will take a decision on its own. “Our effort should be that all the instruments of the state -- whether it is a security force, the administration station or the public -- need to come together to ensure that we don’t allow terrorism to resurface.” The Army has taken over both the Pathribal and Machil cases from the magistrate as per the direction of the Supreme Court. "We will go strictly as per the rules. There will be no short cuts, we will be transparent and we will ensure that every person who was involved will depose before the inquiry panel. Witnesses will not only be from the Army, but there will be civilians too. Tribute to martyrs “We will always remember the sacrifices made by soldiers and officers of the Army during the Kargil War to defend this wonderful Valley, Lt Gen Parnaik said. “My message to the youth of the region, state and the country is that you all have a wonderful opportunity to serve your country with the armed forces. Even if you don’t join the armed forces, at least remember that you have a place for your nation in your heart,” he added. |
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Krishna launches passport service
Srinagar, July 26 Krishna also laid the foundation stone of Passport Bhavan Building planned at Rajbagh. Speaking on the occasion, Krishna underlined the government’s commitment to provide efficient delivery of passports across the country. Also present on the occasion was Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who said the number of passport seekers in the state was increasing every year. He said the government had taken various measures to hasten the security clearance for issuance of passports by the CID. “We have cleared 51,000 passport cases in 2010, 60,000 in 2011-12 and 50,000 this year so far. We have also cleared 6,000 cases
this year which were placed in the black list. Passport clearance was also given
to 2700 Haj pilgrims,” he said, adding that the government was considering the possibility of bringing passport clearance by CID within the purview of Public Service Guarantee Act to make delivery of this service time-bound. The project is in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode with Tata Consultancy Services as the service provider. The setting up of 77 PSKs in the country has been envisioned under the Passport Seva Project as part of the National e-Governance Plan. |
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Governor for multi-pronged strategy to improve road safety
Srinagar, July 26 A high-level group of experts on road safety called on the Governor at Raj Bhawan here today. The Governor had urged the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways to provide expert advice to the state officials concerned for promoting road safety in the state. The Central Government team comprised of C Kandasamy, Director General, Roads Development; Special Secretary, Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Chaman Lal; Chief Engineer Rajeev Lochan; Director, Road Safety, Verinder Singh; Project Director, National Highway IA, Chenani-Nashri, Brig TPS Rawat; Chief Engineer, Project Beacon, Border Roads Organisation; and Col Mishra of Project Vijayak. Minister for Transport Qamar Ali Akhoon, DGP Ashok Prasad and senior officials of the departments concerned participated in the discussions. The Governor urged the Central team to provide sustained help and advice to the State Government departments and agencies concerned so that a multi-pronged strategy could be implemented on a time-bound basis to achieve visible improvement. Vohra stressed that remedial measures must be taken urgently at all the identified black spots (high accident prone locations) on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and crash barriers be erected along the already identified 36 km critical stretch of the Batote-Kishtwar National Highway. —
TNS |
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Minister urged to keep Indo-Pak talks going
Srinagar, July 26 “We are aware that the problems of 60 years will not disappear overnight, but sustained talks to find out a solution in a peaceful atmosphere, is the only way forward….stop, start in dialogue is painful,” Omar said while addressing Krishna at a function here. “No state is affected more by the deterioration in the Indo-Pak relations as J&K….we are the recipients of deterioration in relations and we would benefit the most if there is an improvement,” he said. Omar urged Krishna to vociferously take up the issues faced by cross-Line of Control traders. He said the traders were facing banking and communication problems while the trade was being conducted through a barter system. Omar urged the Union Minister to take steps to ease the visa process for cross-LoC bus travellers. Pointing out at the inconveniences faced by Haj pilgrims, he urged the Centre to operate direct flights from Srinagar to Jeddah. Farooq also underscored the need for making the Indo-Pak dialogue process a sustained one. “The process of friendship with Pakistan needs to be taken to its logical conclusion….last 60 years have seen a lot of bloodshed....there should be no more bloodshed….if friendship increases, development increases and if friendship decreases, there is less development….Pakistan should understand this,” he said.
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Senior Army officers, war veterans and widows of soldiers today paid floral tributes to the Army soldiers, who were killed in the 1999 Kargil War, at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass on the second day of the two-day celebrations of the 13th anniversary.
Rajouri, July 26
