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.

New Delhi, May 28

The Indian Army is facing a “dirty war” in Jammu and Kashmir which has to be fought through “innovative” ways, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat has said, defending the use of a Kashmiri as a “human shield” by a young officer.Rawat, in an interview to PTI, said the main objective of awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, when a court of inquiry was finalising its probe into the incident, was to boost the morale of young officers of the force who are operating in a “very difficult” environment in the militancy-infested state.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way. The rules of engagements are there when the adversary comes face-to-face and fights with you. It is a dirty war… That is where innovation comes in. You fight a dirty war with innovations,” Rawat said.The Army Chief’s Commendation medal to Gogoi, who had tied a man to an Army jeep and used him as a human shield from stone throwers last month, was criticised by human rights activists, Kashmiri groups and some retired Army generals.A video of the incident triggered a row with many condemning it. Gogoi was awarded for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.“People are throwing stones at us, people are throwing petrol bombs at us. If my men ask me what do we do, should I say, just wait and die? I will come with a nice coffin with a national flag and I will send your bodies home with honour. Is it what I am supposed to tell them as Chief? I have to maintain the morale of my troops who are operating there,” Gen Rawat said.On the complexity of the security challenge in the state, he suggested it would have been easier for the armed forces had the protesters been “firing weapons instead of throwing stones”. “In fact, I wish these people, instead of throwing stones at us, were firing weapons at us. Then I would have been happy. Then I could do what I (want to do),” he said.Gen Rawat, who had served in Jammu and Kashmir extensively, said if people in any country lose fear of the Army, then the country is doomed.“Adversaries must be afraid of you and at the same time your people must be afraid of you. We are a friendly Army, but when we are called to restore law and order, people have to be afraid of us,” he said.At the same time, he asserted, maximum restraint is being maintained while handling the situation in the Valley. “As Army Chief, my concern is morale of the Army. That is my job. I am far away from the battlefield. I cannot influence the situation there. I can only tell the boys I am with you. I always tell my people, things will go wrong, but if things have gone wrong and you did not have malafide intent, I am there,” he said.Gen Rawat said there was a ploy to break the trust between various security forces, and Major Gogoi could not have refused to provide security when polling agents had sought security assistance.“Tomorrow elections have to be held in Anantnag and similar things may happen. If the Army does not respond to call for assistance, then the trust between the people whom we are protecting, police and Army will break.“That is something I cannot allow to happen. This is what the militants want. It can create a divide between the army and other security forces,” he said.The Army Chief said he had a broad idea about what was going on in the court of inquiry into the Gogoi incident, and that is why he went ahead with awarding the Major. “I know what is happening in the CoI. It is being finalised. What do we punish him for?”He said armed forces had the right of self-defence and Major Gogoi could have opted for firing at the crowd but he chose not to.The Army Chief said just four districts of south Kashmir were disturbed and it was incorrect to say the entire Valley had gone out of control.“It will have to be a composite solution. Everybody will have to get involved. Army’s role is to ensure violence does not take place and the common man who is not indulging in this (violence) is protected,” he said. He also emphasised the need for taking harsh measures to stop infiltration and counter-terrorism. General Rawat wondered why not much noise was made when young Army officer Lt Umar Fayaz was killed by militants. — PTI

Maj Gen Rajesh Bawa (Retd) Director General

Centre of Punjab for Youth Training and Employment (C-PYTE), HQ Chandigarh, Recruitment of Various Posts 

C-PYTE, a centre for training and employment of Punjabi youth, is enabling various misguided youth affected by drug-addiction and alcoholism, to use their energy into useful activities in Punjab.

It’s a unique initiative, focussed at preventing the Punjabi youth from going wayward in life and encouraging them to tread the right track, the C-PYTE scheme inspires and encourages the youth to upgrade their skills in various occupations and join the national mainstream.

There are 14 C-PYTE campuses throughout Punjab at

Nabha, Faridkot, Ranike and Dera Baba Nanak,Kapurthala ,Ludhiana,,Bhatinda, and some other places.

The organization is headed by a senior defence officer who helps the students acquire self-discipline, spirit of national integration and dignity of labour. oday, there are several youngsters who are benefiting from the training being given at the Centre for Training and Employment of Punjab Youth.

The centre helps them channelise their energies in positive activities. After training, the youth can even opt for defence services or civil administration. “This institution was created basically with following things in mind – one was to give special type of training both in the vocational field and on special field of the defense and paramilitary forces with a view to make them fit to get inducted in the defense forces. Second aim was that to create a dignity in them and also the work culture,

Every year, 7,000 to 8,000 youth get free of cost training. And, over 60 per cent of them successfully take up jobs in India and abroad.

. The trainees, especially those belonging to rural areas, are upbeat about starting afresh and leading it in a disciplined way. “People become addicted to drugs. But, here one gets rid of drug habits and the focus is on health. We also learn discipline,” said one of the trainees. “People are unable to get government jobs after higher education. They can’t farm, as the land has been acquired. This government training is fruitful if you are medically and physically fit,” said another trainee. Beside physical fitness, the curriculum also includes technical and academic studies. The centre’s motto remains to enable the youth self-employed in sectors like farming and industries. Once they undergo a training they may not only get a good job but they become a discipline soldiers in civil. They are personal conduct; living in discipline is paramount. It creates a sense of national integration, the communal harmony because the environment here is such that everybody stays together and eats community food. The place where they sleep is same; the play fields are the same.

. At the centre, the youth even participate in social activities like organizing blood donation camps and assisting the districts administration during natural calamities. Living in unity without any barrier of cast and religion, these youngsters are being motivated to become professional and social activists. Living in a team environment they come out of the centres as transformed individuals all set take the challenges of life head on.

Army men near an encounter site in Kupwara. File photo

Amir Karim Tantray &Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Jammu/Srinagar, May 23

As the traditional infiltration routes along the 520-km-long Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir and Jammu regions continue to be the cause for concern for the Army, it has adopted an aggressive approach to dismantle the infrastructure supporting infiltration.Be it the May-9 bombing of Pakistani posts across the LoC in the Nowshera sector, the video of which was released today by the Army in New Delhi, or the surgical strikes of September last year, which targeted militant launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the tough measures have not, however, stopped infiltration from across.Sample this, in 2016, at least 112 militants had managed to sneak into the state from across — the highest since 2012. Last year, 364 attempts were made by militants to infiltrate, which was three times more than in 2015.This year, at least 15 militants have been able to infiltrate into Kashmir even as the Army has foiled two major infiltration bids in north Kashmir and killed eight militants. Security forces have already sounded an alert in north Kashmir after three or four groups of militants have been able to sneak into the Valley.In the Jammu region, infiltration has been taking place through Rajouri and Poonch, where 14 or 15 traditional routes are being used by militants to infiltrate after the construction of the fence post the ceasefire agreement of 2003.In Poonch district, the Saujiyan sector in the Mandi area, Shahpur, Bagyal Darra and Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch, Mandol in the Krishna Ghati sector (not a preferred infiltration route now), Tatta Pani in the Mankote sector, Tain in the Mendhar sector and Lohar Gali and Kanga Gali in the Tarkundi area of the Balakote sector have remained hot infiltration routes.Due to heavy snowfall during winter, the LoC fence often gets damaged and militants get natural routes to infiltrate into this side. Forests and streams provide them shelter and sometimes they manage to infiltrate without getting noticed.Same is the case with infiltration routes in Rajouri district. In the Nowshera sector, Lam, Jhangar, Kalsian and Khoretta have remained traditional infiltration routes while Keri, Takundi and Tanga Gali in Manjakote and Chitti Bakri and Keri in the Bhimber area of Rajouri are other infiltration routes.The Pallanwalla and Akhnoor sectors on the LoC in Jammu district are traditional infiltration routes but for the past some time, they have witnessed no infiltration attempts.In Kashmir, the nearly 350-km-long LoC is porous and has many infiltration routes. In the past few years, major infiltration attempts have been being made in the frontier Kupwara district and the sector is the key infiltration route for militants.While the infiltrators are also sneaking in through Baramulla, the infiltration through Bandipora district has been dormant.Sources said that apart from the traditional infiltration routes, militants were sneaking in through new routes in Kupwara district which included Kaobal Gali, Sonar, Kel, Sardari, Ratta Pani, Shardi, Tejian, Dudhinial, Athmuqam, Katwara, Jura, Lipa valley, Lokut Bangus and Bod Bungus.In Baramulla, the infiltration routes are Kamalkote, Lachipora, Nambla forest, Gharhkot and Fatehwali Bahak.Sources said all militants were waiting at the launch pads to sneak into the Valley.

BSF, Pak Rangers hold flag meet on border

Officials of the BSF and Pakistan Rangers hold a flag meeting in the Suchetgarh area on Tuesday. Tribune Photo

Jammu, May 23

The BSF and the Pakistan Rangers held a commandant-wing commander-level flag meeting on the international border in the Suchetgarh area today. The meeting was held on the request of the Pakistan Rangers.The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the BSF said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and lasted for an hour from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm.“During the meeting, Commanders of both border guarding forces, inter alia, discussed various issues, including the recent unprovoked firing in the Arnia sector and other routine issues relating to border management,” the PRO BSF said.“It was decided to re-energise instant communication between the field commanders, whenever required, to resolve petty matters. The meeting was held in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere,” the PRO added. — TNS

THE FORGOTTON HERO OF INA ::MOHAN SINGH ( ਮੋਹਨ ਸਿਂਘ)(1909 – 1989)

1965 MARTYR’S WIFE VISITS HIS MEMORIAL REMEMBERS HER YOUNG HUSBAND’S SACRIFICE

DO RECONSIDER, MY LORDS…BY..LT GEN VIJAY OBEROI (RETD)

CAPT AMARINDER RESPONDS TO TRIBUNE EDITORIAL, CALLS MEDIA BIASED SAYS “WE ARE NOT DOING ALL THAT BADLY”

BE READY FOR OPERATIONS AT VERY SHORT NOTICE: AIR FORCE CHIEF BS DHANOA TO OFFICERS

SNOW HAMPERS MANALI-LEH ROAD CLEARANCE

KASHMIRIS RISK LOSING KASHMIR

INDIAN NAVY TRACES MISSING MALDIVIAN LANDING CRAFT

TERROR FUNDING: NIA IN SRINAGAR TO QUIZ SEPARATIST LEADER GEELANI, 3 OTHERS

STONE-THROWERS GET RS 500 EACH: DEPUTY CM

25 OF 60 BUNKERS FUNDED BY CENTRE YET TO BE CONSTRUCTED

NSG LIKELY TO MEET NEXT MONTH, CHANCES OF INDIA’S ENTRY SEEM SLIM

DISCLOSE WHY INDIA ACCEPTED COST ESCALATIONS FOR GORSHKOV: CIC

ANOTHER SOLDIER, 2 MORE ULTRAS KILLED IN NOWGAM 2 ARMY MEN, 2 ULTRAS DIED IN OPS ON SATURDAY

KASHMIR, KASHMIRIS OURS, WILL FIND LASTING SOLUTION: RAJNATH UNREST CONFINED TO ONLY ‘THREE AND A HALF DISTRICTS’, CLAIMS SHAH

SECOND MAJOR SEARCH OPERATION IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR’S SHOPIAN, OVER 500 HOUSES SEARCHED

DEFENCE MINISTRY FINALISES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP POLICY TO BOOST PRIVATE SECTOR ROLE IN WEAPON PRODUCTION

PUNJAB NEWS ::::22 MAY 2017

• DESPITE CAPT’S ASSURANCE, ‘HALQA SYSTEM’ PREVALENT,

• Govt to hike mining capacity

• .Approaches Yogi over UP gurdwara loot

• Of Rs 91 crore for fire services, SAD-BJP spent Rs 17 cr: Sidhu

• Mandi Board has no funds to repair roads in rural areas

• 16 private varsities told to close study centres

• SDMs to register vehicles, issue driver’s licences

• ARTIFICIAL RIPENING BEWARE! YOUR FRUIT COULD HARM YOU

File photo of INS Vikramaditya which was rechristened after its induction in the Indian Navy.

New Delhi, May 21The reasons behind India agreeing to cost escalation by the Russian side for a refurbished aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov should be disclosed, the Central Information Commission has held.    The commission also directed the Defence Ministry to disclose reasons why the country chose a refurbished warship in place of purchasing a new one.The deal for purchasing the ship, rechristened as INS Vikramaditya, was signed in 2004 by the then NDA government at USD 974 million which was increased to final price of USD 2.35 billion in 2010.The commission has also directed the Indian Navy to disclose “net final cost” including the expenditure on the modifications, renovations and remodelling done on the now 30-year-old ship and also dates of payments made by India.The Navy was trying to mislead the Commission claiming that the information was to be provided by the Defence Ministry but the ministry made it clear that all the files are held by the Naval Headquarters and they have been asked to disclose the details.Information Commissioner Amitava Bhattacharyya noted that the Navy was trying to put the onus of disclosure on the Defence Ministry whereas the ministry made clear that the reply is to be furnished by the force.The case relates to RTI application filed by activist Subhash Agrawal who had demanded a range of information on the acquisition of the 44,500 tonne aircraft carrier.The ship was originally commissioned by the erstwhile USSR on December 20, 1987 and was decommissioned in 1996.After being inducted in the Navy as Vikramaditya, the ship is now a floating airfield with the length of 284 meters.It is a 20-storeyed steel megastructure floating in sea from keel to the highest point.The ship can carry over 30 aircraft including state-of- the-art MiG 29K or Sea Harriers, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak helicopters.With 22 decks and a capacity of 1,600 personal, the ship can sustain itself in sea for 45 days up to a range of over 13,000 kms. — PTI

SCHEME FOR EX-SERVICEMEN

RETURN TO GOVERNANCE CAPTAIN FACES AN UPHILL TASK

PAK AIR FORCE NARROWS GAP AS IAF STRUGGLES TO GET FIGHTER JETS

AMARINDER SINGH RUBBISHES REPORTS OF EVER MULLING TO JOIN BJP, SLAMS MEDIA FOR DISTORTING OLD NEWS

SOUTH KASHMIR, A HOTBED OF MILITANCY

INDIAN ARMY GETS A NEW HOWITZER

INDIA, SINGAPORE BEGIN MARINE DRILL IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

JALLIANWALA BAGH A MARTYR TO NEGLECT

ARMY ORGANISES TIGER HILL ARCHERY COMPETITION

BORDER VILLAGERS RELUCTANT TO RETURN HOME

NAVAL CADET DIES, KIN ALLEGES FOUL PLAY

A GREAT NUCLEAR LEAP FORWARD? SANDEEP DIKSHIT

FOR DETAILS CLICK LINK

www.sanjhamorcha.com

FACING TWO-FRONT WAR SCENARIO WITH PAKISTAN, CHINA, IAF READIES RAFALE FIGHTER JETS FOR COMBAT ROLE

DM, ARMY CHIEF ARRIVE TODAY FOR REVIEW OF DEFENCE PREPAREDNESS

PEACE ALONG THE BORDER IS NOT A ONE-WAY PROCESS, SAYS LT. GEN. D.S. HOODA

AMARINDER SINGH HAD NO BUSINESS JUSTIFYING THE USE OF HUMAN SHIELD IN KASHMIR

NAWAZ’S IRAN CHALLENGE

COLONEL DIES IN LEH, LAID TO REST WITH STATE HONOURS

ARMY SCHOOLS GAIN POPULARITY IN VALLEY

LIQUOR, ARMY RATION SEIZED FROM FOREST GUARD’S HOUSE

PAK FIRING TRIGGERS FRESH MIGRATION ALONG LOC TRUCE VIOLATION IN BALAKOTE, 500 MORE VILLAGERS TAKE REFUGE IN RELIEF CAMPS

BSF BEGINS OPERATION ‘GARAM HAWA’ ALONG INT’L BORDER IN RAJASTHAN

‘INDIA’S LONGING FOR GREAT POWER STATUS A CHALLENGE FOR CHINA’

NAVY RESCUES SHIP FROM PIRATES

PANEL TO CHECK MISUSE OF DEFENCE LAND

JAITLEY REVIEWS J&K SECURITY

PUNJAB NEWS::—18MAY 2017

Punjab economy grounded by overstay in agriculture..Lakhwinder Singh

Why the Centre does not want Punjab to diversify

Illusion of surplus Ravi-Beas waters

CM seeks package for industrial, farm sectors

To end corruption, no cash handling at revenue offices

Sidhu: Naidu’s letter exposes SAD-BJP on central grants

Drug peddlers open fire at ex-serviceman

Nursing students adamant on principal’s ouster; protest on

No water for five years, all hopes dry up

JAMAAL has been working as a gardener with an Army camp since last 20 years in North Kashmir. He has seen violence, hartals, militants, security forces all through his adult life. While troops are busy on the LoC and fighting militancy, Jamaal is rather indifferent to what is happening around him. He appears to have limited his universe to plants, trees and his two daughters and son Tanvir. I was intrigued by his silent dedication to work and decided to decode his muteness. ‘Mere saath ke bahut se ladke zaaya ho gaye hain is militancy me’he said once, talking about militancy. Perhaps he knows the irrelevance of having an opinion and disagreement on the social and political discourse. He was concerned about the future of his three children. He wanted either peace should return to Kashmir or his children should move out of there. It has been seven years since I left Kashmir. We speak every few days. He always seems to downplay major incidents of violence. At the peak of the unrest, he would say ‘halat bahut ache nahin’ and would quickly change the topic to family, children, weather and other mundane issues.Two years back when peace seemed to be prevailing in Kashmir, his son had passed Class X with high grades, and he was very pleased. But all that changed in the last few months. Jamaal is fidgety and wants his son out of the Valley to join the National Defence Academy (NDA) and become an Army officer. I sent him books to prepare for the written test and have offered to arrange for his coaching and training for the exam this September.As I watched the news of the kidnapping and murder of a young Kashmiri Army officer, Lt Fayaz, I instinctively called Jamaal. As usual, he sidestepped the subject, talking only of good weather, paddy cultivation, apples and walnut trees and beginning of the holy month of Ramzan after two weeks. When I prodded about his son, Jamaal was buoyant, ‘Bahut mehnat kar raha hai aur NDA ki tayari bhi karta hai, aapki madad aur dua chahiye (He is working very hard and is also preparing for NDA, need your help and blessings).’The shrill debate on nationalism and Kashmiriyat on a television channel is getting acrimonious; a ‘proud Indian’ friend has given a clarion call on Whatsapp and Facebook to come to India Gate to light candles and sing the National Anthem in the memory of young Lt Fayaz. I switch off the television and my mind wanders to 17-year-old Tanvir and I see a thousand splendid lights in the beautiful misty Valley.