Excelsiordaily

REGD. NO. JK-71/18-20RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 55 No. 12 JAMMU, SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2019 16 Pages `̀ 5.00

Govt releases Rs 638 cr fordevelopment of areas along IB

NEW DELHI, Jan 11: The Centre has released

nearly Rs 638 crore in currentfiscal so far under the BorderArea DevelopmentProgramme (BADP), which isbeing implemented to amelio-rate the problems of peopleliving in isolated forward loca-tions, officials said today.

The Home Ministry has sofar released Rs 637.98 crore dur-ing 2018-19 to 17 States to meetspecial development needs ofborder population with a focuson the people living within 50kilometres of the InternationalBorder, they said.

In 2017-18, the Ministry hadreleased Rs 1,100 crore for theall-round development of vil-lages located along theInternational Border, a HomeMinistry official said.

The BADP covers 111 bor-der districts in 17 States to meetspecial development needs ofborder population with a focuson the people living within 50kilometres of the InternationalBorder.

Schemes under the BADPinclude construction of primaryhealth centres, schools, supplyof drinking water, communitycentres, connectivity anddrainage to enable sustainableliving.

It now covers schemes oractivities relating to SwachhtaAbhiyan, skill development pro-grammes, promotion of sportsactivities in border areas, pro-motion of rural tourism, bordertourism, protection of heritagesites, construction of helipads inremote and inaccessible hilly

NEW DELHI, Jan 11:

BJP president Amit Shahtoday projected the Lok Sabhapolls as a clash of ideologiesand likened it to the third bat-tle of Panipat between

Marathas and the Afghansarmy, saying the electionresults will be equally signifi-cant for the country.

In his inaugural address at aparty convention here, he dis-missed the proposed grand

alliance of opposition partiesagainst the BJP as a "sham", say-ing they are a disparate groupwith neither a leader nor anypolicy and have been broughttogether by their greed of power.

The BJP must win the elec-

tions to pursue its agenda of cul-tural nationalism and the poor'swelfare, he said.

The party has the "world'smost popular" leader in PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, heasserted, asking thousands of

BJP delegates to go with thepledge of bringing theGovernment back to power.

In his speech, which lastedover an hour, Shah repeatedlyemphasised the significance ofthe upcoming polls, stressedon a number of ModiGovernment's measures- espe-cially those related to security,curbing corruption and wel-fare programmes- and hit outat the Congress for its dare totarget Modi on the issue ofgraft when its president RahulGandhi is on bail in a "case ofcorruption".

Modi and other top leadersof the party were on dais as hegave the party war cry to win thenext polls, claiming that peoplelike the BJP want a "mazbootsarkar" (strong Government)and the opposition wants a "maj-boor sarkar" (helplessGovernment).

"Nobody other than Modican give a strong Government,"Shah said, adding that it will bean election to give stability tothe country's development andthe party's expansion.

‘LS polls battle of ideologies’

Grand alliance a ‘sham’: Shah

Fayaz BukhariSRINAGAR, Jan 11: Police

today arrested two personsand recovered arms andammunition and cash fromtheir possession while mili-tants this evening hurled agrenade on a Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) camp incity Centre Lal Chowk.

Sources said that a naka wasestablished near Hotel Dilshanin Shalteng area on SrinagarBaramulla National Highway by

the Special Operations Group ofJammu and Kashmir Police dur-ing which two people weredetained.

They have been identified asSajjad Bhat of Pulwama andWaheed of Budgam, who werecoming from North Kashmir andwere on their way to SouthKashmir. Sources said that bothof them are Over Ground

Workers (OGWs) of militants.Police recovered arms and

ammunition from their posses-sion including one AK 47, oneINSAS rifle and one handgrenade. Besides arms, Rs fivelakh cash were also seizedfrom their possession

The vehicle under registra-

tion number JK13C 2094, inwhich they were travelling, wasseized by Police.

They have been taken toSOG headquarters at Cargo andare being questioned. Police isexpecting more arrests on thebasis of their information.

2 OGWs arrested, grenadeattack on CRPF camp

13 AEs among 26 shifted

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Jan 11: Public

Works (R&B) Department hasordered transfer and postings of13 Assistant Engineers andIncharge Assistant Engineers(Civil) with immediate effect.

According to the order,Zubari Ahmed Dar, posted inJKPCC Limited has beenrecalled and his services areplaced at the disposal of ChiefEngineer PMGSY Kashmir forfurther posting in BaramullaDistrict, while Noor-ud-dinShah, posted in RuralDevelopment Department has

58 KAS officersallotted Deptts

Excelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Jan 11: Services

of 58 Junior Scale KAS offi-cers of 2015 batch were todayplaced at the disposal of differ-ent Administrative departmentsfor their further postings.

Services of Saba Noor,Sandeep Kumar, Kapil Deol,Human Khan, Khalil-ur-Rehman, Erim Aziz, AbhayIndu Sharma, Suraj Chander

Peace onlythrough talks:Farooq

KOLKATA, Jan 11:National Conference presi-

dent Dr Farooq Abdullah hassaid that lasting peace can beachieved in Kashmir onlythrough dialogue and the Centreshould hold talks with theHurriyat leaders.

Referring to Army chiefBipin Rawat's comment a dayearlier on engaging withTaliban without any precondi-tions, the former Jammu andKashmir Chief Minister onThursday had said if the Armycould suggest it, then the Centre

Fresh snowfall inKashmir

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Jan 11:

Kashmir valley received lightsnowfall last night disruptingtraffic on the National Highwaywhile the Weatherman has fore-cast snowfall tomorrow.

Director Meteorologicaldepartment (MeT), SonumLotus said here that there is pos-sibility of rains and snowfall forthe next two days and the high-er reaches of the Valley wouldexperience light snowfall dur-ing the night.

3 nabbed withfake currency

Excelsior CorrespondentRAJOURI, Jan 11: Security

forces busted a narco-terrorismracket in Rajouri district andarrested three persons alongwith fake currency here today.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice, Rajouri, Yougal Manhassaid that a team of SpecialOperation Group (SoG) of J&KPolice, under the supervision ofDySP Police Component,Pranav Mahajan along with ateam of 38 Rashtriya Rifle unitlaid a Naka at Manyal Gali,

Ready for Assembly polls but EC has to take final call: Guv

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 11:Governor Satya Pal Maliksaid today that the Stateadministration was ready tohold Assembly elections inJammu and Kashmir butmade it clear that a final callon it (the polls) has to be takenby New Delhi i.e. the ElectionCommission ofIndia even as heannounced thatmassive Centralfunding forPanchayats andMunicipalities hasbeen cleared by theUnion FinanceMinistry and thefunds will be madeavailable shortly tothe civic bodies for

undertaking developmentalworks.

In a brief chat with mediapersons after attending ‘oathceremony’ of Sarpanchs andaddressing them, Malik toldreporters that the State adminis-tration was ready for conduct of

Assembly elections in the State.However, he said, a final call to

this effect has to be taken byNew Delhi i.e. the ElectionCommission of India.

“Whenever, they (theElection Commission of India)tells us, we are ready for thepolls to the Assembly,’’ he said.

Union Cabinet approval to Ujh MultipurposeProject shortly as MoWR clears revised DPRMohinder Verma

JAMMU, Jan 11: UnionCabinet approval to the UjhMultipurpose Project inKathua district is likely short-ly as the Advisory Committeeof the Ministry of WaterResources (MoWR) has finallycleared the revised DetailedProject Report (DPR) pre-pared by the Jammu andKashmir Government. This isone of the series of the projectsthe foundation stone of whichwill be laid by the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi dur-ing his forthcoming visit to theState.

Highly placed sources in theUnion Ministry of WaterResources told EXCELSIOR

that in its 139th meeting held onJanuary 7, 2019, the AdvisoryCommittee of the Ministry helddetailed deliberations on therevised Detailed Project Reportsubmitted by the StateGovernment for accord of tech-no-economic clearance to theUjh Multipurpose Project.

The meeting was chaired bythe Secretary to Government ofIndia, Ministry of WaterResources and attended byChairman of Central WaterCommission and Secretaries tothe Government of India,Ministries of Finance, Powerand Environment.

After minute examinationof the revised DPR, theAdvisory Committee clearedthe project and now the filewill be placed before theUnion Cabinet for approval,which is expected shortly asthe project of immense impor-tance has already faced delayof over 17 years because ofnon-serious approach of thesuccessive Governments inJammu and Kashmir, sourcessaid.

It is reliably learnt that PrimeMinister will also lay foundationstone of this project during hisforthcoming visit to the Jammu

and Kashmir. “Since Ujh is theNational Project theGovernment of India will ensurethat work on it commences asearly as possible”, sourcesinformed.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that State AdministrativeCouncil headed by Governorhad approved the revisedDetailed Project Report (DPR)of the Ujh Multipurpose Projecton July 17, 2018 and after incor-poration of provisions of Reliefand Rehabilitation Plan for theproject affected families on thepattern of one implemented inrespect of KishengangaHydroelectric Project in therevised DPR the Union Ministryof Water Resources was

Major among 3 martyred inBAT strike, sniping on LoC

Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, Jan 11: In back

to back attacks, three Armypersonnel including a Majorwere martyred, two of them ina suspected BAT strike in Lamarea of Nowshera sector andanother in a sniping incidentin Sunderbani sector ofRajouri district, triggeringfresh wave of tension on theLine of Control (LoC) astroops launched massivesearch operations on the LoCto thwart infiltration attemptsand avenge the killings.

During past few days,Pakistan army had regularlybeen violating ceasefire on theLoC in twin border districts ofPoonch and Rajouri and therehad been reports that the troopsfrom across were trying to aidand abet infiltration of the mili-tants.

Sources told the Excelsiorthat an Improvised ExplosiveDevice (IED), suspected to beplanted by Pakistan army's

Border Action Team (BAT),went off when an Army Gypsymoved over it at forward villageof Pukharni in Lam area ofNowshera sector at 3 pm today.This led to a powerful explosionin which four soldiers wereinjured.

Another Army team rushedto the help of soldiers criticallyinjured in the Gypsy and therewere reports that they toostepped over another IED, plant-ed by the BAT team, leading toone more explosion.

An Army Major and a soldierwere martyred and four jawansincluding a JuniorCommissioned Officer (JCO)were injured. The deceasedArmy Major has been identifiedas S V Nair and the soldier asJeevan Gurang. Injured wereidentified as Narinder Singh andVir Bahadur.

Re-enforcement of Armywas immediately rushed to thespot and they shifted martyredand injured jawans to hospital.Later, all injured were airlifted

to the Command Hospital inUdhampur.

Troops immediately cor-doned off entire area in Lamsector and conducted searches.However, presence of the BATintruders couldn't be spottedimmediately and it wasbelieved that they might havefled back to Pakistan afterplanting the IEDs on Indianside of the LoC.

A Defence spokesman said:"Today at about 3 pm, anImprovised Explosive Device(IED) explosion took place nearLoC in Nowshera sector inwhich an Army officer and a sol-dier got grievously injured.Immediate resuscitation andmedical aid was provided.However, they succumbed to theinjuries''.

In another incident of unpro-voked ceasefire violation by thePakistani troops along LoC inSunderbani sector of Rajouridistrict, the enemy troops snipedan Army porter identified asHemraj, causing serious injuries

to him. Injured porter was evac-uated from the spot and shiftedto hospital, where he succumbedto the gunshot wounds.

Hemraj was a local.Army authorities have prom-

ised all possible assistance to thefamily of martyred Army porter.

Sources said the martyrdomof three Army personnel includ-ing a Major have escalated ten-sions on the LoC as troopsgeared up to avenge the killingsand teach the enemy a lesson forthe misadventure.

They added that an alert hasbeen sounded along the LoC inanticipation of infiltrationattempts by the militants underthe cover of ceasefire violationsby the Pakistan army. Only yes-terday, Army chief Gen BipinRawat had stated that 300 mili-tants were waiting across theLoC for infiltration into Jammuand Kashmir.

The year 2018 had witnessed2,936 ceasefire violations byPakistan along the Indo-Pak bor-

INSIDE WEATHERPakistan sponsored terrorism,a grown monster ...Page 8* Abatement of pollution of riversShah Faesal keen to contestLS polls but won’t joinmainstream parties ...Page 3Restoration of heritage Vaishno Devi route to open vistas of opportunities for Nagrota: Rana ....Page 5Sethi lambasts Faesal, terms his statement bundle of lies ....Page 7Brahman Sabha seeks extensionof general category quota billprovisions to J&K ....Page 7After Test high, India beginfinal preparation for World Cup ...Page 14

JAMMU: Generally cloudy

TEMPERATUREMax: 20.2 Degree C Min: 8.5 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 92.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 55.0 per centSunset on Saturday: 05.46 p.m.Sunrise on Sunday: 07.34 a.m.

SRINAGAR:Rain/snow

TEMPERATUREMax: 5.4 Degree C Min: -1.0 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 90.2 per centRH-II (Evening): 73.0 per cent

LEH: TEMPERATURE

Max: 2.9 Degree C Min: -9.5 Degree C

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Frozen waterfall along Gulabgarh-Pangi road in Reasi district.

Governor Satya Pal Malik addressing the Sarpanchs in Jammu on Friday.-Excelsior/Rakesh

BJP president Amit Shah addressing party's national councilmeeting at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Friday.

Govind SharmaMARH: People of most of

the areas of Marh constituencyhad all praise for their previ-ous MLA, ChoudharySukhnandan Kumar, claimingthat tremendous developmenthas been done by him in lastover three years and he hadleft no village without roadand no mohalla without lanesand drains. However, inhabi-tants of some pockets of theConstituency expressed someresentment over poor health,transport and other basic facil-ities.

A large number of people towhich Excelsior team met

appreciatedthe work

done by Sukhnandan. They saidthere is hardly any lane androad, which has not been black-topped or cemented. In lastthree years, they said,Sukhnandan has left no stoneunturned to make the con-stituency a model one.However, people belonging toLahorichak, Puran De Kotheand Phallain Mandal expressedresentment against the ex-MLA

alleging that developmentworks have been done in select-ed areas of the constituency.

Marh Constituency which isspread over a large area com-prising 26 panchayats (20 ofMarh constituency and 6 ofSatwari) and some areas ofWard no 61 (Patta) with astrength of 68,870 electors, waswith Sukhnandan Kumar since2008 when he defeated the thenMLA, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra,by 6,581 votes. His

(Sukhnandan) second termstarted after 2014 Assemblyelections, when he again defeat-ed his arch rival Ajay Sadhotra(NC) by 11612 votes.

Interacting with Excelsiorteam, Sharvan Kumar ofPatyalichak said that for last 60years, two internal roads oftheir area were 'kutcha' but lastyear both the roads were black-topped when they approachedthe ex-MLA. However, he saidthat the cremation ground of thearea has no basic facilities likeproper sheds, water and toiletfacility and even boundaryfencing has not been done. Healso lamented that in 4 kilome-

People shower praises on Sukhnandanfor tremendous development

Ex-MLAs’ Report Card Constituency: Marh

Ch Sukhnandan (BJP)http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/ex-mlas-report-card/

Resentment exists in some pockets

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I’ve come to J&K in4 ‘Kurta-Pyjamas’

Asking newly electedSarpanchs and Panchs tohonestly perform their dutiesand responsibilities,Governor Satya Pal Maliktoday said that he has cometo this State in four 'kurta-pyjamas' and will go back inthe same.

"I belong to a normal fam-ily and was born in a village.At the age of 26, I was electedas MLA and the journey start-

After over 17 yrs, all hurdles in execution of project finally over

To generate 186 MW power, irrigate 31,380 hectares of land

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‘Sarpanchs will have protocol’

Tension escalates, Army launches massive ops

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* Pic on page 6.Video on

www.excelsiornews.com

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Security personnel stand alert outside a CRPF installation aftermilitants hurled grenade at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. -Excelsior/Shakeel

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*Watch video onwww.excelsiornews.com