Excelsiordaily

REGD. NO. JK-71/18-20RNI No. 28547/65Vol No. 54 No. 342 JAMMU, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018 16 Pages `̀ 5.00

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Dec 11: TheState recorded an overallpolling of 74 per cent in thenine phases of Panchayat elec-

tions, with the last phase todaywitnessing 38.8 per cent vot-ing, election officials said.

In the nine phases, Jammurecorded 83.5 per cent voter turnout, Ladakh 67.8 per cent andKashmir 41.3 per cent, theysaid.

The polls passed off peace-fully amid tight security with nountoward incident despite a boy-cott call given by separatists andthe lurking threat of violence byterrorists, they said.

Voting for the final phasewas held today at 452 pollingstations spread across seven dis-tricts of Kashmir division and itended peacefully at 2 pm, theofficials said.

North Kashmir’s Kupwaradistrict registered the highestpolling at 53.6 per cent and thelowest was in South Kashmir’sPulwama district at 1.4 percent.

Bandipora recorded 46 percent polling, Baramulla 38.9 per

cent, Budgam 38.8 per cent,Anantnag 24.8 per cent andGanderbal witnessed 20.9 percent voting, the officials said.

In the ninth phase, 430 can-didates werecontesting for55 Sarpanchand 138 Panchposts. Sixty-eight Sarpanchsand 433 Panchshad alreadybeen electedunopposed inthis phase.

An elec-torate of 68,745was eligible tovote forSarpanch con-stituencies and20,688 for

Panch constituencies in the ninthphase.

“With the completion of vot-ing, overall 74 per cent pollingwas recorded in all the phases ofpanchayat elections in the State.Jammu witnessed an impressive83.5 per cent voting, Ladakh67.8 per cent and Kashmir 41.3per cent in all the phases,” anofficial said.

The official said the firstphase on November 17 recorded74.1 per cent voting overall, fol-lowed by 71.1 per cent in thesecond phase on November 20,75.2 per cent in the third phaseon November 24 and 71.3 percent polling in the fourth phaseon November 27.

In the fifth phase, 71.1 percent voting was witnessed onNovember 29, 76.9 per cent onDecember 1, 75.3 per cent onDecember 4 and 79.9 per centvoter turnout was recorded inthe eighth phase on December 8.

In Jammu region, the firstphase recorded 79.4 per cent

74% polling in 9 phases,38.8% in final phase

Fayaz BukhariSRINAGAR, Dec 11: Four

policemen were killed andtheir rifles snatched in a mili-tant attack at a Police Post inZainapora area of SouthKashmir's Shopian districttoday.

A group of militants openedfire at the Police Post, resultinginto on spot death of three secu-rity guards and injuries to anoth-er at Zainapora.

The injured cop was taken toa local hospital where from hewas referred to a hospital inSrinagar. However, he suc-

cumbed on way to Srinagar.The slain cops were identi-

fied as Constable AneesAhmad (Belt No. 480/ SPN),resident of Kulgam, SelectionGrade Constable Abdul Majid(193/ SPN), resident ofGanderbal, Constable Mehraj-ud-din (477/ SPN), resident ofHajin, Bandipora andConstable Hameedullah (860/SPN), resident of Anantnag.

The militants after carryingout the attack decamped withfour service rifles from the

policemen. The cops wereguarding the minority communi-ty in the area when they wereattacked.

Soon after the attack, armyand SOG of Jammu andKashmir Police launched a mas-sive hunt to nab the militantsbehind the attack.

In the meantime, the houseowner where seven civiliansdied in a blast after three mili-

tants were killed during a gun-fight in October this year, wasfound dead this morning after hewas abducted last month.

Sheeraz Ahmad Bhat wasabducted by gunmen nearly aweek after the blast and the gun-fight from his Lanoo village onOctober 27.

The body bearing torturemarks was buried in an orchardin Awahatoo village and wasrecovered by the police. Theinformation was collected dur-

ing the investigation of the caseand on the disclosure made byfew persons arrested during thecourse of the investigationrevealed about his killing andburial.

Governor Satya Pal Malikexpressed grief over the loss oflives of policemen who werekilled in the attack on a PolicePost at Zainapora in Shopian.

In a message, the Governor

has prayed for eternal peace tothe departed souls and conveyedhis sympathies to the bereavedfamilies.

Former Chief Minister andNC vice president, OmarAbdullah also condoled thedeath of cops and prayed fortheir souls."I strongly condemnthe attack on the police post inShopian and condole the deathsof three @JmuKmrPolice per-sonnel in the line of duty. I pray

4 cops killed, rifles snatched

People reject communal politics:

MehboobaExcelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Dec 11:

Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) today said the results inthe assembly polls to five stateshave shown that political awak-ening is on the rise in the coun-try as people have rejected thecommunal politics.

CRPF bunker removedafter 3 decades

Excelsior CorrespondentSRINAGAR, Dec 11:

Authorities today removed aCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) bunker constructed

soon after the onset of militancyin early nineties at the busy HariSingh High Street here.

Cong makes big gains in Hindi heartland;set to form Govts in R’sthan, C’garh

NEW DELHI, Dec 11:

A resurgent Congresstoday made significant gainsin the Assembly elections,dealing a body blow to the BJPin Chhattisgarh andRajasthan and was locked in acliffhanger in MadhyaPradesh.

The reverses for the BJP inthe Hindi heartland threw wideopen the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tions which until a few monthsago appeared to be in the grip ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi'sparty.

The Assembly polls held forfive states also saw theTelangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) recording a landslide winfor a second consecutive termand the Mizo National Front(MNF) scripting a spectacularvictory dislodging the Congressin its last bastion in theNortheast to return to powerafter 10 years.

In a shock result, theCongress ended Chief MinisterRaman Singh's uninterrupted15-year rule in Chhattisgarh. It

won 22 and was leading in 46 inthe 90-member House while theBJP was relegated to a distantsecond spot winning 3 and

ahead in 13, according to latesttrends available with theElection Commission.

Raman Singh submitted hisresignation to GovernorAnandiben Patel and said he

accepts responsibility for BJP'spoor showing.

Rajasthan Chief MinisterVasundhara Raje too handedover her resignation to GovernorKalyan Singh in Jaipur.

The Congress was headingtowards majority in the desertState, winning 87 seats andleading in another 12 out of199 seats.

The BJP had 72 seats in itskitty and was ahead in one.

As voting trends and resultsslowly trickled, the Congress,which had just 58 seats in theoutgoing Assembly in MadhyaPradesh, was set to cross the 100mark in a House of 230.

The Congress was winningor leading in 113 seats while forthe BJP this was 110.

According to ElectionCommission data, both the BJPand the Congress had around41.2 per cent votes each.

Three-time Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan, whowas battling anti-incumbency,won the Budhni seat but a dozenministers were trailing behindCongress candidates.

Senior Congress leaderJyotiraditya Scindia said thetrends reflected people's desirefor a change in Madhya Pradeshwhile State Congress chief

Kamal Nath exuded confidencethey will form the Governmentin the State.

"Trends show Congressmarching ahead to victory in

Rajasthan, MP andChhattisgarh. We are confidentthe trend will continue acrossthe country," Congress leaderSachin Pilot said in Jaipur.

In Chhattisgarh, the JanataCongress Chhattisgarh (J) offormer Chief Minister Ajit Jogiwas ahead in five seats while theCPI and the GondwanaGantantra Party and the CPI (M)were leading in one seat each.

The trends in the desert Stateof Rajasthan, showed theCongress is inching towards themagic mark of 100, winning 22and leading in 78. The outcomereflected the 20-year "revolvingdoor" trend of voters in choosingthe BJP and the Congress alter-nately.

The ruling BJP won 15 andleading in 58 of the 199 seatswhich went to polls. The BJPand the Congress had 163 and21 seats in the outgoing House.

Independents won three andwere leading in nine.

Rajasthan has a 200-memberAssembly but polling in Alwar'sRamgarh constituency was post-

Police jawans killed in a militant attack in Shopian onTuesday.

*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

Mohinder VermaJAMMU, Dec 11: In a

major blot on its performance,the State Government hasfailed to make any headway ondevelopment of twin SmartCities sanctioned by the UnionMinistry of Housing andUrban Affairs over one andhalf years back. Even thetime-frame fixed for thepreparatory activities hasbeen missed by the Housingand Urban DevelopmentDepartment.

Under Smart Cities Mission,which is an innovative and newinitiative of the UnionGovernment to drive economicgrowth and improve the qualityof life of people by enabling

local development and harness-ing technology, both the capitalcities of Jammu and Kashmirwere selected by the UnionMinistry of Housing and UrbanAffairs in the third round ofcompetition held in the month ofJune 2017.

As per the guidelines of theSmart Cities Mission, theHousing and UrbanDevelopment Department of theState Government was requiredto set up Special PurposeVehicles (SPVs), engage ProjectManagement Consultants, hirenecessary human resources, call

tenders and issue work orderswithin a period of 12 to 18months.

Though 18 months havelapsed since the selection ofJammu and Srinagar cities underSmart Cities Mission, yet onlySpecial Purpose Vehicles havebeen established for both thecities under the title---JammuSmart City Private Limited andSrinagar Smart City PrivateLimited, official sources toldEXCELSIOR.

"None of the otherpreparatory activities like

J&K fails to make any headway ondevelopment of twin Smart Cities

*Watch video on www.excelsiornews.com

Voters outside a polling booth in Pahalgamon Tuesday. -Excelsior/Sajad Dar

(Contd on page 6 Col 1)

Karan supportsdivision status

for LadakhExcelsior CorrespondentJAMMU, Dec 11: Former

Union Minister Dr Karan Singhtoday strongly supported thedemand for grant of separatedivision to Ladakh region anddescribed as "unfortunate'' PDPpresident and former ChiefMinister Mehbooba Mufti'sstatement to link the matter with

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Das is new RBIGovernor

NEW DELHI, Dec 11: Former bureaucrat

Shaktikanta Das, who spear-headed the post-demonetisationnormalisation of the economy,was today named the newGovernor of the Reserve Bankof India.

Das, 61, replaces UrjitPatel, who shocked the estab-lishment and markets by

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Sanjeev PargalJAMMU, Dec 11: Prime

Minister Narendra Modi andBJP national president AmitShah will be holding high-leveldiscussions on Lok Sabha elec-tions in Jammu and Kashmirwith top brass of the party’sState unit in New Delhi fol-lowed by Amit Shah chairing aseparate meeting with StateBJP leaders on Assembly pollson December 13. TheParliamentary and Assemblyelections are due in April-May,unless they are separated.

Insiders in the BJP told theExcelsior that the PrimeMinister and the BJP nationalpresident will also elicit opinionfrom the party leaders onwhether to go for simultaneouselections to Lok Sabha and

Assembly in April-May or deferthe Assembly elections by a cou-ple of months. Lok Sabha pollswill, however, be held in themonths of April-May.

"The BJP's preparations forthe elections including retainingthree Lok Sabha seats out of sixit won in 2014 Lok Sabha elec-tions and annex more will figureat the high level review meetingof the party. Similar will be thediscussions on the Assemblyelections as the party had won25 seats in 2014 Assembly elec-tions but now it wants to crossthe figure of 30 though publiclythe party will set the target of 44i.e. majority mark,'' sources said.

The party's strategy meetingfor Lok Sabha elections will bechaired by Amit Shah andattended by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and other seniororganizational leaders. FromJammu and Kashmir, State BJPpresident, Ravinder Raina andgeneral secretary(Organizations) Ashok Koul willbe present.

In the evening, Amit Shahwill hold another party meet-ing, which will discuss thestrategy for Assembly elec-tions in Jammu and Kashmir.This meeting will be joined byRam Madhav, BJP generalsecretary and party's point-man on Jammu and Kashmir,Union Minister of State in thePrime Minister's Office(PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh,Lok Sabha member fromJammu-Poonch, JugalKishore Sharma, Ravinder

PM, Shah to meet top BJPleaders from J&K tomorrow

LS, Assembly polls strategy on agenda

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Over Rs 80 crore Central assistance lying unutilized

Misses time-frame fixed by UnionGovt for preparatory activities

(Contd on page 6 Col 3)

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* Pic on page 6.Video on

www.excelsiornews.com

PM congratulatesCong

NEW DELHI, Dec 11: Prime Minister Narendra

Modi congratulated theCongress for its victory inAssembly polls today andsaid the BJP, which has suf-fered reverses in the elec-tions, accepts people's man-date with humility.

In a tweet, Modi also con-gratulated Telangana ChiefMinister K C Rao for his party'slandslide win in the State andMizo National Front (MNF)for its victory in Mizoram.

Modi taught mewhat not to do:

RahulNEW DELHI, Dec 11: Congress chief Rahul

Gandhi today said PrimeMinister Narendra Moditaught him "what not to do"and he also "learnt a lot"from the massive defeat inthe 2014 Lok Sabha elec-tions.

Gandhi also said thePrime Minister got a massivemandate but refused to listento "heartbeat of the country".

(Contd on page 6 Col 7)(Contd on page 6 Col 5)

TRS, MNF win; cliffhanger in MP

(Contd on page 6 Col 5)