Tribune News Service,Dehradun, January 4

Lieutenant General Balwant Singh Negi, Army Commander, Central Command visited Pithoragarh and Bareilly Military Station today. This was his first visit to Pithoragarh after taking over the Central Command. He was briefed by the Formation Commander at the Brigade Headquarters about the operational and administrative responsibilities. A review of security situation was also undertaken specially in view of recent inputs.Negi also visited Headquarters Uttar Bharat Area at Bareilly. He was briefed about the operational and administrative responsibilities of the formation and various welfare activities undertaken for troops and their families including station matters.During the visit, Negi was also apprised of aspects related to veterans of the area and various steps taken and facilities provided towards mitigating their problems. He appreciated the efforts and complimented the veterans community for their zeal and enthusiasm and contribution towards Indian Army in particular and nation as a whole.Negi interacted with officers and troops and expressed his happiness at the high state of morale and operational preparedness displayed by them.

Defence employees pay homage to Bardhan

Tribune News Service,Dehradun, January 4

The Defence Employees’ Coordination Committee, Uttarakhand chapter, yesterday paid homage to veteran Communist leader AB Bardhan.Jagdish Chimwal, national executive member of the AIDEF said with the death of AB Bardhan, the working class and defence employees had lost their mentor and guide.The Defence Employees Coordination Committee Uttarakhand along with AIDEF expressed their deep sorrow and grief with family members and comrades who were associated with him. His death is loss to working and labour class of the country, said Jagdish Chimwal.

IRB Infra to construct Rs10,050-cr Zojila tunnel

Tribune News Service,Jammu, January 4

In a major push to provide all-weather road connectivity to the isolated Ladakh region, IRB Infrastructure Developers has been entrusted with the task of constructing Rs 10,050-crore Zojila tunnel on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway in Jammu and Kashmir.The company has received a letter of award (LoA) from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, headed by Nitin Gadkari, for the construction, operation and maintenance of the longest tunnel in South-East Asia, Zojilla tunnel, in Jammu and Kashmir, IRB Infrastructure Developers said in a statement issued here.“It is the biggest national highway project awarded in India in terms of the project cost of Rs 10,050 crore,” an official spokesperson for the company quoted Chairman and Managing Director Virendra Mhaiskar here.The scope of the project includes constructing approaches on NH-1 (Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road) on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) (annuity) basis.“This project has a strategic and socio-economic importance as it will provide the much-needed all-weather connectivity between the Kashmir valley and Ladakh, which remains cut-off during winter due to heavy snowfall and hence assumes national importance,” Mhaiskar said.“Besides a tunnel length spanning 14.08 km, the project also involves construction of a 10.8-km approach road with three vertical ventilation shafts, 700-m snow gallery and avalanche protection measures,” the spokesperson said.The construction of the tunnel is scheduled to be completed in seven years and the concession period is 22 years. The funding for the construction of the Zojilla tunnel was recently announced in the Rs 80,000 crore Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan for Jammu and Kashmir. In the package, Rs 9,090 was earmarked for the project.The Tribune had exclusively reported in its December 30, 2015, edition that the Centre had taken the first step for the construction of the Zojila tunnel connecting Kashmir’s Sonamarg with the Gumri area in Kargil district by inviting global bids for expression of interest (EOI).Meanwhile, the work is already in progress on another tunnel near Z-Morh, 20 km away from the Zojilla pass, on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh highway.Coming up at a cost of Rs 2716.90 crore, the Z-Morh tunnel is expected to be completed by 2017. The 6.5-km tunnel would connect Gagangeer directly with Sonamarg.Once the two tunnels are put in place, the journey time from Kashmir to Ladakh would be reduced drastically and the entire stretch would become motorable throughout the year.

22 Nagrota Sainik School cadets clear NDA exam

Tribune news service,Jammu, January 4

Twenty two cadets of the current batch of Nagrota Sainik School’s class XII have passed the prestigious National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (II) held by the Union Public Service Commission on September 27, 2015.A total of 45 cadets from the school had appeared in the examination.By passing the written examination, all 22 cadets have qualified to appear in the interview conducted by the Service Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence for entry into the officer cadre of the Armed Forces through NDA-136th course and Naval Academy 98th course, an official spokesperson said.Principal, Sainik School Nagrota, Col KD Koushal congratulated the cadets and the entire staff for achieving excellent result in the examination. He said the meticulous planning followed by dedicated and sincere efforts by one and all had brought desired results.The cadets who qualified the examination include Shahil Kumar, Sahil Sharma, Aaqib Khursheed Lone, Namkha Dorjey, Shubham Sharma, Arjun Khajuria, Saqib Gulzar, Salman Mehmood Dar, Shahid Nazir, Vishal Thappa, Gurvinder Singh, Bhawani Singh, Mayank Kumar, Ankush Parihar, Vishal Singh, Neelmani Dixit, Nishant Kumar, Manas Partap Singh, Rahul Kumar, Sandeep Chahal, Rahul Sharma and Ashish Kumar.

Valley receives year’s first snow

Tribune News Service,Srinagar, January 4

The Kashmir region today received the first snow of the year. Snow was received across the Kashmir valley with varying intensity. It was more in north Kashmir districts, while light intensity snow was received in Srinagar.It was also the season’s first snow in the summer capital. The state Meteorological Department in its forecast said scattered downpour was likely on Tuesday in Kashmir region.The Valley is in the midst of the 40-day-long harshest phase of winter, which began on December 21 and will continue till the end of this month. Known as ‘Chilai Kalaan’ in local parlance, the period is feared for its freezing weather condition and heavy snowfall.The region is already witnessing freezing night temperatures with the mercury plunging several degrees below the freezing point. However, overcast sky caused the minimum temperature to rise and settle above the freezing point last night. The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at 2.2°C, an increase of almost five degrees from the previous night. Gulmarg, which received 19.0 mm of rain and snow since morning on Monday, registered a low of minus 5.6°C. The minimum temperature in Pahalgam resort settled at – 0.4°C.Internet remains down for 3 hours  Srinagar: The internet services snapped for nearly three hours due to snow across the Valley on Monday. Both broadband internet services on landlines and mobile internet services were affected on Monday morning as moderate to heavy snowfall was reported from almost all parts of Kashmir, officials said. — PTI