South Kashmir Mourns Shopian Killings

Transcription

1 07 WEDNESDAY MARCH-2018 SRINAGAR TODAY : CLOUDY 21 KASHMIR Contact : FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS & YOUR COPY OF Maximum : 17 O Minmum : 03 O Humidity : 79% SUNSET Today 06:32 PM SUNRISE Tommrow 06:53 AM 18 Jumada Al-Sani 1439 Hijri Vol:21 Issue:56 Pages:12 Price: `3 twitter.com / kashmirobserver facebook.com/kashmirobserver Postal Regn: L/159/KO/SK/ Panorama / 07 CAN INDIA STOP IT S EPIC BANK SCAMS? Swindlers have outfoxed a system which no longer appears impregnable / News... PAKISTAN, NEPAL AGREE TO BOOST ECONOMIC, DEFENCE TIES Pak PM Abbasi, who arrived in the Himalayan city to felicitate Nepal PM Oli on assuming the office of prime minister, said Pakistan welcomed / Life and Times... WEARING A HELMET REDUCES SPINE INJURY RISK... Wearing a helmet decreases the incidence and severity of traumatic brain injury... Wisdom The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless. -Jean-Jacques Rousseau News Digest Pak Test Fires Anti-Ship Missiles Islamabad: Pakistan has successfully test-fired long range antiship cruise missiles, a statement from the Pakistan Navy said on Monday. The Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Air Force jointly tested the anti-ship cruise missiles, the C-802 AK, air to surface missiles, which were fired from both the JF-17 Thunder P10 5 KAS Officers Shifted Srinagar: Five KAS officers were shifted by government in the interest of administration in Jammu ad Kashmir. According to separate government orders, Reyaz Ahmad Beigh (KAS), Deputy Director, Tourism, Kashmir, has been transferred and posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Srinagar P10 BSF, Rangers Hold Flag Meet Jammu: The BSF and Pakistan Rangers held a flag meeting along the International Border (IB) in Samba district and committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border, BSF officials said. In the meeting held last evening, the BSF and Pakistan Rangers committed to maintaining tranquillity P10 JDA Seals Temple In Jammu Jammu: The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) on Tuesday sealed an old Hanuman temple in Jammu city, triggering protests and road blockade by people. The protesters alleged that they were pushed out of the temple during aarti while the JDA said the structure was sealed because it was built illegally. P10 India Seeks Global Power Status Washington: India seeks status as a global power, the Pentagon s top intelligence chief told US lawmakers today, adding that as such New Delhi perceives its strategic forces as necessary elements to achieve that goal. India has put its first domestically built nuclear submarine, the INS Arihant, into service, P10 Keep Watch On All Fronts: Gov Jammu: Governor N.N. Vohra on Tuesday advised heightened surveillance on all fronts in the Jammu and Kashmir. The governor made the remarks during his meeting with V.S.K. Kaumudi, who took charge as Addl. DG CRPF J&K last month and called on Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here. While lauding the important role being P10 FORCES PERSONNEL IN ACTION AGAINST PROTESTORS in the southern township of Shopian on Tuesday Srinagar: A shutdown was observed in South Kashmir for the second consecutive day on Tuesday following Sunday s killing of four civilians and two militants in Shopian, reports said. In Awantipora and several other parts of the Pulwama district the shutdown was also observed over the killing of a top Jaish-e- Muhammad commander, Mufti Waqas, in an encounter with government forces in the Hatipora area late on Monday afternoon. According to reports, shops and businesses, including petrol pumps and coaching centers, remained shuttered, government and private offices were closed, and public transport stayed off the roads. Only private cars moved on certain routes. In the Pahnoo area of Shopian where the killings took place last week, residents held demonstrations demanding the removal of a nearby forces camp. The protestors said that the camp had become a nuisance and a threat to their lives. Train services continued to be suspended while high speed mobile internet was inaccessible in South Kashmir. The government has already ordered all schools and colleges across the Valley to be closed, and BOSE, KU and JKPSC examinations postponed till and including Wednesday. In Shopian, clashes between groups of youth and government forces broke out near the deputy commissioner s office, with protestors hurling stones and the forces retaliating with tear P10 Day-2 South Kashmir Mourns Shopian Killings Clashes In Downtown; Pulwama Shuts For Waqas Srinagar: In the aftermath of killing of four civilians in firing by army at Shopian, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti took a review of the security and law and order situation at a high level meeting of officers here on Tuesday. An official statement here said that during the meeting, the Chief Minister impressed upon all the security agencies to work in synergy to ensure that Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) as laid out should be strictly adhered to and in no way be these violated or overlooked. Every aberration in Shopian killings FIR Mirwaiz Slams Govt s U-Turn Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday criticized government over its stand on First Information Report (FIR) against army major in Shopian killings last month. P10 this regard, she reminded the officers, amounts to furthering the evil designs of elements inimical to peace in the State. The Chief Minister advised heads of all security agencies to ensure that no collateral damage is allowed to happen during security operations and care should Govt Should Go Beyond Inquiries: PDP Ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice president Mohammad Sartaj Madni on Tuesday expressed sorrow over the killings in Shopian district and asked the government to go beyond inquiries to find an end to death and destruction. "While such incidents are outrageous and call for condemnation in unequivocal terms, it is also necessary that we rise to stop the mayhem perpetrated at the people and secure their lives, honour and property to the possible extent," Madni said in a statement. P10 Shopian Aftermath: Mehbooba Reviews Security Calls For Strict Adherence To SOPs By All Forces; Briefed Separately By GOC 15 Corps be taken that common masses are not put to inconvenience during these operations. Mehbooba asked the heads of civil, Police, Army and other security agencies to maximize their public outreach to ensure that the grievances of people on the ground are listened to and addressed promptly. P10 CH IEF MINISTER IMPRESSED UPON ALL THE SECURITY agencies to work in synergy to ensure that Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) as laid out should be strictly adhered to and in no way be these violated or overlooked. Every aberration in this regard, she reminded the officers, amounts to furthering the evil designs of elements inimical to peace in the State. Infusing Life Into Fast Vanishing Lakes HC Asks H&UDD To Expedite DPR Approval For Reviving Anchar, Khushalsar, Gilsar Lakes Marouf Ali Srinagar: In order to infuse life into fast vanishing Anchar, Khushalsar and Gilsar lakes here, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday directed Housing and Urban Development Department to expedite process of approval of detailed project report (DPR) for rejuvenating the water bodies at the earliest. A division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed passed the direction after perusing an affidavit by on behalf of the Financial Commissioner to the Government, Housing and Urban Development Department that funds for preparing DPR on a proposal submitted by LAWDA have been released. However, the Vice Chairman. LAWDA who was present in the court stated that the DPRs regarding the three lakes stand already submitted. According to him, the project is funded by Economic Reconstruction Agency under ADB source. The Financial Commissioner is directed to expedite the process of approval of DPR and ensure that this project is executed at the earliest, the court said. Earlier this year, the government said that Anchar, Khushalsar and Gilsar lakes have somewhat deteriorated. The condition of Dal Lake has not deteriorated as the project for its conservation and preservation is implementation with Lakes & Waterways Development P10 THE CONDITION OF DAL LAKE has not deteriorated as the project for its conservation and preservation is implementation with Lakes & Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA). However, in respect of Anchar Lake, Gilsar and Khushalsar Lakes have somewhat deteriorated, SRO-202 To Be Re-Examined: Drabu JammuMinister for Finance, Dr Haseeb A Drabu Tuesday said the Government will reexamine the concerns regarding SRO-202 and define a roadmap soon to resolve such employees issues and ensure their assured career progression and financial benefits. The Minister said this during a meeting with a delegation of employees appointed under SRO-202, who called on him here this afternoon. The delegation had called on the Finance Minister as a follow up to a recent statement made by the Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti regarding SRO-202 P10 Srinagar: Even as the government said on Tuesday that efforts were on to trace the MBBS student who has been missing in Odhisa for nearly a month, his family has voiced deep concern about what it has described as the state administration s lack of seriousness in tracing their son. The Odhisa police has already dismissed as incorrect reports that Suhail Aijaz, of the Marsari area in Chowkibal, Kupwara had been abducted by Maoists. A student of Ayodhya Row Sri Sri For Out of Court Solution New Delhi:Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday renewed his appeal to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) to consider an out-of-court settlement to the Ram Janmabhoomi row, saying he feared a "large-scale" communal flare P10 Kupwara MBBS Student Missing In Odhisa Parents Decry J&K Govt s Apathy the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bhubaneswar, since 2016, Suhail Aijaz had gone missing on February 9, two days after his parents had transferred some money to his account on his request. According to reports, posters purportedly from the Maoists had appeared at the Baramunda bus stand on Monday claiming that the student was in their custody and would be released in exchange of their jailed leader. The posters had threatened that Suhail would be killed in case P10 WE HAVE SEEN THAT real efforts are lacking not only in the state but also by the government of Odhisa. When our government has failed us, what expectations can we have from Odhisa administration. Landmark Step: HC Decides 4 Cases Online Srinagar: In a first of its kind initiative, the proceedings of four cases at Jammu and Kashmir High Court were carried out through video-conferencing, marking a landmark step to reform the functioning of higher judiciary in the state. A single bench of Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir at J&K High Court delivered judgments in two cases on the spot while one case was reserved for order out of four cases taken up by the court through video-conferencing. The four cases from Kargil and Leh pertained to Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council which was represented by Counsel Asif Maqbool in Srinagar. The parties to the cases participated in the proceedings via video conferencing from DC Office Kargil. Principal District judge Kargil, S K Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner Kargil and President Bar Association, Kargil, were also present at the videoconferencing venue in Kargil. Justice Mir said the new initiative of conducting court proceedings through video conferencing is a landmark step towards bringing judiciary at the doorsteps of people living in far-flung areas of the state. It will bring relief to people of Jammu and Kashmir living in far-flung areas who want to approach the High Court P10 Pursue Project Involving Shifting Of Houseboats Vigorously : HC Seeks Report On Encroachment Of Springs Of Dal, Nigeen Lakes Marouf Ali Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed government to pursue Dole Demb project, involving shifting of house boards from Dal Lake, vigorously. As hearing of a Public Interest Litigation started before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, LAWDA submitted that a revised Detailed Project Report for the entire Dal project including Dole Demb at an estimated cost of Rs 1488 crore has been submitted. The project is Central government funded. The court said the state government has to pursue matter vigorously so that the revised DPR was examined and the project executed. The court also made it clear that revised DPR and the process for its acceptance shall not come in the way of utilizing funds already which have been sanctioned and available. The H&UDD has only released Rs 8.40 Crores out of crores sanctioned. they should release the entire amount whatever has been projected for the Dole Demb project exclusively. On last date of hearing, the court had said that it would constrained to issue direction of coercive nature, if all authorities concerned fail to take appropriate action to shift house boats from Dal Lake, the flagship of Kashmir tourism. The shifting of house boats to Dole Demb area has not made any progress at all, the court had said while hearing a Public P10 THE DIRECTIONS (REGARDING SHIFTING of the house boats) were given as far as in The entire plan was approved by the cabinet, yet no action has been taken. Parl Panel Pitches For Capping Airfares New Delhi:A Parliamentary panel on Tuesday sought capping of airfares as it expressed concerns over higher ticket prices around festivals and observed developed nations pricing mechanisms might not be suitable for India. The civil aviation ministry though aware of the rampant exploitation, is not showing any pro-active role in regulating the airfares, the panel said in a report tabled in the Parliament. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture noted it feels the ministry has not given serious thought to its earlier recommendations for effective steps to control the surge in airfares. P10 Rights, Duties Linked: PM New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it was imperative that people are made aware about the importance of their duties as asserting one s own rights without rendering duties is against the fundamental value of the Constitution. Speaking at the inauguration of the new building premises of the Central Information Commission (CIC) here, he said just like the RTI (Right to Information), the concept of Act Rightly should be discussed and the citizens should be informed about their duties along with their rights. He urged the CIC, which has a large public interaction, to take up the task of making aware the citizens about Act Rightly. Claiming of rights without rendering duties is against the core value of the Constitution, Modi said as he added that P10

2 To place an advertisement CALL Monday - Saturday (9am - 6pm) No 1- Dal Lake Boulevard Srinagar, , Kashmir Public Notice Office Of The Executive Engineer, Generation Division USHP-1ST By mistake my name has wrongly been entered in school records as Ateef Jan s/o Ashaq Hussain Nagru instead of Mohd Ateef s/o Ashaq Hussain now I applied for its correction if anybody has any objection in this regard may file at office of the Government Boys school Kullar Tehsil Sallar Pahalgam within seven days after that no objection shall be entertained. Name: Mohd Ateef S/O: Ashaq Hussain R/O: Nagru kullar, Tehsil Sallar Pahalgam sam ang Public Notice By mistake my name has wrongly been entered in school records as Shoib Mushtaq instead of Shahib Mushtaq now I applied for its correction if anybody has any objection in this regard may file at office of the Government Middle school veersaran Tehsil Sallar Pahalgam within seven days after that no objection shall be entertained. Name: Shahib Mushtaq Reshi S/O: Mushtaq Ahmad Reshi R/O: Veersaran Pahalgam SUMBAL (Kangan) ( id: xenesumbal@gmail.com) Short Term NIT No: GDS/ 32 of Dated: For and on behalf of the Managing Director, J&K State Power Development Corporation, sealed tenders valid for 90 days, affixed with revenue stamps worth Rs accompanied with earnest money in the shape of CDR/FDR from any Nationalized/Scheduled 2% of the contract value pledged to the Executive Engineer, Generation Division, USHP-I. Sumbal are invited from approved, registered /reputed Contractors (whose registration certificates / enlistment certificates are valid for the current financial year and are possessing a certificate from state sales tax department to the effect that the contractor is registered with the said department and has cleared all the dues upto last quarter, for the job:s.no: Particulars Qty. Estimated Cost 1 Overhauling of 10 ton EOT crane of tail pool gates by way replacement of damaged operational 1 job. Rs Lacs. electric panels, Rewinding /Repairs of 7.5 HP motors, cabling including replacement of Gate seals, painting and providing of Wire rope (25 mm) The tenders complete in all respects should reach to the office of the Undersigned on or before upto 2 P.M. in sealed envelopes through registered post or by hand. In case the date of receipt of tenders happens to be a holiday or the office remains closed due to some unavoidable circumstances, then the tenders shall be received on the very next day following such a holiday. The detailed tender documents can be had from the office of the Executive Engineer, Generation Division-I, Sumbal on all working days w. e. f to during office hours against Non-refundable/Non-transferable cash payment of Rs (Rupees One Hundred)only. All other terms and conditions as contemplated in the standardized tender document of the PDC together with those as indicated in PWD form No: 25 shall remain same and unchanged. No: GDS/ Date: Sd/DIPK-NB-3917/17 Executive Engineer, Generation Division USHP-I Sumbal. sam ang Public Notice I have applied for the Issuance of DOB Certificate from the office of Municipal Committee Ganderbal for my daughter Sadiya Farooq. If anybody has any objectoin in this regard he/she may file his /her objection in the office of the Municipal Committee Ganderbal within a period of seven days from the date of publicatoin of this notice. After that no objection shall be entertained. Farooq Ahmad Reshi F/o Sadiya Farooq R/o Reshipora Ganderbal D.o.b: F.N GBL Office Of The Executive Engineer Department Of Floriculture Kashmir Srinagar SHORT TERM NOTICE INVITING TENDERS E-tender NIT No: 65 of bazar Observer Wednesday OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER SEWERAGE & DRAINAGE DIVISION No.II. (SMC) SRINAGAR. Phone/ Fax No E.mail : exdrainage@gmail.com CORRIGENDUM Name of work:- Construction of Lateral Drain at Minto Circle Lane C from house of Ichpal Singh to Dedar Singh and from Gogider Singh to Surender Singh. Reference:This office NIT No.26/SDII of issued under No. SDII/ dated Please read year 2018 instead of 2017 appearing in the above mentioned e-nit as shown against each hereunder:01. Date of issue of Tender Notice 02. Period of down loading of from 10.00A.M. bidding documents to upto 4.00 PM 03. Bid Submission Start Date from AM 04. Bid Submission end Date upto 4.00 PM 05. Deadline for receiving upto 4.00 P.M in hard copy of (original the office of Tender fee and Earnest Executive Engineer, Sewerage money in the prescribed & Drainage Division No.II,SMC, form viz. DD & CDR) Daresh Kadal Srinagar. 06. Date & time of opening of at 2.00 PM in the Bids on line office of Executive Engineer, Sewerage & Drainage Division No.II,SMC, Daresh Kadal Srinagar. All other terms & conditions shall remain un-changed. Sd/Executive Engineer Sewerage and Drainage Division No.II.(SMC) Srinagar DIPK-15156/17 Dated: For and on behalf of the Governor, J&K State, e-tenders (In single cover system) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligible Contractors registered with J&K State Govt., CPWD, Railways and other State/Central Governments for the following works:s.no Name of Work Est. Cost Cost of T/ E/M Time Class MH of Account (Rs. In lacs) Doc. (In Rs.) ( In Rs) Face lifting of Tulip Garden Srinagar / days DEE/CEE 4406-Co DPR: Submitted Administrative Approval: Awaited Position of funds: Demanded, 1. The Bidding documents Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Drawings, bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other details can be seen / downloaded from the departmental website as per schedule of dates given below:1. Date of publication of Tender Notice :30 PM 2. Document downloading Start Date From 1.00 P.M 3 Bid submission Start Date From 2.00 PM 4 Bid Submission End Date upto 2.00 P.M 5 Date & time of opening of Bids (Online) at 4.00 PM Bids must be accompanied with cost of Tender document in shape of Demand Draft in favour of Executive Engineer (tender inviting authority) and Earnest money/bid security in shape of CDR/FDR pledged to Executive Engineer Department of Floriculture Kashmir Srinagar (tender receiving authority). 2. The date and time of opening of technical Bids as notified on Web Site and conveyed to the bidders automatically through an message on their address. The bids of Responsive bidders shall be opened online on same Web Site in the Office of Executive Engineer Department of Floriculture Kashmir Srinagar (tender receiving authority). 3. The bids for the work shall remain valid for a period of 120 day s from the date of opening of Technical bids. 4. The earnest money shall be forfeited, If:a. ANY bidder/ tenderer withdraw his bid/ tender during the period of bid validity or make any modifications in the terms and conditions of the bid. b. Failure of Successful bidder to furnish the required performance security within the specified time limit. c. Failure of Successful bidder to execute the agreement within 28 days after fixation of contract. 5. Instruction to bidders regarding e-tendering process. 1.1 Bidders are advised to upload all requisite documents and no hard copies need to be submitted. However, all documents will be sought from the successful/ist lowest bidder before issuing allotment. 1.2 Bidders are advised to download bid submission manual from the Downloads option as well as from Bidders Manual Kit on website gov.in to acquaint bid submission process. Sd/No:- EE/FD/ Executive Engineer Dated: DIPK-15153/17 Deptt: of Floriculture, Kashmir. Office Of The Executive Engineer, Generation Division USHP-1ST SUMBAL (Kangan) ( id: xenesumbal@gmail.com) Short Term NIT No: GDS/ 33 of Dated: For and on behalf of the Managing Director, J&K State Power Development Corporation, sealed tenders valid for 90 days, affixed with revenue stamps worth Rs accompanied with earnest money in the shape of CDR/FDR from any Nationalized/Scheduled 2% of the contract value pledged to the Executive Engineer, Generation Division, USHP-I. Sumbal are invited from approved, registered /reputed Contractors (whose registration certificates / enlistment certificates are valid for the current financial year and are possessing a certificate from state sales tax department to the effect that the contractor is registered with the said department and has cleared all the dues upto last quarter, for the job:s. Particulars Qty. Estimated NO: Cost Replacement of old main Power House Gate and Wicket Gate by way of providing Rs and fixing of new gates as Lacs. per the requirements along 1 1 job. with providing and fixing of Concertina/Dannert wire mesh /obstacle arrangement 2-feet above gate level for the purpose of providing proper security. The tenders complete in all respects should reach to the office of the Undersigned on or before upto 2 P.M. in sealed envelopes through registered post or by hand. In case the date of receipt of tenders happens to be a holiday or the office remains closed due to some unavoidable circumstances, then the tenders shall be received on the very next day following such a holiday. The detailed tender documents can be had from the office of the Executive Engineer, Generation Division-I, Sumbal on all working days w. e. f to during office hours against Non-refundable/Non-transferable cash payment of Rs (Rupees One Hundred)only. All other terms and conditions as contemplated in the standardized tender document of the PDC together with those as indicated in PWD form No: 25 shall remain same and unchanged. No: GDS/ Date: Sd/Executive Engineer, DIPK-NB-3915/17 Generation Division USHP-I Sumbal sam ang sam ang MTQ GBL MTQ GBL RN ANG Office Of The Assistant Regional Transport Officer Budgam Kashmir NOTICE Where a application for transfer of ownership has been recieved from one. Shri : Bashir Ahmad Ganie S/o: Haji Abdul Ahad Ganie R/o: Bugam Batapora Budgam (Transferor) of Maruti Alto 800. Vehicle bearing registration number JK04C Chasis number Engine no Model 2014 in favour of Shri.. Mohammad Sidiq Bhat S/o. Abdul Razak Bhat R/o Bilalabad Kralpora Chadoora (Tranferee) as well as HPA cancellation with M/S J&K Bank ltd B/U Chadoora is required is respect of above mentioned vehicle. Now therefore it is notified for the information of the general public that objections if any to the proposed transfer of ownership shall be filed in writing in the office of the Assistant Regional Transport office ARTO Budgam within a period of 7 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily newspaper Srinagar Times. Assistant Regional Transport officer Budgam Kashmir No. ARTO/ BUDGAM.8222 Dated MTQ GBL Par By Par By MTQ GBL MTQ GBL MTQ GBL G DISCLAIMER: Kashmir Observer makes every effort to ensure that the information carried in display/ classified advertisements, appearing in the newspaper is correct. However the newspaper takes no responsibility nor does it necessarily endorse the contents of these adverts. The readers are therefore requested to verify the contents before acting thereupon. Management

3 Srinagar Observer Wednesday DIAL-EMMA AIRPORTS TRAFFIC POLICE : , PCR: , PDD: FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES : , , CAPD: SMC HEALTH OFFICER: SHIEK UL ALAM AIRPORT: RAILWAYS SRINAGAR: ANANTNAG: BARAMULLA: BIJBHERA: PAMPORE: PATTAN: QAZIGUND: HIGHWAY STATUS SRINAGAR JAMMU: CLOSED SRINAGAR-LEH: CLOSED MUGHAL ROAD: CLOSED SRINAGAR-MUZAFFARABAD: CLOSED HIJRI CALENDAR 18 JUMADA AL-SANI 1439 PRAYERS FAJR---5: 30 ZUHR---12: 42 ASR---4:51 Magrib 6:35 ISHA---7:55 This Day in History Fire engulfs five residential houses in old City Srinagar: A massive fire broke out in Bachi Darwaza area of Mukhdoom Sahab in Srinagar city destroying at least five residential houses Tuesday. Fire tenders are trying to bring the situation under control after five houses caught fire in the area, sources said. However, no loss of life or injury was reported in the incident, they added. Div Com reviews steps taken to regulate traffic in Srinagar SRINAGAR: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan today reviewed the steps taken to regulate traffic in Srinagar that will go a long way in benefittng both pedestrians and transporters. The Div Com was chairing a meeting that was also attended by Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Commissioner SMC, VC SDA and other officials. Transport Commissioner Jammu and RTO Kashmir participated through video conferencing. The meeting discussed various issues including status of Police refute reports of clashes, shutdown in Nowhatta SRINAGAR: Police on Tuesday refuted the reports about clashes and shutdown in Nowhatta area of old city. Social media reports of intense clashes in Nowhatta which is being spread through various online news portals is refuted, a police spokesperson said in a statement here. It is to state that at around am few miscreants tried to block the road and close shops forcibly in Nowhatta Chowk. The police immediately chased them away and normal traffic was restored immediately. There were no clashes and the situation was brought back to normal in no time. However certain news groups have circulated news of intense clashes in Nowhatta area, which is baseless and hence rebutted, he said. Police in its statement said that some news portals and groups have been circulating fake news item regarding shutdown and clashes in Downtown area of Srinagar today. Those news agencies have not sought any confirmation or verification from the concerned quarters regarding the authenticity of the contents and nothing like that has been witnessed anywhere in downtown area, with the result public is being mislead for unknown reasons by some unknown agencies, it said. parking spaces in Srinagar City, colour code scheme, shifting of vendors from roads to vending zones, installation of signages and traffic lights. The SMC was also directed to install all signages within next ten days. The Div Com directed the SMC to clear the confusion regarding development of parking spots in the city. The meeting was also informed that colour coding of sumo vehicles and other such passenger vehicles will be completed within next 15 days. The Div Com directed the SMC, SDA and Traffic police to start a dedicated drive to shift the vendors to dedicated parking zones. He also directed them to start a parallel awareness drive so that vendors are made aware of the benefits of moving to those places. APHC stages protest in city against killings SRINAGAR: All Parties Hurriyat conference on Tuesday staged a protest in Srinagar against the killing of five civilians in army firing in south Kashmir s Shopian district. As per directions of APHC chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, scores of leaders and activists staged a protest in Hyderpora area of Srinagar and protested against the killings. The protesters rued the silence of the UN, international community over the civilian killings in Kashmir. Resistance leaders and activists including Mohammad Rafiq Owasi, Meraj u Din Rabbani, Davinder Singh Behel, Syed Mohammad Shafi, Mohd Shafi Lone, Kh Firdous Ahmad, Mohammad Yusuf Naqash, Yasmeen Raja, Mohammad Yasin Ataie, Syed Imtiyaz Hyder, Rameez Raja, Aashiq Hussain, Imran Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Beg and Nisar Ahmad led protest march against recent civilian killing spree by forces in Kashmir. Police arrested Syed Imtiyaz Hyder and forces in large numbers intercepted and not allow them to move towards Lal Chowk. The protesters were carrying banners having messages like Stop civilian killings, Stop Genocide, Civilian killings unacceptable, and they also raised slogans in favour of civilian s killings especially recent innocent killings, Gowher Ahmad Lone, Shahnawaz Ahmad Wagey, Zahid Ahmad Chopan Suhail Ahmad Notorious drug peddler held, codeine phosphate bottles recovered SRINAGAR: Continuing its anti-drug drive the Policey on a specific information led by SI Ab Rashid of police station Batmaloo laid a naka near Mominabad Batmaloo. During naka checking,vehicle bearing Regd No. JK02BQ 3165 was intercepted & during search 65 bottles of Codeine phosphate were recovered from the said Eco Van. The driver of said vehicle who is a chronic drug peddler of Bemina namely shoib pandit detained.the accused was arrested on spot and contraband seized. In this regard, case FIR No. 39/2018 U/S 8/21 NDPS Act stands registered in Police Station Batmaloo and investigation taken up. Wagey, Shahid Ahmad Khan, and Manzoor Ahmad Lone in Shopian. Participants also raised slogans against unabated killings by Indian trigger-happy forces and blamed puppet regime for their tracheary with people saying that on one hand they are maintaining their criminal silence and on the other laying curbs and strangulating genuine voices. They are hand in glow with assailants, said they and added that the lust of power has turned them blind and beasts. What was the sin of innocent civilians and why Kashmiri youth are being killed and why is international community silent on these killings? questioned Owasi. He said that this killing spree cannot be tolerated silently and Kashmiris will resist this genocide with passion and valour. They strongly condemn the killing spree, unleashed by forces in Kashmir. They have waged war on innocent civilians, leaders said and blamed state administration for shielding and providing cover to assailants, added leadership. The leaders condemned the police raids and said that authorities on Sunday arrested JKLF Chairman Mohd Yasin Malik, Hurriyat General Secretary Haji Gh. Nabi Sumji, Spokesman, Gh Ahmad Gulzar, Bilal Sidiqee, Mohd Yusuf Makroo, Mohammad Ashraf Laya, Umer Aadil Dar, Kh Nazir Ahmad and lodged them in different police stations. WHAT WAS THE SIN OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS and why Kashmiri youth are being killed and why is international community silent on these killings? Roald Amundsen announces discovery of the South Pole World War I: Finland forms an alliance with Germany st transatlantic telephone call (London-NY) Glamour magazine begins publishing ,000 British soldiers land in Greece Japans begins offensive in Burma Egypt refuses to renew the Suez cease fire Comet (Lubos) Kohoutek discovered at Hamburg Observatory Sheikh Mujibur Rahman s Awami League wins election in Bangladesh Morocco & Mauretania break diplomatic relations with Algeria IBM-PC DOS Version 3.1 (update) released Gavaskar becomes 1st cricket batsman to score 10,000 Test runs Iran drops diplomatic relations with Britain over Salman Rushdie s book Satanic Verses Iraq continues to explode oil fields in Kuwait st surface photos of Pluto (photographed by Hubble Space Telescope) The first democratically elected Palestinian parliament is formed UN Security Council approves further North Korean sanctions for its nuclear testing people are killed & 143 are wounded by 5 Boko Haram suicide bombings in Maiduguri city, Nigeria From KO Archives PDD policy comes under fire SRINAGAR: Police in Srinagar broke-up a large procession near Deputy Commissioner s office today by resorting to cane-charge. They were protesting against non-availability of elec tricity in major parts of Srinagar. The protesters were raising anti-government and anti PDD slogans, who on one hand do not provide smooth supply of electricity and on the other force the people to enter into an agreement with the department. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing powercrisis,directly proportionate to the financial-crunch. To pull-in more money, the PDD department is forcing people to enter into new agreements, where-in they will have to pay more fees towards the department, for less electricity. Electricity has become a rare commodity now, says Bashir Ahmad of Sonawar, whose shop has remained closed over the past ten years, but still he is being asked to pay the dues. This is ridiculous he says, they know fully my shop was closed over the period and I have not used any electricity. Equipped with the verbal orders of State Chief Minister, the PDD employees have started a novel way of forcing people into submission. They disconnect power supply to the entire area, where majority of the people have paid the electricity dues, but others have failed to deposit the same. There are many areas in Kashmir, where people have been deprived of electricity over the days now. People in Baghe- Mehtab area, on the outskirts of Srinagar and Hamdania Col ony, Bemina complained that they are without electricity for the past 15 days. Those who have cleared their electricity bills say they were not being benefited as per the new agreement. As the PDD s revenue has gone up, the disruption in electricity has also in creased to an alarming proportion. The promise of providing 18-hours of electricity has proved to be a hoax, says Rashid Ahmad of Barzulla, We only get pow er for five to six hours, he said, regretting having entered into a fresh agreement with the PDD. To add to the prevailing mess on the electricity front, the PDD officials do not even bother to rectify transformers and other equipment meant to regulate electricity supply to a particular area in Kashmir. Reports al lege that at various places people have been asked to collect money for repairing the damaged transformers and wiring. An official spokesman of PDD in Jammu said today that the consumption of electricity in the state has been steadily grow ing and the energy available from our own sources i together with the free allocations available from the Central Generating Stations in the state is adequate to meet the demand. The. revenue target for the year was fixed, at ru pees crores from the consumers other than the gov ernment departments but the actual realisation by the end of January,1999 was rupees crores only, he said. The plea of disturbed conditions for collection of revenue could not be accepted, he said, adding that is why the cabi net was left with no alternative but initiate disciplinary action against the Executive Engineer in whose division the perfor mance was found dismal (Kashmir Observer, 07 March, 1999)

4 State Wednesday IN BRIEF Deputation of contractors meets CM SRINAGAR: A deputation of local contractors today met the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti here today and brought many of their issues into her notice. The contractors demanded release of their pending payments under NABARD and NRDWP projects. They appreciated the Government for introduction of PAO system in the State to root out red tapism and chances of corruption while suggesting that this system be put to implementation after clearing the backlog of payments. The Chief Minister assured the deputation to look into their demands and take appropriate action on the same. (KNS) Bus driver killed, conductor injured in road accident in Uri SRINAGAR: A bus driver was killed and a conductor was injured in a road accident at Uri in district of Baramulla. Official sources told UNI that a bus skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Uri in Baramulla, resulting in on the spot death of the driver and injuries to the conductor. The injured was immediately taken to a hospital. After completing all the legal and medical formalities, the body of the deceased, identified as Bashir Ahmad, was handed over to his relatives for last rites. The bus had dropped passengers and was on way to lalpull from Isham when the accident happened, they added. (Agenceis) Police seizes Rs 12 lakhs from soldier at Leh Airport LEH: Police have seized cash up to the tune of Rs 12 lakhs from an army soldier at Kushok Bakula Rimpochee (KBR) Airport Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. The Leh Airport Security wing has asked local police to verify the authenticity of the cash seized from the soldier. A top security official at KBR Airport Leh told news agency CNS that during a routine checking, an army soldier Bhupender Pal Singh of 175 Medium Regiment stationed at Nurala Leh came to airport to send some cash through one of his unit man. On checking, one of his bag contained Rs 5 lakhs while in another bad he was carrying Rs 7 lakhs. He failed to produce bank statement of the cash when asked to do so, the official said. The official said that the cash was seized for the verification and the matter was raised with local police. When contacted a police official said that though the said soldier has produced the bank statements, but still the verification is going on. We are in touch with bank officials to ascertain the facts, he added. (CNS) MHA asked security forces in JK to remain vigilant at all levels SRINAGAR: In view of the recent attacks on security forces in Kashmir valley, the Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) has asked all the security agencies to remain vigilant while performing their duties. Reliable sources told KNS that the MHA did so, following the spurt in militant activities and intelligence inputs that militant organizations might carry out attacks. Sources said that the authorities in security agencies of JK have been asked to deploy additional forces in key areas and remain extra-vigilant in the state especially in Jammu and Srinagar city. Police sources told KNS that following the recent attacks, security has been beefed up in the state. We are monitoring the situation. Police and other security forces in the Valley, particularly in Srinagar are maintaining extra vigil. We are taking precaution. The security has been geared up so that such incidents do not take place, one of the top police officials told KNS. Witnesses also said that Police and CRPF men were seen carrying out frisking of vehicles, particularly LMVs in most parts of Srinagar on Tuesday. They were also checking the documents of motor bikes. Sources said that politicians including ministers and legislators have also been asked to remain extra-cautious and use bullet proof vehicles while moving around. According to sources, the recent militancy related incidents have prompted the MHA and the top officials on Jammu and Kashmir police to issue such direction. The cops need to remain vigilant in future to thwart the designs of subversive elements as they would attempt to create unrest in the State. We have to remain abreast with the changing scenario and adopt new methods of policing to counter the challenges, According to sources, the MHA has told the Security agencies. Meanwhile sources said that Union Home minster Raj Nath Singh has sought reports from the top officials about the status of law and order and over all security arrangements in Jammu and Kashmir. According to sources while complimenting the role of the J&K Police and other security agencies, the union home minister has said that it is always a challenging and daunting task for the security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir but due to sincere and effective efforts of all security agencies, they are ensuring peace in the state. Meanwhile sources told KNS that the police forces have been asked to wear bulletproof jackets when on duty. Two policemen were killed in different attacks in Kashmir last week. Constable Kultar Singh was killed outside the historic Chrare-Sharif shrine in central Kashmir s Budgam district. While as constable Farooq Ahmed Yatoo was killed when unidentified gunmen fired on him in Soura locality of Srinagar.Yatoo, was posted as a guard at the residence of separatist leader Fazal Haq Qureshi who had survived an attempt on his life in Though the police department has issued bulletproof jackets to Jawans, but it has been observed that many of them don't bother to wear them. Now directions have been passed about the importance of wearing bullet-proof jackets, one of the top police officials in police department wishing anonmity told KNS. He said that policemen previously used these jackets only during the encounters. However, in view of the recent attacks on police personnel, we want that police forces should strictly wear them so that they remain safe during the duty hours. It is to mention here that the police chief has recently said that JK purchased power for Rs 30,000 cr in one decade Electricity liabilities reach to Rs 4,000 cr SRINAGAR: As the JK purchased electricity for Rs 30,000 crore in the last one decade, the Power Development Department s liabilities have reached to Rs 4,000 crore. For the last one decade, over Rs 30,000 crore has been spent on power purchase by the state government. Official figures reveal that state government spent Rs 1,355 crore on power purchase in , Rs 1750 crore in , and Rs 2034 in During , Rs around 4800 crore was spent on power purchase by the state. While the power development department has projected that it would purchase power from Rs 5, in the current fiscal. The Power Development Department has proposed to purchase power Rs crore in to provided 24-hour power supply to the consumers. At the same time, the liability of the PDD is increasing with each passing day. A senior PDD official wishing anonymity told KNS that state s power liabilities have reached to Rs 4000 crore. The liabilities 4.5 kg brown sugar, 2 kg heroin, 31 kg charas recovered in Kupwara last year: Police KUPWARA: Police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a notorious drug peddler from Shumnag area of north Kashmir s Kupwara district. Continuing with the special drive against drug abuse and the sale of psychotropic substances in the district, a special team of District Police Kupwara has achieved another success by arresting a notorious drug peddler from Shumnag area and recovered 1.6 kgs of Charas from his possession, SSP Kupwara Shamsheer Hussain while briefing media said. He identified the arrested drug peddler as Abdul Khaliq Payer son of Abdul Jabbar Payer resident of Shumnag village. In this connection, a case FIR No. 05/2018 u/s 8/20 NDPS act has been registered in police station Trehgam and further investigation is in progress, he said. During the year 2017, under special drive, Kupwara Police has recovered 4.5 Kgs of Brown Sugar, 2 Kgs of Heroine, 31 Kgs of Charas, 1 Kg Bhuki, and other Psychotropic substances and 54 drug peddlers have been arrested, the SSP added. He said a cross LoC narcotic smugglers module was also busted and 4 notorious drug, narcotic smugglers were arrested. One notorious drug peddler has been booked under PSA, he claimed. During the year 2018, 7.6 Kgs of Charas and 500 gms of Heroine have been recovered and 5 drug peddlers including a notorious woman drug peddler have been arrested so far. Residents of Kupwara district have expressed their gratitude to JK Police for eradicating drug menace from the society. According to locals, drug menace is ruining and affecting the career and health of the young generation who are the future. People of Kupwara have hailed the role of Kupwara Police for launching an effective campaign against drug peddlers and sale of psychotropic substances in the district. Meanwhile, District Police Kupwara has appealed the local residents to come forward and help police to eradicate the menace from the society. The anti-drug drive shall continue to make the society drug free which is one of the commandments of J&K Police for 2018, the police said. (GNS) are increasing with each passing day, he said. He said the upgrading and creation of new infrastructure would not help the state to improvise power until there is 100 percent installation of metres. The PDD has projected installation of 11, 47,723 metres between 2015 and 2019 in domestic and non-domestic categories and has set up target of 100 percent metering to The centre in December last year announced an allocation of additional power of 792 MW for Jammu and Kashmir in view of higher demand in winters in the state. However, people say that there has been no improvement in power supply in the valley. The frequent power cuts have made our lives miserable, Ali Mohammad Bhat, a resident of Safakadal, said. He said they face around 10 hour power cuts in a day. The announcement of additional power to the state did not make any difference. We used to face 10 hour power cuts before the announcement and face the same, Bhat said. The PDD has announced a power curtailment schedule. The metered areas are subjected to 21 hours of weekly cut and non-metered 42 hours. However, consumers said that power curtailment schedule was not being followed. An official of the PDD, said that department has told government that 24 hour power supply could be possible only if the power purchase is doubled. In Kashmir, there is availability of 1200 megawatts while the demand is far higher. The double in power purchase will end power crisis and provided 24 hour supply, the official said. There are also around 110 villages, comprising of three lakh households, which are un-electrified so far. The official said that it depends on the government whether it would double its power budget. J&K is one among the states having vast hydro power potential from where electricity is also being supplied to several parts of India. While the state on its own is suffering for want of power. To reduce the revenue generation gap, the PDD has also decided to expedite the installation of metering process and has set up the 2019 deadline for its completion. (KNS) Summer-like weather during day, night temp dips in Kashmir SRINAGAR: People continued to enjoy summer-like weather due to sunshine for the second successive day on Tuesday though the night temperature dipped and settled below normal owing to dry conditions in Kashmir valley. Leh in Ladakh region was the coldest place in the region at minus 4.2 degree, followed by world famous health resort of Pahalgam was minus 3.1 degree. A Met department spokesperson told media that weather will remain dry during the next 48 hours in the state, which could result in further dip in the night temperature. The night temperature in Leh dipped and settled at minus 4.2 degree, against minus 4.6 degree recorded on Monday. The border town of Kargil witnessed an improvement of 2 degree from Monday and settled at minus 2.5 degree. He said skies will be mainly clear during the next 24 hours in Leh, where maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 9 degree and minus 5 degree, respectively. The world famous ski resort of Gulmarg, about 55 km from here in north Kashmir, witnessed major improvement in the night temperature, which settled 4 degree above normal. Against minus 5 degree recorded on Monday, the night temperature at Gulmarg, where ski slopes are under several feet of snow, surged and settled at 0.4 degree. The weather is pleasant in this ski resort. Tourists are enjoying skiing and other snow sporting activities on ski slopes of Gulmarg on a sunny day since early this morning, a hotelier told media over the phone. After witnessing a dip of about 3 degree in the night temperature, people woke up to a sunny Tuesday morning in the summer capital, Srinagar. Against 4.1 degree recorded on Monday, the night temperature at Srinagar was 1.5 degree, which is slightly below normal. The maximum temperature recorded in Srinagar on Tuesday was 3 degree above normal. The spokesperson said that skies will be mainly clear during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, where the maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 17 degree and 1 degree, respectively. The night temperature at Pahalgam, about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, dipped about 2 degree from Monday and settled at minus 3.1 degree, which is slightly below normal. The mercury at Qazigund, gateway to the valley, Kupwara in north Kashmir and tourist resort of Kokernag dipped and settled at 0.4 degree, minus 0.7 degree and 1.1 degree, respectively. over 18,000 bullet-proof jackets and 550 vehicles were purchased during the year As many as 18,100 bullet-proof jackets and 550 different vehicles, which also include bullet-proof vehicles, have been purchased by the police department during the year 2017 for the safe and secure mobility of officers and Jawans in the state, SP Vaid has said. According to official police data, more than 26 cops were killed in the attacks in Kashmir last year. The state government recently has informed the legislative Assembly that 48 police personnel have laid their lives in the line of duty in last two years. The government has said that during to , 17 police personnel including two Assistant sub inspectors were killed while as during 2017 w.e.f to , 26 including one sub- inspector were killed. The government has further said that 5 SPO's also lost their lives during In order to modernize and enhance the capicity building of the Jammu and Kashmir police for meeting the various challenges to internal security in the form of militancy, the government has said that Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India from the year notified the " Modernization of state police forces scheme" with the objectives of, intra- alia, training and fully equipping the police Forces with the latest weaponry, improved housing facilities, safe and secured police stations and to modernize police communication. (KNS) EXPENDITURE REFORMS? Govt withdraws financial powers of Admin Deptts Dozens of far flung, remote villages remain cut off, traffic disrupted on Kashmir highway SRINAGAR: Dozens of far flung and remote villages, including those near the Line of Control (LoC) remained cut off from their respective district and tehsil headquarters for the 5th day on Tuesday following closure of Sadhna top, Z-Gali and Phirkiyan pass due to accumulation of snow and threat of avalanches. Meanwhile, the Razdan pass, connecting Gurez and other border areas with district headquarter Bandipora remained closed due to accumulation of snow and slippery road conditions since January. The national highway, connecting Ladakh with Kashmir and historic Mughal road also remained closed since December last year. Traffic on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only road linking the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was disrupted on Tuesday morning due to landslides. However, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) responsible for the maintainance of the highway immediately put into service sophisticated machine and men and later put through the highway for one-way traffic. Today traffic will ply from Jammu to Srinagar and no vehicle will be allowed from opposite direction, a traffic police official told UNI. Traffic remained suspended on Sadhna pass, Z Gali and Phirkiyan for the ffith day on Tuesday due to accumulation of snow and slippery road conditions, a Police Control Room (PCR) official told UNI over phone from Kupwara. A driver of BRO was killed and two others were injured in a snow avalanche at Phirkiyan on Sunday afternoon when road clearance operation was in progress, he said adding there is also a threat of avalanche at several places. (Agenceis) SRINAGAR: Jammu Kashmir Government has reduced the yearly financial budget of every government department and has withdrawn all powers related to re-appropriation and re-distribution of funds vested in the Administrative Departments. Finance Department has called it expenditure reforms; however the heads of government departments have started raising eyebrows as they think the new order of the government will badly affect every industry in Jammu and Kashmir. Finance Department in its order vide number 310-F of 2017 has asked all the Heads of Departments (HoD s), Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDO s) and Treasury Officers (TO s) to adhere to all the directions in letter and spirit. The order, a copy of which lies with CNS reads expenditure during the last quarter of the financial year shall be limited to 30 per cent budget allocation on both Revenue and Capex side. All the un-utilized funds over and above 30 per cent of the budgeted amount on both Revenue and Capex side as on 3Ist December 2017 shall be automatically forfeited and will not be allowed to be used for any other purposes while in the month of March 2018, the expenditure shall not be more than 15% of the Budget Estimates. The order further reads that all powers related to re-appropriation and re-distribution of funds vested in the Administrative Departments, HODS and DDOs have been withdrawn and any proposal for re-appropriation will be considered on merits in the Finance Department only in respect of savings to be utilized for authorized pending work done liabilities, salary shortfalls etc. Payments in the last month shall be made only for goods and services already procured. No amounts shall be released in advance except in the circumstances including advance payments to contractors under terms of duly executed contracts so that Government would not renege on its legal or contractual obligations and any loans or advances to Government servants etc. or private individuals as a measure of relief and rehabilitation as per service conditions or on compassionate grounds and any other exceptional case with the approval of the Finance Department. The Finance Department has directed all the HoD s, DDC s and TO s that rush of expenditure on procurement should be avoided during the last month of the year so as to ensure that all procedures are complied with and there is no in fructuous or wasteful expenditure. Director Finance/Financial Advisors are advised to specially monitor this aspect in their respective departments.

5 NEWS Wednesday Netanyahu s ex-aide to testify against him JERUSALEM: An ex-aide to Israeli Prime Minis ter Benjamin Netanyahu has signed a state witness deal in a corruption probe linked to his former boss, Israeli media reported on Monday, dealing a new setback to the premier. News of the agreement broke ahead of Netanyahu s meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House later on Monday. The widely reported agreement between Israeli authorities and Nir Hefetz, a former spokesman for the Netanyahu family, comes as corruption investigations into the prime minister intensify. Israeli police provided no details on the reported agreement. Hefetz would be the third Netanyahu associate to sign a state witness deal in recent months. An aide to Netanyahu immediately denounced the reports and proclaimed the long-serving prime minister s innocence. When there s something there, it doesn t take even one state witness, the aide said. And now, even a thousand state witnesses will not help. On Sunday, an Israeli court released Hefetz and telecoms mogul Shaul Elovitch and put them under house arrest after 14 days in custody. Hefetz is alleged to have acted as a messenger between Netanyahu, Elovitch s telecoms group Bezeq and news website Walla!, media reports say. Police suspect Bezeq was given regulatory breaks in return for Netanyahu receiving positive coverage on Walla!, a news website owned by the telecoms group. Hefetz is also suspected of trying to bribe a retired judge to block a probe into the prime minister s wife, Sara Netanyahu, over alleged misuse of public funds, according to the reports. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Hefetz had agreed to hand over recordings of Netanyahu and his wife as part of the state witness deal. B desh school burns students mobile phones DHAKA: A madrassa in Bangladesh said Tuesday it had confiscated hundreds of mobile phones and torched them in a bonfire because they were distracting students from their learning. Pupils at the seminary in southeast Bangladesh were ordered to hand over their cellphones Sunday to school administrators who then tossed the devices en masse into a fire in a nearby field. Madrasa reforms being implemented at a snail s pace These devices are ruining their character, said Azizul Hoque, a spokesman for the Darul Ulum Moinul Islam madrassa, or Islamic seminary. The students use internet (on their phones) throughout the night and then doze during classes the next morning. Their parents are concerned. Hoque said the seminary a 123-year-old institution with 14,000 registered students was not against technology but the negative results of mobile phones far outweigh its positives. Sri Lanka Declares Emergency After Anti-Muslim Riots Agencies COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency for 10 days to rein in the spread of communal violence, a government spokesman said on Tuesday, a day after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island s central district of Kandy. Police extended a curfew in parts of Kandy, home to famous tea plantations and Buddhist relics, after rioters disobeyed an overnight curfew and went on a rampage. The body of a Muslim man was pulled from the ashes of a burnt building on Tuesday, police said, threatening to further fuel communal tensions that have flared up across the country in recent weeks. A police spokesman said hundreds of commandos from the police Special Task Force had been deployed to the troubled district to restore order and enforce the curfew. Muslim homes, business and mosques were badly damaged in riots on Monday triggered by the death of a Sinhalese man at the hands of a mob last week. The Sinhalese are a mainly Buddhist ethnic group making up nearly three-quarters of Sri Lanka s 21 million people. Muslims are just 10 percent of its population. More than two dozen arrests have been made and an inquiry opened into police conduct in Kandy, just the latest region to be plagued by religious and ethnic conflict. Mobs set fire to Muslimowned businesses and attacked a mosque in the east of the country last week after a Muslim chef was accused of adding contraceptives to food As US influence wanes, Russia embraces Pakistan with energy deals, military Agencies ISLAMABAD: As US influence in Islamabad wanes, Pakistan s former adversary Russia is building military, diplomatic and economic ties that could upend historic alliances in the region and open up a fast-growing gas market for Moscow s energy companies. Russia s embrace of Pakistan comes at a time when relations between the United States and its historical ally are unraveling over the war in Afghanistan, a remarkable turnaround from the 1980s, when Pakistan helped funnel weapons and US spies across the border to aid Afghan fighters battling Soviet troops. Though the Moscow-Islamabad rapprochement is in its infancy, and it is neighbor China that is filling the growing void left by the United States in Pakistan, a slew of energy deals and growing military cooperation promise to spark life into the Russia-Pakistan relationship that was dead for many decades. It is an opening, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistan s defense minister, told Reuters. Both countries have to work through the past to open the door to the future. The cozier diplomatic ties have so far focused on Afghanistan, where Russia has cultivated ties to the Afghan Taliban militants who are fighting US troops. Moscow says it is encouraging peace negotiations. Both Russia and Pakistan are also alarmed by the presence of Islamic State (IS) inside Afghanistan, with Moscow concerned the group s fighters could spread towards central Asia and closer to home. In Pakistan, IS has already carried out major attacks. We have common ground on most issues at diplomatic levels, Pakistan s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told Reuters. It s a relationship that will grow substantially in the future. During a trip to Moscow last month by Pakistan s foreign minister, Khawaja Asif, the two countries announced plans to establish a commission on military cooperation Saudi to open airspace to India-Israel flights: Netanyahu agencies WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Saudi Arabia had granted Air India permission to fly over its territory on its new routes to and from Tel Aviv.There was no immediate confirmation from either Saudi officials or Air India. Netanyahu made the announcement during a briefing in Washington to Israeli reporters after he had met US President Donald Trump.Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and lifting the 70-year-old airspace ban would reflect what appears to be thawing ties between Israel and the kingdom, Historic parliament meeting favours lifetime power for Xi agencies BEIJING: Thousands of Chinese legislators erupted into enthusiastic applause on Monday over plans to give President Xi Jinping a lifetime mandate to mould the Asian giant into a global superpower. China s rubber-stamp parliament met in the imposing Great Hall of the People for an annual session that will make Xi the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, concentrating the growing might of the military, economy and state in the hands of one man. As Xi looked on from a stage dominated by mostly male party leaders in dark suits, a constitutional amendment to scrap the two-term limit for the presidency was read out to the chamber, prompting fervent applause. The legislators are all but certain to approve the amendment on Sunday, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership sets the agenda for the National People s Congress (NPC). The text says the change will be conducive to safeguarding the authority and the unified leadership of the CCP Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core and to strengthening and perfecting both US allies with a shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. Last month, Air India announced the planned thrice-weekly flights to Tel Aviv over Saudi soil, but the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Riyadh said at the time it had not granted such permission to the carrier.el Al Israel Airlines, the country's flag carrier, flies four weekly flights to Mumbai. These take seven hours as they fly south toward Ethiopia and then east to India, avoiding Saudi airspace. Israel media have said that Saudi overflight routes could reduce travel time by more than two hours. the national leadership system. The amendment was presented after Premier Li Keqiang delivered a report warning that the country is fighting three critical battles against financial risk, poverty and pollution. The government set an economic growth target of around 6.5 per cent for 2018, in line with expectations but lower than the 6.9pc GDP increase in It announced an 8.1pc increase for the defence budget to 1.11 trillion yuan ($175 billion) this year, giving the world s largest armed forces a boost after spending growth slowed in the previous two years. sold to Sinhalese. The government dismissed the allegation as baseless and ordered the arrest of those fomenting unrest in the area. Last November riots in the south of the island left one man dead and homes and vehicles damaged. In June 2014 riots between Buddhists and Muslims left four dead and many injured. to combat the threat of IS in the region. They also agreed to continue annual military training exercises that began in 2016 and followed the sale of four Russian attack helicopters to Pakistan, as well as the purchase of Russian engines for the Pakistan Air Force s JF-17 fighter jets that Pakistan s military assembles on its own soil. The detente has been watched with suspicion by Pakistan s neighbor and arch-foe India, which broadly stood in the Soviet camp during the Cold War era. In the last two decades, the close Russia-India relationship has been underpinned by huge arms sales by Moscow to a country it calls a strategic partner. If the Russians start backing the Pakistanis in a big way at the political level, then it creates a problem for us, said Sushant Sareen, a leading expert on India s relations to Pakistan and Afghanistan with New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. Pakistan, Nepal agree to boost economic, defence ties Agencies KATHMANDU: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli met on Monday and agreed to enhance cooperation in areas of economy, defence and culture. Mr Abbasi, who arrived in the Himalayan city to felicitate Mr Oli on assuming the office of prime minister, said Pakistan welcomed completion of democratic process in Nepal and hoped it would usher in an era of a durable peace. The prime minister said Pakistan supported Nepal s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity as a matter of prime importance. He said it was heartening that the democratic process in Nepal was flourishing and emphasised that political stability was a key to economic development. Mr Abbasi said Pakistan and Nepal had remained good friends for decades and there existed immense scope in collaboration in the fields of culture, tourism, sports and education. The two leaders also discussed the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) as an important platform to explore cooperation among regional countries for the benefit of their peoples. The two leaders stressed the need for activating the Pakistan-Nepal Joint Economic Commission and the Joint Business Council to increase bilateral trade. It SONAMARG DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Tel/Fax: - ( Ganderbal) -Sdaofficial@yahoo.com Short term Quotation Notice was also agreed to strengthen people-to-people contacts. Both leaders expressed satisfaction over the cooperation between the two countries at international fora. They also discussed the ways to reinvigorate Saarc as an important regional organisation. Later, Prime Minister Abbasi and Mr Oli led delegationlevel dialogue of their respective sides, which was attended by Pakistani delegates and Nepalese cabinet members. Meanwhile, talking to Saarc secretary general Amjad B. Sial, Mr Abbasi said Saarc was an important forum which required serious and sincere efforts by member countries to explore its true potential. Mr Abbasi said that Pakistan was committed to playing a constructive role in Saarc. Mr Sial, who belongs to Pakistan s Foreign Service and was appointed secretary general of Saarc in 2017, briefed the prime minister on the activities of the organisation. Earlier, Mr Abbasi was accorded a guard of honour at Nepal s Army Pavilion when he arrived in the capital of the Himalayan country on a two-day official visit. Prime Minister Oli welcomed Mr Abbasi at the Pavilion in Tundikhel, one of important historic landmarks in the heart of Kathmandu. The two leaders were escorted by Nepal s Chief of Army Staff Gen Rajendra Chhetri to the saluting dais. Pakistan has crucial role to play in Afghan peace process: US official agencies Washington: A senior American official, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Alice South and Central Asia Alice Wells on Tuesday said Pakistan has a very important role to play in the Afghan peace process. We believe that Pakistan can certainly help to facilitate talks and to take actions that will put pressure on and encourage the Taliban to move forward towards a politically negotiated settlement, Wells said in response to a question at a briefing on the just concluded Kabul conference in Afghanistan, Hindustan Times reported. And our engagement with Pakistan is on how we can work together, on how we can address Pakistan s legitimate concerns and Afghanistan s stability through a negotiated process as well, she said. Wells however stated that United States has not seen a decisive and sustained change in the behaviour of Pakistan, even after the Trump administration announced a $2 billion security assistance freeze to Islamabad nearly two months ago. We ve not seen decisive and sustained changes yet in Pakistan s behaviour, but certainly we are continuing to engage with Pakistan over areas where we think they can play a helpful role in changing the calculus of the Taliban, said Wells. Pakistani officials have underscored, they see a variety of issues, whether it s border management or refugees or terrorism that emanates from ungoverned space in Afghanistan, as important issues, and we would agree that all of these need to be resolved during the course of a reconciliation process, Wells said. Subject: Abstract of Short Term Tender Notice No: 26-WW of 02/2018. Ref:NIT Circulated under this office No: WWD/ , Dated: Cancellation Notice The works appeared at Sl. No: (1) & Sl.No(12) of Short Term Tender Notice No: 26-WW of 02/2018, i.e. 1. Improvements of Water Supply to Kohan Khan WFR (Nai Sadak) by way of replacing out lived/ damaged sub main and Laying/fitting of service lines. 2. Installation of 05 No Fire Hydrants at Sheikh-ul-Alam colony Ahmad Nagar Srinagar.may be treated as cancelled. Other works advertised in the NIT No: 26-WW of 02/2018.shall remain un-changed. Further information can be had from the office of the Executive Engineer, Water Works Division, Srinagar. No: WWD/ sd/- Dated: Executive Engineer, DIPK-15172/17 Water Works Division Srinagar. Sonamarg Development Authority invites sealed quotations affixed with Rupees 5/- revenue stamp from registered dealers for supply/ installation ofinverter along with batteryof the following specifications for Sonamarg which should reach to the office of the Executive Engineer, Sonamarg Development Authority, Camp office, Mini Secretariat, Ganderbal by or before up to 2.PM A. Inverter not less 1050 VA,preferably of Exide, Luminous, Microtek with 5 year warranty. B. Hybrid Inverter not less than 1800 VA, preferably of Exide, Luminous, Microtek with 5 year warranty. C. Battery 150 AH,preferably of Exide, Luminous, Microtek with 5 year warranty. D. Solar Panel along with other requisite accessories required for the same not less than 400 W,of reputed company. Conditions: 1. The quotation should be accompanied with CDR amounting to Rs.5000/- pledged to Executive Engineer, SDA 2. The quotation receiving authority reserve the right to accept or reject the any quotation without any reason thereof. 3. In case the date of receipt of quotation is declared as holiday or the office is closed due to disturbances or any other reason the quotation will be received on next working day. 4. The supplies will be inspected by the inspection committee and the payment thereof would have bearing upon the report of inspection committee. 5. The supplies of the above items may increase provided required budget is available in the relevant budget sub head. 6. The rates charged should be applicable to all Government departments inclusive of all taxes. Sd/- No.EE/SDA/ Executive Engineer, Dt DIPK-NB-3926/17 Sonamarg Development Authority Government of Jammu & Kashmir Office of the Executive Engineer, Water Works Division Srinagar

6 Wednesday kashmir Editor-in-Chief : Sajjad Haider Legal Counsel: Tasaduq Khwaja Switchboard: (0194) Editorial: (0194) editorial: editor@kashmirobserver.net Printed & Published by Sajjad Haider on behalf of the Kashmir Observer LLP Published from: # 1- Boulevard, Srinagar Printed at: KT Press Pvt. Ltd, Rangreth Ind Area, Srinagar. RNI Registration No: 69503/98 Postal Registration No-L/159/KO/SK/ It was just an FIR No Holds Barred Send your write ups and feedback at editpage.ko@gmail.com Opinion All in a days work It s a war on Kashmiri people. It s not combatants and non-combatants. Its orchestrated murders to drive fear into people over and over. Over ground, underground, ideological these terms make seem as if the murders of combatants are justified. Make no mistake; all Kashmiris are targets. it could be any car, any man, woman, any child - they justify, they launch investigations- it s all a drama to multiply the threat, of what they can do. Period. Stand for all murders. All seven of them. Everyone against the occupation is innocent in Kashmir. Stand against the incremental genocide of all lives that resist the occupation. Ather Zia Killing of youth in Shopian twice since January 28, FIRs, rape and murder of a minor, shelling on LoC, thrashing and kidnapping of Kashmiri students in Haryana and Odhissa -- this is what J&K CM had to mostly tweet & bother about in recent weeks. Ah, governance! Athar Parvaiz In what has come as an abject reversal of its principled stand over the killings of the three youth in Shopian last month, the state Government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it hadn t named Major Aditya Kumar in the FIR on the incident. Major Aditya is alleged to have ordered the shooting that killed the civilians. Earlier, the government had given an impression that it had specifically named the Army officer and would take the case against him to its logical conclusion. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has called up the defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to seek action against the army personnel. But then the coalition partner BJP went against the government position and defended the Army, with one of its MLAs Ravinder Raina even justifying the killings of the youth calling it an act of self defence, for the security of the nation and as per law. Other senior BJP leader and the union minister Jitendra Singh said nothing should be said or done that would lower the morale of the Indian Army. This discourse whipped up sympathy among the people in India for the Army than for the slain civilians who were branded Pakistanis. Major Aditya s father later approached Supreme Court against the FIR in the case pleading that the Army convoy was on a bona fide military duty in an area under the AFSPA but was isolated by an unruly and deranged mob pelting stones, causing damage to military vehicles. Supreme Court has since stayed the FIR. And far from strongly defending the case, the state government has now even denied that Major Aditya has been named in the case. This has cast an unflattering light not only on the state government but also on the operation of democracy in the state. The CM has looked helpless. And helplessness is something people hate in their leaders. It is demoralizing for the people if the leader they democratically elect to rule them turn out to be unable to lodge even an FIR against the security personnel responsible for the killing of three civilians. This example, a very poignant one at that, serves to put in sharp relief what has been an abiding problem of the successive state governments:: their apparent powerlessness to deliver not only on their commitments and convert their passionate public rhetoric into a responsive governance but also sometimes get a petty FIR registered. This has put a big question mark on the way the democracy functions in J&K. Far from representing people, this democracy distorts their mandate. Far from resolving the sensitive issues, this democracy complicates them. And far from empowering people, it creates a profound sense of powerlessness. o t h e r o p i n o n Congress needs to stop behaving like a deer caught in the headlights The BJP seems to have internalised the advice of the great Prussian military thinker and strategist, Carl von Clausewitz: The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy. It catches its opponents off guard in every election, however small, with Clausewitzian cunning. This explains why the Congress has been left high and dry in Meghalaya despite emerging as the single largest party. Instead of making a spirited bid to form the government, its leaders folded up their tents and came back to Delhi while the Conrad Sangma-led National People s Party is all set to assume office with the BJP as a partner. This habit of being always the bridesmaid, never the bride, is now becoming the signature style of the Congress. We saw it in Manipur where, with 28 seats, it was the single largest party but gave way tamely as an agile BJP stitched up a coalition before the Congress even got off the starting blocks. Again, in the Goa assembly elections, it was the single largest party with 17 seats to the BJP s 13, only to be outwitted by the latter. Here the Congress dithered over who should be the leader to form the government even as the BJP rushed past it to stake its claim. In an era in which canny alliance-making is the key to forming governments, the Congress needs to stop behaving like a deer caught in the headlights. The BJP manages to anticipate the winning formula with military precision. The Congress simply seems unable to cash in on its advantages, losing its grip in state after state. It should be a matter of even more concern that several state chieftains are forming their own alliances without including the Congress. It cannot hope to outmanoeuvre the BJP or, indeed, regional parties if it does not have a coherent economic or social strategy, and the agility to form alliances. At the moment, it seems to be content to notch up small victories in bypolls without seemingly preparing for the big fight ahead in The Congress was the country s original pan-india party. It has to think big, cash in on its brand recognition and revitalise its extensive rank and file. It has to get used to the fact that it is no longer primus inter pares; it has to be a team player with those with whom it may not necessarily share a common ideology. As Clausewitz said, It is better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past. The BJP, so far, has acted quickly and without erring. Hindustantimes Photos of grieving women and old men hugging the casket soldier killed on the Jammu and Kashmir border skirmish are appearing on the front pages of newspapers almost every day. Dressed in battle fatigues and bullet proof jackets, Indian army jawans and personnel of the Border Security Forces are constantly moving through border hamlets and paddy fields to take position to fire across the border. Devastation is visible all around blood stains on the floor, broken windows, injured animals and splinter marks on the walls. By mid -January this year (2018) a chain of hamlets and towns along the Indo-Pak border in R.S.Pura sector have become empty. Over 40,000 villagers have abandoned their homes to escape heavy shelling by Pakistani forces. The BSF had fired over 9,000 rounds of mortar shells across the Jammu IB in the last few days as part of pinpointed retaliatory action against this unprovoked firing from across the border. In Nichal village in Samba district, an old man waiting to receive body of his son felled by Pakistani bullets appealed to Prime Minister to either engage Pakistan in dialogue, or engage it in a full-fledged war to get lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has virtually frozen all high-level contacts with Pakistan and vowed to continue doing so until Islamabad stops providing all logistical support for the anti-indian insurgency in Kashmir. There is no indication that Mr. Modi is going to change his stance in near future. Bilateral relations between India and Pakistan has been virtually reduced to soldiers firing at each other across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. During 2017 there were nearly 860 hostile military actions on the Indo-Kashmir border. According to information in the first month of 2018 there were more than five incidents of exchange of fire every day on the Jammu Kashmir border. Earlier this month, the Press Trust of India (PTI) cited a report from Indian intelligence sources that claimed 138 Pakistan military personnel were killed in the preceding year in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the LoC. The same sources put the death toll of soldiers on the Indian side at 28. Both militaries are known for boasting of enemy fatalities, while downplaying casualties on their own side. In retaliation of heavy Pakistani firing and shelling that killed Border Security Force Constable OBSERVER MAIL My caption sounds like a warning and a threat. Of course it is! I will not talk of adults, they have got remote control in their hand and it is their choice if they want to get glued or they want to segregate from their all-time favorite companion called Mobile Phone. Well I am more concerned about those who have just set their foot on this planet. For time being, I will call them Mod-Con kids, as they are surrounded by numerous webs of technological fantasies. They don t know that before evenpassing 10 orbits under the sun, they have passed countless orbits under the shade of Smart phone. Their skills surpass those of adults and I am sure they give you a tough competition now. Many of the parents feel on sky high that their kids are proactive and skillful in this technologically driven world but hey India Pakistan: The Coming War Tapan Bose K.K. Appa Rao, Indian army in August 2017 had initiated Operation Arjun, which targeted farms and residences of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers and retired Pakistani Army officers. An official document accessed by IANS revealed that Operation Arjun continued till September 24, with the BSF using small and medium arms as well as aerial weapons, causing heavy casualties and damage on the Pakistani side. According to reports, in January 2018, Indian side has fired around 9000 rounds of mortar shells across the international border in Jammu as part of pinpointed retaliatory action against this unprovoked firing from across the border. With both sides accusing the other of unprovoked firing across the Line of Control (LoC) the situation is on a knife s edge. These violations in the Jammu and Kashmir region are significant as these compound bilateral military, political, and diplomatic tensions. These have the potential to escalate into bigger military engagement in the aftermath of terror incidents. Since late 2008, India-Pakistan comprehensive peace dialogue has been in limbo. However, till 2016 the incidents of violation of ceasefire were about 300 per year. On September 28, 2016, India responded to the Uri attack by mounting surgical strikes on militant bases. After the surgical strike the incidents of ceasefire violations have increased exponentially. The cross border firings spread to the international border in Punjab as a result of which villages on both sides of Punjab had to be evacuated. The US endorsed India s Sept surgical strikes inside Pakistan. While India asserts terrorist infiltration from Pakistan is the primary cause for cease fire violations, Pakistan claims that the outstanding bilateral disputes are the issue. Even if terrorist infiltration were to end, there is no certainty that the ceasefire violations would end. The situation is complicated by the new military belligerency which is behind the massive rise in the cease fire violations during last year. A further consequence of Washington s downgrading of relations with Pakistan in favour of India, is that it has emboldened the Indian ruling elite in its dealings with Pakistan. Seizing on the deterioration in US-Pakistani relations, General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Indian on January 12, 2018, issued a warning to Pakistan. He said that Indian forces were ready to call Pakistan s nuclear bluff and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif responded the next day, with his own warlike message. He said, Indiana army chief s statement Amount to (an) invitation for (a) nuclear encounter. If that is what they desire, they are welcome to test our resolve. The general s doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah [God willing]. Earlier in the day, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had also responded to the Indian army chief s nuclear bluff assertion by warning that India will be given a befitting response if they engage in any misadventure. Pakistan has been stockpiling strategic nuclear weapons for several years. There are reports that recently it has deployed tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons as its first line of defence against any large-scale Indian invasion or impending invasion. Pakistan claims that Indian has been planning attack them under its Cold Start strategy. Pakistan has long viewed Afghanistan as vital to giving it strategic depth in its rivalry with India. Washington s promotion of India as a major player in Afghanistan is exacerbating tensions in the region. Trump administration s encouragement of India has helped expand the Indo-Pakistan strategic conflict onto Afghan soil. It has emboldened Afghanistan which, has adopted an increasingly hostile and aggressive policy towards Islamabad. Islamabad frequently accuses Indian intelligence of working in tandem with Afghan intelligence to foment terrorist attacks inside Pakistani territory, including by supporting the separatist insurgency in Baluchistan. The Pakistan claims that US government s efforts to upset the balance of power in the region has forced them to deploy tactical nuclear weapons and expand its militarystrategic ties with Beijing. With the US government providing India access to its most advanced weapon systems, and Pakistan moving to All letters intended for publication must include the writer s name and address, even if a pseudonym is used. Letters are edited as clarity, spaceand accuracy of expression require. Our publishing a letter does not mean we agree with everything or even anything in it. -EDITOR Hey kiddos, drop that Mobile Phone strengthen its strategic ties with China, the region is increasingly being polarized into rival Indo-US and raising the danger that a war between India and Pakistan could draw in the world s great powers. As we have seen in the past, when India and Pakistan dialogue process on key disputes is under way, cease fire violations go down. When the governments stop talking to each other, and bilateral tensions go up, the forces deployed on the line of Control, gain autonomy and local factors tend to have a dramatic influence on ceasefire violations. Instead of resuming bilateral dialogue, which is the only way disputes can be resolved, both governments have adopted unsustainable militarist approach which has the potential of engulfing the region in a larger war, which would cause massive bloodshed and enormous damage to both countries. The fear that under the BJP rule, India will be increasingly drawn into US imperialism s game plan for extending its hegemony over this region to counter China s growing economic and military power is real. The USA has always fought their wars in other people s territories bringing utter devastation to the people and the economy. That continuous localized military clashes, can lead to large-scale war is an established historic fact. We have become so used to this perpetual cycle of instability and constant confrontations, along the Indo-Pakistan border that we have lost sight of the inherent danger that these confrontations pose to peace in South Asia. As a result, despite our best efforts, the next big war in the Asia-Pacific, like most military conflicts, may come as an apparent surprise when we least expect it. For what is clear is that the current instability in the Asia-Pacific cannot endure indefinitely. The present confrontation and jingoism has to stop, it harms lives of people on both sides. There is grave concern that after 70 years of independence a large proportion of the populations of both countries are still steeped in poverty, hunger, disease and homelessness. It is incumbent that the concerned citizens of both countries lead the way by giving a joint call emphasizing the absolute need for the two countries reestablish the relations that existed at the end of last century or beginning of this century when both governments were talking to each other. The dialogue should however not be limited to politicians, the armies or bureaucrats. Civil society organisations of both the countries must be a party to the dialogue as they alone will persuade the states to alter their course. Countercurrents.org MAIL YOUR LETTERS P.O. Box # 337, GPO, Srinagar editor@kashmirobserver.net editpage.ko@gmail.com it is rather otherwise! ICT nodoubt is presenting numerous fruits but it is dreadful for growing brains. When a child is growing physically, his/her brain is in development stage also, therefore very prone to the happenings whether good or bad around him/her. A research by International Agency for Research on Cancer at World Health Organization, 2011, concluded Brain is the direct target of radio frequency emissions emitted by mobile phones. These rays are potential carcinogens (cancer causing). The temporal and frontal regions of the brain are developing during teen years and are main protagonists in cognitive functioning. All this exposure hurts the ultimate productivity as a result mod-con kids earn sorry grades in school. Their reading habit hazes and imagination power decreases. Their attention is all the time fragmented therefore less focused in class. They become zombies as if they suffer from some response disorders. They become insomniac and their eyes too suffer very badly which is then realized after some years.usage of slangs can hamper their proper linguistic usage in future.because of less human to human exposure due to social media use, they actually are unsocial in reality and pick up fights with anybody without any reason. Dear parents, this is exactly the stage when you say Our children have become unruly hounds and we no longer can control them. Remember you used to bribe them a phone every time they tried to irritate you.playing games no doubt increases neural area but if too much can again hurt. Online games are made as addictive as marijuana. They prompt a person to know what pleasures lie ahead. Since kids have a low level of self-control, they are ready to take these risks. All this ultimately gives rise to a mal formed personality. Dear parents and particularly, my favorite little creatures, Mobile Phone is not your bestie or big brother. Don t worry about likes and comments. I feel life is happier, successful, and sustainable at least at this athletic stage without this equipment. This is the stage to explore and question everything, to doodle whatever, to enjoy hide and seek in nature, comics and story books.without phone, you still will have friends and still will have a lot of game to play.if you don t possess a phone, don t be afraid of phone shame. Actually, you are the real heroes of the day. Rahila Rashid Student, Govt Degree College, Sopore rahila.r786@gmail.com

7 Can India Stop It s Epic Bank Scams? in India Wednesday Moin Qazi Swindlers have outfoxed a system which no longer appears impregnable. This failure has shown just how deeply lacerated are the central parts of our economic life. When institutions, such as banks, that are supposed to embody trust, are shown to be brittle, it leads to concerns of how fragile the economy is. The RBI now no longer appears to be the financial seer and therapist which insulated the domestic economy from the financial turmoil of The world s great philanthropist and investment leader, Warren Buffett, once said, It s only when the tide goes out that you realise who has been swimming naked. Well, it s the ebb of the tide for many of India s high-flying crony capitalists like Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, as they find themselves caught in an ignominious buff. Their diamonds may have sparkled on the necklines of world s acclaimed models, but their names are now dirty blots on the nation s financial skyline. Their misdeeds have shaken the credibility of India s $60 billion gem and jewellery industry, which is the country s second largest forex earner, accounting for about 16 per cent of the total merchandise exports, Similarly, sometimes, it takes a pitch-black economy to reveal who and what in the financial firmament really shine. It is only when darkness falls that the stars start twinkling. The moonshine on an otherwise bleak sky has been made possible by the small honest taxpayers who are transfusing precious blood to extend a lifeline to the bleeding banks. It is tragic that even as the country is grappling with massive problems confronting its struggling masses, these ignoble billionaires are having regular rides to the public trough and revelling in plunder and loot. The proportion of dodgy loans loans on which the borrower is not making interest payments or repaying any principal in India has surged to be among the highest in the world. The question is: Why should ordinary people bear the burden of fat cats who keep indulging their desires by dipping into public savings and laugh all the way to the bank? These free loaders are gleefully and remorselessly winnowing scarce bank capital and the Government has to goose these banks with spruced up balanced sheets to make them lend again. Ironically, instead of being chastised, they are lauded as captains of the industry and adorn glorious positions in industry associations India s near $147 billion pile of soured loans is a classic example of how powerful and politically influential tycoons undermine the rules to secure credit and then default on it. When borrowers become insolvent, their loans are added to an existing mountain of debt. Each time it happens, banks have to make heavy writedowns, plowing the dud loans like rotten potatoes, ultimately choking the credit line. To keep these banks going, the Government has to regularly keep injecting capital into them. Most major loan defaults have their genesis in frauds; these have ballooned non-performing assets (NPAs). The Reserve Bank of India s (RBI) June 2017 Financial Stability Report says losses from financial sector frauds rose 72 per cent in the five years to fiscal 2017 to Rs 16,770 crore. State-run banks have reported 8,670 loan fraud cases, totalling billion rupees ($9.58 billion) over the last five financial years up to March 31, Most big defaulters have the money to employ legal eagles who can play the judicial system and it is here where the law flounders. The country has the most draconian laws in books but they are ineffective against powerful dogders. We show such promptness in condemning waivers for poor farmers but we lack the courage to tame the large fishes because they have enormous clout. Remember how banks become aggressive in turning mortgage defaulters on to the streets? The bankers seem to be totally helpless when it comes to malfeasant promotes of big businesses. Today the stink of these loans and scams is leaching its poison into the financial system. Swindlers have outfoxed a system which no longer appears impregnable. This failure has shown just how deeply lacerated are the central parts of our economic life. When institutions, such as banks, that are supposed to embody trust, are shown to be brittle, it leads to concerns of how fragile the economy is. The RBI now no longer appears to be the financial seer and therapist which insulated the domestic economy from the financial turmoil of Scams are a product of a deadly concoction of greed and immorality. However, abuse of the financial system has been made possible on account of several weaknesses in it: Lax governance standards, supine boards, poor lending practices, manual processes, unionised staff, rogue bank officials, sloppy compliances, outdated software and lack of understanding of technology. Costs may have also impeded the banks from upgrading their systems. In an age which heralds technology as the silver bullet, we should not overlook their most important source of competitive advantage: Their people. Compliance and controls are weak the world over. They are, to a large extent, dependent on people running it. And remember, a process is only as good as the people managing it. The best auditors will also have to struggle to stop managers who are determined to hide their dirty laundry from view. It is strange that repayment ethics, so deeply ingrained in Indian culture, have been made foul words by politicians. The sanctity of repayment, no matter how deceitfully the debt was contrived and how cruel the costs, has been driven into the Indian consciousness since the time of Manusmruti. Today the debts contracts have lost their entire sanctity. It is a fact that the moral culture is under severe strain and any amount of laws and rules can t discipline the toxic human impulses. Most people have a psychological aversion to repaying bank loans. In several cases, they have sufficient assets and capital to redeem their debt but they use every possible means to avoid it. Things have turned so ugly that whether it is an individual or institution, getting back any money at all is a reason for jubilation. We have seen how business leaders splurge on birthday bashes but avoid repaying their loans. They have neither lost their homes nor have had to change their lifestyles despite offering personal guarantees for loans to banks? In this respect, small customers are far more honest than big ones. Some of them have such exemplary credit histories that it makes the best bankers blush. The reason for protecting the borrower against the creditor is that the much reviled moneylender looms large in our collective psyche. The scenario now is totally different. Big borrowers are not like helpless farmers and the lender today is not the cruel sahukar but the public bank. When these large businessmen default, they rob each one of us taxpayers. In several cases, precious and scarce banks funds are being used to finance opulent lifestyles of these people. The turmoil has prompted calls for improvising risk management models that seem to have created an illusory sense of security. Models and machines cannot act as a surrogate for human expertise. Money management is no more a genteel world. Bankers will now have to bring in hard-boiled traders instincts to make it safe and secure. In a prophetic warning way back in 1913, John Maynard Keynes wrote in Indian Currency and Finance: In a country so dangerous for banking as India, (it) should be conducted on the safest possible principles. The Indian financial sector is at crossroads and its leaders will now have to use their financial alchemy to overcome its most challenging moment. Perhaps it is one of those occasions where Rudyard Kipling s advice can be the best guide: If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too. It will not be out of place to quote former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan from his Homer Jones Memorial Lecture, delivered at Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri on April 15, A crisis offers us a rare window of opportunity to implement reforms-it is a terrible thing to waste. The temptation will be to overregulate, as we have done in the past. This creates its own perverse dynamic Perhaps rather than swinging maniacally between too much and too little regulation, it would be better to think of cycle-proof regulation Moin Qazi is the author of the bestselling book, Village Diary of a Heretic Banker.He has worked in the development finance sector for almost four decades.he can be reached at moinqazi123@gmail.com Research Check: Will Eating Ultra-Processed Foods Give You Cancer? Clare Collins/ Tim Crowe A recent study exploring the relationship between what are termed ultra-processed foods (which include chicken nuggets, pot noodles and ready-made meals) and cancer, generated headlines such as: Processed foods are driving up rates of cancer and Study reveals the foods driving up cancer rates The latter report in the NZ Herald led with: Eating processed food significantly raises the risk of cancer, experts warned These headlines and reports distorted the study s findings by suggesting the foods examined are actually causing an increase in cancer. A more accurate headline was run by The Guardian, that said: Ultra-processed foods may be linked to cancer This correctly reflected that the study found an association between eating certain types of processed food and a higher risk of cancer. The study showed that every 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed food was linked to a 12% increase in developing some types of cancers. This is important research but needs to be interpreted with caution. How was the research conducted? This data is from observing a group of people, which means you can see if things are associated with others, but can t prove something caused something else. The analysis included 104,980 French adults mostly women (78%) with a median age of 42.8 years who were followed up from 2009 to They were asked to report what they d eaten in the previous 24 hours, on three occasions every six months, for two years. The participants reported on their usual intakes of more than 3,300 food items contained in a food and nutrient database. Cancer cases were self-reported through regular health questionnaires. When a cancer was reported, a doctor then liaised to obtain details from the medical record. All medical data was reviewed by an expert committee of physicians and linked to the national health insurance system databases and the French national death registry. What were the foods studied? Food items were categorised based on how processed they were using the NOVA classification, which helped identify ultra-processed food and drink products. These aren t modified foods, but highly processed items made from components derived from foods plus added nutrients, plus other additives, using a series of industrial processes (hence ultra-processed). Group one was made up of "unprocessed or minimally processed foods, while group four was made up of ultra-processed foods. Group one included unprocessed edible parts of plants such as seeds, fruits, leaves, stems, roots, fungi, algae, and animal foods such as muscle and offal meats, eggs and milk. The minimally processed foods in the first group are those found in nature that are processed to remove inedible or unwanted components, preserve them for storage and ageing, or make them safe or edible. Minimal processes include drying, crushing, grinding, roasting, boiling, pasteurisation, refrigeration, freezing and storing in containers or vacuum-packaging. Group four foods were those made mostly or entirely from components derived from foods or additives, with little or no intact foods from group one. Group four included soft drinks, sweet and savoury packaged snacks, pre-prepared frozen dishes and reconstituted meat products. Researchers calculated the percentage of each person s food intake (measured in grams per day) that came from ultra-processed foods in their total diet. The results were presented as hazard ratios meaning researchers looked at cancer occurrence in those exposed to higher intakes of ultra-processed foods, compared to lower intakes. Then what? Next, the researchers evaluated the association between the percentage of ultra-processed foods eaten and incidence of overall cancers including breast, prostate, and bowel cancer. The analyses were adjusted for factors such as age, sex, BMI (body mass index), height, physical activity, smoking, family history of cancer and education (so they weren t counting those who were more likely to get cancer anyway for other reasons). For the breast cancer analyses, additional adjustments were made for the number of births each woman had, menopausal status, and hormonal or oral contraceptive use. These are all factors known to affect breast cancer risk. The statistics were further adjusted for fat, salt and carbohydrate intakes, alignment with a Western dietary pattern, or both of these together. This was to make sure effects weren t caused by these nutritional aspects, rather than the processed aspect. They also excluded cases of cancer diagnosed during the first two years of follow-up, because it s possible this was already present from other causes. Overall, about 19%, or one-fifth of the food intakes, came from ultra-processed foods. This is where the results showed consuming 10% more ultra-processed foods, by weight, was linked to a 12% increase in developing some type of cancer. For postmenopausal women there was an 11% higher risk of developing breast cancer based on a 10% higher intake of ultra-processed foods. The researchers found this higher risk for overall cancer was present in all population segments examined. The associations held after adjustment for nutritional quality of usual dietary intake, alignment with Western dietary patterns, or both. Headline versus hype This study is important because it s the first to evaluate associations between the degree of food processing in foods that people commonly eat and subsequent cancer risk. The results were predominantly in women, although the same trends were observed in the men. The data could be affected by reporting bias given dietary intakes over the two years were based on an average of five days of recall, although they excluded under-reporters. The authors discuss potential explanations for the findings. This includes the obvious one that ultra-processed foods are not usually of high nutritional value and people who consume them regularly have higher intakes of kilojoules, salt, fat and sugar and lower nutrient and dietary fibre intakes. This type of eating pattern is associated with higher risk of specific cancers and also increases the risk of weight gain, which further increases cancer risk. Ultra-processed foods included meats that are smoked, cured or contain added nitrites and conservatives, including sausages and ham. A relationship with increased risk of bowel cancer has been identified previously by the cancer research arm of the World Health Organisation. Should you eat processed foods or not? The current study found an association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk. The data comes from an observational cohort study and therefore cannot prove causation. There will never be a randomised controlled trial (comparing one group with placebo) of whether or not eating ultra-processed foods causes cancer because you cannot ethically randomise people to a lifetime consuming very high intakes of these foods. But for a host of well-known health reasons, it s still wise to keep your intake of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods to a minimum. By arrangements with the Conversation

8 Life & Times Wednesday STUDY REVEALS WEARING A HELMET REDUCES SPINE INJURY RISK DURING ACCIDENTS Turns out, helmet use is associated with reduced risk of cervical spine injury during motorcycle crashes. According to a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin, during an accident, helmet use lowers the likelihood of cervical spine injury (CSI), particularly fractures of the cervical vertebrae, despite the claims that helmets do not protect the cervical spine during a motorcycle crash and may even increase the risk of injury. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates, wearing helmets saved the lives of 1859 motorcycle riders in 2016; an additional 802 lives could have been saved if every motorcyclist had worn them. Wearing a helmet decreases the incidence and severity of traumatic brain injury during crashes. What then are the objections to universal laws requiring motorcycle helmet use? Major reasons cited for not requiring helmets while riding a motorcycle include freedom of choice, avoiding any limitation on vision, and a perceived increased risk of receiving a cervical spine injury (CSI). This last reason is based on the belief that the added weight of a helmet might increase torque on the cervical spine. The risk to the cervical spine is addressed in this study. Over the years there have been a variety of studies on helmet use and CSI in motorcycle crashes, with a couple of reports indicating an increased risk of CSI among helmeted riders and most studies finding no protective effect or harmful biomechanical risk to the cervical spine. Co-author Paul S. Page and colleagues hypothesised that helmet use is not associated with an increased risk of CSI during a motorcycle crash and instead may provide some protection to the wearer. The researchers reviewed the charts of 1061 patients who had been injured in motorcycle crashes and treated at a single Level 1 trauma center in Wisconsin between January 1, 2010, and January 1, Of those patients, 323 (30.4 percent) were wearing helmets at the time of the crash and 738 (69.6 percent) were not. Notably, Wisconsin law does not require all riders to wear a helmet. At least one CSI was sustained by 7.4 percent of the riders wearing a helmet and 15.4 percent of those not wearing one; this difference in percentages is statistically significant (p = 0.001). Cervical spine fractures occurred more often in patients who were not wearing helmets (10.8 percent compared to 4.6 percent; p = 0.001), as did ligament injuries (1.9 percent compared with 0.3 percent; p = 0.04); again these differences are statistically significant. There were no significant differences between groups (helmeted vs. un-helmeted riders) with respect to other types of cervical spine injuries that were sustained: nerve root injury, cervical strain, or cord contusion. In summary, Page and colleagues showed that helmet use is associated with a significantly reduced likelihood of sustaining a CSI during a motorcycle crash, particularly fractures of the cervical vertebrae. Although the study population is small, the authors believed the results provide additional evidence in support of wearing helmets to prevent severe injury in motorcycle crashes. When asked about the findings, Dr. Nathaniel P. Brooks, coauthor, stated, "Our study suggests that wearing a motorcycle helmet is a reasonable way to limit the risk of injury to the cervical spine in a motorcycle crash." The findings from the study are published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. (Agencies) Financially uneducated millennials not saving enough for retirement: Study Millennials are not saving enough for their retirement, a study has found, suggesting that they are in need of better financial education. According to the US Census, millennials accounted for more than 25 per cent of the population in 2015, yet this significant segment of the workforce might not be prepared for retirement. Researchers from the University of Missouri in the US found that only 37.2 per cent of working millennials have retirement accounts, demonstrating a need for increased financial education for retirement. The study, published in the Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, is among the first to examine the state of millennials' retirement savings. "While it could be assumed that millennials have plenty of time to save for retirement, they have to shoulder more responsibility than their parents and grandparents to do so," said Rui Yao, associate professor at University of Missouri. "Compared to older generations, millennials are less likely to have employerprovided pension or defined benefit retirement plans. Additionally, millennials are likely to live longer," said Yao. Researchers used the most recent 2013 survey of consumer finances to determine the saving behaviours of millennials. The research team was interested in the saving behaviours of millennials with at least one year of employment, making them eligible to contribute to a defined-contribution plan. They found that only 37.2 per cent of respondents had a retirement account. Comparing respondents with same income and wealth, retirement account balances were 52.9 per cent lower for black respondents than white respondents. Advanced degree holders were more likely to have a retirement account compared to those with a high school diploma or below. However, the advanced degree holders saved a smaller amount. Among self-employed individuals, only 17.6 per cent had a retirement account of any kind. The researchers controlled for wealth and debt while analysing saving behaviours. "The results suggest that financial education about saving for retirement is absolutely necessary," Yao said. "With the decline of defined benefit plans, millennials need to know much more about investing for retirement than their parents or grandparents did," he said. "Proper retirement preparation requires strategic and disciplined savings. Given that retirement accounts require the amount to compound, opening a retirement account early in one's career is the best first step for effectively saving for retirement," he added. (PTI) Talking to passengers impacts driving ability as badly as texting: Study Turns out, restrictions during driving are not just limited to texting and phone calls. According to a study conducted by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, speaking on both handheld and handsfree phones negatively impacted driving performance, and drivers who engaged in conversation with their passengers experienced similar negative effects. In their detailed analysis of dozens of empirical studies on the effects of talking while driving, human factors researchers have provided a comprehensive and credible basis for governments seeking to enact legislation restricting drivers' use of cell phones. The analysis is titled "Does Talking on a Cell Phone, With a Passenger, or Dialing Affect Driving Performance? An Updated Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis of Experimental Studies". Author Jeff Caird noted that the number of studies on cell phones and driving has more than tripled since the last meta-analysis was conducted in He and coauthors Sarah Simmons, Katelyn Wiley, Kate Johnston, and William Horrey aimed to update and extend the reliability and validity of the previous conclusions. They examined 93 studies that were published between 1991 and 2015 and measured the effects of cell phone use on driving. The overall sample had 4,382 participants, with drivers' ages ranging from 14 to 84 years. The studies measured variables such as drivers' reaction time to hazards or emergency events, stimulus detection, lane positioning, speed, eye movements, and collisions. Overall, the studies concluded that speaking on both handheld and hands-free phones negatively impacted driving performance, and drivers who engaged in conversation with their passengers experienced similar negative effects. Moreover, dialling, like texting, requires drivers to look away from the road for an extended period and can result in even greater detriments to driving performance than conversation alone. "Driving is a distraction from everyday distractions such as cell phones", Caird noted. "The technological solution of driverless vehicles will allow us to get back to our preferred distractions. Until then..." The findings are published in the Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. (Agencies) Gene responsible for autism identified, may lead to better treatments Researchers, including one of Indian origin, have identified a gene responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, an advance that may lead to better treatments. "Our studies reveal that in complex brain disorders that have a loss of many genes, a single deleted gene is sufficient to cause symptoms for the patients," said Karun Singh from McMaster University in Canada. "This is exciting because it focuses our research effort on the individual gene, saving us time and money as it will speed up the development of targeted therapeutics to this gene alone," said Singh, co-author of the study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Many neurodevelopmental disorders are caused by large missing pieces of genetic material in a person's genome that contain several genes, termed a 'microdeletion'. Accurately diagnosing a gene microdeletion helps doctors to predict patient outcome and to determine if a new treatment is available. The researchers used genetically engineered models and computer algorithms to study a human genome, which allowed them to pinpoint the single gene in question. "Our next step is to screen candidate drugs that correct the cognitive brain deficits caused by genetic mutations in TAOK2, and identify candidates for pilot clinical trials," said Singh. (PTI)

9 Business Wednesday Sensex Nifty Gold Silver J&K Bank HDFC Bank Crude Oil Dollar Euro Pound Saudi Riyal Kuwaiti Dinar 33, , `2,930 (22K) ` INR 1, INR (1.27%) (1.06%) 1 Gram 1 Gram 3.00 (4.52%) (1.60%) (-0.93%) Petrol, diesel prices marginally higher for sixth straight day MUMBAI: Petrol prices were up for the sixth straight day by 6-7 paise on Tuesday while diesel prices went up by 7-8 paisa in top cities. Petrol prices on Tuesday in Delhi shot to Rs per litre, Kolkata Rs per litre, Mumbai Rs per litre and Chennai Rs per litre. Diesel prices on Tuesday in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai were Rs 62.96, Rs 65.65, Rs and Rs 66.39, respectively. Oil futures rose on Tuesday for a third session, underpinned by robust demand forecasts and as ministers from OPEC touted the strength of its agreement to cut output to bolster prices. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday that global oil demand was expected to grow over the next five years, while output from producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would rise at a much slower pace. (Agencies) Debt-ridden Aircel initiates bankruptcy proceedings MUMBAI: Debt-laden telecom operator Aircel on Monday approached the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to initiate bankruptcy proceedings. The company, with a debt of over Rs 50,000 crore, has asked for the appointment of an interim resolution professional (IRP). Janak Dwarkadas, senior counsel, representing Aircel, told the Mumbai bench that the company s debt to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore was due to financial creditors, while the remaining Rs 35,000 crore was due to operational creditors.pointing out that the company wants to continue essential services and there are around 6,000 employees who haven t got their dues for February, the senior counsel sought urgent hearing of the case. The court will hear the petition on March 8. If the court accepts Aircel s bankruptcy plea, the company would be then placed under an insolvency resolution professional, who will have a maximum of 270 days to work out a repayment plan. If it fails to come out with a plan, the company will be subjected to liquidation for the repayment of dues. Aircel had initiated the process to file for bankruptcy on February 28. The Chennai-based operator, with a majority stake owned by Malaysia s Maxis, is the latest telecom player to struggle against the ongoing tariff war which was sparked by the arrival of Reliance Jio in September The company s employees and distributers have started worrying about salary and compensation on unsold inventory. (Agencies) Zulfkar directs for expediting switch-over to PoS machines for sale of food-grains Reviews progress made on implementation of epds in JK JAMMU: Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) and Tribal Affairs Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali Tuesday directed FCS&CA department to ensure that the sale of food grains is undertaken through Point of Sale (PoS) machines in all FPS and government food outlets to bring transparency and accountability in Public Distribution System. The Minister further directed for employing modern electronic weighing machines for distribution of food grains besides imposition of complete ban on usage of traditional kandas FPS and government food outlets in the state. The Minister issued these directions while reviewing the progress made for implementation of electronic Public Distribution System (e-pds) in the state. Additional Secretary FCS&CA Jugal Kishore Anand, Director FCS&CA Kashmir Nisar Ahmad Wani, Joint Director, FCS &CA, Mansoor Aslam Chowdhary, Deputy Directors of FCS&CA, Assistant Directors of all the district, officers of NIC besides other senior functionaries of the department were present in the meeting. The meeting discussed various components of e-pds system including online allocation of food grains, customized supply chain management, installations of POS machines, geographic information system (GIS), vigilance monitoring committees (VMC), ration cards seeding with Aadhaar, online grievance redress portal etc. The Minister was informed RBI to infuse one lakh crore through special auction into banking system MUMBAI: In order to manage additional liquidity demand in the closing quarter of this financial year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will infuse about Rs 1 lakh crore into the banking system through special auctions this month. After reviewing the current and evolving liquidity conditions in the banking system, it has been decided to conduct additional variable rate repo operations for longer tenors to provide additional liquidity support to the banks during March 2018, the RBI said in a statement issued on Monday. According to the central bank, it will conduct four variable rate Term Repo auctions in March These auctions will be conducted in addition to the regular 14-day variable rate Term Repo auctions and will be held every Tuesday, starting from March Govt constitutes State Advisory Body for implementation of DBT Mission JAMMU: For effective implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Mission in the State, the Government has constituted a State Advisory Body (SAB) under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary. The SAB comprises with Accountant General (A&E) J&K, Administrative Secretary, Finance Department, Administrative Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Administrative Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Development, Administrative Secretary, Power Development Department, Administrative Secretary Revenue Department, Administrative Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Administrative Secretary, School Education Department, Administrative Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Administrative Secretary, Rural Development Department and Panchayat Raj and any other officer as may be co-opted by the Chairman will serve as Members of the Committee. 6, between 10:00 am to 10:30 am. The amount in each auction would be Rs 25,000 crore. On February 15, the RBI had said while the system liquidity was currently in surplus, it was moving steadily towards neutrality. With a view to address any additional demand for liquidity on account of increase in currency in circulation and advance tax payments by corporates and to provide flexibility to the banking system in its liquidity management towards March-end, the Reserve Bank of India stands ready to inject adequate additional liquidity using a combination of appropriate instruments, while continuing with its normal Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) operations, the RBI had said in the statement. As a special case, standalone primary dealers will be allowed to participate, along with other eligible participants in the last regular termrepo auction of the current fiscal. The date for the last auction will be March 28. According to the experts, as this is last tranche for , and the quantum of money going into government coffers will be considerably higher than in the previous three quarters. In this context, the additional resources into the system will tackle the high outgo on account of tax payments to the government and thus will give respite to the market. This move by the central bank will also prevent any sharp rise in short-term interest rates. (Agencies) Market takes U-turn; Sensex tumbles 430 pts as bank stocks drag MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark Sensex saw a sudden plunge in last hour of trade and nosedived nearly 430 points to close at a nearly three-month low of 33,317 after bank stocks came under heavy selling pressure despite positive global cues. The NSE Nifty too fell over 109 points to 10,249.25, erasing all its early gains. Bank shares felt the heat following reports that ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive Chanda Kochhar and her Axis Bank counterpart Shikha Sharma have been summoned by the SFIO in the PNB fraud matter. Banking stocks led by SBI, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Federal Bank and Yes Bank fell as much as 2.77 per cent. Sentiment was further dampened after the RBI yesterday said it had imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Axis Bank for violation of NPA classification norms and Rs 2 crore on Indian Overseas Bank for not complying with the KYC regulations. The 30-share index Sensex commenced on a strong note at 34, and advanced to high of 34,060.13, tracking a firm trend in other Asian markets. It, however, slipped into a negative zone towards the fag-end to hit a low of 33, as participants booked profits at improved levels. The gauge finally settled points, or 1.27 per cent, lower at 33, This was the lowest closing for the Sensex since December 14 when it had finished at 33, and also the biggest single day fall since February 6, when it had lost (Agenceis) that PoS machines have been installed in 19 districts except Baramulla, Leh and Kargil. He directed the concerned officer to complete installation of PoS machines in the left-out districts by 20th of this month. It was further informed that till now, 5624 PoS machines have been installed across the state out of which 5551 are operational and Rs crore released to complete the various components of epds. 380 PoS machines in Rajouri, 103 in Ganderbal, 128 in Samba, 374 in Budgam, 481 in Srinagar, 183 in Udhampur, 273 in Kathua, 193 in Reasi, 191 in Poonch, 166 in Bandipora, 494 in Anantnag, 285 in Kulgam, 293 in Doda, 173 in Kishtwar, 159 in Ramban, 371 in Kupwara, 157 in Shopian, 328 in Pulwama and 831 in Jammu have been installed. The Minister was informed that two dedicated control rooms have been set up at Directorate Offices both in Jammu and Srinagar to facilitate dealers and officers of the department in operating the PoS machines. While discussing the progress on implementation of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the state, the Minister directed to hold special training programmes for employees of the department for smooth transition to SCM systems. He also asked the department officers to ensure that on implementation of the said system, all allocation and movement of ration is done through supply chain management system He further directed NIC to ensure implementation of Ration Card Management System (FCMS) within next 15 days. Besides, he directed for early distribution of 12-digit consumer code to the beneficiaries and for strict monitoring of epds project implementation. He asked to ensure to ensure the biometric attendance in all district godowns and offices of the state During the meeting, Zulfkar informed that the government has extended the validity of existing ration cards up to December 2019 and the officers have been directed to ensure 100 percent distribution of new ration cards among the consumers by the end of this month. GST collections to touch Rs 7.4 lakh crore MUMBAI: Amid subdued GST collections, SBI Research on Monday said the government s target for indirect taxes next fiscal is fairly reasonable and could grow at per cent, similar to the decadal gross tax revenue growth rate at 13.9 per cent. During FY19, the gross tax revenue target is set at Rs 19.1 lakh crore, or16.7 per cent growth, including corporate and personal income tax growth of 10.2 and 20.4 per cent respectively.gst collections are estimated to touch Rs 7.4 lakh crore, a staggering 67 per cent higher than FY18. But, speculation is rife that indirect taxes may go out of whack, with critics believing that the target is overtly aggressive. Dismissing concerns, SBI Research, said the target was moderate for two reasons. One, GST receipts this fiscal are only for nine months. Two, it was incorrectly estimated that the IGST figures were taken without excluding the states share.but if you closely look, data shows that IGST collections will likely touch Rs 4.01 lakh crore in FY18, of which 60 per cent has been transferred to states and the remaining Rs 1.61 lakh crore is shown in FY18 revised estimates. Interestingly, as per norms, IGST collections should be equally split between the centre and states (not 60:40). If that happens, another 10 per cent will be transferred to the Centre, leading to upward revision of FY18 estimates, said Sowmya Kanti Ghosh, Chief Economist, SBI Research. For FY19, the government is expecting compliance and collections to improve, with nine months GST revenue coming in at Rs 5.58 lakh crore, 25 per cent more than the previous year. Taking the next two months GST figures as the same as January on a conservative basis, GST collections for FY18 has been re-estimated after summing up CGST and IGST collections (net of states share). (Agencies) Commercial Taxes Deptt launches drive to sensitize tax payers liable under the GST in J&K PNB fraud case: Nirav Modi's firm moves Delhi HC against ED case NEW DELHI: Nirav Modi's firm Firestar Diamond Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court against a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the over Rs 11,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. Firestar Diamond International Private Ltd, which is named as one of the accused in the case, has sought a direction to the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate of Enforcement to supply it several documents, including a copy of the search warrants. Billionaire Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after the scam recently came to light following a complaint by the PNB that they had allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank. The ED has registered the money laundering case against Nirav Modi, his firms and others on the basis of a CBI FIR.Over Rs 11,384 crore worth of Letters of Understanding and Letters of Credit were issued by the bank in favour of jewellers Modi and Choksi through SWIFT messages with only smaller sums being entered in the core banking solutions system. The CBI and the ED have registered FIRs to probe the case and intensified the crackdown on Nirav Modi and Choksi with the ED seizing jewellery and assets worth thousands of crores of rupees, the I-T department attaching various properties, and the CBI grilling several senior executives of his company. Challenging the ED's move, the firm through its advocate Mudit Jain sought a direction to quash the act of the ED to seize their movable properties. "Quash the ED action of taking away the movable property and depositing the same with the PNB bank," the plea said, adding that the agency be directed to supply copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by it, pursuant to which the search and seizure was conducted by the ED in its premises. It also sought framing of guidelines for conducting search and seizure by the ED, including on the aspect of whether the victim can be permitted to be a part of the process, in order to ensure fair and transparent functioning of the agency. CBI arrests vice prez of Gitanjali Group MUMBAI; The CBI Tuesday arrested Vipul Chitalia, the vicepresident (banking operations) of the Gitanjali group of companies, in connection with its probe into the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, officials said Chitalia was produced before a special court here which remanded him in CBI custody till March 17. It is the 19th arrest in the case, a CBI spokesperson said. Chitalia was apprehended at Mumbai airport and was brought to the Central Bureau of Investigation's office at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in the western suburbs for questioning this morning. The investigating agency did not divulge any details about Chitalia's alleged role in the PNB fraud, though the CBI spokespeson said it wanted to find out from him how the fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) were obtained from the bank. The Rs 12,636-crore fraud was allegedly perpetrated by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems. It is alleged that Choksi and Modi got Letters of Undertakings and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) of Rs 12,636 crore issued in favour of foreign branches of Indian banks based on fraudulent claims. The accused officials of PNB did not enter the instructions for these LoUs in their internal software to avoid scrutiny. They were sent through an international messaging system for banking called SWIFT which is used to pass instructions among banks globally to transfer funds. An LoU is a guarantee which is given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. In case of default, the bank issuing the LoU has to pay the liability to the credit-giving bank along with accruing interest. (PTI) JAMMU: Commercial Taxes Department, Jammu has launched a comprehensive drive to conduct surveys and sensitise the dealers liable to pay Goods and Services Tax under the GST legislation applicable in the State of J&K. During the drive, 1691 dealers were surveyed and notices were issued under the relevant provisions of law in 192 cases. As a consequence of survey and sensitization, 1253 dealers have been registered on GSTN Portal and GST dues to the tune of Rs 5.1 crore have been recovered. New dealers include coaching institutes and textile dealers also. Govt constitutes APCC for clearance of industrial units JAMMU: For clearance of Medium and Large Scale Industrial Units involving an investment more than Rs. 25 crore in plant and machinery, Government has constituted a State Level Apex Project Clearance Committee (APCC) under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary. The Committee comprises with Administrative Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Administrative Secretary Finance Department, Administrative Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, Administrative Secretary Industries and Commerce Department, Administrative Secretary, Power Development Department, Administrative Secretary, Forest, Environment and Ecology Department, Chairman, J&K State Pollution Control Board, Director Industries and Commerce (concerned), Managing Director, JKDFC, Representative of Industrial Association concerned as its Members, whereas the Managing Director, J&K SIDCO would serve as Convener of the Committee. The committee shall be served by the Department of Industries and Commerce.

10 News 10 Wednesday 'Biostatis' slows down biological processes, prevents death from traumatic injury The US defence research agency is developing treatments that can slow down biological processes in the event of lifethreatening injuries, extending the critical "golden hour" within which the patient's life can be saved. When a soldier suffers a traumatic injury or acute infection, the time from event to first medical treatment is usually the most significant factor in determining the outcome between saving a life or not. This critical, initial window FROM FRONT PAGE of time is called the "golden hour," but in many cases the opportunity to intervene may extend much less than sixty minutes, which is why the military invests heavily in moving casualties as rapidly as possible from the battlefield to suitable medical facilities. However, due to the realities of combat, there are often hard limits to the availability of rapid medical transport and care. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DAR- PA) created the Biostasis programme to develop new possibilities for extending the golden hour, not by improving logistics or battlefield care, but by going after time itself, at least how the body manages it. Biostasis will attempt to directly address the need for additional time in continuously operating biological systems faced with catastrophic, life-threatening events. The programme will leverage molecular biology to develop new ways of controlling the speed at which living systems operate, and thus extend the window of time following a damaging event before a system collapses. The concept aims to slow life to save life. "At the molecular level, life is a set of continuous biochemical reactions, and a defining characteristic of these reactions is that they need a catalyst to occur at all," said Tristan McClure-Begley, the Biostasis programme manager. "Within a cell, these catalysts come in the form of proteins and large molecular machines that transform chemical and kinetic energy into biological processes," said McClure-Begley. "Our goal with Biostasis is to control those molecular machines and get them to all slow their roll at about the same rate so that we can slow down the entire system gracefully and avoid adverse consequences when the intervention is reversed or wears off," he said. DARPA is looking for biochemical approaches that control cellular energetics at the protein level. Creatures such as tardigrades and wood frogs exhibit a capability known as "cryptobiosis," a state where all metabolic processes appear to have stopped, yet life persists. While the specific molecular mechanisms involved in these animals are very different, they share a common biochemical concept: they selectively stabilise their intracellular machinery. "If we can figure out the best ways to bolster other biological systems and make them less likely to enter a runaway downward spiral after being damaged, then we will have made a significant addition to the biology toolbox," said McClure- Begley. Biostasis is initially aimed at generating proof-ofconcept, benchtop technologies and testing their application in simple living systems for experimental validation. To support eventual transition to patients, DARPA will work with federal health and regulatory agencies as the program advances to develop a pathway for potential, future human medical use. By the end of the five-year, fundamental research program DARPA hopes to have multiple tools for reducing the risk of permanent damage or death following acute injury or infection. (PTI) South Kashmir Mourns gas shells. In Srinagar, normal life was disrupted in some parts of the Old City when groups of youth pelted stones in Nauhatta outside the Jamia Masjid. Shops in the area closed down, and traffic was diverted over other routes as a result, reports said. Four civilians and two militants had been killed in army firing in the Pahnoo area of Shopian late on Sunday evening. Locals alleged that the civilians were killed in cold blood, but the army maintains that they had been accompanying the militants who opened fire on a forces vehicle. The army said that it had fired in response to the attack. The bodies of three civilians and one militant had been recovered the same night while those of another militant and a fourth civilian were found the next day. The Joint Resistance Leadership has called for a march to Shopian on Wednesday to mourn the victims of Sunday s firing. Mirwaiz Slams Preposterous!Now, J&K Govt in Supreme Court says no accused named in the police FIR registered in the brutal killing of 3 civilians in Shopian, while all along they were beating the drum that the accused has been identified and named and justice will be delivered! Mirwaiz wrote on his tweeter handle. On Monday, Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir government, told the Supreme Court that Major Aditya does not even figure among the names of the accused in the FIR lodged on the allegation that army personnel opened fire in which three persons were killed. Later, the apex court halted further investigation in the January 27 Shopian firing incident involving an army officer in which three civilians were killed, even as the Centre and J&K government were at loggerheads over lodging of the FIR. Govt Should He said it is ironical to see India and Pakistan continuing to trade charges and fire and allow the violence to become order of the day in Jammu and Kashmir. Six people, including two militants, were killed in a shootout in Shopian's Pahnoo area. While the Army has claimed that the slain youths were militants and their associates, the police, on the other hand, did not make any such claims and said they are still investigating the incident. Infusing Life Into Authority (LAWDA). However, in respect of Anchar Lake, Gilsar and Khushalsar Lakes have somewhat deteriorated, the government informed the legislative assembly during the recently concluded Budget Session. In a written reply to a question by member of Legislative Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, who also heads the U&UDD said following directions by the High Court, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister on September 15 last year held a meeting and a prefeasibility report for the lakes for Rs 100 crores each have been sent the J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency (J&K ERA) for their prioritization under next ADB loan funding but decision was yet to be taken. Besides, physical demarcation of these lakes shall be taken up by a committee headed by the divisional commissioner Kashmir, he said. In September last year, the high had court observed that the lakes were fast vanishing and called LAWDA s VC to submit maps clearly demarcating the areas covered by the lakes. The report, the court had said, shall also indicate what was the original area covered by the lakes and to what extent the lakes have been restricted in the present day. The LAWDA had informed that it has submitted two separate proposals, one on Anchar and other on Khushalsar and Gilsar for their reclamation and rejuvenation. Nestled between Hawal and Zadibal areas, Gilsar and Khushalsar are two interconnected lakes which receive waters from Dal Lake. Both gradually flow into Anchar which in itself is connected with the Dal Lake through a waterway called Nallah Aamir Khan. The government of India has already refused a pre-feasibility report submitted by the state government for the conservation of lakes. A pre-feasibility report was submitted to GoI for conservation of Anchar, Khushalsar and Gilsar, the same was refused with observation that such projects can be considered only after sewerage of the areas is taken care first, the LAWDA had revealed in a compliance report filed by him before the high court. SRO-202 To Be employees. The Finance Minister assured them that their issues will be taken up and a roadmap would be defined soon for redressing their grievances. Sri Sri For up if the case was settled by a court or through legislation. In an open letter to the AIMPLB members, he said going through the court was a loss for both Hindus and Muslims and an outof-court settlement would be a "win-win situation" for both the communities. "I urge the leaders of both faiths to take this action seriously. Otherwise, we are pushing our country to the brink of a civil war," said Ravi Shankar, who has been making persistent mediation efforts, meeting Muslim and Hindu leaders, to find a solution to the dispute. He gave four possible situations -- the court giving away the land to the Muslims, awarding the land to the Hindus, upholding the Allahabad High Court order that says there should be a mosque built on one acre whilst the remaining 60 acres be utilised to build the temple and Parliament passing a legislation. "In all the four options, either through the court or through the government, the result will be devastating for the nation in general and the Muslim community in particular," he said. Ravi Shankar said the best solution would be an out-of-court settlement, in which the Muslim bodies come forward and gift one acre of land to the Hindus, who, in turn, would gift five acres of land nearby to the Muslims to build a bigger mosque. He also told the AIMPLB leaders that Islam permitted the shifting of the mosque to another location and that cleric Maulana Salman Nadvi and many other Muslim scholars had endorsed it. Ravi Shankar, however, said, "Muslims are not surrendering this land to the people who demolished the Babri Masjid or to a particular organisation. "On the contrary, they are gifting it to the people of India. They must keep this in their minds and spirit. It is only reconciliation and an expression of their broad-mindedness, benevolence, magnanimity and goodwill." Parents Slam J&K their leader was not released within a week. But the police in J&K as well as Odhisa have dismissed the posters, saying that Maoists claim responsibility through the media and not by posters. Suhail s distraught parents have urged authorities not to make light of the threat but to take tangible action to trace their son. Suhail s father, Aijaz Ahmad Khataria said that the state government had so far failed to show any promptness in finding their son He said that seriousness of the state government could be gauged from the fact that the chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had spoken about Suhail just once, that too on social media, on Tuesday, when already a month had elapsed. Mehbooba on Twitter had urged her Odhisa counterpart to take swift action in tracing out the missing MBBS student. Concerning reports coming in about a Kashmiri student, Suhail Aijaz of Kupwara being kidnapped in Odisha. I request the authorities to investigate & take swift action, she had tweeted to her counterpart in Odhisa. We have seen that real efforts are lacking not only in the state but also by the government of Odhisa. When our government has failed us, what expectations can we have from Odhisa administration, Khataria said. Senior PDP leader and minister for parliamentary affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri said that the JK police had already taken up the issue with its counterparts in Odhisa and efforts were underway to trace the missing boy. When asked why the JK and Odhisa governments were taking the Maoist angle lightly, the minister said: I will take up the issue with JK DGP who in turn will contact his counterpart in Odhisa to speed up the probe so that the student is traced unharmed. He said that requests have already been made to the Odhisa administration to speed up the probe. with inputs from GNS Shopian Aftermath The Chief Minister was briefed by heads of various security and intelligence agencies about the prevailing security situation in the State, particularly Kashmir Valley. Chief Secretary, B B Vyas; GoC, 15 Corps, Lt. Gen. A K Bhatt; Principal Secretary, Home, R K Goyal; Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rohit Kansal; ADGP, CID, A G Mir; Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Khan; IGP, Kashmir zone, S P Pani; senior officers of other security agencies were present in the meeting. Earlier the Chief Minister arrived in the winter capital from Poonch where she was on a public outreach programme. Soon after, the Chief Minister was briefed by the GoC, 15 Corps about the overall security situation in Kashmir Valley particularly in the backdrop of recent Shopian incident. Landmark Step: HC for redress of their grievances. Now they will be able to file petitions and participate in court proceedings without physically appearing in the court, Justice Mir said. In future, the facility can be used where the counsel for a party can argue and present the case from far-flung areas like Leh, Kargil and Gurez. This will make the justice delivery system available at the doorsteps speedily and inexpensively, he added. Justice Mir said the Chief Justice has already asked the Bar at Leh and Kargil to hold such court hearings via video conferencing regarding the cases of far-flung areas of the State including Leh and Kargil. On the occasion, Justice Mir praised the Chief Justice of J&K High Court, Justice Badar Durrez, for making the video conferencing facility functional within a short span of time. The proceedings of the case in Srinagar were witnessed by dozens of lawyers and staff of the court. Pursue Project Involving Interest Litigation filed in The directions (regarding shifting of the house boats) were given as far as in The entire plan was approved by the cabinet, yet no action has been taken, the court said, adding, We are now informed by the LAWDA that a fresh DPR has been submitted for entire Dal Lake which includes the dole demb area as an integral part of the scheme for shifting the house boats. The DPR was pending with House and Urban Development Department, counsel for LAWDA informed. The same has to be approved and then forwarded to central government for final approval, he said. Subsequently, the court directed the H&UDD to expedite the process. Pendency of the DPR would not in any manner would hamper the continuance of the earlier project for which funds have already been received and funds deposited with allied departments for carrying out the work, the court said. Referring to its 14 October 2015 order, the court said that the government infirmed that the process of shifting of the house boats would be carried in phased manner. The first phase required shifting of 76 house boats and even that has not been done, the court said and directed all authorities concerned to take up the issue expeditiously and seriously and file status report. If appropriate action is not taken, we may be constrained to issue directions of the coercive nature, the court had said. With regard to peripherals springs of Dal and Nigeen Lake, LAWDA said that it conducted survey of 14 such springs located immediate periphery and. The spring that has been identified are as under Maqdoom Mohalla Habak, Channi Mohalla Habak, Shadab Bagh Habak, Tahira Bagh-1, Tahira Bagh-2, Khatoon Nag Laam, Syed Meerak Shah, Police Station Nishat, Drangal Ishbar Wani Mohalla Ishbar, Near Parking Nishat, Kanitar (within Masjid Nigeen), Kanitar (Nigeen) and Yatoo Mohalla Saderabal Court said that further study should be done to clearly indicate as to whether the channels from springs to the lakes was clear from any encroachment or not. if there are encroachments specifically pinpoint those locations, the court said. Regarding regularization of the staff of LAWDA, the court was informed that the proposal has been received in the Housing and Urban Development Department on 19 February this year and the case was under examination in the department and would be finalized. While government said it may take some time, the court expressed hope that this would be expedited and completed within eight weeks. Par Panel Pitches For According to the panel, some airlines are charging more than ten times of the advance booking fare around festivals and for bookings made closer to the date of travel. Citing rules, the ministry is of the view that airfares are neither fixed nor regulated by the government. While noting pricing mechanisms applicable in the developed countries might not be suitable for India, the panel said it believes the ministry has a social responsibility towards the citizens. The committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider fixing an upper limit of the air tickets for every sector, it said. Besides, the panel flagged concerns over airlines not passing the benefits from fall in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices to the passengers and urged the ministry to take effective steps in this regard. A major difficulty being faced by airlines is the high cost of ATF which is further aggravated by taxes and that due to the distortion in the price structure caused by the taxation policies, the financial stability of airlines is getting strongly affected. In this regard, the committee urges that the Ministry of Finance may consider including ATF in GST (Goods and Services Tax), it added. The committee has made the remarks in its report on the Demand for Grants of the civil aviation ministry ( ) Rights, Duties Linked: PM the wrong practice of misusing rights of people and powers for self-interest or vested interests should end. Pak Test Fires aircraft and Pakistan Navy Ship SAIF, Xinhua reported. The statement noted that the successful joint launch of the missiles by two defence forces of Pakistan exhibit the desired interaction and cooperation between the two organisations. Missiles launched from both platforms, successfully hit their intended targets which not only re-asserts the efficacy of the weapon systems but also manifests the extended range of Joint PN-PAF Sea-Air operations and desired synergy between the two services, said the statement. 5 KAS Officers (East), against an available vacancy. Sushil Kesar (KAS), Project Manager, IWMP, Udhampur, has been transferred and posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dharmari, relieving Choudhary Mohammad Yasin (IAS), Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mahore of the additional charge of the post. Angrez Singh (KAS), Project Officer, age Employment (ACD), Udhampur, has been asked to hold the additional charge of the post of Project Manager, IWMP, Udhampur, till further orders. Syed Naseer Ahmad, Assistant Commissioner in the Commercial Taxes Department, Srinagar, has been transferred and posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sumbal, against an available vacancy. Manisha Sarin (KAS), under orders of transfer as Additional Secretary to the Government, Power Development Department, in terms of Government Order No. 181-GAD of 2018 dated , is posted as Joint Director, Geology and Mining, Jammu, against an available vacancy. Suman Bala (KAS), under orders of transfer as Deputy District Election Officer, Samba, in terms of Government Order No. 191-GAD of 2018 dated , has been posted as Project Officer, Self Employment, Jammu, against an available vacancy. BSF, Rangers Hold along the IB, they said. The BSF raised the issue of ceasefire violations along the IB and asked its Pakistani counterpart to clear tall grass in zeroline areas along the border, the officials said. The BSF team, comprising six officers and 45 jawans, was led by Commanding officers of 73 and 80 Battalions, Anil Kumar and Anil Verma respectively, while the Pakistani side was led by Commanding Officer of 80 Chenab Rangers Lt Col Asmit Ali accompanied by seven officers and 57 jawans. JDA Seals Temple The temple was built on foot-path in violation of rules. So we have sealed it, vice-chairman of JDA, AK Shavan said.several organisations, including VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal, lashed out at the JDA and the BJP for the sacrilegious act.over 300 activists of Bajrang Dal assembled in front of the temple in Trikutanagar and blocked traffic as they sat on dharna on the road and raised slogans against JDA and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, who is also the chairman of JDA.They demanded unsealing of the temple and burnt an effigy of JDA vicechairman Shavan. This is a sacrilegious act. Vice-Chairman of JDA has taken this action on the direction of someone in this government. We warn him that there will be dangerous ramification for doing this, Rakesh Kumar, Head of Bajrang Dal, told reporters here. Jammu is a city of temples and we don t care about any government, whether it is government in association of BJP, he said. The protesters alleged that the temple was sealed to create disturbance in Jammu. If it was built near a road, where was JDA and its team (until now)? Why it was not stopped when the temple was built.but now it is being sealed, Sarveshwar Singh Pujari, a resident of Trikutanagar said. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Jammu, Arun Manhas, who reached the spot to pacify the protesters suggested that the JDA open the temple immediately. I have requested the vice-chairman of the JDA to open the seal of the temple. Then they can hold probe as to how this temple was constructed. Let him probe it, Manhas told reporters here. India Seeks Global and is set to take delivery of its second nuclear sub, the INS Arighat, in 2018, Lt Gen Robert Ashley, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. New Delhi seeks status as a global power and perceives its strategic forces as necessary elements to achieve that goal, Ashley said. He said India continues to modernise its military to better posture itself to defend its interests at home and in the broader Indian Ocean region while reinforcing its diplomatic and economic outreach across Asia. Keep Watch played by the CRPF in maintaining security in J&K, Governor advised heightened surveillance on all fronts, an official spokesman said.

11 Sports Wednesday Demerit points keeping Rabada quiet - Steyn D ale Steyn believes the demerit points hanging over Kagiso Rabada has handicapped South Africa's ability to be as noisy in the field as Australia. In an interview with South African radio station Kfm, Steyn said it was like "taking a knife to a gunfight", and has been a "little bit unfair" on South Africa. Rabada has five demerit points to his name and has already been banned for a Test - the second Test against England last July - and if he collects three more he will be suspended for a minimum of two Tests, something neither he nor South Africa would want to risk. He has not had much verbal presence on the field, especially not compared to Australia, who have talked so much they even tried to get the stump mics turned off by mentioning rival sponsors' names. Australia's aggression did not even stop on the field. On the fourth day, David Warner had to be physically restrained by team-mates in the stairwell leading up to the changeroom and CCTV footage showed him shouting at Quinton de Kock. South Africa have had no real riposte and Steyn is thought to be the one player who might show similar anger. When Steyn was asked about his own persona on the field, and if South Africa have anyone else who can do that, he immediately mentioned Rabada, but admitted the young quick has not been as intimidating as he could be. "One other guy that actually gets involved is KG (Rabada) - he really does get stuck in," Steyn said. "But I think after some of his last few incidents where he got into trouble - he got a ban and a fine and everything like that - he kind of has the handcuffs around him right now, which is a little unfair because if you look at the way some of the Aussies are going about it- and I'm not standing here and complaining, and I hope I don't get a fine for saying that - but you kind of feel that you are taking out our best competitor, especially with that kind of presence, if you take him out of the game, it's like taking a knife to a gunfight really. It's a little bit unfair." Rabada has only had two moments where it appeared he might become involved in some verbals. After dismissing Warner in the second innings, Rabada gave him a small sendoff, but passed his arm over his face to make it difficult to hear or see what he was saying. Rabada also came out of the dressing room alongside Faf du Plessis when Warner was having a go at de Kock but did not say anything. Instead he just loomed large, perhaps with the aim to step in if needed. Meanwhile, Steyn remains on track to make a comeback for the third Test. He has not played any competitive cricket since the first Test against India in January, where he injured his heel on comeback from 13 months recovering from a shoulder injury. Steyn confirmed he is back to bowling but he has to play some first-class cricket before he can make an international return. He hoped he will be "on a cricket field by the end of next week." He is likely to play for the Titans in a round of franchise matches which coincides with the second Test in a bid to make a return at Newlands, and take the three more wickets he needs to become South Africa's leading Test bowler. Roger Federer dazzles in first career Bay Area appearance SAN JOSE: From his knees at the middle of the net, Roger Federer struck volley after volley right back at Jack Sock until the American star finally faltered. Federer just smiled. It was all in fun. And how could Federer not be loving life? He's the best in the world at age 36. That even sounds a bit strange to Federer himself. "Those are definitely special times in my life and my career," Federer said. "The dream as a little boy was to make it one day to world No. 1, but not at 36 years old I can tell you that. It was probably at some point at 25 maybe if things went really well. "I had a tough year in 2016 with my knee and stayed positive, was resilient and fought to come back and really believed I could actually win again. I didn't think it was going to be at this level. It's been an unbelievable journey the last 14 months and my team has been incredible. I'm loving every moment that I can still stay on tour because you never know when it's going to end." While this doubles match didn't officially count Monday night, it sure mattered to all of the children in Africa who Federer is committed to helping through his foundation. Federer emerged from the tunnel of smoke and walked onto the court greeted by roars and thousands of camera phones held high for the first Bay Area appearance of his career. Federer waved every which way, held his racket in the air and beamed when introduced during warmups with the announcement at the soldout SAP Center that he had regained the No. 1 world ranking. "For me to stand right here as world No. 1 in San Jose is very, very special for me," Federer said. He entertained from the start, too, praising Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates as a perfect partner. "He knows numbers very well. He never makes mistakes on the scores," Federer cracked. "I'll do the running and Bill does the thinking." He joked to opponent Savannah Guthrie of NBC's "TODAY" show: "You have to start looking at the ball and stop looking at me." Federer called off Gates with, "That's mine... that's mine, too," before Sock lobbed a winner over Gates that Federer couldn't chase down. Federer's "The Match for Africa" exhibition sold more than 15,000 tickets to benefit his foundation that supports education for children in Africa. At the end of the night, the foundation had raised another USD 2.5 million. The Swiss star, who at 36 is the oldest men's player to be No. 1, won the Australian Open in January for his 20th Grand Slam title. Federer and Gates also teamed up last year in Seattle. After the doubles, the 25-year-old Sock -- ranked 10th in the world -- pushed Federer to an 11-9 tiebreaker in the first set before dropping the second set 6-4. At one point in the opening set, Sock showed his respect by overturning a fault call. He walked toward the service line, pointed that it was an ace and went to the changeover. Sock joked beforehand, "Don't hit it to Roger... I'm winless against him for my career." "This match for Africa is something extraordinary," Sock said. A video promoting the match featured Federer training Gates, from weightlifting -- lunges with a heavy bar over his shoulders -- to studying a tennis book and both pingpong and tennis practice to work on his reflexes and skills. "You'll train like I do," Federer said. "You are ready." And Gates, dressed in a bright pink polo, drew oohs and aahs as he impressed with his shot-making and hustle to keep points alive. "I think I'm good at picking partners," Gates said after he and Federer won 6-3. I HAD A TOUGH YEAR IN 2016 with my knee and stayed positive, was resilient and fought to come back and really believed I could actually win again. I didn't think it was going to be at this level. It's been an unbelievable journey the last 14 months and my team has been incredible. I'm loving every moment that I can still stay on tour because you never know when it's going to end." Warner vice-captaincy secure - Lehmann David Warner's leadership role as Australia's vice-captain has been emphatically endorsed by the coach and selector Darren Lehmann, ahead of the Cricket Australia board meeting on Friday where the events of the Durban Test match and the image they projected are sure to be discussed. As both Australia and South Africa wait to hear whether Warner and Quinton de Kock will be charged under the ICC code of conduct after their ugly confrontation in the stairwell between the two dressing rooms at Kingsmead on day four of the Test, Lehmann took the opportunity to defend Warner in the strongest terms, while also indicating he wanted the two captains and coaches to sit down together before the start of the second Test in Port Elizabeth to discuss player behaviour. Having only recently led the Australian Twenty20 side to a triangular series victory over New Zealand and England - sacrificing much of his preparation time for the South Africa Tests in the process - Warner remains highly regarded as a leader in the national team, admired for the aggressive way in which he pursues opponents with the bat and in the field. "No, he's vice-captain of the Australian cricket team," Lehmann said when asked whether Warner's post as deputy to Steven Smith was under question. "We're certainly supporting David. We want to play a way that gets us success and for us we've just got to make sure we don't cross the line, that's the key." "There are things that cross the line and evoke emotion and you've got to deal with that behind closed doors and get better at that. Everyone has their own opinion. We'll just wait and see what happens moving forward, how both teams want to play it. For us, we're here to win the series. It's going to be a bloody tough series as we've seen over the five days here. We're looking forward to PE from our point of view." The two sides are in open dispute as to what fuelled the stairwell encounter, captured on Kingsmead's CCTV and leaked to the media before the fifth and final day of the match, which Australia won by 118 runs. Lehmann said he wanted to meet with his opposite number Ottis Gibson, and also encouraged Smith and Faf du Plessis to do likewise. "I'm sure the captains will chat and the coaches will chat and we'll get away to play the game," Lehmann said. "Both sides are going to push the boundaries. That's part and parcel of Test match cricket. It's a bloody tough game out there and you're representing your country. Very proud countries, both sides. The way they want to play is fiercely competitive on the ground. As long as it doesn't get personal, that's probably the key. "It's hard, especially when you want to talk about a great game of cricket it takes away a bit. From our point of view, the cricket is the most important. It was a really good game of cricket. We played well, there were ups and downs in the game. It's going to be a tight series this one, there's no doubt about that. It's going to be played very hard on the field by both sides, it looks like."ever since Lehmann replaced Mickey Arthur as coach in mid-2013, the Australian side has been given full backing by the CA board and the chief executive James Sutherland to play the way they believe will gain the best results. This was in contrast to earlier episodes in which CA either sought to improve the team's on-field behaviour, as happened after the Glenn McGrath/Ramnaresh Sarwan bust-up in the West Indies in 2003, or put bilateral relations with India ahead of backing Andrew Symonds against Harbhajan Singh in In 2015, Ricky Ponting pointed out that the hostile way in which the Australians played was intrinsic to their success, and to try to change that would only hurt results. "If you keep toning us down, toning us down, you'll make us the same as everybody else," Ponting had said. Warner has gone through several phases as an on-field presence, from the "attack dog" persona of , to "the reverend" from 2015 to 2017 and the more recent return to his former aggressive ways. There is precedent for the board stripping players of the vice-captaincy for behavioural issues. In 1997 Ian Healy was removed from the post in favour of Steve Waugh after he was fined for showing dissent to an umpire's decision in a Test match against South Africa at Centurion, though the move was also thought to be about the board's preferred candidate to replace Mark Taylor if his run of poor batting form continued. Then, in 2000, Shane Warne lost the role as Waugh's deputy to Adam Gilchrist, following a string of bad off-field headlines that had little to do with cricket. Warne stated on Tuesday that verbal exchanges had long been a part of Australia's bouts with South Africa, but that personal taunts were out of bounds. "Chat, banter, sledging has always been apart of any series between SA & Oz," he wrote on Twitter. "Both sides always give it out. Respect is the key & I hope nothing personal was said to any player towards anyone from either side. Have a beer together afterwards & get on with it - stop the whinging!" Lehmann, meanwhile, pointed out how Nathan Lyon had taken his medicine from the ICC for dropping the ball on AB de Villiers after his run out and also apologised to the Proteas batsman. "It was probably a bit cheeky," Lehmann said. "The great thing about it, he apologised to AB straight away. He sent him a text, spoke to him today and it's dealt with. That's how it should be as grown men." ICC RANKINGS Kohli, Pujara remain static, Ashwin slips DUBAI: India captain Virat Kohli and senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara held their second and sixth positions respectively on the batsmen's list while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slipped a notch to be at sixth among bowlers in the latest ICC Test rankings. Australian speedster Mitchell Starc reached a career-best fifth position among bowlers after his 'Player-of-the-match' performance in the Durban Test against South Africa helped his side win by 118 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The 28-year-old Starc finished with a match haul of nine for 109, enabling him to overtake South Africa's newball bowlers Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander among others, eclipsing his previous best sixth position that he enjoyed in December Further, the left-hander's 42 runs in the Test have not only helped him gain three slots to reach 74th position among batsmen but have also helped him make it to the top-five among all-rounders. He is now on 312 points, 35 less than his tally when he was fourth on the allrounders' list in August Other Australia players to have gained in the latest rankings update include the Marsh brothers. Shaun Marsh has reached a career-best 16th position among batsmen with his 73 runs in the match while his brother Mitchell has moved up to 43rd place from his 56th rank before the Test, to also reach his highest ranking among batsmen thus far. Mitchell has also gained one slot to reach 58th slot among bowlers. For South Africa, Aiden Markram's scores of 32 and 143 have helped him gain 28 slots to reach a career-best 19th place. Markram, who had led South Africa to victory in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2014, has had a phenomenal rise as he sees himself in the top-20 after only his seventh Test, notching three centuries and two scores in the 90s. In other movements, AB de Villiers' first innings score of 71 not out was enough to pull him up one place to 12th position while Quinton de Kock has gained three slots to reach 22nd rank after scores of 20 and 83 in the match.

12 12 WEDNESDAY Kashmir Observer Russian Defence Ministry said a transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board. (Representational image) Russian transport plane crashes in Syria killing all 32 onboard Moscow: A Russian transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, Russian news agencies cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying. The ministry was cited as saying that the plane crashed at Russia s Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province and that initial information suggested the crash may have been caused by a technical fault. It was quoted as saying that 26 passengers and six crew members were on board. Whispers of Warming Bags National Award SRINAGAR: Doordarshan s documentary film Whispers of Warming produced and directed by Anoop Khajuria has bagged coveted Golden Beaver Award in category A in the 8th National Science Film Festival held in Guwahati from February 20 to 24, The film focuses on Western Himalayas and climate change threatening livelihood of Himalayan communities. Erratic snowfall due to global warming is impacting agriculture. A significant part of Western Himalayas fall in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh which is also known as Cold Desert is under water stress. The film encompasses the indigenous solutions by the local communities such as artificial glaciers Ice Stupas leading to adaptations and a resilient community is ready to fight back. The story brings forth the paramount need to improve scientific understanding about climate change and generate new knowledge on its impacts on the region. It has also won individual prize for Best Technical Excellence Award for Ashok Raina who is Creative Editor for the film. "Films like this help the policy makers and other stake holders understand the impending vulnerability of the Himalayas to climate change", observers say. Earlier, this film was given an International award under the ages of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union as best film on climate change in year Observers OUT POST Instagram could roll out voice, video calls: Report Is Instagram getting ready to up its game? Looks like it. The popular photo-sharing app could soon allow users to make voice and video calls. The latest APK (Android Application Package) file for Instagram Direct has telltale signs of the twin calling features, reports TechCrunch. Instagram Direct allows users to exchange direct messages. Instagram was yet to react to the TechCrunch story but with APK files available for download, a launch looks imminent. This isn t the first time we re hearing of Facebookowned Instagram s plans for video and voice calls. Popular WhatsApp blog WABetaInfo had in January shared a screenshot of Instagram on ios with the video call icon. The video call icon appears on top of an active chat on Instagram Direct. The TechCrunch report shows both voice and video calling icons on Instagram Direct. Instagram, which has 500 million daily active users, has been constantly updating its features, as competition with Snapchat gets fierce. Int'l Women s Day: Google features apps, games developed by women G oogle is celebrating inspirational women in technology by featuring games and apps developed by them on the Google Play Store. The initiative is in honour of International Women s Day on March 8, which celebrates women s achievements around the world. Starting this week, the Google Play Store will feature a collection of apps and games including 80 Days, Zen Koi 2, Race for the Galaxy and Kami 2 made by female developers from around the world. It will also showcase books, movies and TV shows featuring strong female protagonists, the tech giant said in a statement late Monday. We re also showcasing hundreds of books, movies and TV shows as well as games featuring our favourite female leads like Lara Croft GO and Layton s Mystery Journey, best-selling books The Handmaid s Tale and Brave, female-directed films Wonder Woman and Frida, and popular TV series like Girls and Call The Midwife, said Kara Bailey, Director of Merchandising, Google Play. Galaxy S9, S9+ with dual aperture camera launched T he wait for the Samsung flagships has finally ended. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have finally being launched in India after their global debut at the MWC last week. Samsung s latest flagships will start at Rs 57,900 for the smaller Galaxy S9 with 64GB storage and go up to Rs 65,900 for 256GB variant. The Galaxy S9+ meanwhile starts at Rs 64,990 for the 64GB variant and goes up to Rs 72,900 for 256GB variant. Samsung has tied up with Paytm and HDFC bank to offer up to Rs 6,000 off on the MRP of both the S9 models. Both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are essentially substantial updates to last year s Galaxy S8 and S8+. Therefore, the design may look familiar, but is actually tweaked Samsung says that the display has slightly reduced bezels on top and bottom whereas the screen is a little brighter when compared to the old S8. Those narrow bezels also house a stereo speaker setup. The S9 gets a 5.9-inch Curved Super AMO- LED QHD+ display whereas the S9+ gets a 6.2-inch QHD+ display. For the Indian market, both the S9 and S9+ are equipped with a 10nm Exynos 9810 chipset. Aadhaar linking deadline can be extended from March 31: Centre to Supreme Court The Centre on Tuesday indicated to the Supreme Court it was open to the idea of extending the March 31 deadline for linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts, mobile phones and other services. We have extended the deadline in the past too. We can do it again. Let s see how the hearing proceeds. If required, we can do it again, attorney general of India KK Venugopal said in his submission before a constitution bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra hearing a batch of petitions against the Aadhaar law. Venugopal said the Centre might extend the deadline after the petitioners demanded an extension, saying the case may not be decided before March 31, the last date to link the 12-digit unique identity number with various government schemes and services. Lawyer for one of the petitioners, senior counsel Shyam Divan, on Tuesday asked the bench to consider the plea because the deadline was nearing and the case was unlikely to be decided by then. But the bench which also includes justices AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan said it would consider the request in the presence of the attorney general. Senior advocate Arvind Datar, another counsel for the petitioners, made the request again when Venugopal arrived in court post-lunch. As justice Sikri agreed the case might take time to be decided, the attorney general said the government had in the past extended the deadline and it was ready for the same but not immediately. We will do it at the last moment so that they (other side) conclude it quickly, he said. So far only three lawyers from the petitioners side have completed their arguments. Senior advocate Arvind Datar is likely to conclude his arguments on Wednesday. Five more senior lawyers are yet to open their arguments on behalf of the petitioners. Thereafter, the government, UIDAI, Maharashtra and Gujarat governments will respond. This is likely to take the hearing beyond March 31. The judges will then also take their time to write the judgement.earlier, Datar questioned the legality of making Aadhaar mandatory, saying the state cannot say that all one billion bank account holders in the country were suspect. They do the KYC (Know Your Customer) before opening a bank account, he added. As Dalai Lama Event is Shifted From Delhi, Modi s New Line on Tibet Remains a Puzzle New Delhi: Days after newspaper reports of a top official directing all government functionaries to avoid events commemorating 60 years of the Dalai Lama s exile in India, the Tibetan government in exile has decided to shift major programmes slotted for Delhi on March 31 April 1 to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. While officials from the Central Tibet Administration (CTA) the NGO that the exiles run denied receiving any instructions from the Indian government, China-watchers in Delhi say they are puzzled by the underlying message the Modi government is sending with its new circular, given how it had earlier projected a willingness to play the Tibet card. The Indian Express reported on March 4 that Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha had issued a classified circular discouraging government functionaries political and bureaucratic from attending events organised by the Tibetan government-in-exile to mark the key anniversary over the next few months. The circular was apparently issued to central ministries and state governments on the urging of the new foreign secretary, Vijay Gokhale. The letter from Gokhale to Sinha was dated February 22, as per the newspaper. A day later, Gokhale travelled to Beijing on his first visit to China as foreign secretary. The Ministry of External Affairs responded to reporters queries on the Indian Express report by stating that India has not changed its position on the Dalai Lama. Describing him as a revered religious leader who is deeply respected by Indians, the MEA added that the Dalai Lama is accorded all freedom to carry out his religious activities in India. Speaking to The Wire, Dhardon Sharling, information secretary, CTA, did not want to comment on the circular since this was not officially communicated to us. She added that there had been a change in plans for the main Thank you India event. It is true that the thank you India public event is rescheduled and will take place on March 31 the 60th year since his Holiness stepped on the Indian soil and the venue is shifted from Delhi to Dharamshala, Sharling said. While the March 31 inter-faith meeting of Raj Ghat had been cancelled, the main event was to be held in Delhi on April 1, which has now been shifted a day earlier to Dharamshala. Sharling said that the events were planned throughout the year to publicly express our gratitude to the government and people of India. India has been our second home for six decades, she added. When asked about the cause behind the change in plans, she said, I cannot cite the key reason behind but we are following directives from our leadership to hold the event in Dharamshala instead. The CTA Sangay is in Delhi on an official visit this week, during which he will meet with officials and dignitaries. According to some sources, similar circulars have been sent out in previous years as periodic reminders to government officials to keep their distance. However, according to another former Indian diplomat, it was a little surprising that a formal circular was issued. Government does at times discourage people from attending a meeting, but this was a preemptive move and done on a formal circular, he said. Former director of the Institute of Chinese studies Alka Acharya also wondered if these notes were a normal routine. It would not be surprising if such notes were sent around by the MEA from time to time in the past as well, possibly on the eve of state visits or when some very high-profile functions were organised, she said. The Cabinet Secretary s circular gave the reasoning that the Dalai Lama s upcoming commemorative events would be held at a very sensitive time in the context of India s relations with China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the SCO summit in June. The Times of India reported that there are important bilateral meets planned ahead of that high-level visit by Modi. India-based French expert on Sino-India ties and Tibet, Claude Arpi, described himself as sad at the issuing of the circular, adding that sensitive time means nothing. Times have been sensitive since the Dalai Lama crossed the border at Khenzimane on March 31, It will remain sensitive, asserted Arpi. China has frequently raised the issue of presence of Tibetan refugees and activities of Dalai Lama with the Indian government. The default Indian position has always been that India is a open society and there are not many restrictions on freedom of expression, including for refugees. It is a sensitive issue that has always been managed. The Dalai Lama has been meeting senior government functionaries. A complete restriction on him is something we have never accepted, said the former Indian diplomat. In fact, he pointed out that the circular could give the impression to the Chinese that the government has more leverage on the activities of the Tibetan exiles. It raises expectations, he said. Arpi agreed that China will also note that India agreed to their demand and ask more. It will not help India in the long run, he argued, adding, if the time was really sensitive, one or two ministers could be told not to meet HHDL (His Holiness Dalai Lama). Why a circular? [This is] uncalled for. He asked whether China would have been nicer and supported Indian aspirations at the UN Security council if India had capitulated at Doklam. The answer is No. Strategic expert Bharat Karnad had more scathing phrases for the cabinet secretary s circular Sheer cravenness. When asked if he thought that it was justified for India to be circumspect at this moment, Karnad said, Not in the least. If anything, Xi s assumption of dictatorial powers is the time to stand up to China, not display what in my books I have called bovine pacifism where big powerful states are concerned The CTA president Lobsang Sangay had announced in January that the 60 years anniversary would be marked by year-long events, with the highlight being a public gathering at New Delhi s Thyagaraj sports complex on April 1. Termed the Thank you India campaign, Sangay had said at the launch that the April 1 event will feature public addresses by Indian dignitaries and Tibetan cultural performances and is expected to draw over 5000 people. Acharya pointed out that there had seemed to be a rethinking in official circles, and most certainly a hardening of views on the Tibetan issue, within the strategic community. She was referring to the earlier playing up of the socalled Tibet card by this government, which was to have a more visible relationship with the Tibetan leader and high-profile visits to Arunachal Pradesh. Ministers like Kiren Rijiju and Mahesh Sharma have met with the spiritual leader, though the prime minister has not yet done so.