Monthly Archives: August 2018

BSF personnel patrol the International Border on Wednesday.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 14

The Pakistani army again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Bhimber Gali and Nowshera sectors today. The Indian Army responded strongly and effectively.The defence PRO said at 5 am, the Pakistani army initiated indiscriminate firing from small arms, automatics and 82-mm mortars in the Bhimber Gali sector. The firing stopped at 5.45 am, he said.“Around 9.30 am, the Pakistani army violated the truce agreement in the Nowshera sector by firing with small arms, heavy automatics and recoilless rifles. The Indian Army also responded,” he said.The firing in the Nowshera sector stopped at 12.30 pm.

The Army displays arms recovered from the infiltrators killed in Uri Sector on Monday. PTI

Srinagar, June 12

The J&K Police on Monday claimed to have busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module by arresting two militants and two overground workers of the group.A police spokesman said two militants Mehrajudin and Obaid Shafi Malla, both residents of south Kashmir’s Awantipora sub-district, were arrested in Handwara in a joint operation.“On a specific information regarding movement of militants, a joint naka by the Handwara police and 21 Rashtriya Rifles was laid at Chogal, Handwara. Mehrajudin and Obaid Malla were caught while moving in suspicious circumstances. The duo was asked to stop but they started running away. The naka party immediately swung into action and caught them. On checking, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from them. During the investigation, they revealed that they had come to Handwara for receiving ammunition and other war-like stores for their militant outfit in south Kashmir,” the spokesman said.“They were misusing web chats to hatch and execute terrorist conspiracies,” he said. The preliminary investigation, the police said, revealed that these militants not only recruited youth by radicalising them over social media but also coordinated their training and arranged arms and ammunition.On their disclosure, two more members of the module working as overground workers were arrested from Awantipora.“They were identified as Shahid Ahmad Thoker and Irfan Ahmad both from Awantipora,” he said. — TNS

2 CRPF men injured

• Srinagar: Two CRPF men were injured in a grenade attack in south Kashmir’s Tral sub-district. The grenade was lobbed by militants at 180 CRPF headquarters in Tral late this evening, a spokesman for the CRPF said. TNS

Search ops continue in Uri

• The massive combing and search operation along the Line of Control in the Uri sector continued on Monday for the fourth consecutive day. The Army suspects two more militants are hiding in the dense forest area. TNS

Tribune file photo

A LARGE number of private buses that ply in Punjab do not have the requisite permission to do so. The first major drive by the Punjab Government to catch such offenders suggests a new and welcome seriousness in bringing back into the ambit of governance a sector that has hitherto operated largely outside of it. That many buses are run illegally on various lucrative routes has always been an open secret. It was confirmed when 27 per cent failed to produce proper documents during the drive. The ownership of most of the offending vehicles rests in political hands, either directly or indirectly.  Functionaries of the two main parties in the state hold most permits.  Political patronage has long been regarded a necessary condition for obtaining bus routes, and even after the change of guard, it would seem that SAD leaders continue to control a significant share. Decisions that favour private operators, too, are still in force. State transport bodies have been neglected and their buses are generally shunted to unremunerative routes. They are often portrayed as loss-making and precious little has been done to improve their fiscal health or modernise them. It is obvious that there is an urgent need to change such policies and come out with measures that allow genuine businessmen to compete in a level-playing field. The political hold over permits contributes significantly to the culture of corruption. To end this, the sector must be thrown open to ensure competition, and in turn provide both quality service and safety to passengers.  Special provisions may be made for ex-servicemen and unemployed youth to own and operate buses. The viability of app-based services and other unconventional mass transportation businesses should be examined. The Chief Minister has moved to fulfil a poll promise, but catching the obvious culprits in such a drive is just the beginning. Much more needs to be done, and for that, it is necessary to end the policy of patronage and usher in transparency in the sector that has for long been a cash cow for political operators.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

The state government has decided to delegate the power to grant ex-gratia to Deputy Commissioners, Zila Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare Officers. The move aims at ensuring faster dispensation of financial relief to the bereaved families of martyrs.An official spokesperson said today that the power to sanction ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh had been delegated to Deputy Commissioners so that there was no delay in the transit of documents from the district office to the Headquarters and vice-versa. He said it had been observed that often the defence and paramilitary authorities took time to issue necessary documentation in cases of death due to enemy action, terrorist encounters and IED blasts. The government has, therefore, decided to release the ex-gratia financial grant in cases of martyrdom which are widely reported in the media and where the facts are self-evident. In such cases, the government has decided not to wait for the issuance of documents from the military and paramilitary authorities and release the ex-gratia grant immediately.He said since November 2014, the state government had offered more than 120 jobs to the next of kin of martyrs in 2016-17 in the Group C and Group D categories.The government provides ex-gratia financial compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the bereaved families. This is the highest amount of ex-gratia for the families of martyrs in the country. The state offers the highest amount of financial assistance in the country to the families of the martyrs.He said: “Soldiers bravely defend our country from external aggression and ensure internal security so that we can live, work and sleep in peace.”Haryana is known for its contribution of personnel to the national defence and paramilitary forces. The number of ex-servicemen in the state is more than 2.83 lakh and their dependents’ number is about 8.75 lakh. Besides, there are 1,216 war widows, 85,121 widows and their 2,48,099 dependents. There are also 5,500 World War II ESM and widows. A large number of soldiers lay down their lives in the service of the nation at the borders, internal security duties, terrorist action and riots.

Photo for representational purpose only. iStock

New Delhi/Dehradun, June 4

Two Chinese helicopters were today seen hovering over the Indian airspace in Barahoti area of Chamoli in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, triggering concern in India’s security establishment. There have been three such incursions into the Indian airspace since March this year. Uttarakhand, during an internal security meeting in Delhi, had reported more than 30 incursions in the area between 2007-2012.Shepherds claimed to have spotted the helicopters at 9 am. The matter was brought to the notice of the revenue police, which hastened to inform ITBP officials. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Official sources said the choppers, which returned to the Chinese side after about five minutes, could have carried out aerial photography of  ground troops during what was possibly a reconnaissance mission. The Indian Air Force is probing the incident.The choppers were identified as the Zhiba series of attack helicopters. On previous occasions, Chinese helicopters have entered 4.5 km into the Indian territory, an area China claims is its own and recognises as Wu-Je. Uttarakhand and Army officials have been reviewing security along the 350-km border with Tibet after China’s incursions into these areas, referred to as the middle sector.Barahoti is one of three border posts in this sector, comprising UP and HP besides Uttarakhand. Here, ITBP jawans are not allowed to carry weapons and are in civilian clothes.In 1958, India and China listed Barahoti, an 80-sq-km sloping pasture, as a disputed area where neither side would send troops. In the 1962 India-China war, the PLA did not enter the 545-km middle sector, focusing on the western (Ladakh) and eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) sectors.However, after the 1962 war, ITBP jawans began patrolling the area with weapons in a non-combative manner — barrel of the gun faced downward. In 2000, it was decided that ITBP troops would not carry arms to the three posts. — TNS & PT

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 2

Army Public School, Dagshai, celebrated its 31st Founder’s Day with a colourful cultural programme and exhibitions showcasing the talent and skills of students marking the occasion.Felicitating the students, their parents and school staff for all round improvement in performance, Brig RS Rawat, Commandant, 14 Gorkha Training Centre and the school’s chairman, said that training for National Defence Academy would be started in the school for boys so that more students can join the armed forces.Principal Dr SK Mishra highlighted the achievements of the school in academic, sports and extra-curricular activities. The school had been adjudged as the best Army school in the Western Command, the 3rd best school in Himachal Pradesh and the 3rd in value for money and sports education in India.

The Manali-Leh highway

MC Thakur

MANALI, JUNE 2

The 475-km-long strategically important Manali-Leh highway will be thrown open for traffic on June 8, BRO officials said here today.The officials said they had cleared snow from the 222-km Manali-Sarchu section and now they are engaged in widening and maintenance of the road. They had cleared snow from the entire stretch on May last, but as the surface condition at many stretches was not good it took time before it could be declared open.The officials said the road would be thrown open for all vehicular traffic on June 8. Snow-clearing from 13,050 ft high Rohtang Pass and (4,883 m) high Baralacha La posed the toughest challenge. “Avalanches and landslides posed threat to those engaged in snow-clearing work and machinery. Still, we succeeded in clearing snow without any harm to our men and machines”, official said.The Manali-Leh highway winds its way through the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, Baralacha pass (4,883 m), Lachlungla (5,065 m) and Tanglangla (5,359 m). Project Himank of the BRO has already cleared snow between Leh and Sarchu. This year the passes and most stretch of Manali-Leh highway had received more snow as compared to the previous three-four years.The Manali-Leh highway has extreme strategic importance. It is the lone lifeline of the local residents of Leh- Ladakh. With challenging curves, high-mountain passes and scenic view the road is very popular among tourists.Rohtang Pass, 51 km from here, was officially thrown open for vehicles on April 28.

The biggest challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be to strike a balance with President Donald Trump, since their avowed goals —Make in India versus America First — appear to clash with each other. With the world watching, the Modi-Trump meet in the US will be a subject of much speculation.

Making Indo-US ties Great? PM Modi during his US visit must pitch for common interests, considering the Indo-US bilateral engagement is spread over 70 sectors. Trump must be convinced that India provides an opportunity & does not create a problem AP/PTI

ON Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have one of the most important bilateral meetings his government is looking forward to — an early engagement with the new President of the United States, Donald Trump.Since his inauguration five months ago, both President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have had a couple of long-distance conversations, including an unusual call from the President congratulating the Prime Minister for the BJP sweep in Uttar Pradesh elections. That communication was certainly out of the ordinary. However, Trump is not a practising politician, who in office views developments through a diplomatic prism. President Trump is yet to offer a window to leaders around the globe to predict his next move as he continues to take decisions in pursuance of his declared priorities in the run-up to the elections.The world is yet to come to terms from the shock announcement of the US pulling out from the  Paris Climate Change pact, charging it benefits India and China. This point was reiterated by the US Vice President Mike Pence just ahead of  Modi’s visit to Washington DC.The US Vice President’s Pence remarks at an event quoted a study justifying the decision that the Climate Change pact would cost 6.5 million manufacturing jobs in the United States over the next 25 years and India and China would have been the real beneficiaries. When the two leaders sit across the table, three broad issues should be high on the list of priority items. One, transactional — juxtaposing Make in India versus Make America Great Again; second domestic the perennial H1B Visa overhang; and the third, international the— Trump administration’s engagement with both Pakistan and China, which casts a direct shadow on India in the region. While the Climate Change fume against India clearly remains on top of the new administration agenda, the biggest challenge for Modi will be to strike a balance with Trump since their avowed goals — Make in India versus America First — appear to cross each other’s path.For the past many years, successive governments are working to increase the share of manufacturing in India’s growth story and shift base from overdependence on the services sector, which Modi is focussing on through his Make in India and Skill India programmes. Just last month, Indian IT major Infosys announced the intention to hire some 10,000 skilled workers in the United States with Indiana, the home state of Vice President Pence, as the first beneficiary. It came some two months after a bipartisan Bill was brought before the House of Representatives seeking to make call centres that shift call centres overseas ineligible for guaranteed loans or grants from the government. The US Call Centre and Consumer Protection Act, moved by Gene Green (Democrat) and David McKinley (Republican), has currently been referred to four Committees of jurisdiction. Though the H1B visas remains a legacy issue since the Obama days, the problem has got accentuated with the Trump administration articulating a stricter scrutiny through an Executive Order. There could be little or no room for negotiation on this barring India impressing on the new administration how contrary to public discourse in the US, the H1B visas are creating more jobs there. The idea is to make President Trump think India provides an opportunity and does not create a problem. Modi will have to add flesh to what he told to a Congressional delegation in February that movement of skilled professionals should be looked at from a “reflective, balanced and farsighted perspective”. The Modi government pitch to the White House on the issue can be an important ingredient for greater work required of India, Indian-Americans and Indian companies to till the Congressional field with a similar and strong narrative to take it forward since some enthusiastic Congressmen on the Capitol Hill are working on a legislation on visas. Modi would have to convince Trump that interests of India and the United States should be able to identify areas of interest where progress can be in furtherance of avowed objectives of either side considering that the bilateral engagement is spread across some 70 sectors. Over the past decade, bilateral trade between India and the United States has grown from $45 billion (2006) to $115 billion (2016). The only sore point from the American viewpoint is that the Balance of Trade too increased in favour of India, from $12.7 billion to $30.8 billion, for the corresponding period. There are signs that the Trump administration is not enthusiastic over US-India Strategic Dialogue initiated by both Washington and New Delhi during President Barack Obama’s January 2015 visit. The idea was to strengthen economic engagement and have a mechanism to sort out issues. Two back-to-back annual dialogues were held with the US insisting on concluding the Bilateral Investment Treaty but India sought negations on its objections to the draft. New Delhi will have an opportunity to hear from the person who is altering the contours of traditional diplomacy and engagement with the world. Of greater interest will be the attitude of the new White House incumbent with regard to Pakistan. Initial voices indicate a different flavour but India knows that Islamabad and its powerful military has friends in the US Administration and strategic community in Washington and, more importantly, in the US Congress. Will the Trump-Modi moment be able to replay how in 1985  a White House official summed up the Ronald Reagan-Rajiv Gandhi meeting: “They really hit it off”What’s the agendaThree issues on the list of priority items:

• Transactional: Juxtaposing Make in India versus Make America Great Again.
• Domestic: The perennial H1B Visa overhang.
• International: The Trump administration’s engagement with both Pakistan and China, which casts a direct shadow on India in the region.

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However, no retail vend would be opened within 500 metres of the national and state highways. Tribune file photo

Chandigarh, June 19

The Punjab Cabinet on Monday gave its nod to a proposal to amend Section 26-A of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, for fixing the location of liquor vends on national and state highways, thus removing hotels, restaurants and clubs from the restrictions on serving of liquor within 500 metres of highways.

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By amending Section 26-A of Punjab Excise Act, 1914, all ambiguities for serving of liquor at hotel, restaurants and clubs would be removed by adding provisions whereby it is cleared that no retail vend would be opened within 500 metres of the national and state highways, but these restrictions shall not apply to the hotels, restaurants and clubs situated on the national and state highways.

Read: Liquor ban: Punjab denotifies stretches of 7 state highways

The Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, also gave a go-ahead to the draft amendment Bill, 2017, in this regard, to be tabled during the current Budget session for enactment.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved certain amendments in the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002 through a draft Bill.

The proposed Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2017 will be tabled in the current Budget session in the state Assembly for enactment.

The Cabinet also approved the setting up of a dedicated Horticulture University to promote crop diversification in the state, to help in bringing changes in cropping patterns to include the planting of vegetables, fruits, herbs, aromatic and medicinal herbs, fiber and tuber crops, sericulture, fodder crops and floriculture.

At present, the total area under fruit plans and vegetables is approximately 3 lakh hectares in Punjab, constituting only approximately 4 per cent of the total and being a fraction of country’s area.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal for amending the Punjab Municipal Fund Act, 2006, and Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Fund Act, 2011 to pave way for the implementation of Punjab State Goods and Service Tax Bill, 2017.

The Cabinet gave approval for tabling of I K Gujral Punjab Technical University (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 and Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 for enactment during the ongoing budget session of Punjab Assembly.

The Cabinet also gave its formal approval to the budgetary proposals to be presented by state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in the state Assembly.

The Congress government will present its maiden Budget on Tuesday.

The Cabinet also approved restructuring of the departments of Governance Reforms and Removal of Grievances by merging them and renaming the merged entity as ‘Department of Governance Reforms and Public Grievances’.

The move is aimed at improving and synchronising the existing online grievances redressal mechanisms for effective citizen service delivery, which would not only reduce the number of complaints but also bring in governance reforms, an official spokesperson said here.

Additionally, the Department of Governance Reforms has also been mandated to bring e-governance in all departments of the state and usher in administrative reforms.

The merger is also in line with the pattern followed in the central government, where the department concerned is known as Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, under the Ministry of Personnel, said the spokesperson. PTI