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Killing of two youths in army firing
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Infiltrator killed along LoC in Poonch
Lt Gen Chachra takes over Northern Command
Surankote Killings CRPF deploys women commandos at Amarnath cave
Women commandos being trained at the CRPF Academy in Gurgaon. A file photograph
Two more drug samples found substandard
Despite ban, Patnitop tourist resort strewn with plastic waste
Amarnath Yatra
Conference on Central Asia highlights importance
of digital diplomacy
Major reshuffle in administration, 26 KAS officers transferred
Doda residents feel cheated as hydel training institute goes to Ganderbal
Now, earthquake-hit Bhaderwah residents face ration shortage
Arms recovered in Kupwara
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Killing of two youths in army firing
Srinagar, July 1 The bandh called by several separatist groups against the killing of the two civilians in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district evoked a mixed response. Two civilians, Irfan Ahmad Ganai (17), a resident of Markundal village of Bandipora district, and Tariq Ahmad (in his early 20s), a resident of Kondbal village of Ganderbal district, were allegedly shot by Army men during a counter-insurgency operation at Markundal village yesterday morning. The Army denied killing Ganai and said it had shot Ahmad in self-defence when protesters, agitating against Ganai’s killing, tried to attack an Army ambulance. Separatists leaders, including chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front had called for a shutdown today against the killing. Angry protesters tried to set ablaze an Army goodwill school in the Hajin area of Bandipora district today, where tension has been mounting since the killings took place. A police spokesman said there was a fire in one room of the school which was immediately extinguished. The district’s chief administrative official said the situation was under control and curfew had been imposed in the Hajin, Sumbal and Naidkhai areas of Bandipora. “There has been no bad incident today, except one. We are assessing what should be done tomorrow,” Bandipora Deputy Commissioner MY Zargar said. A police officer said there were sporadic incidents of stone-throwing against the police and paramilitary forces in parts of Bandipora. Public and private transport plied on all routes within Srinagar and on other inter-district routes despite shutdown. Shops and other business centres at Lal Chowk in Srinagar and its adjoining markets remained closed. Geelani has issued a fresh protest chart calling for marches to Markundal and Kondbal, the native villages of the two slain youth, on Wednesday and state-wide protests on Friday. |
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Infiltrator killed along LoC in Poonch
Poonch, July 1 “At 4.30 am, alert troops in the Saujian sector of Poonch observed suspicious movement in the vicinity of a post. The troops challenged the intruder and during the firefight one militant was killed. He was carrying some explosives, which detonated as a result of
firing by the troops, leading to severe mutilation of the militant,” said Col
RK Palta, Defence PRO, Jammu. “The incident highlights the continued attempts by militants to infiltrate
across the LoC. This incident is the second attempt by militants in the last 3 to 4 days to trespass the Line of Control,” the PRO said. The sources also said the ISI had deputed a special group across the LoC in the Poonch sector to built
pressure on the Army so that infiltrations could be made easy. The Army has intensified searches along the LoC to foil any such attempts.
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Omar expresses grief, says it was avoidable
Srinagar, July 1 In an emotional statement issued here today, the Chief Minister said: “The deaths of Tariq Ahmad Laharwal and Irfan Ahmad Ganaie, two youngsters at the peak of their lives and with so much to look forward to, are tragic. They lengthen the symbolic shortening of the emotional distance made possible by the railway tunnel between Kashmiris and the country. This is besides the fact that, by itself, life is sacred — a precious gift from Almighty. Losing it to needless violence is the ultimate tragedy and a loss that is irreparable.” He added: “Those who dare to challenge this right by omission or commission are made to pay a price, the kind that serves as a cautionary example to others.” “I do not have words to express my grief and outrage over this gruesome incident that was eminently avoidable and needless,” Omar said. The Chief Minister added: “My heart beats with the grief-stricken hearts of the bereaved families. If I could bring back Tariq and Irfan, I would leave no stone unturned to do so, but alas no human being has that power.” He said: “My words are not meant as rhetoric to heal the wounds that will never get healed, but an attempt to shoulder and bear the grief of the bereaved families and console them.” He added: “I also laud the bereaved families and the communities of which the boys were part of for maintaining a sense of proportion and calm in the face of adversity and a tense situation and not allowing their sentiments and emotions to be taken advantage of and exploited.” Omar said: “The unwarranted deaths of Tariq and Irfan harden my resolve and determination to make the state of Jammu and Kashmir into an example where life is sacred and the right to life is protected by law.” |
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Lt Gen Chachra takes over Northern Command
Jammu, July 1 Lt General Chachra is a second generation Rajput Officer, commissioned in 17 Rajput in June 1974. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) has had varied combat, staff and instructional experience. A graduate of Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, where he later served in the teaching faculty, the officer has also qualified the Higher Command Course, Mhow. He has also groomed young cadets at the National Defence Academy. Lt General Chachra is the first GOC-in-C to have had the distinction of commanding the Western Command before taking over the responsibility of the Northern Command. The officer has seen active combat service at the Siachen Glacier, high altitude border areas in the north and north-east, and commanded the 16 Rajput in a counter-insurgency environment. For exceptional service during command of his unit in counter-insurgency operations, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). He later commanded a brigade on the western sector and a frontline Mountain Division deployed along the northern borders, wherein, for exceptional service and outstanding leadership shown for maintaining peace and tranquillity along the troubled border, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). Lt General Chachra has had varied operational staff experience both in active formations and at the Military Operations Directorate in the Army Headquarters. As Director, Foreign Training and International Cooperation, he successfully initiated and executed military synergy with a number of friendly foreign armies. The General has been a Technical Member (Army) in the Acquisition Wing of the Ministry of Defence. His tenure as the GOC-in-C of Western Command was marked by an upsurge in technological upgradation in warfighting prowess and focused towards infrastructure and capability building in the western sector. |
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Surankote Killings
Srinagar, July 1 This has been stated by the CBI in its compliance report before the J-K High Court, which had in November 2012 ordered reinvestigation of the case by the CBI. The court is hearing a petition filed by Abdul Ahmad and others in November 2011, wherein reinvestigation into the massacre by a special investigation team (SIT) or by the CBI had been sought. However, the CBI in its latest compliance report to the J-K High Court has submitted that it (CBI) “mostly deals” with cases of “corruption” involving offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the JK Prevention of Corruption Act. “The killings-related cases are not generally investigated by the CBI, and the Government of India has set up (NIA) a nodal agency which has the mandate to investigate cases as mentioned herein,” the probe agency has submitted in the compliance report filed through Assistant Solicitor General SA Makru this week. — TNS |
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CRPF deploys women commandos at Amarnath cave
Jammu, July 1 The women commandos armed with sophisticated Israeli “Trevor X-90” guns form part of the CRPF’s quick reaction teams having 20 male commandos at the shrine area. “This year the shrine has been fortified further. For the first time, we have deployed a sizeable number of women commandos, to be precise 15,” a senior CRPF officer told The Tribune. He said the deployment of women commandos had been done to further strengthen the security at the cave shrine. The CRPF regulates the annual pilgrimage from Lakhanpur (entry point to the state) to the twin axis of Baltal and Pahalgam and then till the cave shrine. “The practice of deploying our commandos started from 2011,” he said. “In 2011, we had deployed 10 male commandos equipped with Trevor X-90 guns at the shrine area and this year we also deployed 15 women commandos to give more teeth to our security grid,” he said. This year the CRPF has also increased the strength of its male commandos from 10 to 20. The commandos of the Army have been deployed in the upper reaches of the shrine area. “The shrine is well guarded. Besides our commando teams, CRPF personnel in strength have also been deployed,” he added. The officer said that following inputs, the CRPF had made more stringent arrangements this year. Security grid z 15 women commandos armed with sophisticated Israeli “Trevor X-90” guns form part of the CRPF’s quick reaction teams having 20 male commandos at the shrine area z This year the CRPF has also increased the strength of its male commandos from 10 to 20 |
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Two more drug samples found substandard
Srinagar, July 1 The High Court is hearing a public interest litigation by Doctors’ Association Kashmir president Nissar-ul-Hassan, seeking an independent probe into the spurious drugs scam. The organisation, which had recently lifted 156 drug samples from the state for testing, has identified the spurious and substandard drugs as ‘Nitrofuratoin’ tablets (trade name Martifur) and ‘Ofloxacin’ tablets (trade name Onofbact-200). The spurious drugs scam in the state came to the fore in April after samples of antibiotic Maximixin-625, supposed to contain amoxicillin trihydrate and potassium clavunate, were found to be ‘not of standard’ quality and were subsequently declared as spurious. The sample of the particular drug, which was lifted from Controller Stores Health, Barzulla, Srinagar, on February 2, 2013, for analysis, had failed the identification test and the content of amoxicillin in the sample tablets was found to be “nil”. In its status report filed today, the Central Drug Control Organisation has revealed that its field staff had drawn a total of 156 samples from various hospitals and chemist shops in the state recently, out
of which the analysis report with respect to 25 drugs samples has been received from the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh. It revealed that out of the 25 analysis reports received so for, two drugs were found to be ‘not of standard quality’, which have been identified as Nitrofuratoin and Ofloxacin tablets by the CDCO. After taking the status report on record, the bench granted the CDCO four weeks to file an updated status report, as the analysis reports with regard to 131 drug samples are yet to be received by the organisation from various laboratories. The bench also granted the state government four weeks to submit a report regarding the sanction of prosecution of the health officials involved in the spurious drugs scam. The directions followed the submission of a status report by the Advocate General, in which it has been said the Crime Branch has already produced a charge sheet against 15 accused persons named in the FIR. The bench also turned down the plea to delete the name of the former health minister from the memo list, who has been arrayed as one of the respondents in the PIL by the petitioners. |
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Despite ban, Patnitop tourist resort strewn with plastic waste
Patnitop, July 1 Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Patnitop Development Authority, Raman Kesar said due to the shortage of field staff, littered plastic waste was not cleared from the valley during the peak time. “We have disengaged some labourers taking care of the cleanliness of the valley due to some dispute. So the waste is spread in some portions”, he said but asserted that authorities had been strictly implementing the ban on plastic here. He said most of the time the field staff cleared the waste the very next day but during the peak season, there were problems in clearing the waste. Other than imposing a ban on the use of plastic, the authorities have done nothing to strictly implement this ban. The tourists were seen entering the tourist resort carrying polythene bags and throwing disposable items in the open, flouting rules and regulations. Kesar, however, said tourists were themselves responsible for the degradation of ecology in the region. “We have installed a number of dustbins but instead of using these, tourists throw waste in the open”, he said. He added that the authorities had decided to create awareness among tourists after repeated intervals so as to protect the ecology. On December 3, 2003, the state government had banned the use of polythene bags and plastic at the Patnitop hill resort, in a bid to check environment pollution in this tourist resort. The then District Magistrate, Udhampur, had ordered restrictions on carrying and use of polythene bags for any purpose in Patnitop area with immediate effect. |
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Amarnath Yatra
Srinagar, July 1 The yatris without valid permit would not be allowed to move beyond the Nunwan and Baltal base camps, the Shrine Board has said. Navin K Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer of the SASB, reiterated the importance of enforcing the Board’s decision against any unregistered pilgrim being allowed to undertake the yatra. He said this was all the more important in view of the recent Uttarakhand tragedy. For this year’s yatra, the Shrine Board has fixed a ceiling of 7,500 yatris per day per route, besides over 1,000 pilgrims who travel by the helicopter services up to Panjtarni. The CEO stressed on the directions of Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shrine Board, that the number of pilgrims must not be exceeded under any circumstances and urged the intending pilgrims to take note of it. He also stressed that the pilgrims must embark on the yatra as per the dates and the routes specified in their yatra permits. He said for ensuring effective security arrangements along the difficult tracks, only those yatris who had a yatra permit valid for a specified date and route would be allowed to proceed beyond the base camps and cross the access control gates at Domel and Chandanwari. In view of the significant number of unregistered pilgrims who have arrived ahead of their scheduled date of the yatra this year, the Divisional Administration, Kashmir, in coordination with the Shrine Board, J&K Bank, and the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir, have established seven counters at Pantha Chowk, Srinagar, and Tourist Reception Centre, Nowgam, Srinagar, to facilitate the unregistered yatris to obtain registration before they could proceed towards the base camps. The CEO said this facility was in addition to the current registration arrangement which had been made available to the pilgrims at several places in Jammu. He reiterated that all children below 13 years and all elderly persons above 75 years would not be allowed to undertake the yatra, as per the Board’s decision. He said on the instructions of the Governor all intending pilgrims possessing valid registration would be provided an insurance cover of Rs one lakh against accidental death within the state during the yatra period. |
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Conference on Central Asia highlights importance of digital diplomacy
Srinagar, July 1 Diplomats, national and international academicians participated in interactive sessions of the conference, which was organised by the Centre of Central Asian Studies (CCAS), University of Kashmir, Srinagar, and Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh. Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed inaugurated the event in the presence of Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday. Speaking at the valedictory function, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, Secretary, External Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, emphasised on the earnest need for using public diplomacy. “Diplomacy in the present day parlance has broadened its scope and it is no longer limited to the so-called elite of society,” said Chakravarty. He further said “digital diplomacy” has given an opportunity to individuals to be a part of the initiatives in making our world a better place for living. Addressing the function, the Minister for Higher Education Mohammad Akbar Lone described the conference as an event that would go a long way to pool resources in the form of information, knowledge and experience on the issue. “It has been an important event with paper presentations, discussions and interactive sessions which will pave way for further strengthening participatory and regional cooperation,” the minister said. — TNS |
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Major reshuffle in administration, 26 KAS officers transferred
Srinagar, July 1 Onkar Nath, Special Secretary to the government, Finance Department, Ajay Singh Jamwal, ADC, Kathua, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Udhampur, while Arif-ullah, Special Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Pulwama. Mohammad Muzaffar Hakim, Joint Registrar, Cooperatives, Srinagar, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Shopian, while Mohammad Matloob Khan, ADC, Rajouri, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Rajouri. Hashmat Ali Khan, Additional Secretary/Principal Private Secretary to the Chief Secretary, has been transferred and posted as the Special Secretary to the Chief Secretary, while Khurshid Ahmad Shah, Additional Secretary to the government, Industries and Commerce Department, has been posted as the Special Secretary to the government, Industries and Commerce Department. Nazim Zai Khan, ADC, Srinagar, has been transferred and posted as the Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (Tax Planning), relieving Parvaiz Iqbal Khateeb of the additional charge of the post. Sheikh Mukhtar Hussain, Deputy Labour Commissioner (Central), has been transferred and posted as the Special Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, while Bashir Ahmad Dar, Additional Secretary to the government, General Administration Department (GAD), has been posted as the Special Secretary, GAD. Shakeel-ur-Rehman Rather, Officer on Special Duty with the Minister for Finance, has been transferred and posted as the Special Secretary, Finance Department, while Pardeep Kumar, Joint Director, Industries and Commerce (S&M), Jammu, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Ramban, the orders stated. Rehman Ghasi, Programme Officer, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Budgam, has Bilal Ahmad Bhat, Joint Registrar, Industries and Commerce (Development), Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Kupwara. Rakesh Gupta, Joint Director, Industries and Commerce (Development), Jammu, has been transferred and posted as the Special Secretary, Science and Technology Department, while Rohit Khajuria, has been posted as the ADC, Kathua. Mukhtar-ul-Aziz, Joint Director, Handlooms, Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as the Additional District Development Commissioner, Kulgam, while Bashir Ahmad Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Anantnag. Arvind Sharma, Programme Officer, ICDS project, Doda, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Poonch, and Bikram Singh Jamwal, ADC, Samba, has been transferred and posted as the ADC, Reasi, the orders stated. Riyaz Ahmad Choudhary, CEO, Tourism Development Authority, Kishtwar, has been transferred and posted as the Joint Director, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (Administration), Jammu, and Riyaz Ahmad, Joint Registrar, Cooperatives (Banking and Finance), has been transferred and posted as the Additional Secretary, J&K Public Service Commission. Mohammad Ishaq Shah, Additional Secretary, J&K Public Service Commission, has been transferred and posted as the Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (Headquarters). The orders further state that Farooq Ahmad Peer, Commissioner Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, shall hold the charge of the Mission Director, State Rural Livelihood Mission, J&K, in addition to his own duties, till further orders. |
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Doda residents feel cheated as hydel training institute goes to Ganderbal
Jammu, July 1 Instead of setting up the hydel training institute in the erstwhile Doda district, which is the main source of electricity generation in the state, the institute will now be set up in Ganderbal district of the Kashmir valley. The state government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to set up the institute in Ganderbal district. The NHPC will bear the entire cost of the institute. “Twenty per cent of the staff will be provided by the NHPC while the rest will be provided by the J&K Power Development Corporation (JKPDC),” said an official of the NHPC. Now, residents of the erstwhile Doda district feel cheated by the government. “The Chenab water is being used to generate electricity and when it comes to providing a little benefit to youth of the area by giving them specialised training, the government has announced to set up the institute in Ganderbal district apparently for consideration other than merit of the place,” said Muhammad Ashfaq (46), a businessman from Kishtwar town. As per the government survey, the state has a potential of generating 16,012 MW electricity, out of which 10,854 MW generation capacity is on the Chenab river. The two major rivers of the Kashmir valley -- Jhelum and Indus -- have the generation capacity of 3,142 MW and 1,599 MW, respectively. Apart from this, the Ravi river has 417 MW generation potential. As per the survey of the NHPC, the state has a generation potential of 25,000 MW, out of which the Chenab alone has the capacity of generating 20,000 MW. Presently, three major hydroelectric projects on the Chenab are generating around 1,530 MW of electricity and four to five more projects are coming up of the river. The foundation stone of Ratle hydroelectric project of the river was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 25 at Kishtwar. The Prime Minister had stated that so far, only 2,500 MW power generation capacity had been utilised in the state and the rest needed to be tapped. Minister of State for Power Viqar Rasool Wani was clueless on why the hydel training institute was announced for Ganderbal district and not in the erstwhile district Doda. “I am not aware and will try to get detailed information about it,” said Wani on phone from
Srinagar. |
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Now, earthquake-hit Bhaderwah residents face ration shortage
Bhaderwah (Doda), July 1 After the earthquake in Doda on May 1 this year, the state government had announced free ration for the affected families for three months. Not only the opposition parties even the Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition, has minced no words in attacking the state government for its failure to streamline the supply of ration in this belt. “People are on the verge of starvation due to the non-availability of ration at CADP depots,” said Mohammad Sharief Naiz, Congresss MLA from Bhaderwah. Naiz said, “The state government had promised to provide ration free of cost for three months to the earthquake affected families. What to say of free ration, even people are not getting regular ration supply in Bhaderwah, Bhalesa and Thathri areas for the last two months.” PDP leader Mehboob Iqbal, said people have lost hope of getting free ration because this government has never kept its promises. “Instead of fooling people in the name of free ration, the government should at least ensure availability of ration in the CAPD-run depots,” he said. He regretted that there was total chaos and confusion in the earthquake affected areas of Bhadewah as far as the supply of ration was concerned. Despite repeated attempts no officers of the CAPD department were available for comment. There was no response from the toll free helpline number (2502609) installed by the CAPD department to register complaints regarding the non-availability of ration. The local officials of the CAPD department declined to comment on the scarcity of ration. BJP leader Koushal Kotwal alleged that there was a nexus between officials of the CAPD department and the members of the ruling coalition. “A huge chunk of the ration meant for the poor has been sold in the market because those at the helm of the affairs enjoy the patronage of the coalition leaders so there are little chances of improvement of the situation,” he alleged. “This matter was brought to the notice of senior officers a number of times but no action has been taken so far,” he said. |
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Srinagar, July 1 An Army official said the search was launched by soldiers of the Rashtriya Rifles battalion of the Machhal Brigade on Sunday morning. The search party seized a cache of arms and ammunitions about 2 km ahead of the fence towards the Line of Control, the official said. — TNS
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Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra today took over the reins of Northern Command, popularly called Dhruva Command, in a simple and solemn ceremony at
Udhampur, 65 km from here. Lt General Chachra is a second generation Rajput Officer, commissioned in 17 Rajput in June 1974. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy,
Khadakvasla, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief
(GOC-in-C) has had varied combat, staff and instructional experience.
In a first, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has deployed 15 women commandos at the Amarnath cave shrine nestled in the south Kashmir Himalayas at a height of over 14,000 feet.
The women commandos armed with sophisticated Israeli “Trevor X-90” guns form part of the CRPF’s quick reaction teams having 20 male commandos at the shrine area.
Though the state government has imposed a ban on the use of plastic bags in the picturesque Patnitop valley, plastic waste such as disposable plates, glasses and wrappers litters the tourist resort. Foul smell emanates from the waste and the disposable items also pose a severe threat to the ecology of the valley, visited by hundreds of tourists every year.
