DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU

MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 (PAGE 7)

NEW DELHI, Apr 8: The much-awaited integrated check post at Attari and Wagah border will be inaugurated on April 13, a step which would boost Indias exports of vegetables, animals and yarn to Pakistan. With dedicated passenger and cargo terminals and adequate customs and immigration facilities, traders and officials are hopeful that opening up of the post would boost trade manifold between the countries. The post would be inaugurated by Home Minister P Chidambaram. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will also be present on the occasion. According to sources, the Pakistan commerce minister and the chief minister of Pakistans Punjab province would inaugurate their side of the check post. The opening of the modern ICP would boost trade manifold between the countries. More and more number of trucks would now cross the borders, Ficci Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said. Federation of Indian Export Organisations President Rafeeq Ahmed said that traders of both the sides were eagerly waiting for opening up of this post. This would be the nodal point. It would reduce transportation time and cost to both exporters and importers. Both the sides will be benefited from this post, he said. According to an official on an average, 200 trucks laden with Indian merchandise cross the Wagah border daily at present. The post would enable passage 10 times more number of trucks conveniently. Pakistan has recently notified a list of 137 items which can be imported from India through land route. The list include vegetables as well as animals like buffaloes and cows. Chidambaram had laid the foundation stone of the project in February 2010. The project was envisaged to boost the trade And commerce between India and Pakistan is being constructed at a cost of about Rs 150 crore on 130 acres of land acquired by the Punjab Government. (PTI)

Integrated checkpost at Unease growing in Cong Pakistan army hopes miracle Attari to open on Apr will save avalanche victims in crucial states?
Congress is still groping for the way ahead after the debacle in the assembly polls last year. There have been strains between the Congress and the DMK, which is a UPA constituent, while the ruling AIADMK and the BJP coming together cannot be ruled out. The Congress won just five seats in the assembly polls last year. Yesterday, the Congress held a big rally in Tiruchirapalli to project the good work done by the Manmohan Singh Government including Union Budget and India voting against Sri Lanka and resolution of the Kudankulam issue. Congress leaders from Maharashtra are seeking corrective steps in the wake of the defeat of the party in the Mumbai civic polls. Congressmen in Maharashtra are also alarmed over Sharad Pawars NCP making a common cause with the Shiv Sena and the BJP in some Zila Parishads in Vidarbha despite his party sharing power with it in the state and the Centre. In Rajasthan, theres trouble brewing in the party with a section of MLAs loyal to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi launching a campaign against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, holding him responsible for poor governance and a paralysed system. In Madhya Pradesh, sulking leaders like former Union minister Aslam Sher Khan have started a Madhya Pradesh Congressjan Sanghursh Samiti. In Chhattisgarh, there has been tussle between supporters and detractors of former chief minister Ajit Jogi. In both the states, the Congress is in the Opposition for nearly a decade. Partymen in Bihar are demanding that there should be a new PCC chief as the assembly polls held over a year ago saw a waterloo of the party. With the party securing just four seats out of the total 243 in the assembly polls, state party chief Chaudhury Mehboob Ali Kaiser had put in his papers long back on moral grounds. After Rahul Gandhi reviewed the Uttar Pradesh poll debacle, another review committee led by senior leader A K Antony is going into the causes of the Congress rout in UP and Goa as also the shock defeat in Punjab and the performance in Uttarakhand. We will have to sit down and look at the situation and the results in every single state and then together work out a plan to correct the mistakes we have made, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had said last month after the results in UP, Punjab and Goa were out. The review committee is expected to give its report to the party chief by the month end. (PTI) ISLAMABAD, Apr 8: Pakistans military hoped for a miracle today as rescue teams searched for 124 soldiers and 11 civilians buried by a Himalayan avalanche near the Indian border, with no sign of survivors more 24 hours later. The avalanche engulfed a Pakistani army battalion headquarters near a glacier yesterday, leaving snow up to 25 metres deep over an area a kilometre wide. The victims are trapped in one of the most unforgiving environments on Earth, at an altitude of 4,500 metres near the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram mountain range. Lets hope for a miracle, a military official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. Helicopter rescue teams and troops on the ground with sniffer dogs were racing against time. On Wednesday and Thursday, we expect cloudy conditions and some snowfall as well which will make it difficult for any rescue operations to continue, said meteorologist Mohammed Hanif on state television. The area is also one of the worlds most militarily tense frontiers, where the Indian and Pakistani armies have confronted each other over disputed territory for decades. Eleven civilian employees of the military were buried under the snow along with the soldiers of the

NEW DELHI, Apr 8: The Congress may have reviewed its poll debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but unease is growing in the party in crucial states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which had returned spectacular results in the last two Lok Sabha elections. With Lok Sabha elections not far away, the Congress high command seems to be worried over the state of affairs in various states including those from where it got good numbers in parliament elections of 2009. Andhra Pradesh, the only big state where the party is in power on its own and has 30-odd seats in the Lok Sabha, is slipping fast in the wake of the parting of ways by Jagan Mohan Reddy and the burning issue of separate Telangana. Only last week, the central leadership held marathon parleys with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and state Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana, ahead of the crucial by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats. The situation has been compounded by the fact that the chief minister and the PCC chief are not on the best of terms. NEW DELHI, Apr 8: In Tamil Nadu, where again Murli Manohar Joshi, the chairman of the outgoing Public the party had a good run in the Accounts Committee, is among the 15 Lok Sabha members elected last two general elections, the to the prestigious Parliamentary panel for its next term. Among the fresh faces in the new PAC, which will begin its one-year term from May 1, are former Union minister Shashi Tharoor and T K S Elangovan (DMK). While 10 members of the outgoing committee continue to be part of the new panel, Jagdambika Pal, K Sudhakaran, K Samba Siva Rao - all Congress, Rewati Raman Singh (SP) and Adhi Shankar (DMK) are not part of it. They have made way for Tharoor, Ashok Tanwar and Sarvey Sathyanaranan - all Congress, Elangovan (DMK) and Dharmendra Yadav (SP). An election was averted as 15 nominations were received for as many vacancies in the Lok Sabha. A similar exercise for seven Rajya Sabha seats is expected later this month. As Chairman of the 2011-12 PAC, Joshi had circulated the controversial draft report of the panel on 2G issue to the members of the outgoing committee, terming it as unfinished agenda of the 2010-11 committee, when the report could not be adopted following fierce opposition by Congress members. (PTI)

M M Joshi among 15 Lok Sabha members elected to new PAC team

6 Northern Light Infantry Battalion, the military said in a statement. The army listed the names of the missing on its public relations website, from officers to waiters to barbers. The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 64 year history, setting foreign and security policy even when civilian governments are in power, as is the case now. Siachen is in the northern part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir. The no-mans-land of Siachen is 6,000 metres above sea level. Military experts say the inhospitable climate and avalancheprone terrain have claimed more lives than gunfire. Muslim-majority Kashmir is at

the heart of hostility between India and Pakistan and was the cause of two of their three full-scale wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Siachen has been described as the worlds highest battlefield. Indian and Pakistani troops have fought at altitudes of over 20,000 feet in temperatures of minus 60 degrees Celsius. Between 10,000 and 20,000 Indian and Pakistani troops are stationed in the mountains above the glacier. A tentative peace process is under way, with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, the first visit to India by a Pakistani head of state since 2005. (AGENCIES)

PMs rural road scheme not permanent solution: Ramesh

nance, then it will have no money to spend on creating other infrastructure, the Minister said, adding that we have to recognise its limitations. Ramesh inaugurated a seminar on engendering physical infrastructure via PMGSY here this morning. He stated that as the Central Government schemes are devised at the national level, there is no scope of variation to fit the local needs. Though PMGSY was conceptualised ten years ago, the actual implementation started only six years ago, he said. State Governments are asking for funds for repairs and maintenance of PMGSY roads, and at the same time they raise a cry about federal structure, he said, in a veiled dig at the states who have opposed the proposed counter-terrorism centre. Ramesh said 50 per cent of the rural development funds will be given to the State Governments by the end of the 12th five year plan, so that the spending could be as per the states own priorities. The Union Minister also said that PMGSY was an asset, it had benefited everybody, including the women. PMGSY is for the villages which have population of 500 or more. Ramesh said that states such as Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra had launched similar schemes to connect habitations which have less population, which was a welcome step. He also said that he was considering extending the benefit of pension for widows to those in under-40 age group, as widows in the age group of less than 40 are among the most unprivileged. Currently, only those in 40-49 age group are eligible. (PTI)

Nair demands probe into Radhakrishnans role in scrapping deal

BANGALORE, Apr 8: Accusing ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan of misleading Government on the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, his predecessor G Madhavan Nair today pressed the Centre to order a probe into his role in the cancellation of the contract saying only this would bring out the facts. They (the government) must look at whats Radhakrishnans role in cancelling the contract. What is his interest in cancelling the contract? Was he under pressure from some quarter or other? Or was it his own making?, Nair told. Thats what is to be investigated. He (Radhakrishnan) had done lot of damage to the Government in the process, and he has to answer these things, he said. On the affidavit filed by the Department of Space (DoS) before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Kochi, Nair said there was nothing new in it. They have told the same story they have put out earlier. Nair said the DoS keeps on harping that Devas sold its shares at a high value but pointed out that thats not in the purview of the DoS at all. Unnecessarily, they (DoS) are trying to bark at the wrong tree. He also said while Antrix-Devas deal was signed in 2004-05, when Nair was Secretary in the DoS and ISRO Chairman, sale of shares of Devas took place in 2010 when Radhakrishnan was in-charge (as DoS Secretary and ISRO Chairman). And he (Radhakrishnan) is answerable for these things. Not me. If the Department of Space has come to know that there was a share sale at a higher price in 2010, until 2011 they kept quiet and now in 2012 only they are taking some action on Devas. Its a problem of Devas and not any one of us, the former ISRO chief said. On DoS contention that the commitment for building a second satellite under the Antrix-Devas deal and the expenditure on it was without any financial authorisation from the Union Cabinet, Nair said the idea was mooted in September 2009 and Radhakrishnan was a member of the Space Commission which endorsed it at its meeting And minutes of the meeting were approved by him (Radhakrishnan) in March 2010. So, he (Radhakrishnan) is responsible for it, not me. He (Radhakrishnan) also has to share responsibility, he said. Nair said an Additional Secretary in the Department of Space has been named in the report of Pratyush Sinha committee (appointed by the government to probe the deal) in regard to preparing minutes of the meeting, while there is no mention of Radhakrishnan (who was part of this five-member committee) who approved them. He said the contents of the affidavit were as expected as DoS has no legal points to defend the case against him. So, they will go for tarnishing the image rather than legally fighting it out, Nair alleged On how he read the affidavit, he said: They are trying to save their skin. They want to pass the buck to somebody else. Nair also noted that the affidavit does not cite a single rule that he violated. He charged the ISRO Chairman with giving wrong inputs to the Pratyush Sinha committee, where Radhakrishnan himself was sitting as a member. He (Radhakrishnan) has distorted the whole thing and that has to be seen by the Government, by an independent team. Then only facts will come out. I think thats what the government should seriously consider. Government has been misled (by Radhakrishnan). Nair had moved the CAT last month challenging the Governments decision to bar him from holding Government posts for his alleged role in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and seeking its quashing. Seeking dismissal of Nairs plea, the Centre, in its affidavit, said yesterday there were lapses and irregularities on his part in the Antrix-Devas deal and Government had to take action on the basis of findings of two highlevel committees. (PTI)

MUMBAI, Apr 8: Building roads in the rural areas is the job of the State Governments, and Pradhan NEW DELHI, Apr 8: Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Inmates lodged in Tihar will strike a different note and get their (PMGSY) could not be a longown Indian Idol as a singing talent hunt will soon be organised in term solution to the problem of lack of roads, Union Rural the jails. A production houseRVP Directorsis looking for singers, Development Minister Jairam song writers and musicians amongst inmates lodged in all the nine Ramesh said here today. If the Central Government jails of the Tihar Prisons and will soon conduct audition for the focused on construction of rural same inside the prison complex. Expected to take off in a weeks time, the selected Tihar Idol roads and their repairs and maintewill be involved in developing four albums comprising of punjabi track, hindi, devotional songs and hindi oldies. The musician, the singer and the song composer, all the persons involved in developing the album will be selected from amongst the inmates, R N Sharma, DIG, Tihar Prisons said. RVP Directors came forward with the idea after they read about our launch of sarangi maestro Kamal Sabris music album Sarangi Redefined in Tihar which features vocals and music by NEW YORK, Apr 8: Tihars inmates. So as we have our Indian Idol, here we will have Actor Shahrukh Khans public our own Tihar Idol, Sharma said. Sunil Gupta, spokesperson Tihar Prisons said, Our inmates are persona and life, beyond his talented lot and this we are doing as part of the reformation pro- Bollywood successes, will be the gramme. Their talent must get an opportunity. It will in a way help focus of his interaction with students and faculty of Yale University in stopping them from being repeat offenders. We had read the DG Prisons, Neeraj Kumars interest in devel- when he visits the prestigious US oping rockbands from within the prisons. The album already institution later this week on a felreleased has various genres, including Indian classical, folk, jazz, lowship. Khan will visit Yale on April 12 rap and more. If there is talent inside the prison then why not as a Chubb fellow, considered explore it, Rahul Suneja, owner of RVP Directors said. The audition is expected to begin in another seven to eight days. among Yales highest honours. His Once the forms are ready, we will distribute it in the prisons. day will include interactions with We are looking for singers, musicians and lyricists from amongst students, faculty and a public lecthe inmates. We will hunt the talent, short-list them, groom them for ture at the university. The Chubb fellowship so far our album. We will create studios here inside and then devlop the has been bestowed on heads of CDs, he said. Sharma said, There is lot of music lovers amongst our inmates states, Nobel prize winners and and they are enthusiastic about it. A portion of the profits from the public leaders from every walk of life. CDs will utilised for the welfare of the inmates. (PTI) George Joseph, assistant secre-

Tihar to have its own Indian Idol

Shah Rukh Khans life, work to be in focus at Yale

tary of international affairs at Yale, said Khans day at the Connecticutbased Ivy league university would not be focussed solely around his Bollywood career but will give students a chance to discuss with him the challenges that shaped his career path and his contributions to social causes. The interaction with Khan is not going to be focused around his Bollywood career but on the issues he has taken up over the years in his public life as well as in in his movies. This is a chance for students to get a sense of him as an individual and understand the kinds of passion he has, including the work he has done in the fields of education, health and environment, Joseph told. He said since Chubb fellows are distinguished persons from every walk of life, a key aspect of the fellowship is interaction with students. Chubb fellows are role models for Yale students who have contributed significantly through their work to the public life. Khan represents a model of public life. Through his films and philanthropy, the Chubb fellowship noted that Khan has been among his generations most important examples of the power of art to promote higher human ideals and inspirations, the university said. It is not just Khans Bollywood success that is an attraction for Yales students. He has engaged in philanthropy in different ways and used his public role to advance common good, Joseph added. With a strong population of Indian students, Yale has been focussing on strengthening its involvement with India over the past few years. Indians constitute the second largest number of international students at Yale after China. There is a growing interest in everything South Asia at Yale, Joseph said. In this context, Yale students had been keen on inviting Khan to the university. As a public figure in India, Khan is an inspiration to millions in the country and as Yale students prepare themselves for their respective calling in public life, they can learn a lot from the way Khan has shaped his career, Joseph said. Khans visit this week is the culmination of efforts that started in 2008-09, when students first discussed the idea to invite him to the university. The visit will be one of the rare occasions when Khan will address a forum for students outside India and the excitement at the university is unprecedented. Seats for a 2000capacity theatre, where Khan will deliver his 90-minute lecture, were booked within two days of the announcement. (PTI)

Bring change at local level first: Hazare

MUMBAI, Apr 8: Social activist Anna Hazare today said that people should first bring about a change in their own localities before thinking of changing the country. First change your locality and then think of changing the country. The lanes should be developed first to bring about a change in the country, Hazare said. The Gandhian, who hails from Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, said in his village people used to sleep without food, water and other facilities earlier. But then people changed it and prosperity can be seen all over now, he said. He also expressed unhappiness over the dwindling number of politicians, who think that India could grow. During the elections, people talk for long hours. But later they do not act upon it. There are only a few people left in the politics, who think that India would grow. Their number has dwindled now, Anna said. He said that development and putting an end to corruption are two important things. First thing is development. All-round development is a must for the countrys growth. However, during this development, one should also bring an end to corruption. Development and corruption are two sides of the same coin. Hazare was talking to media after inaugurating an exhibition of photographs at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh here in south Mumbai today. The exhibition displays moments from his daily life in Ralegan Siddhi. The photographs were clicked by Mumbai resident Vishal Yadav, who works as a driver for a Hindi news channel. The exhibition has showed the other side of my agitation. The pictures show what happened before the agitation...What I was drinking, eating and doing. (PTI)

Potential job losses in telecom sector enormous, feel experts

NEW DELHI, Apr 8: The potential job losses in the Indian telecom industry are enormous in the wake of 2G licence cancellations and many of the affected entities have started trimming their workforce, according to HR experts. Most of the companies whose 2G licences were cancelled are reducing their workforce. This is happening at all levels Only people at key strategic positions are being retained..., HR firm TeamLease Services General Manager (Services) Madhubala Vaidyanathan said. The Supreme Court in February cancelled as many as 122 licences for 2G spectrum, a move that has resulted in uncertainty in the fastgrowing telecom sector. Potential job loss is quite enormous as the telecom industry was supposed to have provided thousands of jobs which would have done good for the economy, Vaidyanathan said. Executive search firm GlobalHunts Director Sunil Goel said that there could be potential job losses by looking at local market scenario for the telecom space. However, hospitality, FMCG, financial services and banking would be resource grabbing industries for ideal surplus resources from sales and marketing, customer service areas, Goel added. Another executive search firm Spearhead InterSearch MD Jyorden Misra said new telecom companies that had hired actively to support their anticipated operational scale up, are facing the unexpected scenario of licence cancellations. This has brought an abrupt halt to any hiring plans in the offing..., he noted. Further, Misra said existing companies have been adopting cost rationalisation and efficiency optimisation approach resulting in modest increments and moderate hiring plans. Telecom industry, one of the sunrise industry, was considered a major job creator for the economy. Experts noted that there is enough talent pool available for the telecom sector. There is more supply of skilled and trained resources than demand in the market..., Goel said. Noting that telecom industry is presently going through a tough phase, Goel pointed out that consolidation and right sizing are expected in the telecom industry for next one year. Demand should surge again once everything stabilises, including options for overseas opportunities where there is huge demand for Indian telecom professionals, he said. Morever, the telecom equipment and infrastructure companies are feeling the heat. The telecom equipment companies were looking at negative growth in 2011 and 2012 would not be any better. Since there is drop in sales and revenue, manpower layoffs would be a factor of it and is expected, Vaidyanathan said. (PTI)

BORDER ROADS ORGANISATION NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (NATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING)

The Chief Engineer Project Vijayak C/o 56 APO, Pin-931721 invites tender from the eligible contractors for the following works :Particulars of work 1. Supply of various size of tyre outer covers, tube inners and flap rust to be delivered at 1060 Field Workshop (Kargil) under 762 BRTF, in Jammu & Kashmir State under Project Vijayak from the original manufacturer or dealers authorised by the original manufacturer or make JK, Apollo, Ceat, Dunlop, MRF and Birla; Tender No. CE (P) VJK/37/2011-12 2. Supply of various type of batteries to be delivered at 1060 Field Workshop (Kargil) under 762 BRTF in Jammu & Kashmir State under Project Vijayak from the original manufacturer or dealers authorised by the original manufacturer of make Exide, Luminous, Lucas, and Amron: Tender No. CE (P) VJK/38/2011-12 (c) Earnest Money : ` 24,500/(a) Cost : ` 12.25 Lacs (b) Period of Completion : 90 days (a) Cost of Tender : ` 500/(b) Availability : On or after 11-04-2012 (c) Submission : Upto 1500 Hrs on 08-05-2012 (c) Earnest Money : ` 45,000/(c) Submission : Up to 1500 Hrs on 08-05-2012 b) Period of completion: 90 days (b) Availability : On or after 11-04-2012 Cost / Time of work (a) Cost : ` 30.00 Lacs Details of tender documents (a) Cost of tender : ` 500/-

Note : Full notice of tender, any change in above details, tender documents (including eligibility criteria) and other details may be obtained from BRO web site www.bro.gov.in or CPPP http://eprocure.gov.in.epublish/app. For any queries please contact on telephone 1985-234124/25 or Fax 01985-234120.
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