Tag: Ladakh

First Hospital In Ladakh With Heli-Evac Facility Made Operational | Lokmarg

First Hospital In Ladakh With Heli-Evac Facility Made Operational

By LokMarg

New Helipad at Kurbathang Kargil hospital was made functional on Monday, tweeted the District Magistrate of Kargil.

One patient was airlifted to Srinagar.
This is the first hospital in Ladakh to have an option for heli-evacuation within its premises.

In November, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor R K Mathur inaugurated a 300-bed district hospital in Kargil district and stressed the need to provide the best possible health facilities to the people of the Union Territory. (ANI)

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Nyoma airfield LAC

Nyoma Airfield Near LAC To Get Upgrade, BRO To Build New Runway

By LokMarg

Amid reports of China building new military infrastructure on its side, India is soon going to begin the construction work for upgrading its Nyoma advanced landing ground for fighter aircraft operations less than 50 kilometres from the LAC in eastern Ladakh, said Indian Army officials on Thursday.
The Nyoma airfield has been used for the transportation of men and materiel during the ongoing stand-off with China and has seen operations of Chinook heavy-lift choppers and C-130J Special Operations aircraft.

“The ALG is going to be soon upgraded for fighter aircraft operations as most of the required clearances and approvals have come already. As per plans, the construction of the new airfield and the military infrastructure would be done by the Border Roads Organisation,” senior defence officials told ANI.

The capability of operating fighter aircraft from this area would strengthen the Air Force’s ability to tackle any misadventures by the adversary in a faster way.

The inauguration of the construction work is expected to begin soon in the eastern Ladakh sector after the clearances by the Modi government in the area, they said.

India has been considering multiple options for developing airfields in eastern Ladakh including Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), Fukche and Nyoma which are at a distance of a few minutes from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

The Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) has seen operations of the Apache attack helicopters, Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and the Garud special forces operations from Mi-17 helicopters.

Recently, IAF Group Captain Ajay Rathi explained the importance of having an advanced landing ground such as Nyoma.

“Nyoma ALG has strategic importance due to its close proximity to the Line of Actual Control. It bridges the critical gap between Leh airfield and the LAC enabling quick movement of men and material in eastern Ladakh, overcoming terrain friction,” Rathi had said.

The Nyoma airbase Chief Operations Officer said the ALG will “further help in quicker access to the heights and sustenance operations thereafter. The air operations infrastructure at Nyoma enhances the operations capability of forces.”

The Air Force also has deployed the Igla man-portable air defence missiles to tackle any aerial incursion by any adversary aircraft. The Indian Air Force has been regularly deploying fighter aircraft including the Rafale and MiG-29s to carry out operations in eastern Ladakh where there has been disengagement of troops at multiple locations

The Chinese have been amassing troops since 2020 and carried out aggression in the garb of an exercise after which the Indian security forces retaliated in equal measure and checked the Chinese aggression there. The Indian Air Force is also continuing to maintain its assets in Leh along with a massive upgrade of capabilities in the area. (ANI)

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J-K Tourism Receives Highest Number Of Tourists In 75 Years

By LokMarg

Jammu and Kashmir have recorded a tourist footfall of 1.62 crores for the first time in the history of 75 years of independent India.

This enhanced tourism in the Union Territory has generated the greatest employment in various regions, thus highlighting its overall development through a constructive approach, transformative initiatives, and inevitable reforms to empower J-K for its people, culture, and society.
Ever since the abrogation of Article 370, ample changes have taken place in the region.

The tourism industry in the Union Territory has been allocated Rs 786 crore, which has witnessed remarkable achievements including a significant uptick in profit generation over the last few months.

This significant boost of 184 percent (as compared to the last year’s allocated fund) has a lot to do with the betterment of infrastructural facilities in the region.

Despite the noise and attention that the region has attracted over the last few decades, basic infrastructural support and connectivity measures were never prioritized. In the last few years, rapid strides have been made in the arena of infrastructure and social development of the region and its people.

With the construction of the new Chenab bridge which was completed at the cost of Rs 1,327 crores under the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project, a corridor transit in and around the Kashmir Valley has also been planned to be completed within a limited time frame of the next four years.

The Government of India is also making a significant thrust to ensure better infrastructural facilities for the region’s people and entice visitors. This has resulted in a fortuitous surge in tourist activities with better law and order, a promising security system, and maintenance of peace in addition to infrastructural and connectivity improvements.

A tourist destination that is now being promoted on all possible global forums, Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh have witnessed their highest-ever tourist footfall and air traffic in recent years.

The Kashmir Valley has been the destination that attracted most tourists.

To maximize tourism here, direct international flights have also been introduced apart from the leisure activities that form a core part of tourism, better security and resulting faith in the law and order mechanism of the region have ensured that religious tourism within the Union Territory has always taken place smoothly and with ease.

The sector of Tourism witnessed a significant boost in April 2022 with the highest-ever record of 102 to and fro flights as well as around 15,199 average daily passengers.

As a result, a new terminal of the Srinagar International Airport was granted approval to cater to the increased footfall and possible rush for the upcoming tourist season.

For ensuring sustainable growth during months other than the tourist season, the government has also sought to establish a more balanced socio-economic development model that can seep through to the block level on a deeper level.

The idea behind the macroeconomic plan is to create jobs to the tune of 5-6 lakhs and create momentum that would help garner further capital investment in the areas of manufacturing and services.

On that front, two significant projects have been successfully managed so far– Tulip Garden of Kashmir– with an all-time greatest number of the arrival of visitors making it the highest-visited garden (during the short span of its opening week) in Asia.

Along with the same, the administration has also made changes to ensure that tourists visiting the Kashmir valley witness a mesmerizing experience at the Manasbal Lake in Ganderbal with a festival that is geared at promoting local art, culture, cuisine, and water sports.

With over 82 lakh tourists have visited the region between November 2021 to June 2022, it is clear that the transformative initiatives of the administration have pushed the sector to the brink of becoming self-sustaining or Atmanirbhar in a short span of time.

The Directorate of Information & Public Relations in its report earlier this month announced that about Jammu and Kashmir hosted around 1.62 crore tourists in the nine months since January 2022. This is the highest tourist footfall in a year since independence. Earlier, the region had an average footfall of about 10 lakh tourists which saw a huge boost in a short span of time, thereby generating substantial employment for the youth as well as local businesses.

These initiatives along with the general local-friendly approach undertaken till now have reaffirmed the faith of the locals in the administrative machinery of the state. A synergy-driven approach of the Government of India would ensure that there is peace, order, and development in the region along with ensuring meaningful participation of the people. (ANI)

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Under Modi, India More Likely To Respond Militarily: US Intel

We Want Normal Relations With Pakistan, But…: MEA

By LokMarg

India on Friday said that it favoured normal relations with Pakistan provided the atmosphere should be conducive and free from terrorism.

During a weekly presser, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We want normal relations with Pakistan, is a statement that we have always said. But it has to be in an atmosphere that is conducive and free from terrorism. I think that part is pretty well-known. I really don’t need to get into details.”
Commenting on a question about Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi slamming Pakistan for speaking on the Kashmir issue at the CICA summit, Bagchi said that her intervention has been made public and he won’t make any further comment on that as India has made its position clear on terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Yesterday during the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit, MoS Lekhi slammed Pakistan and said that Islamabad has misused the platform for propagating its false and malicious propaganda against India and advised the neighbouring country to set its house in order instead of lecturing the global community.

“It is unfortunate that Pakistan has chosen to once again misuse the CICA platform to propagate false and malicious propaganda against my country and distract from the theme and focus of today’s discussions and cooperation among the member states. The union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been and will remain an integral part of India. Pakistan has no locus standing to comment on India’s internal affairs,” MoS Lekhi said at the CICA Summit in Astana.

“Pakistan’s remarks today constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs, sovereignty, and territorial integrity which is inconsistent with the CICA declaration on the principles guiding relations between the CICA member states of September 1999,” she added.

Underlining that Pakistan remains the global epicentre of terrorism, Lekhi said it should cease cross-border terrorism against India.

“Pakistan is the global epicentre of terrorism and continues to be the source of terrorist activities including in India. Pakistan continues to make no investment in human development but provides their resources for creating and sustaining the infrastructure of terrorism,” she said.

“Pakistan must immediately cease anti-India cross-border terrorism and shut down its infrastructure of terrorism. It will do well to stop the grave and persistent human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh (PoJKL); refrain from effecting any further material changes in the status of PoJKL, and vacate the Indian territories that are under its illegal and forcible occupation”, the minister added.

Earlier, while addressing the sixth CICA summit, Pakistan’s PM mentioned Jammu and Kashmir and said that the onus remains on India to take necessary steps to engage towards result-oriented solutions.

The 6th Summit meeting of the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is being held at Astana.

As one of the founding members of CICA, India has supported CICA’s initiatives and participated in various CICA activities.

India has close and friendly ties with Kazakhstan underpinned by cultural and historical linkages. Lekhi’s visit comes at an opportune time as the two countries observe the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. The visit will further reinforce the momentum in India’s bilateral relations with countries in the region.

CICA is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation toward promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia.

It is a forum based on the recognition that there is a close link between peace, security, and stability in Asia and the rest of the world. (ANI)

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Tharoor Manifesto

Tharoor Shows a Distorted Map Of India, In Manifesto

By LokMarg

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor landed in a controversy on Friday as the manifesto shared by him for the election shows a “distorted map of India” in which he has omitted parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

He shared the distorted map of India, where he talked about ‘the decentralization of the organization.
The goof-up by Tharoor, who is running for the president’s post of the country’s oldest party does not show good precedent.

Later Tharoor rectified the blunder by replacing it with the correct map of India in his election manifesto.

This is not the first time the Lok Sabha MP has shared a distorted map of India. Earlier in 2019, Tharoor shared a ‘distorted’ map of India on Twitter. The northernmost territory of the country was missing from the map shared by the Congress leader.

In December 2019, he shared the cover of a booklet about the Kerala Congress’s protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He later deleted the tweet and rectified his mistake.

Tharoor has issued a manifesto explaining how he intends to rejuvenate the party through decentralization and internal reorganization if he wins the election.

“Every party needs leadership, but at all levels and not just at the top. The Congress must empower the party in the states by giving real authority to the PCC Presidents, decentralizing authority, and truly empowering the grassroots office-bearers of the party. We must provide a credible alternative to the BJP ‘s centralization of authority in its party affairs and in the affairs of governance. “Re-imagining the organization, delegating powers to the state, district, and block leaders, and empowering grassroots workers will not only free the new leader from the onerous burdens of over-administration but help create the strong state leadership that in past eras strengthened the Congress’ national appeal,” the Congress leader’s manifesto reads.

He also promised to increase focus on youth and to give a bigger role to women in the party

“The Congress will support leadership by women, for women, in keeping with the “Ladki boon, lad Sakti hoon” principle. Women will be encouraged to take up issues that actually matter to women in our society. More positions for women should be reserved in PCCs and in the electoral fray. The party will work to pass the women’s reservation bill. “In these efforts, the role and capacity of the All India Mahila Congress will be strengthened,” the manifesto reads.

Tharoor filed his nomination at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office in the national capital. Before that, he visited the Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

“There is a need for decentralization in this party. We are not an election machine for winning elections every five years. “We must serve the people of India,” Tharoor said.

He said the manifesto explains “how we hope to rejuvenate the party, to decentralize the organization of the party.”

“In my own efforts, I am guided by the crores of party workers who have taken the party through good times and bad and who are once again hoping for a renewed, dynamism and energy in the Congress party,” he said addressing a press conference.

“This is what I hope to bring to and through my campaign. I have a vision for Congress, for the internal reorganization of the congress, which I will send to every delegate. We are pleased that we have the signatures of party colleagues from Kashmir to Kerala and Punjab to Nagaland. I am here to be the voice of all the party workers,” Tharoor added.

The senior Congress leader also hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying things are “not really functioning properly” in the country.

“We have seen that things are not really functioning properly in our country: demonetization, historical unemployment, inflation. Congress should be the party to bring change,” he said.

Tharoor will primarily take on another veteran leader of the Congress, Mallikarjun Kharge, for the party president post. Jharkhand Congress leader KN Tripathi, too, has filed his nomination.

Earlier, Digvijaya Singh and Ashok Gehlot said that they have dropped out of the race.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister visited Kharge at his residence this morning. “I told him that I stand by him and can’t even think of contesting against him, I will be his proposer,” Singh told reporters.

Nominations for the post of Congress president closed at 3 pm today, and results will be declared on October 19. (ANI)

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Canada India

Canada: Don’t Travel To Areas In India Bordering Pak

By LokMarg

In what appears to be a bizarre travel advisory, Canada has advised its citizens to avoid all travel to areas in the states of Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan that share a border with Pakistan due to the “presence of landmines” and an “unpredictable security situation.”

“Avoid all travel to areas within 10 km of the border with Pakistan in the following states due to the unpredictable security situation and presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance: Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan,” the advisory states.
The travel advisory put out by the Canadian government on its website, which was last updated on September 27, also asks its citizens to exercise a high degree of caution in India due to the “threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country.”

This advisory excludes traveling to or within the Union Territory of Ladakh.

It also urges people to avoid non-essential travel to Assam and Manipur “due to the risk of terrorism and insurgency.”

Incidentally, India had on September 23 issued an advisory for Indian nationals and students in Canada to remain vigilant amid increasing incidents of crimes and anti-India activities in the country.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Indian missions in Canada have taken up these incidents with the Canadian authorities and requested them to probe these crimes.

“There has been a sharp increase in incidents of hate crimes, sectarian violence, and anti-Indian activities in Canada. The Ministry of External Affairs and our High Commissions/Consulates General in Canada have taken up these incidents with the Canadian authorities and requested them to investigate the said crimes and take appropriate action,” the MEA said in a statement.

The statement also stressed that “the perpetrators of these crimes have not been brought to justice so far in Canada.”

“In view of the increasing incidences of crimes as described above, Indian nationals and students from India in Canada and those proceeding to Canada for travel/education are advised to exercise due caution and remain vigilant,” the statement added.

The advisory also said Indian nationals and students from India in Canada may also register with the High Commission of India in Ottawa or the Consulates General of India in Toronto and Vancouver through their respective websites, or the MADAD portal madad.gov.in.

“Registration would enable the High Commission and the Consulates General to better connect with Indian citizens in Canada in the event of any requirement or emergency,” the advisory said.

This advisory after India termed the so-called Khalistan referendum conducted by separatist groups as a “farcical exercise”. (ANI)

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IAF's First Woman

Ready To Give Befitting Reply: IAF’s First Woman Su-30 Operator

By LokMarg

Amid the ongoing military deployment along the China front, Indian Air Force’s only female Weapon System Operator in the deadly Sukhoi-30 fighter fleet on Tuesday said pilots in the eastern sector were ready to respond to any eventuality in the area and prove their mettle in real operations.

During a visit to the Tezpur forward air base close to the China border in the eastern sector, team ANI witnessed the fighter aircraft operations of the Su-30 fighter aircraft which has been made more lethal with the induction of new weapons and electronic warfare systems.
“Being part of any actual operation is what every fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force trains for because that is where we would get to show our mettle. Our pilots from various bases in the eastern sector are ready to respond in case of any eventuality. We are always ready for any kind of tasks and challenges that may come upon us,” Flight Lieutenant Tejaswi told ANI during an interaction at the forward base.

The WSOs or wizzos are specialist officers required to fly in the rear cockpit of multirole Su-30 fighter aircraft and handle the sensors and weapons to be fired by the aircraft at enemy targets.

Speaking exclusively to ANI on being asked about how she felt being part of operations during the ongoing standoff with China at the borders, she said, “What runs through, our minds is not very different during demanding times because such operations are an execution of what we practice on a daily basis.”

Asked about the experience of fighter pilots during the multiple joint Army-Air Force joint operations during the recent wargames, another Su-30 fighter pilot Flight Lieutenant Sakshya Bajpai said the experience of flying during these wargames was always very thrilling as it helps pilots to prepare better for carrying out actual operations.

“The training missions help us to get oriented and help us to get ready for any contingency and live up to our motto ‘Touch the Sky with Glory’.

On the specialty of flying fighter jets in the hilly densely forested terrain in the country’s eastern parts, Bajpai said it was a challenge due to the unpredictable nature of weather and terrain here.

“Extensive training and practice in this region help us to prepare for any challenge that may come our way,” he said.

In the last two years, India has been engaged in a military stand-off with China along the northern borders in Ladakh due to which forces are at a heightened alert all along the Line of Actual Control.

The Indian Air Force has been flying extensively in the sector to keep the adversary in check and the mainstay of the force in the region has been the Su-30 MKI fighter along with the one squadron of the Rafale jets in Hashimara, West Bengal.

The Su-30s have replaced the MiG-21s and the other variety of aircraft that were operating in the northeast and fly extensively near the LAC from their bases in the northeast. (ANI)

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