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Visit comes amid high tensions on South Bank of Pangong Tso; Army Chief in Leh to review situation

Amid high tensions on the South Bank of Pangong Tso (lake) in Ladakh and high operational alert by the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), Army Chief Gen. Manoj Naravane arrived in Leh on Thursday, while Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, visited front line air bases in the Eastern Air Command (EAC) a day before.

And at Chushul, Brigadier-level talks between India and China continued for the fourth day in an attempt to de-escalate tensions. The talks resumed at 11 a.m. after the discussions in the last three days remained inconclusive. “The talks are going on but we must not expect much from them”, another source said.

The Army Chief is on a two-day visit to Leh to review the operational preparedness in the Ladakh region following recent developments, an Army source said.

The IAF said in a statement, “On arrival at the bases in EAC on Wednesday, the CAS was received by respective Air Officers Commanding who apprised him of the readiness state and operational preparedness of the combat units under their command.”

Pre-emptive move

In a pre-emptive move on August 29 and 30, the Army occupied some unoccupied heights in the Chushul sector from Thakung to Rechin La within the Indian perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to foil the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) attempts to dominate the heights.

The Army had stated that PLA troops carried out aggressive moves on the night of August 29 to change the status quo on the South Bank and those have been thwarted.

In the talks, China demanded that India withdraw troops from these heights but it was rejected. On the North Bank, Chinese troops continue to occupy the ridgelines of Finger 4 in addition to the heavy build-up of defences between Finger 8 to Finger 4.

With inputs from The Hindu

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Only 5-6 per cent crop has got damaged: Dir Agri

Srinagar: The prolonged dry spell has left the farmers in the Valley anxious as they are expecting low crop production this year.

The farmers from different parts of the Valley told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the crop production this year will be very low as there was no rain on time while the concerned department also failed to provide them sufficient water supply.

Ghulam Mohammad, a distraught farmer from Sanzipora area of Budgam said they repeatedly urged the concerned authorities to lower the level pump to deal with the receding water levels, but to no avail.

Abdul Aziz, a farmer from Devsar area of Kulgam said, “The paddy plants need sufficient water to grow, which was not provided on time in absence of rainfall. Such a situation has led to either dry up of paddy plants or these plants couldn’t attain the normal size.”

He said that the yield this year will be very low compared to the previous years.

“There was no rain in the summer season and our irrigation pumps were also dysfunctional due to the low level of water, which affected our crops badly,” he said.

A farmer from Qazigund said, “We lost the paddy fields due to low rainfall from the last four months and no irrigation facilities.”

Director Agriculture Kashmir, Altaf Aijaz Andrabi said that as estimated, only five to six per cent damage has occurred to the crops this year due to the less rainfall.

He said damage was mostly in Kandi belts while damage in plains was very less. “The maize crops have got mainly damaged in these areas,” he added—(KNO)

Srinagar: Police has started investigation after a hit list of some people went viral on social media.

In a statement to GNS, police said that, on 29th August and 2nd of September 2020, militants leaders acting under instruction from across, conspired with some of their overground associates and other anti social elements and prepared hit lists containing names and details of civilians, activists, political workers and Security Force personnel.

The statement further stated that, Such hit lists were uploaded and with the help of cyber OGWs these were circulated widely apparently with two motives: Use it as a direction to other militants operating elsewhere and their associates to target these persons and also to terrorise civilians, government employees and security personnel from serving the public honestly and sincerely because that would mean restoration and victory of peace and prosperity and defeat of fear, violence and lawlessness which the militants and secessionist represent.

Separately but connectedly a fake image depicting a young boy joining the militant ranks too was created and uploaded to spread negativity and also harm the boy variously.

Police has taken the cognizance of the matter and an FIR has been registered & a full fledged criminal investigation backed by technical teams has been initiated and efforts are afoot to identify both the original offenders who created the content as well as others who are allowing their connections and accounts to maintain the communication systems of the militant networks.

It is to be borne in mind that in the event of harm coming to any of the persons in these lists, persons propagating these lists by way of forwarding or copying and reposting shall be equally liable variously for murder, grievous injuries, kidnapping and criminal intimidation.

Kashmir Police also is seeking help from general public in identifying such miscreants who are aiding and abetting militants agenda, the statement added.(GNS)

Srinagar: Amid COVID-19, people associated with the handicrafts sector in Kashmir are suffering badly.

Kashmir remained shut for months after abrogation of Article 370 in August last year and now COVID-19 lockdown.

President Kashmir Artisans Rehabilitation Forum Parvez Ahmad Bhat said over 2.5 lakh people associated with handicrafts are in bad shape.

“People associated with handicrafts have taken a loan of Rs 300 crore and the government should waive off that so they could survive,” he told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service KINS.

He said presently there is no business in the handicrafts sector.

“We are neither able to export goods in the international market nor there is any domestic market. All the orders made earlier this year have been cancelled,” Bhat said.

President Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI), Sheikh Ashiq said the Kashmir economy has suffered losses over Rs 40,000 crore for the last one year.

“Every sector be it tourism, handicrafts, transport, traders, IT has been badly hit for the last one year. Five lakh people have become jobless in the last one year,” Ashiq said.

“Our handicrafts sector which is Rs 2000 crore annual economy is in shambles. More than 2.5 lakh people are dependent upon the handicrafts sector and they are struggling to feed their families,” he told KINS.

KCCI has also raised the issue with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought special packages in every sector which suffered heavy losses for the last one year.
KCCI President Sheikh Ashiq said the Union Finance Minister keenly listened to the issues raised by the business community.

“We told her that every sector in Kashmir has suffered badly for the last one year. There is no cash flow in markets. Over five lakh people have become jobless. We told her that a special package should be announced for every sector,” Ashiq said.

“The Finance Minister told us that she already spoke to Lieutenant Governor regarding businesses in Jammu and Kashmir. She assured us that the Centre will provide help to the business community in the best possible way,” he added.

Sitharaman has said that the Centre was keen to listen and understand the ground situation as that helped in formulating policies.

She said, “We are interacting with all the stakeholders in the industry and we have been benefitted from this. We want to keep our ears close to the ground and based on the inputs from various stakeholders, policy changes are made.”

She said that she had met the new J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha who also spoke about greater support and more resources for the UT.(KINS)

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) President Muhammad Altaf Bukhari today said road map of his party is to get back the lost identity of J&K on August 5 last year.

Speaking exclusively to KNS after a membership drive function was organised by Party in Jammu where party is gaining a foothold in the traditional bastion of other political parties.

“Our road map is clear. We want to get back the identity we lost on August 5. We want to secure the livelihood of our children, securing employment opportunities and land rights of our own people besides the overall development of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He added, “We also want to bring people of Jammu and Kashmir close to each other. We don’t want to give any emotional slogan. The politics of turning people of Jammu and Kashmir against each other in the last 72 years has ended now. You are witnessing that people in both Jammu and Kashmir are joining Apni party now. It shows that people on both sides have faith in us and are against any division between them. I am happy we are getting the support for our idea and vision from the people in both Jammu and Kashmir.”

On a question about statehood, Bukhari said Statehood is the main agenda of the party and will fight for its restoration.

Without naming any party or politician, Bukhari responded to a question on Gupkar declaration, he said, “August 5, 2019, is a sad day for every one of us- that day we lost our identity. We are striving to bring back that identity. We don’t believe that it will come with any declaration.

The case of restoration of 35 A or 370 is in Supreme Court and only it can restore it or central government. Central Government is not doing it. Even parties who are part of the declaration say that central government can restore it if it wishes. When special status was scrapped Apni party did not exist then. Our people who joined us wherein different parties then will knock the door of Supreme Court and everyone has to accept the decision of the Supreme Court. We will pray that verdict comes according to the wishes of the people.” He told KNS.

Bukhari yesterday chairing a maiden executive party meeting on Wednesday and demanded economic package for people associated with business and trade.

“The government should support the business community, traders, small shopkeepers, people associated with tourism industry, industrialist and the farmers, with an economic package to revive shattered economy. It will help to infuse new life to the sinking market and generate employment opportunities,” said Bukhari, in a statement.

He said the government should frame a comprehensive policy to overcome the losses suffered by people, recalling that many also lost employment in organised and unorganized sector, too.

The executive members who attended the meeting included GH Mir, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, Choudhary Zulfikar Ali, Usman Majeed, Vijay Bakaya, Vikram Malhotra, Manjit Singh, Syed Asgar Ali and Namrita Sharma. Besides, the meeting was also attended by JKAP senior leader Muhammed Dilawar Mir. Meanwhile, Ex-MLAs Kamal Arora and Mumtaz Khan joined the meeting as special invites.

During the meeting, Bukhari was appraised about issues of Jammu division. Intensifying their political activities, the JKAP executive meeting decided to launch membership drive and constitute district level committees. Besides, outreach programmes will also be organised.

Bukhari directed the leaders to highlight the issues of public concern while remaining in the field among people. In the absence of an elected Government, the JKAP leaders were directed to work as a bridge to facilitate redressal of their issues of people. (KNS)

India-China talks at Chushul remain inconclusive; Large number of troops deployed on both sides very close to each other

The third day of Brigadier-level talks on Wednesday between India and China at Chushul to de-escalate the situation on the South Bank of Pangong Tso remained inconclusive. An Army source confirmed that a soldier from the secretive Special Frontier Force (SFF) was killed in an accidental mine explosion while patrolling in the area on August 30.

“The talks remained inconclusive and will continue on Thursday,” a defence source said.

The talks are important as tensions are still running high in the Chushul sector, with a large number of troops deployed on both sides very close to each other along the disputed boundary.

Company Leader Nyima Tenzin from the commando unit SFF, also called Vikas Battalions, was killed in a blast when he stepped on a vintage 1962 minefield during patrolling, the Army source said. One soldier was injured in the accident. The same was not a result of Chinese action or the action in the South Bank of Pangong Tso, the source added.

There have been reports of the SFF being used in the recent action to dominate the peaks on the Indian side of the LAC (Line of Actual Control) on September 29 and 30. However, there has been no comment on this from the Army.

The Army brought in additional troops following the developments on the night of August 29 and 30 on the South Bank, triggered by “provocative movements” by PLA troops and to pre-empt them from dominating the heights in the Chushul sector near the Spanggur Gap. The action is centred around the Black Top area and around Rezang La and Rechin La. At the same time, the Army also strengthened its positions on the North Bank as a precaution.

“As part of the precautionary deployment carried out on August 30, some readjustments of our positions on North Bank of Pangong Tso on our side of to the Line of Actual Control had also been carried out,” the source stated.

On August 29, PLA troops came towards Rezang La but they were pushed back, a second source said. On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said Chinese troops had engaged in “provocative action” along the disputed boundary once again on August 31 even as the Brigadier level talks were on.

With inputs from The Hindu

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)