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Heavy snow disrupts life across Kashmir valley
Avalanche warning issued to Army
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Mufti urges Prime Minister not to abandon his Pakistan policy
Maj Gen Kumar meets Governor
Family of dead ‘spy’ urges govt to get his body from Pak
Ladakhi runners pull their socks up for Mumbai marathon
North India’s largest zoo to come up near Nagrota
Minister hospitalised
1 killed in accident
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Heavy snow disrupts life across Kashmir valley
Srinagar, January 18 The snowfall, which is the heaviest of the season so far and equally widespread, is continuing with a few pauses for more than 24 hours and is likely to continue through Friday night and Saturday morning. Nearly all major towns, including the summer capital here, and villages across the region have been covered in a white snow blanket with varying depths. In the city here, nearly half-foot snow has accumulated on roads and roofs. The passenger traffic on the roads in the city remained thin as many residents preferred to stay indoors to escape the snow and chill. The snowfall has disrupted essential services like power supply in the region. In some parts of the city, electricity remained cut off for more than 12 hours. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the portfolio of Power Ministry, said heavy snowfall had damaged power lines and the Power Development Department was working on a “war footing” to restore regular supply at the earliest. “Against the usual supply of 900-1000 MW, only 250 MW is being supplied because of line damage. Restoration (is) in progress,” the Chief Minister said. The latest spell of snowfall has been followed with high danger avalanche warnings for at least three areas of north Kashmir and medium danger warnings for several other places, all of which except Sonamarg are located in north Kashmir and many lie close to the Line of Control. “A high danger avalanche warning has been issued for the higher reaches of Naugam, Kaiyan and Gurez sector for the next 24 hours. A medium danger avalanche alert has been announced for the higher reaches of Chowkibal, Tangdhar, Keran, Machil, Sonamarg, Gulmarg and Uri,” said Aamir Ali, coordinator of state Disaster Management Cell. Gulmarg recorded three feet of fresh snowfall till Friday morning, while parts of south Kashmir recorded up to two feet of snow and more. Ali said no commercial flights could operate in and out of the Kashmir valley due to poor visibility caused by the snowfall. The snowfall, which was heavier in south Kashmir, also closed the critical and treacherous Srinagar-Jammu highway which is the major lifeline of supplies to the Valley. The area around Jawahar Tunnel, which connects the Kashmir valley with the outside world, is covered in one and a half feet of snow. The state weather department said heavy snowfall would continue to occur at most places in the state for the next 24 hours.
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Avalanche warning issued to Army
Srinagar, January 18 The Army said soldiers in avalanche-prone have been told to exercise caution. “There is no specific warning issued to the Army, but it is a general medium range avalanche warning in the upper reaches. However, soldiers have been advised to restrain their movement in avalanche-prone areas,” said a senior Army officer in north Kashmir where many forward posts fall in the avalanche-prone regions. “However, there will be no lowering of guard on the borders where 5 to 8 feet of snow had accumulated so far.” The avalanche warning was issued by the Divisional Disaster Management, Kashmir, on the basis of information from the SASE. The people living in snow-bound areas of Nowgam, Chowkibal, Machil, Tangdhar, Keran and Gurez were advised by the administration not to venture into steep avalanche-prone slopes. “Whenever any avalanche warnings are issued there are several measures put in place to ensure the security of the soldier,” said the Army spokesman, Col Brijesh Pandey. The Army said that it has learnt lessons from the past tragedies and it now uses many techniques to prevent such incidents. In fact, at many places the Army with the help of SASE scientists triggers artificial avalanches to avert mishaps in avalanche-prone areas. Regular alerts
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BJP state president selects new team
Jammu, January 18 The new list of office-bearers reflected that Jugal had given important positions to those who are known critics of expelled leader Chaman Lal Gupta, veteran leader Ashok Khajuria and former president Shamsher Singh Manhas. Although senior leaders Khajuria and Manhas had joined hands to sabotage the chances of Kavinder Gupta to become the state president, Jugal Kishore gave the latter one of the important posts of general secretary. Another leader Bali Bhagat has also been appointed as general secretary along with Rajiv Singh Jasrotia. Sources said instead of accommodating blue-eyed boys of senior leaders, the party leadership had decided to groom young leaders. “There is some talk going on that some veteran leaders are adopting a cooperative attitude towards the ruling National Conference. So, the party has decided to gradually sideline such leaders to infuse fresh blood in the organisation,” a source said, adding that the party leadership was also thinking of appointing young leader Sham Choudhary as the BJP Legislative Party head in the Assembly. A handout issued by the party states that Col Uttam Singh, Chander Prakash Ganga, Usha Choudhary, Sakina Bano, Vibodh Gupta and Ramesh Arora have been appointed vice-presidents. The new general secretaries included Kavinder Gupta, Bali Bhagat and Rajiv Singh Jasrotia. Ashok Koul will continue as state general secretary (org). Mamta Singh, Haleema, Rajni Sethi, Harinder Gupta, Munish Sharma, S. Charanjit Singh Khalsa, Pawan Khajuria and Ghulam Ali Khatana have been appointed as secretaries. Chander Mohan Gupta has been nominated as the state treasurer. He will be assisted by Parmodh Kapahi. Jitendra Singh will continue as the state chief spokesperson while Nirmal Kamal, Lalit Moza and Sanjiv Sharma will be state spokespersons. Balbir Ram Rattan will continue as state press secretary. He will be assisted by Ashok Khajuria. Ravinder Raina will head the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) as its new president. Priya Sethi has been nominated as the new president of the Mahila Morcha. Anusuchit Jaati Morcha will be headed by Surinder Bhagat while Mushtaq Noorabadi will head the Muslim
Morcha. |
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Mufti urges Prime Minister not to abandon his Pakistan policy
Jammu, January 18 Mufti said suspension of the implementation of new visa regime for senior citizens and virtual deportation of hockey players from Pakistan sent an extremely negative signal to people in the state. People in Kashmir, he said, were looking up to the Prime Minister for carrying forward the peace process that had impacted their lives positively in the last 10 years. Ceasefire between the two armies had brought back normalcy to the lives of people from Kathua to Kargil who had been victims of incessant shelling and exchange of fire for decades, Mufti said. “Same is true of the people living on the other side of the border and the two governments owed it to this vulnerable population to deescalate the tension and restore normalcy on the LoC," Mufti said. He said it was disheartening that the Prime Minister should have indicated the end of “business as usual” with Pakistan in the wake of the unfortunate incidents on the LoC and the shrill debate that followed in a section of media. He said successive governments led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Singh had invested heavily in the peace process. It would be unfortunate if Dr Singh for any reason felt obliged to go back on his own painstaking effort by conceding space to extremist views on his Pakistan policy, he added. “There is no reason why a mechanism that was put in place in the aftermath of Parliament attack when two armies were in combat positions, should be abandoned for recent incidents on the LoC,” Mufti said. He said people of Jammu and Kashmir were bearing the brunt of hostilities between the two countries for the last six decades. |
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Maj Gen Kumar meets Governor
Jammu, January 18 During the meeting, the GOC briefed the Governor about the overall security situation in the area of his responsibility. This was Maj Gen Kumar’s first meeting with the Governor after recently taking over as the GOC of 26 Infantry Division. The Governor wished Maj Gen Kumar a very successful tenure. Meanwhile, the Governor also met Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir. During their meeting, the Governor and the Agriculture Minister discussed the implementation status of various schemes underway for enhancing the productivity of agriculture and its allied sectors and the measures being taken for providing high-yielding seeds, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs to growers for enhancing agri-productivity and production in the state. Other important issues relating to the role of panchayats in promoting the rapid socio-economic development of the state were also discussed. Director General of Police Ashok Prasad called on Governor N N Vohra at Raj Bhawan here last evening. During their meeting, the Governor and the Director General of Police discussed the security situation in the state and issues pertaining to the internal security management. The Governor was also briefed about the threats received by sarpanches and panches and the measures being put in place to deal with the situation. |
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Family of dead ‘spy’ urges govt to get his body from Pak
Jammu, January 18 Chambel Singh, a marginal farmer from Pargwal Molu, a border area in Akhnoor sub-division, was sent to Pakistan on December 22, 2008, when he was 50 years old. He died at the Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore on January 16. “My last wish to see him (Chambel) alive has been shattered. I appeal to the government to get me his mortal remains from Pakistan so that his sons can perform his last rites. I also request them to help us eke out a living,” Kamlesh said. The family has now decided to meet Jammu Deputy Commissioner Sanjeev Verma to get Chambel’s body. “In 2008, some officials in civvies used to visit our house in Molu Pargwal. They brainwashed my husband,” she said. She received the news of her husband’s demise through a phone call from a relative of another ‘spy’, Kuldip Kumar Yadav, who is languishing in the same prison. The president of the Jammu Ex-Sleuths Association, Vinod Sawhney, said, “She got a phone call from Ahmedabad yesterday. Yadav’s brother broke the news to her. The government should immediately take up the matter with the quarters concerned to get back the body of Chambel.” Sawhney was also a ‘spy’, who after returning from Pakistan, fought a protracted battle with the government for his rehabilitation. “The ordeal for us and our families begins when we get arrested in Pakistan and get convicted under the Pakistani Army Act (PAA) for espionage and back home, secret agencies stop giving money to our families,” he said. |
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Cross-LoC trade suspended due to road blockade
Srinagar, January 18 The custodian of the trade facilitation centre at Salamabad near Uri, Nazir Ahmad Baba, said the movement of vehicles carrying consumer goods was suspended due to blockage at various places following snowfall and rains. Even as official teams and machinery were deployed to clear the roads for smooth movement of the traffic, the inclement weather hampered the clearance work in the area. The exchange of goods via vehicles between the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC) through the Kaman Bridge in the Uri sector is conducted on four days every week. The trade between the two sides started in October 2008 as part of a confidence-building measure (CBM) between the two countries and for greater people-to-people contact. Earlier on April 7, 2005, a cross-LoC bus service, ‘Karvan-e-Aman’, for divided families on the two sides was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh. |
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Ladakhi runners pull their socks up for Mumbai marathon
Jammu, January 18 Not only will this be their first visit outside their isolated home in the Himalayas but also it will be an experience for them to cope with hot and humid temperature there at a time when the temperature in their region is minus 15 degrees Celsius. These were among the top performers of the first-ever Ladakh marathon, a marathon in which athletes ran at an altitude of 11,000 feet and they were promised that the best among them would be taken to Mumbai as a reward. “These runners are in Mumbai because the winners in the Ladakh marathon did not get any prize money and they were promised that they would be taken to Mumbai for participation in this event,” said Motup Goba, who had taken the initiative to hunt sporting talent in Ladakh. He said the team arrived in Mumbai on January 11 to get acclimatised to the city. “Friends have arranged for their stay in an apartment in Bandra. It is better for them to get accustomed to humidity here as they have come from a place where temperatures during the winter season are always below zero degrees Celsius,” said Goba, adding that the athletes were excited about participating in the event. He said the aim of organising the Ladakh Marathon was to show to the world that Ladakh had recuperated from the devastating flash floods of August 2010, in which 255 people had died and over 200 people had gone missing. “These young boys and girls, if trained properly, can be as good as the Kenyans. We are not looking for instant miracles but are hoping that in the next three to five years we will give some serious competition to players across
the world in the arena of long-distance running,” said Goba. |
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North India’s largest zoo to come up near Nagrota
Srinagar, January 18 The Jammu zoo, which will come up at forest land in Khanpur near Nagrota in Jammu, will be spread over 200 hectares and will showcase species of wild animals and birds present in the Shivalik mountains of the region. The state has 15,806 square kilometres of forest land which is protected and home to about 50 species of animals and birds, many of which are rare. “The site for the upcoming zoo has been approved at Khanpur near Nagrota. At present, the exercise for preparing the master plan for the zoo is under way,” said Chief Wildlife Warden, J&K, AK Singh. The Department of Wildlife Protection in J&K has engaged a Mumbai-based consultancy firm for preparing the master plan, which once completed will be submitted to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for approval. The master plan involves the contour survey of the area spread over 200 hectares, design of the zoo, and preparation of the contour map, layout plan, enclosure designing and the landscaping. “Once the master plan is prepared and approved, the zoo will house representatives of almost all animals and birds species which inhabit the Shivalik Hills of the Himalayas in the Jammu region,” Singh said, adding that once complete, the zoo would be the biggest in North India. The animal species inhabiting Shivalik Hills include deer, leopards, wild goats and langurs The Jammu zoo, which will be developed on modern lines, will have cafeterias, nature interpretation centres and auditoriums. “Once completed, we hope the zoo will serve as one of the main attractions for animal lovers and tourists in the area,” a forest official said. During a review meeting of the functioning of wildlife and forest departments in November, 2012, Minister for Forests and Environment, Mian Altaf Ahmed had directed the officials concerned to complete all procedures of land identification for the Srinagar and Jammu zoos within one month. However, sources say, the authorities concerned have not been able to finalise the location for the Srinagar zoo as yet. The Kashmir region, rich in biodiversity and home to some rare wildlife species, doesn’t have a zoo. “The site for a zoo in Srinagar has not been identified as yet. We have one or two alternative sites in mind, but the final decision is yet to be taken,” AK Singh said. The state has five national parks, 14 sanctuaries and 37 conservation reserves. In Kashmir, the biggest attraction for animal lovers is Dachigam National Park, which is home to hangul or Kashmir stag, one of the most endangered species of the red deer in the world. Showcasing
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Minister hospitalised
Jammu, January 18 Head of the Cardiology Department, GMCH, Dr Sushil Sharma said Sagar was suffering from arterial fibrillation, a condition in which the heartbeat increases. “We have given him the requisite drugs and his condition is stable now,” said Dr Sharma. —
TNS
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1 killed in accident
Leh, January 18 The injured passengers were taken to the SNM Hospital here. The snowfall, which started early this morning and continued throughout the day, threw life out of gear here. Heavy snowfall at tourist spots Khardung La and Chang La forced the authorities to closed these passes for traffic on the Leh-Nubra and Leh-Durbuk roads. — OC
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Jammu, January 18
