CHENNAI:  The Election Commission is yet to decide on finalising dates for conducting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner V C Sampath said today.

“Currently, consultations and other preparatory works are going on. We are yet to decide on finalising the dates”, he told reporters here.

Sampath is on a visit to Tamil Nadu to meet Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar and other stakeholders to take stock of the preparatory works for the polls.

Asked about DMK seeking transfer of state DGP K Ramanujam, who is serving extended terms after his superannuation, to ensure free and fair polls, he said the EC was yet to decide.

Responding to a query, he said during the recent all-party meeting, representatives from various political parties from Tamil Nadu spoke in favour of conducting the polls in a single phase in the state.

“There were representations from Tamil Nadu to conduct the polls in one phase in the state. While finalising the dates, we will also take their request into account,” he said.

Yesterday, Tamil Nadu Government posted two IAS officials as Special Chief Electoral Officer and Joint Chief Electoral Officer for the coming Lok Sabha polls. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI :  India and China are expected to discuss incursions by PLA soldiers, which are continuing even after the signing of a new border pact, and setting up of a hotline between the two Armies during their Annual Defence Dialogue starting February 24.
During the sixth round of Defence Secretary-level talks here, the two countries are also expected to review the functioning of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) signed between them in October last year.
Defence Secretary Radha Krishna Mathur will hold discussions with his Chinese counterpart on various aspects of defence ties between the two countries which are expected to include incursions by PLA troops and apprehension of Indian nationals by them on few occasions last year, government sources told PTI here.
There have been several incursions by the Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control even after the two sides signed the BDCA last October.
India has been saying that though the pact does not guarantee bringing an end to these incursions, it has helped in resolving the disputes at a faster pace.
The proposal for setting up a hotline between the DGMO- levels officials of their Army headquarters is also expected to be discussed and finalised at the meeting, they said.
The Chinese side had earlier said it does not have a DGMO in its force and they will have to find another officer for the purpose.
The meeting, which will begin on February 24, is also expected to discuss the possibilities of holding next round of joint Army exercises between the two sides, they said.
However, the agenda for the meeting between the senior officials of the two sides is yet to be finalised officially, they said.
The two sides recently held their third round of joint exercises in Kunming after a gap of nearly five years.
During the BDCA signing, the two sides had agreed for having more exchanges between their officers and training institutions.
They are also exploring the possibility of having joint exercises between the air forces and the navies.
The two countries had put on hold their joint exercises after the Chinese side denied visa to the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen BS Jaswal in 2010. (agencies)

SRINAGAR: Cold wave intensified its grip in Kashmir Valley as the minimum temperatures dropped in most places, even as some parts received light rainfall last night.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a low of 0.4 degree Celsius last night, down from 1.2 degree Celsius the previous night, a MET Department official here said.
He said the mercury in Qazigund – the gateway town to Kashmir valley – settled at minus 1.6 degree Celsius, as against the previous night’s minus 1.1 degree Celsius.
The official said the town received 9.0 mm of rainfall.
The mercury in the tourist resort of Pahalgam, in south Kashmir, decreased by over four degrees to register a low of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius compared to minus 5.7 degrees Celsius previous night, the official said.
The resort received 9.8 mm of rainfall during the night, he said.
He said the minimum temperature in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg increased by degrees to settle at a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius as against the previous night’s minus 10.4 degrees Celsius.
The mercury in Kokernag, in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius last night, as against the previous night’s minimum of minus 5.7 degrees Celsius.
The town received 11.4 mm of rainfall, the official said.
He said the mercury in north Kashmir’s Kupwara, which recorded a low of minus 0.4 degree Celsius the previous night, decreased by almost two notches to settle at minus 2.3 degree Celsius last night.
Leh, in Ladakh region, recorded a low of minus 9.2 degrees Celsius as against minus 9.0 degrees Celsius the previous night.
Kargil was the coldest recorded place in the state as the mercury went down by over two degrees to settle at a low of minus 17.8 degrees Celsius compared to the previous night’s minus 15.4 degrees Celsius, the official said.
The MET Department has said the weather would remain mainly dry over the state over the next 24 hours. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR : Curfew-like restrictions were imposed today in most parts of Kashmir Valley to foil separatists’ plans to hold protests to observe the first death anniversary of Parliament-attack convict Mohd Afzal Guru.
Barring Handwara in north Kashmir, all major towns in the Valley have been put under security restrictions with heavy deployment of CRPF and police personnel aimed at thwarting any protests, official sources said.
Section 144 of CrPC, which bans assembly of four or more persons, has been imposed in several districts, including Srinagar, sources said, adding that the situation has so far been peaceful with there being no reports of any untoward incidents in the Valley.
Mobile internet services, too, were snapped in the Valley today as part of the precautionary measures.
Internet services on mobile phones and plug-in devices were suspended early this morning although broadband connections through landline phones were functioning as usual.
There was no official explanation for the move, but sources said that the services may have been temporarily withdrawn to prevent their use for the spreading of “rumours”.
Guru was hanged and buried inside Delhi’s Tihar jail on February 9 of last year. Separatists have issued a call for a three-day shutdown till February 11, which date marks the death anniversary of JKLF founder Mohd Maqbool Bhat.
Bhat was hanged and buried inside Tihar Jail 20 years ago.
Soon after daybreak, police vehicles fitted with public address systems made announcements across the Valley about the imposition of restrictions in vulnerable areas, sources added.
Authorities have detained several top separatist leaders ahead of Guru’s death anniversary.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who returned home to the Valley yesterday from Delhi, was put under house arrest soon after his arrival here.
JKLF chairman Mohd Yasin Malik, who had announced that he would hold a protest at the historic Lal Chowk today, has gone underground to avoid being taken into preventive custody.
All roads leading to Lal Chowk have been sealed and the public is not being allowed to proceed towards the area. (AGENCIES)