Rs 100 cr worth proposal approved for J&K

By Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 4: In a major decision aimed at         curbing prolonged power cuts in Kashmir during winter and Jammu during summer, like the one witnessed in most parts of the Valley this winter, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has given a nod for under ground cabling in major affected areas at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore.
The NDMA meeting held today in New Delhi and attended by top brass of the Authority, Union Power Ministry and officials of Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department took a decision to this effect.
In addition to vulnerable areas, the emergency installations like Government hospitals, telephone stations, water supply schemes, administrative nerve system like Civil Secretariat, mobile towers and mobile sub stations would also be covered by under ground cabling system.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the NDMA took up power related problems of Jammu and Kashmir and some coastal areas falling in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Chennai etc, which had been witnessing sudden and prolonged power cuts due to natural calamities like windstorm, snowfall, heavy rains and excessive heat.
In January this year, various areas of the Kashmir Valley had faced power cuts for several days as electricity poles and wires were buried under heavy snowfall. The PDD had to face a tough task to restore power supply in some of the areas.
Sources said the PDD today projected demand before the NDMA of the areas, which were vulnerable to lengthy power cuts in the Kashmir Valley during winter and Jammu region during summer.
After hectic deliberations, the NDMA and PDD officials from J&K, who were led by Principal Secretary, Power Sudhanshu Pandey and Development Commissioner (Power) Manzoor Ahmad Salroo, a proposal was mooted for laying under ground cabling in most affected areas of the two regions to ensure that heavy snowfall or excessive heat didn’t lead to prolonged cuts and power supply was maintained even during worst adverse weather conditions.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds portfolio of Power Department, had deputed top brass of the PDD to take up the issue of prolonged power cuts with the NDMA and find out a permanent solution to it. It was on the directions of the Chief Minister that the PDD bureaucrats worked out the proposal and presented it to the NDMA, which gave its nod.
In addition to worst affected areas, the under ground cabling has also been mooted for life line support systems like Government hospitals, water supply points, telephone exchanges, mobile towers and administration’s nerve system like Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Government.
The under ground cabling would provide uninterrupted power supply to all sensitive areas besides the villages and towns, which could be worst hit by the weather conditions, sources said.
The cost of power supply through under ground cabling to some areas and emergency installations has been worked out at Rs 100 crore initially. The cost could go up later, sources said, adding that NDMA Member, Nand Lal, who attended today’s meeting has, in principle, given his nod to the proposal and decided to forward it to the Planning Commission of India for funding.
According to sources, the State Government after a lot of consultations had mooted various proposals including under ground cabling system for emergency installations and the areas, which received heavy snowfall leading to disruption of power and water supply for days together during adverse weather conditions.
While during heavy snowfall in winter, the electricity poles and wires were buried under the snow disrupting power supply in many areas including hospitals, telephone exchanges and Government offices, in summer excessive loading led to burning or damage to power transformers in some areas of Jammu leading to prolonged cuts.
Sources said the under ground cabling system was worked out to be the only option and viable system to provide uninterrupted power supply to vulnerable areas and emergency installations. The uninterrupted power supply, even during adverse weather, would automatically lead to continuous water supply and running of mobile telephones etc.
According to sources, the State Government was ready to contribute its share in Rs 100 crore proposal for funding under ground cabling in some areas of the State. This has been conveyed to the NDMA and would be made known to the Planning Commission when the proposal was taken before it.
The J&K Government officials projected before the NDMA the problems faced by the people during heavy snowfall in the Valley and heat in plains of Jammu crippling power system for several days. They pointed out that during this winter, many parts of the Valley remained dark for several days as electricity poles and wires were buried under snow.
Sources said the NDMA approved the State Government proposal and finally decided to send it to the Planning Commission for funding.
The grant of Rs 100 crore for under ground cabling would be in addition to the annual plan, Prime Minister’s Re-construction Plan (PMRP) and other Centrally Sponsored Schemes, which the State would be getting from the Planning Commission, they added.

NEW DELHI, May 4: The Centre will try its best to get a nod from Chief Ministers to set up the controversial anti-terror hub NCTC at tomorrow’s crucial meeting which is expected to witness fiery scenes.
Non-Congress Chief Ministers such as Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu’s J Jayalalithaa and Gujarat’s Narendra Modi are likely to oppose the formation of the National Counter Terrorism Centre at the Chief Ministers’ conference despite the Centre’s assurance that State Governments will be taken into confidence before any operation is conducted in any State.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram are expected to allay the apprehensions of some of the Chief Ministers who had opposed the NCTC saying it would encroach upon the States’ powers and hurt the federal structure of the country.
Sources said UPA ally and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may lower their opposition and are likely to come on board for setting up the NCTC.
Earlier this week, the Home Minister had said the draft of the two SOPs for operating the NCTC were circulated to the States and they would allay many apprehensions of the Chief Ministers who have expressed their concerns.
“I think if the Chief Ministers will read (the SOPs), I believe they will read, much of the doubts will be dissolved and at the (May 5) meeting if they have any suggestion on the SOPs, we are willing to listen to those suggestions, incorporate as many as possible”, Chidambaram had said, adding that fighting terrorism was a shared responsibility of the States and the Centre.
The Home Ministry has sent the draft SOPs listing powers and functions of the anti-terror hub’s Standing Council, which will have representatives of all State Governments and the Centre.
Director Generals of Police or Chiefs of ATS of all States will be members of the Standing Council of the NCTC and before any anti-terror operation is conducted, the NCTC would take into confidence the concerned State’s police officers.
The Centre also explained about the need for NCTC and various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, particularly 43(A) and 43(B) to be used by the NCTC. These two sections have raised the hackles of some States.
The UA(P) Act’s provision 43(A) empowers the police to arrest and search, while 43(B) says any officer arresting a person under section 43(A) shall inform him of the grounds for such arrest and every person arrested and articles seized under section 43(A) shall be forwarded without unnecessary delay to the officer in charge of the nearest police station.
The SOPs also mentioned about the exercise of power under section 3.1 and 3.2 of the office memorandum issued listing organisation, functions, powers and duties of NCTC.
Section 3.1 states the Director of NCTC shall be specified as the designated authority under section 2(e) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Section 3.2 says officers of the operations division of NCTC shall have the power to arrest and the power to search under section 43A of the UA(P)A.
The Home Ministry also circulated the agenda papers for the May 5 specially convened meeting where it would explain the genesis, objectives, structure and powers of the proposed NCTC.
The agenda papers say the Standing Council will meet as often as necessary and may also meet through video conference.
The Standing Council shall ensure that NCTC is the single and effective point of control and coordination of all counter terrorism measures. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, May 4: The CBI today questioned Lt Gen (retd)Tejinder Singh for the third consecutive day in connection with the Tatra all terrain vehicles suppply scam and complaint of Army Chief Gen V K Singh about alleged bribe offer made to him by the senior officer.
Singh, who arrived early in the morning, remained at the CBI Headquarters for nearly seven hours with the investigators for questioning, CBI sources said.
The agency is likely to register a regular case in connection with the complaint made by the Army Chief that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by Tejinder Singh to clear the supply of a tranche of all terrain Tatra trucks, the sources said.
After registering a preliminary enquiry into the allegation, CBI has already taken the statement of Army Chief and also questioned Tejinder Singh.
Tejinder Singh has refuted allegations that he had made any alleged bribe offer and filed a defamation case against the Army Chief and other senior army officers.
Sources said Tejinder Singh was asked about details of his meeting with Gen Singh on September 22, 2010, reports about Tatra trucks and any of his meetings, which might have taken place with executives of Vectra group owned by Ravinder Rishi.
Sources said Tejinder Singh has denied any linkages with Rishi or Vectra. (PTI)

Militants snatch rifles from police in Shopian

Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, May 4: A group of militants today raided a police post guarding residential houses of Pandit families in a remote village in South Kashmir district of Shopian and snatched two service rifles of policemen deployed on guard duty there.
Two policemen on duty were suspended and two Special Police Officers (SPOs) were terminated immediately after the incident and a massive search operation has been launched to trace out the militants responsible for rifle snatching.
DIG Anantnag, Vijay Kumar, while giving details told Excelsior that weapons were snatched from police post in village Padgachoo in district Shopian.
The DIG said that there were two police men and equal number of SPOs on guard duty at a police post for minority community in village Padgachoo. He said that out of four, three – Head constable Mohammad Abdullah, SPOs Muhammad Amin and Imtiaz Ahmad – had gone to offer Friday prayers while Constable Mushtaq Ahmad was in the wash room of the police post at the time of militant raid.
The DIG said that two militants entered the police post and decamped with two Self Loading Rifles (SLRs) and fired in air from their pistol. He said that immediately after the incident, police and security forces cordoned off the village and launched a hunt for the militants responsible for snatching rifles from the police post.
The DIG said that he has directed the SSP Shopian to register a case against the policemen and SPOs. He said that they are being questioned by the police about the incident. He said that the rifles were snatched due to negligence on part of police.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that a group of 5-7 militants arrived in village Padgachoo this afternoon in a Tata Sumo vehicle and stopped at a distance from the Police post. They said that the militants straightaway proceeded towards the police post and snatched two SLRs from police.
As the militants entered the police post, residents gathered outside and in order to scare them away, militants fired in air, the sources added. They said that the militants fled away from the village after snatching rifles.
The policemen later informed the police higher ups and senior police officers visited the spot to assess the situation. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the snatching of rifles.
The South Kashmir district of Shopian is considered to be the hot bed of militancy after North Kashmir township of Sopore.

BJP too favours consensus, TC keeps Cong guessing

NEW DELHI, May 4: More UPA allies today favoured Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as candidate for Presidentship while key constituent Trinamool Congress kept the Congress guessing appearing to link the issue to a financial package for West Bengal.
The BJP also struck a different note saying a consensus choice will be ideal, contradicting Sushma Swaraj’s strident note in favour of a contest and opposing a Congress nominee.
Though no names are likely to be finalized any time soon, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav made a significant statement saying the next President should not be on the basis of whether he belongs to backward, scheduled caste or minorities.
On his part, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who appeared to be emerging as a front runner in the Presidential race today dismissed media reports in this regard as speculation.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has been demanding a debt moratorium for her State, today said, “our options are all open”.
“No names of candidates have come up so far. There is time. This is only first week of May. The election is in July. Two months time is left. If there is any talk, they will let us know and we will give them our opinion,” she said.
To a pointed question about Mukherjee, who could be the first Bengali to become President, she said,” I am supporting myself.”
Banerjee, who met Congress President Sonia Gandhi yesterday and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters that no names have been discussed so far with her party.
“This is only first week of May. Let them make up their mind and come for discussion,” she said.
Asked about the future course of action to be taken by her on the issue of debt moratorium, Bannerjee said “I will do politically whatever is possible for my state.”
When pointed out that there was a problem in granting moratorium on loan repayment, Banerjee said, “what is digestible to me is not digestible to the Finance Minister…. Whatever will be done, I will wait for few days.”
She had yesterday had an hour-long meeting with Yadav at his residence.
UPA ally Ajit Singh today said,”there is no doubt about Pranab Mukherjee’s abilities and the fact that he deserves this post. There are no two ways about it. Everyone is in favour of it.”
Echoing similar views, sources in NCP also said that they prefer Mukherjee. “Pranab Mukherjee suits us more,” a NCP leader said on condition of anonymity.
Sources in SP had also said that Mukherjee would be their liking as he is the “most apt” candidate for the job. Banerjee has already said that there will be a joint decision with the SP.
An indication of the churning within the Congress over the issue was also given by senior party leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi.
“There is no problem at all. There are many talented persons in the party and there is no dearth of talent in the organisation,” was his response when asked whether it was possible to spare Mukherjee, the party’s chief troubleshooter, for the Presidency.
BJP, which earlier categorically rejected the names of both Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari, today spoke a different language with party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi saying there should be a consensus on the candidate.
Snubbing BJP leader Sushma Swaraj’s earlier remarks against Ansari and Mukherjee NDA ally JD-U had gone on record praising the candidature of both yesterday.
Naqvi today said there should be a consensus on the Presidential candidate, which will enhance the dignity of Rashtrapati Bhawan adding “arriving at a consensus will be an ideal situation…”
“There are no names. UPA should first announce names for Presidential candidate formally and then only we will discuss,” was his refrain when asked whether BJP will support the Congress candidate.
The Left parties today met formally for the first time and had preliminary discussions on the issue. “It would be better if there is a wide agreement on a candidate for the post of President,” a statement issued after the meeting said.
The parties decided to consult with other secular opposition parties before taking a final stand in the matter.
Sources, however, indicated that SP’s view for a political person for the President has the Left endorsement.
The Left parties have indicated that there are not averse to either Mukherjee or Ansari as a Presidential candidate. Ansari was their choice five years ago for Vice Presidentship.
“President is essentially a political person. I do not think non-political persons are Presidents in any country,” a senior party leader said.
Asked about Mukherjee’s candidature, he said,” we have not zeroed in on any particular name as of now. Do not try to impose any name on us.” (PTI)

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 4: Nine Hizbul Mujahideen militants along with their nine Pakistani wives and 22 children were today shifted to Srinagar from Sonouli on Indo-Nepal border, where they had been detained few days back, and lodged in Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC), Kashmir for sustained questioning.
The militants were shifted to Srinagar along with their family members under tight security arrangements by a joint team of Srinagar police and Counter Intelligence (CI) Kashmir from Sonouli this afternoon.
Immediately after their arrival in Srinagar, the militants were shifted to JIC Srinagar along with their Pakistani wives and children.
Police sources said the militants would be subjected to questioning to ascertain details of their stay in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and other places for nearly two decades, the terrorist training camps being run in Pakistan and PoK, terror infrastructure in Pakistan and other activities of militants.
The militants have been identified as Sayeed Mujtaba Bukhari, Dawood Rather, Ashraf Thakur and Mustafa Hussain, all residents of Budgam, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din, Bashir Ahmad and Abdul Rashid of Kupwara, Bashir Ahmed of Pahalgam and Shabbir Ahmed of Shopian.
Police was looking into documents of the militants, who have so far applied for return from Pakistan and PoK under Rehabilitation Policy of the State Government. Reports indicated that Sayeed Mujtaba Bukhari and Dawood Rather had applied for return under the Rehabilitation Policy.
While a case would be registered against the militants, police and CIK would examine on whether to free their wives and children and allow them to stay in houses of the militants or keep them in custody. A decision to this effect would be taken shortly, sources said.
The militants along with their wives and children had been captured by Shahstra Suraksha Bal (SSB) jawans at Sonouli few days back soon after they had crossed over to Uttar Pradesh from Nepal border.
As they turned out to be Kashmiri militants, the SSB handed over their custody to Kashmir Police two days back on completion of legal formalities. The Kashmir police shifted them to Srinagar on transit remand this morning.
Sources said the militants and their wives would be cross examined at the JIC Kashmir to gather details from them about terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK as they had been putting up there for past two decades.
The militants, as reported, had left Kashmir and crossed over to PoK from the LoC in early nineties. After training in the terror camps, they had settled in Muzaffarabad, the PoK capital and married local women. They had been working there to earn their livelihood.
Sources said the militants along with their wives and kin had traveled to Kathmandu in Nepal on Pakistani passports and visas and then entered India from Nepal border.

NEW DELHI, May 4:
Senior IPS officer Subhash Joshi has taken charge as the new Director General of the ‘black cats’ commando force National Security Guard (NSG).
A 1976-batch Uttarakhand cadre IPS officer, Joshi was serving as the Special DG of CRPF at its headquarters here before his appointment as NSG DG.
Joshi, who had earlier served as the DGP of Uttarakhand, succeeds earlier R K Medhekar, who retired on April 30, as NSG Chief.
Joshi will serve as the NSG chief till February 2014.
The NSG, which undertakes special counter-terror and counter-hijack operations, has expanded its base to major cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai for quick response during emergencies. (PTI)

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 4: Several students from Jammu and Kashmir have made it to the Civil Services, the results of which were declared yesterday by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC).
A 25-year-old Kishtwar born girl Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar, daughter of Syed Asgar Ali and Syed Irshada Begum qualified the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) examination by securing 118th rank.
Dr Sehrish Asgar had done her schooling from Presentation Convent Jammu and remained topper throughout her career. After passing 10+2 with 90 per cent from Presentation Convent, she joined ASCOMS Medical College in the year 2003 and had secured first position in MBBS, the result of which was declared by Jammu University in the year 2009.
For the second straight year, Mohammad Aijaz, a Gujjar hailing from a remote border village Dharna of tehsil Mendhar, district Poonch, J&K has been selected for Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He secured 268 rank in open merit.
Mohammad Aiyaz, son of Choudhary Ghulam Nabi, belonged to a tribal family and was the first Gujjar from district Poonch, who has been selected for IAS in open merit.
Aijaz, was selected to IAS (IRS) last year. He had passed IIT Delhi and secured more than 95 per cent in B Tech.
Earlier, Aijaz was selected in KAS and remained a meritorious student throughout the career and got many awards at State and national level.
Rakesh Bhalwel, son of Karan Singh, resident of village Sansoo, district Udhampur, has brought laurels to the State by qualifying the Civil Services Examination by securing 282nd rank.
Meanwhile, another student from district Udhampur namely Nitish Suri, son of Retired Chief Education Officer PL Suri and Santosh Suri has also qualified the Civil Services Examination.
Nitish prepared for the Civils examination while working in corporate sector Infosys when he first thought of pursuing IAS and going into civil services.
The subjects he chose were public administration and sociology. He took the exam from Jammu.
He attributed smart strategy and informed outlook along with dedication, hardwork and mental toughness as reasons for the success in this prestigious exam.
A law graduate from Law School, Jammu University Raj Kamal Arya, son of Amin Chand, resident of Tehsil Gandoh, district Doda, has also qualified the Civil Services Examination and secured 882 rank.
Meanwhile, in all round view of the examination, for the second straight year, the top two positions in the Civil Services Examination 2011 have been bagged by women–an AIIMS graduate and a social scientist.
Shena Aggarwal, who holds a MBBS degree from the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, bagged the top slot in the exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) results for which were announced today.
The second rank was secured by Rukmani Riar, Master of Arts (Social Entrepreneurship) from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Chennai-based law graduate S Divyadharshini topped the list in the 2010 exams followed by computer engineer Sweta Mohanty from Hyderabad.
In the 2011 exams, the third position was obtained by Prince Dhawan, M Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.
A total of 910 candidates 715 male and 195 female were selected for appointments to various central services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others, according to a release by the Department of Personnel and Training.
Of the top 25 candidates, 13 appeared from Delhi, three from Jaipur, two each from Mumbai and Chandigarh and one each from Hyderabad, Chennai, Dispur, Patna and Jammu centres.
The result also showcased the pan-Indian distribution of successful candidates in the examination. Candidates claiming domicile from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are in the top 25 list.
The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2011 was conducted on June 12. As many as 4,72,290 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 2,43,003 wrote the test.
According to a release by the Department of Personnel and Training, 11,984 candidates were declared qualified for the main written examination held in October-November, 2011 out of which 2,417 candidates were selected for the personality test conducted in March-April, 2012.

Excelsior Correspondent

MENDHAR, May 4: The people staged strong protest demonstration against police for its inaction in kidnapping case of a college girl and blocked Mendhar-Harni road for over three hours.
SSP Poonch and Addl SP rushed to the spot after they came to know that a strong mob of over 1000 villagers was protesting against SHO Gursai demanding his removal and seeking arrest of the kidnappers. They sat on the road and also raised barricades at around 4 pm disrupting movement of traffic.
The girl namely Nooreen Sayed, student of BA Part-II of GDC Mendhar  was allegedly kidnapped by Dr Sarfraz Ahmed, son of an ASI, Mohd Hussain three days back. The family lodged an FIR against doctor and his brother Muzaffar (also a Govt employee) with Gursai police. But police failed to trace the girl and arrest accused.
Today, the family members managed to trace the girl from the possession of the accused family in Akhnoor area. This caused strong resentment against the police role. A large number of villagers including Sarpanch, Panches came out on the road and started strong protest.
They shouted slogans against SHO and District Police. They alleged that due to influence of ASI, Mohd Hussain, I/C PP Saujian, the Gursai police did not take any action despite registration of case FIR No. 29/2012. No accused was arrested in this connection. They said both the sons are Government employees. While one is doctor another is in Education department.
Later, SSP Poonch Shamsheer Hussain and Additional SP Yougal Manhas reached the spot. They assured the people to take action in this regard. Later on, the assurance of new SSP, the agitating public lifted dharna and allowed vehicular traffic on the road.

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, May 4: Army and Special Operations Group (SOG) today destroyed a hideout of the militants along KP Nullah in Sabjian area of Poonch district.
The hideout belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.
Reports said troops of 40 Rashtriya Rifles and SOG conducted a joint search operation along KP Nullah and destroyed hideout of the militants,
Recoveries made from the hideout included one Pakistan made pistol with one pistol magazine, five AK magazines, 50 AK rounds, one map of `Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)’, one wireless set, four Pika rounds and one bag.
Army and SOG conducted searches in the area. However, no arrests were made from the spot.