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REGD.NO.JK-71/15-17RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 53 No. 140 JAMMU, MONDAY, MAY 22, 2017 16 Pages `̀ 5.00

Gopal Sharma JAMMU, May 21: The

work on the vital bridge worthRs 206 crore over river Chenabin Khour-Pargwal area ofAkhnoor Sub Division in dis-trict Jammu, said to be thelongest bridge in NorthernIndia, is being sabotaged as theconcerned agency JKPCCunder R&B Department hasfailed to finalise the contracteven after the lapse of one year.

Highly placed sources inR&B told the Excelsior that thisprestigious Jammu centric proj-ect is again facing rough weath-er at the hands of the people atthe helm of affairs, despite thefact that entire funding is beingmade by the Union Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways.For sabotaging this project,some people moved to the courton the advice of some 'insiders'but the court dismissed their

plea ( on 23-3-2017) about twomonths back. Even after that,the financial bid could not befinalized till today.

Sources revealed that UnionMinistry of Road Transport &Highways sanctioned the 1680mt long bridge project overChenab worth Rs 206 crore onJanuary 18, 2016. The work wasauthorised by the State R&Bdepartment to the JKPCC onApril 16, 2016. As the CentralRoad Fund (CRF) guidelines,national e-tender was issued on25-7-2016 and last date of sub-mission of bid was October 26,2016. The technical bid wasopened on November 11, 2016.In between a writ petition wasfiled in the court by a local com-pany after the tender processwas completed. However, theHigh Court after listening bothsides dismissed the petition onMarch 23, 2017.

The members of the BidCommittee including MDJKPCC and others, failed tofinalise the contract even aftercourt lifted the restrictions. Inbetween the bid validity of 120days as per e-NIT conditionexpired on February 22, 2017.Three main companies, whoare contesting- M/s GammonIndia Ltd Mumbai, M/s SPSingla Constructions Pvt LtdChandigarh and M/s ArvindTechno Engineers Pvt LtdDelhi were requested for threemonths extension in the bidvalidity. They all have deposit-ed bank guarantee worth overRs 10 crores with the JKPCC.

Interestingly, the extended

financial bid validity of thebridge project is going to beexpired on May 23, 2017(Tuesday), but the officials atthe helm of affairs in JKPCCand R&B department are leastbothered about the fate of thisimportant bridge project whichis strategically and Defencepoint of view very vital inPargwal-Khour sector borderingPakistan.

There is no binding on theconstruction agency after courtgave the green nod but officersat the helm of affairs are justbuying time and avoiding toopen the financial bid for thereason best known to them. Ifthe bid extension date is lapsedagain, the agency would start theprocess of inviting tenders againand this exercise may consumeat least seven to eight monthsmore, the sources added.

Minister for R&BDepartment, Naeem Akhtarwhen contacted said that hewas not well aware of the mat-ter but maintained that this

Mohinder VermaJAMMU, May 21: The

much-needed up-gradation ofstrategically important Lehairport, one of the world’shighest airfields, has remainedvictim of lack of coordinationbetween all the concernedagencies and despite lapse ofseveral years nobody is in aposition to specify time-framefor start of work on this Rs 200crore worth project.

Due to non-seriousness onthe part of all the stakeholderstowards this ambitious project,passengers handling capacityhas remained grossly inadequatedespite the fact that air travel isthe only mode of transport to theregion during winter monthswhen Leh remains cut-off fromrest of the world due to closureof the highway.

Official sources toldEXCELSIOR that the plan about

expansion and up-gradation ofLeh airport, located at 10,683feet above the sea level and isconsidered as one of the world’shighest airfields, was mootedover four years back as the exist-ing passengers handling capaci-ty is grossly inadequate.

It was officially stated at thattime that with the expansion/up-gradation project which involvesconstruction of new terminalbuilding and new parking baysat the airport the peak hour pas-senger capacity will go up to800 from the current capacity of250 passengers.

Accordingly, the exercisewas started to get the requiredchunk of land from Indian AirForce (IAF) and hand it overto the Airport Authority ofIndia (AAI) so as to pave theway for start of work on themuch-needed project. It is per-tinent to mention here that theland identified for the expan-

sion/up-gradation projectbelongs to the StateGovernment but it is currentlyunder the physical possessionof Indian Air Force (IAF) andunless the same is handed overto AAI the work cannot becommenced.

After hectic parleys, the IAFin principle agreed to hand over11.8 acres of land to AAI forconstruction of new terminalbuilding after getting NoObjection Certificate from theState Government, which is theactual owner of the airport land.However, the IAF made it clearthat in lieu of 11.8 acres of landthe Government shall have toprovide alternate land for shift-ing the utilities before vacatingthe identified area.

“During the past nearlyone and half year no furtherdevelopment has taken placeas district administration is of

Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, May 21: Union

Minister of State in PrimeMinister's Office (PMO) DrJitendra Singh today hinted at"decisive action" against allthose fomenting trouble in theKashmir valley includingHurriyat Conference, sepa-ratists etc and declared thatthe "chapter of disturbance''will come to a close.

Dropping enough indicationsof what was in store for the mil-itants, Dr Jitendra Singh told aquestioner at 'Round TableMedia Conclave' of Aaj Taknews channel that 30 militants,who were reportedly moving inSouth Kashmir, "will not movefor long''.

Replying to volley of ques-tions by the News Editors of thechannel at the conclave thisafternoon, Dr Jitendra Singhdeclared that this chapter…thechapter of disturbances…thechapter which you are referringto in the Kashmir valley willcome to a close. "You will see asthe things unfold. It's not for me

to spell out everything here,'' hesaid.

Replying to a question thatthe Government was not actingagainst Hurriyat Conference andseparatists despite evidence oftheir involvement in hawalamoney and other undesirable

activities, Dr Jitendra Singh,who is also a Lok Sabha mem-ber from Jammu and Kashmir,hinted at "decisive action''against all the elements, whowere fomenting trouble in theKashmir valley-be it theHurriyat Conference, sepa-ratists, militants, stone peltersetc.

Also indicating tough actionagainst the militants, he said 30

militants, which the questionersclaimed were moving freely inSouth Kashmir, will not movelong. "Such things are not goingto last long''.

To a specific question thattime has come for ban onHurriyat Conference, the MoSin PMO, however, said that itwould be out of turn for him tospeak on this.

"I shouldn't be answeringthis question. RepresentingJammu and Kashmir didn'tmean that I would take everydecision. There is the Ministryof Homes Affairs, Ministry ofExternal Affairs, who weretaking call on this. The law ofland should take its course,''he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said heagreed that it was more of a"mercenary terrorism'' and not afreedom fight and added thatDefence Minister Arun Jaitleyhas made it clear in his state-ment in Srinagar that all those

‘Militants won’t roam freely very long’Dr Jitendra hints at decisive action

against troublemakers in Valley*Chapter of disturbance will come to closePELLING (SIKKIM),

May 21:

"Kashmir is ours,Kashmiris are ours andKashmiriyat is also ours,"Union Home Minister RajnathSingh said today, assertingthat the Modi Governmentwill find a "permanent solu-tion" to the Kashmir problem.

The Home Minister's asser-tion came amid continued unrestin the Kashmir valley.

Addressing a public recep-tion here in this tinyNortheastern State, Singhaccused Pakistan of trying to"destabilise" India by fomentingtrouble in Kashmir.

"But I want to tell all ofyou that our Government willfind a permanent solution tothe Kashmir issue," he said,without elaborating.

Rajnath Singh said heads ofGovernment of all neighbouringcountries, including Pakistan,were invited to the swearing-inceremony of the ModiGovernment in 2014 in an indi-cation that India wanted friendlyrelations with them.

However, he deplored, there

was no change in the "attitude"of Pakistan which wanted to"destabilise" India.

"We hope that Pakistan will

change. If it does not change, wewill have to change them. Afterglobalisation, one country can'tdestabilise another country asthe international community willnot forget it," he said.

The Home Minister is on athree-day visit to Sikkim duringwhich he attended a conferenceof Himalayan States to reviewthe security situation and devel-opment activities along theSino-Indian border.

He also visited the Nathu Laborder post, besides a few postsof the Indo-Tibetan Border

Police and SSB along the Sino-India and Indo-Nepal borderrespectively.

Kashmir is in a vice-like gripof violence since the killing ofmilitant commander BurhanWani in an encounter with secu-rity forces in July last year.Though there was a brief lull,violence erupted again on April9 this year when the bypoll toSrinagar Lok Sabha seat washeld. Normalcy has eluded theState since.

Eight people were killed infiring by security forces on thepolling day and a paltry 7.14 percent of the electors came out tovote, the lowest ever in theValley since the rise of militancyin 1989.

Bypoll for the Anantnag LokSabha seat was first deferred andthen cancelled by the ElectionCommission which said the situ-ation in the region was "scary".

Students have joined theprotests like never before witheven girls taking to streets andfighting pitched battles withsecurity forces.

Around 80 people had lost

‘Pak wants to destabilise India’

Kashmir is ours, will find permanent solution: Rajnath

Eidgah march foiled

Adil LateefSRINAGAR, May 21:Amid

a shutdown in Kashmir, author-ities today imposed strictrestrictions here in Old City andfoiled the proposed Eidgahmarch and rally of separatistleaders to commemorate thedeath anniversaries of two sepa-ratist leaders.

The separatist leadersincluding moderate Hurriyatchairman and patron of AwamiAction Committee, MirwaizUmar Farooq, had called for amarch to Eidgah in downtowncity here to commemorate thedeath anniversaries of hisfather, Mirwaiz MaulviMuhammad Farooq and AbdulGani Lone who were killed by

Army alert as Pak troops deploy SSG along LoC2 militants, soldierkilled in Nowgam

Fayaz BukhariSRINAGAR, May 21: Two

militants and a soldier werekilled as Army operation inNowgam sector along the Lineof Control (LoC) against theinfiltrating militants contin-ued today taking the numberof militants killed in the oper-ation so far to four and thenumber of Army men killed to3. And Army has been put onheightened alert along theLoC in North Kashmir afterinputs that Pakistani troopsare preparing for BorderAction Team (BAT) action.

Srinagar based Defencespokesman, Lt Col Rajesh Kaliasaid that four infiltrating mili-tants and three soldiers werekilled in Nowgam sector inNorth Kashmir during the oper-ation that was launched by armylast evening. "Four weapons andwar like stores were also recov-ered as Army sanitized the areatoday", he added.

The soldiers who were killedin the operation have been iden-tified as Havaldar DamarBahadur, Havaldar GirishGurung and Rifleman RobinSharma of 4/1 GR.

Sources said that lastevening Army noticed move-ment of a group of 4-5 militantsinfiltrating in Nowgam sectornear Sangam Post last evening.They had cut fence and were try-ing to sneak in when Armynoticed their movement. The

troops challenged them leadingto a fierce gun battle in whichtwo militants and 2 Army menwere killed. Two militants and asoldier were killed today duringthe operation.

Amy has also launched amassive operation in Macchilsector of North Kashmir todayafter they received inputs thata group of highly trained mili-tants has managed to infiltrateinto the area. The troops areconducting searches in vastforest areas in the sector.

In the meantime, troopsalong the LoC in North Kashmirhave been put on high alert afterArmy received inputs that thesmall groups of Special ServicesGroup (SSG) of Pakistan armyhave been deployed along with

Govind SharmaJAMMU, May 21: Not tak-

ing lesson even after getting ablow on the issue of enhance-ment of Post Graduate seatsand previous all MCI inspec-tions for enhancement ofMBBS seats from 100 to 150,Government Medical College(GMC) Jammu is still continu-ing with the policy of adho-cism.

According to the sources inHealth and Medical EducationDepartment, right from the high-est post of Principal/Dean, GMCJammu has not seen any con-firmed Principal after superan-nuation of Dr Rajinder Singh.Thereafter Dr AnieceChoudhary, Dr Shashi Gupta, Dr

Ghanshyam Gupta, Dr ZahidGillani and now acting PrincipalDr Sunandha Raina all wereopted as in-charge principal.

“Not only this, nearly 80 fac-ulty members of GMC, Jammuand Super-Speciality block havebeen placed on various posts ofAssistant and AssociateProfessors and Professors onincharge basis”, sourcesclaimed. It is worth mentioningthat the validity of these OwnPay Grade (OPG) orders is onlyfor 6 months and administrativedepartment is supposed to con-duct Departmental PromotionCommittee confirmationthrough Public ServiceCommission every six monthsas per the laid down guidelinesof PSC J&K, provided the

attempt is made by the con-cerned administrative depart-ment.

Sources further said that inevery inspection conducted byMedical Council of India forenhancement of seats,Administration of GMC Jammufelt the heat of MCI inspectorsfor big number of faculty beingon Incharge basis. As MCI onlycounts the head of faculty who isconfirmed by DPC as per theirbylaws and statues, GMCJammu could manage somehowwith the intervention of adminis-trative department by givingaffidavit by theCommissioner/Secretary notonce but a number of times withthe assurance to MCI that thefaculty members placed on

incharge basis will be confirmedby DPC/PSC in no time.

However, sources said, thatthis coming November GMCJammu and GMC Srinagarshall be heading for final callfrom MCI in the form of finalinspection with regard toavailability of teaching facultyand infrastructure as per thegazette of India notified byMCI –Minimum standardsrequirement 2017.

“Further, it is true that GMCJammu got only 13 PG seatsenhanced in comparison to 37of GMC Srinagar. This wasbased on two factors i.e. avail-ability of already PG seats andconfirmed Professors as well asAssociate Professors in various

Adhocism, vacant posts ruining premiere health institute of Jammu

*53 faculty posts vacant in SSH, 80 in GMC

* Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

* Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

WEATHERJAMMU :

Possibility of light rain/ ThundershowersTEMPERATURE

Max: 29.6 Degree C Min: 27.1 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 42.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 66.0 per centSunset on Monday: 07.28 p.m.Sunrise on Tuesday: 05.29 a.m.

SRINAGAR:Possibility of light rain/ Thundershowers

TEMPERATUREMax: 23.6 Degree C Min: 11.9 Degree C

RELATIVE HUMIDITYRH-I (Morning): 64.0 per centRH-II (Evening): 52.0 per cent

LEH: TEMPERATURE

Max: 17.7 Degree C Min: 3.5 Degree C

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All stakeholders unable to specify time-frame for start of workNo end to dilly-dallying approach towards Rs 200 cr Leh airport up-gradation project*People suffer due to lack of coordination between IAF, AAI

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JKPCC fails to finalise tendersWork on bridge worth Rs 206 cr onChenab in Khour being sabotaged

*2 local BJP MLAs warn to launch ‘hunger strike’

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Jammu womanevacuated from

Mt Everest KATHMANDU, May 21:

At least six persons, includ-ing a former Miss India finalist,were today evacuated from thehigher camps of Mount Everestafter they suffered from high-altitude sicknesses whileattempting to climb the world'shighest peak.

According to the expeditionorganisers, 52-year-oldSangeeta S Bahl, who hailsfrom Jammu and Kashmir,Argentine climbers AndresEsteban Pariz and RicardoDario Birn were airlifted fromCamp II.

Phurba Tamang, a Nepaliclimber, were also brought to

Combat crisis of Islamic

extremism: TrumpRIYADH, May 21:

US President Donald Trumpcalled on Middle Eastern lead-ers to combat a “crisis ofIslamic extremism” emanatingfrom the region, casting thefight against terrorism as a “bat-tle between good and evil,” nota clash between the West andIslam.

Trump’s address today wasthe centrepiece of his two-dayvisit to Saudi Arabia, his firststop overseas as President.

During a meeting of morethan 50 Arab and Muslim lead-ers, he sought to chart a newcourse for America’s role in theregion, one aimed squarely on

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