GNS RAJOURI

GNS Jammu, September 24: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee condoled the death of Shri Basant Sathe, former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader. A condolence meeting was held at PCC HQ. Shaheedi Chowk, Jammu under the chairmanship of Senior Vice President PCC Shri Dharam Pal Sharma-Ex-MP. The meeting expressed deep shock and grief over the sad demise of Shri Basant Sathe and described him a great politician, parliamentarian and a strong congress leader who served his constituency for several terms and remained union minister for a long time. The leaders conveyed their heartfelt condolence to bereaved family and prayed for peace to the departed soul in heaven. A two minutes silence was observed in the memory of departed soul. Prominent among those who condoled the death S/Shri Amrit Malhotra-MLC, Th. Hari Singh, Yash Paul Khajuria-MLC, S. Gurmukh Singh, Mula Ram; General Secretary & Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma-MLC, Mehrajudin Zargar, Manmohan Singh, Hari Singh Chib

By Zafar Iqbal The International Court of Arbitration (COA) has directed India to stop construction of Kishanganga Hydroelectric Power Project (KHEP), attesting the Pakistani claim that the project is violation of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.Since 2007 the KHEP has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan and remained a major part of Indo-Pak negotiations to resolve the mutual disputes, nonetheless, after failure of bilateral talks Pakistan raised it at the COA where it reiterated that the construction of Indian power project will result into a shortfall of about 21% of the river Neelum’s inflow and it will badly affect the expected usage of the already under construction Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) in Pakistani Kashmir.A leading Chinese consortium is working on the NJHP on the same river upon which India has started the KHEP. Due to involvement of Chinese firms in this project Indian government has also expressed concerns over Chinese presence in the region. In

By Tahir Mushtaq JAMMU, Sept 24: In an effort to boost pilgrim tourism, the Vaishno Devi cave shrine will be connected by a Rs 65 crore cable ropeway project between Bhawan and Bhairon Ghati. According to sources, in the recent meeting of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) the two main projects costing Rs 65 crore for establishment of the ropeways for material and passengers was sanctioned. The material ropeway will be constructed from Siar Dabri near Katra to Vaishno Devi Bhawan while passenger ropeway is being constructed from Bhawan to Bhairon Ghati. Water supply scheme to Adh Kunwari was also lifted from Siar Dabri while work was on at a similar scheme to Bhawan from the same spot. The material ropeway will immensely benefit the pilgrims as it will lead to quick supply of essential commodities to Vaishno Bhawan and other places from Katra, the base camp of the shrine. It will also help in construction of rest houses. The passenger ropeway will boost pilgrimage to Bhairon