Tribune News Service,Mandi, December 16

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) today connected Manali in Kullu district with Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district.The tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti was cut off from the rest of the world after snowfall on December 10. The BRO started the snow-clearance operation on both sides of the 13,050-foot high Rohtang Pass on Saturday.Col KP Rajendra Kumar, Commander, 38 Border Road Task Force (BRTF), Manali, said they had restored the Manali-Keylong road for 4×4 vehicles today. He said they had encountered a wall of nearly 10 feet of snow on the Rohtang Pass. The snow accumulation was 5-6 feet on the Koksar side. Strong winds hampered the snow-clearance operation.More than two dozen jawans worked overtime under minus 10 degree temperature to clear the road, he said, adding, four dozers and three snow cutters were pressed into service.The BRO maintains the strategically important 490-km-long Manali-Leh highway to maintain supplies for the armed forces posted in the forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region along the borders with China and Pakistan.With the closure of the Pass, the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti remains cut off from the rest of the world for the next six months. Residents of the district, which remains snow-bound during the winter season, stay connected with the outside world through Internet and the telephones.Helicopter service is the only means of travel for the people during medical and other emergencies after the closure of the Rohtang Pass.The road was officially closed on November 15, but the BRO was trying its best to keep the road open for as long as possible in the winter season.

New Delhi, December 16India today said it can undertake operations against Islamic State under a UN flag if the global body adopts a resolution in this regard.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has returned after a crucial meeting with his US counterpart Ashton Carter in Washington, also said that India has been sharing intelligence on the ISIS and it will be enhanced.“We have made it clear that if there is a UN resolution and if there is UN flag and a UN mission, then as per India’s policy to operate under UN flag, we will participate,” Parrikar told reporters here at India Gate after laying wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti on Vijay Diwas.He was replying to questions on the possibility of India’s participation in operations against the ISIS.Asked if India will operate against the ISIS under the UN flag, he said, “that depends on whether UN takes a resolution”.India had earlier this month, along with major world economies, participated in the first-ever global meeting held in Paris to discuss and evolve mechanisms to combat the clandestine and largely undetected terrorist financing network of the Islamic State terror group. Indian security establishment suggests that around 20 Indians are currently fighting for ISIS in Iraq-Syria. They include two youths from Kalyan in the outskirts of Mumbai, an Australia-based Kashmiri, one youth from Telangana, one from Karnataka, one Oman-based Indian and another Singapore-based Indian. — PTI

ਜਲੰਧਰ— ਅਮੀਰਕੀ ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰਤੀ ਬਰਾਕ ਓਬਾਮਾ ਦੀ ਤਰੀਫ ਪਾ ਚੁੱਕੀ ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਜਲੰਧਰ ਦੀ ਰਹਿਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਹੈ। ਪਿਛਲੇ ਸਾਲ 26 ਜਨਵਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਪਰੇਡ ‘ਚ ਰਾਜਪਥ ‘ਤੇ ਪਹਿਲੀ ਵਾਰ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਜਲ ਸੈਨਾ ਦੀ ਮਹਿਲਾ ਟੁਕੜੀ ਨੇ ਮਾਰਚ ਕੀਤਾ ਸੀ। ਜਲੰਧਰ ਦੀ ਲੈਫਟੀਨੈਂਟ ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਭਾਰਦਵਾਜ ਟੁਕੜੀ ਦੀ ਕਮਾਂਡਰ ਬਣੀ ਸੀ। ਫ੍ਰੈਂਡਸ ਕਾਲੋਨੀ ‘ਚ ਰਹਿਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਦੇ ਪਿਤਾ ਸ਼ਾਮਸ਼ਰਨ ਸ਼ਰਮਾ ਦੱਸਦੇ ਹਨ ਕਿ ਟ੍ਰੇਨਿੰਗ ‘ਚ ਦੌੜ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਇਕ ਲੜਕਾ ਥੱਕ ਕੇ ਡਿੱਗ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ। ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਵੀ ਰਾਈਫਲ ਚੁੱਕੀ ਅਤੇ ਦੌੜ ਪੂਰੀ ਕੀਤੀ। ਇਕ ਵਾਰ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਟ੍ਰੇਨਿੰਗ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਸਵੀਮਿੰਗ ਪੂਲ ‘ਚ 11 ਫੁੱਟ ਤੋਂ ਛਾਲ ਮਾਰੀ ਸੀ। ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਦੇ ਘਰ ਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਨੇ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਫਿਲਮਾਂ ਜਾਂ ਸੀਰੀਅਲਸ ‘ਚ ਉਤਸ਼ਾਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਦਿਖਾਇਆ। ਅਸੀਂ ਸਿਰਫ ਇਕ ਵਾਰ ਹੀ ਥੀਏਟਰ ਗਏ ਸੀ ‘ਜੁਰਾਸਿਕ ਪਾਰਕ’ ਫਿਲਮ ਦੇਖਣ। ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਹੀ ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਨੂੰ ਬੁਲੇਟ ਚਲਾਉਣ ਦਾ ਸ਼ੌਂਕ ਪੈਦਾ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ। ਪਹਿਲੀ ਵਾਰ ਜਦੋਂ ਇਸ ਨੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਬਿਠਾ ਕੇ ਬੁਲੇਟ ਚਲਾਇਆ ਤਾਂ ਮੈਂ ਕਾਫੀ ਡਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ ਪਰ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਪਾਪਾ ਡਰੋ ਨਾ। ਬੁਲੇਟ ਚਲਾਉਂਦੇ ਦੇਖ ਲੜਕੇ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖ ਕੇ ਹੈਰਾਨ ਰਹਿ ਗਏ ਸਨ।
ਯੂ-ਟਿਊਬ ‘ਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਬੁਲੇਟ ਚਲਾਉਂਦੇ ਵੀਡੀਓ ਨੂੰ ਤਕਰੀਬਨ 28 ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਾਰ ਦੇਖਿਆ ਜਾ ਚੁੱਕਿਆ ਹੈ। ਨੰਦਿਤਾ ਨੇ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਨਾ ਤਾਂ ਸਕੂਲ ਟਾਈਮ ‘ਚ ਅਤੇ ਨਾ ਹੀ ਕਾਲਜ ਟਾਈਮ ‘ਚ ਪਰੇਡ ਕੀਤੀ ਸੀ। ਓਡਿਸ਼ਾ ‘ਚ ਪ੍ਰੈਕਟਿਸ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਤਾਂ ਐਤਵਾਰ ਦਾ ਵੀ ਪਤਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਸੀ। ਰਾਤ ਨੂੰ 2 ਵਜੇ ਪ੍ਰੈਕਟਿਸ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਅਤੇ ਸਵੇਰ ਦੇ 9 ਵਜੇ ਤੱਕ ਚਲਦੀ। ਫਿਰ 2 ਘੰਟਿਆਂ ‘ਚ ਨਹਾਉਣਾ-ਧੋਣਾ, ਨਾਸ਼ਤਾ ਕਰਵਾਉਣ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ 11 ਵਜੇ ਤੱਕ ਫਿਰ ਪ੍ਰੈਕਟਿਸ। ਅਜੇ ਵੀ ਮੇਰੇ ਪੈਰਾਂ ‘ਚ ਛਾਲੇ ਪਏ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ। ਪਰੇਡ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਜੇਕਰ ਕੋਈ ਵੀ ਜਵਾਨ ਦੇ ਬੂਟਾਂ ਦੀ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ ਜਾਂ ਫਿਰ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰ ਗਲਤੀ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਸੀ ਤਾਂ ਅਜਿਹੀ ਹਾਲਤ ‘ਚ ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਰਾਈਫਲ ਲੈ ਕੇ 15 ਕਿਲੋਮੀਟਰ ਤੱਕ ਦੌੜਾਇਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਸੀ।

More than 46,000 solar panels have been installed at the Kochi airport to generate electricity. Switching to green energy is almost equivalent to planting three million trees or not driving 750 million miles, says VJ Kurian (right), managing director of Cochin International Airport Limited. Kurian is also the brain behind Kochi becoming the first private airport in the country in 1999

Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, December 4

Two unidentified militants and a soldier were killed in a firefight between militants and security forces in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. An Army jawan has also been injured in the gunfight.
The gun battle is ongoing.
Sources said that encounter broke in Bawan Rajwar forest area in Handwara, some 90 kms from here, after a joint team of Army and police intercepted a group of heavily armed militants in the area Friday afternoon.
“In gunfight so far two unidentified militants and an Army jawan have got killed,” a security official in Srinagar said.
The identity of the slain soldier could not be established immediately.
The security official said more militants were believed to be hiding in the area. Additional troops have been sent to the fight zone.

Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, November 28
As the combing operation in frontier Kupwara district entered 16th day today, the Army’s top-most officer in Kashmir said the militants hiding in a thick forest area were getting supplies from locals.
“They (militants) are getting some sustenance from villagers nearby,” said Lt Gen Satish Dua, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, on the sidelines of a seminar here.
“That is how we get information and it is the reason why we establish a contact with them every three or four days.”
A massive combing operation has been going on for the past 16 days at Manigam Haihama, Kupwara, 120 km from here.
Security forces have been combing the area to flush out heavily armed Lashkar-e-Toiba militants believed to be hiding in the area.
A Commanding Officer of the Army’s elite unit, Colonel Santosh Mahadik, was killed and six security men, including a Lt Colonel, injured. A militant was killed in the gunfight.
The GOC said two factors were responsible for the operation taking so long. “One is the operation is undergoing in a tough terrain and thick forest and the second is that we do not want any collateral damage,” Lt General Dua said.
The Corps Commander said the forest had been cordoned off and villagers were not being allowed to enter the area, where the combing was being done.
He said he may not be in a position to tell how many more days the operation would continue in the area.
“They have come in and we have prevented them from crossing reception area,” he said, adding that unmanned aerial vehicles were being used for surveillance.
On the attack on Tangdhar Army base, the 15 Corps GOC said the documents recovered from the slain militants had made it clear that the camp was the target. He said it was not a new phenomenon where militants had attacked an Army base close to the Line of Control.
“A few months ago, there was a similar attack in Tangdhar. Last year, there was an attack on an Army camp in Mohura, Uri,” he said. “They try to get close to Army post or camp because they are unable to infiltrate well-coordinated counter-infiltration grid. That is why they want to target camps on the LoC.”
“The Jaise-e-Mohammad has owned up the attack. The intelligence agencies are working on other aspects,” he said.

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 27
The long-range surface-to-air missile that has been successfully tested against a flying target from an Israeli warship will be the main stay of the Navy in the year to come.
The missile has a range of 80 km and height ceiling of 16 km. It will have the ability to simultaneously engage 12 targets with 24 missiles.
The DRDO is tasked with producing the propulsion rocket system, thrust vector system and certain other components.
The Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) has built the seeker and the last stage avionics.
Once the missile is okayed, frontline Indian warships will carry it. Fifteen warships, including the Vikramaditya and under-construction aircraft carrier Vikrant will have these. It’s easier to fit the missile on under-construction ships. Fitting it onto the existing platforms like the Vikramaditya will be a complex procedure and it will entail some cutting through the deck, a period of eight to nine months will be needed to do this.
The test was to launch the missile from a moving warship and verify its ability to identify and kill the target mid-air while even changing course mid-flight. The missile costs Rs 2,606 crore – approximately $450 billion.
This will be a generational shift over the in-use Barak 1 missile system which has been fitted on a host of naval ships, including aircraft carrier INS Viraat. The new missile guarantees protection to a ship from an aircraft or even a sea-skimming cruise missile.
Only a few missile systems offer protection to ships against aircraft and very few can stop sea-skimming cruise missiles. A sea-skimming missile is difficult to detect.

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile on Thursday, which has a strike range of 350 km, as part of a user trial by the army. The missile test was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here at 1210 hrs.

“The trial data of the missile conducted by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) shows positive results,” said a defence source. The surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twine engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

“The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise,” a defence scientist said. “The missile trajectory was tracked by DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha,” the source said.

The downrange teams on board a ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown, they said. Inducted into India’s armed forces in 2003, Prithvi II, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology.

Such training launches clearly indicate India’s operational readiness to meet any eventuality and also establishes the reliability of this deterrent component of the country’s strategic arsenal, they said. The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on February 19, 2015 from the same test range in Odisha.

The present government kept its promise within a year of coming to power by settling the 40-year-old one rank, one pension (OROP) issue raised by ex-servicemen. And to address anomalies, if any, they have appointed a judicial commission. It is a just and fair system and mechanism put in place. Returning medals, burning effigies and going on hunger strike has lowered the image of the disciplined soldier. Some disgruntled pensioners are misleading ex-servicemen with a view to creating an anti-government environment. Had they waited for the Seventh Pay Commission report, they would have got better results. Time has come to stop the agitation and sit across the table to settle issues, if any.
COL SK AGGARWAL (RETD), PANCHKULA

Geneva, November 23

Weather-related disasters have grown more frequent over the past 20 years, killing more than 6 lakh people, the UN said today, issuing a further call for nations to strike a landmark deal on climate change.
The report from the UN agency for disaster risk reduction (UNISDR) said: “Floods, storms and other extreme weather events have killed 6,06,000 people since 1995, with an additional 4.1 billion people injured, left homeless or in need of emergency assistance.”
According to the UNISDR data, flooding accounted for 47 per cent of all weather disasters over the past 20 years, affecting more than 2.3 billion people, the vast majority of whom live in Asia.
A full 75 per cent of the 4.1 billion people affected were in either China or India, underscoring the extent to which densely populated areas in those countries were disproportionately vulnerable.
The report noted that while there was no way to establish how much increase in such disasters was caused by climate change, the link between the planet’s changing climate and extreme weather was clear.
“The contents of this report underline why it is so important that a new climate change agreement emerges from the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris,” said UNISDR chief Margareta Wahlstrom, referring to crunch climate talks starting next week.
The talks that open in the French capital on November 30 are tasked with crafting a 195-nation pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for dangerous levels of climate change. — AFP