Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi address rally in J&K, rail line to be inaugurated tomorrow

A security blanket has been thrown around Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit in Srinagar on Tuesday  in view of the deadly strike by militants that left eight soldiers dead and several others injured.

Police and paramilitary CRPF personnel have been deployed in numbers across the city while in some places army is also conducting foot patrols to prevent the militants from carrying out any further attacks during the high profile visit, official sources said.

The security forces have erected barriers after every kilometer to check the antecedents of people and to regulate the movement of the vehicles, the sources said.

Sonia Gandhi addresses the rally
Against the backdrop of the Uttarakhand disaster, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi addressed the rally by stressing that the ecology and biodiversity should be protected while carrying out development projects.

"I believe that the ecology and biodiversity should be protected," Gandhi said while laying the foundation stone of 850-MW Rattle power project in this remote district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Gandhi said projects like Rattle should benefit the local population.

She expressed hope that the people whose land has been acquired for the project will get adequate compensation.

The UPA chairperson condoled the death of eight army soldiers in a militant attack in Srinagar yesterday.

Gandhi said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have shown determination to put the state on the path of peace, progress and development.

She also expressed satisfaction over the increasing number of youth from the state qualifying UPSC examinations.

"The youth have shown that given an opportunity, they can do well at all levels," Gandhi said.

Noting that the central government has launched several schemes for development and employment generation in the state, she said, "The Centre has launched Udaan and Himayat schemes for upgrading employment skills of the youth in the state.

"Recently, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi launched Umeed scheme for making the women of the state self-reliant," she said.

Gandhi said the J-K government has taken several steps for inter-linking many parts of the state.

She also applauded Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is a former J-K Chief Minister, for the leadership shown by him in the state.

PM addresses the rally
"Our analysis is that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has shown considerable improvement. The terrorist- related violence in 2012 had shown a sharp decline and was the lowest in last two decades," the Prime Minister said.

However, Singh said there was a need to keep a constant vigil to prevent attacks like the one that took place yesterday at Hyderpora.

On the power front, the Prime Minister said the Centre will provide all help to Jammu and Kashmir in overcoming the power shortage and announced several steps in this direction, including additional 150 MW supply from the Northern Grid.

Singh said that J-K was drawing 1664 MW from the Northern Grid which did not suffice the needs of the state.

"I announce an additional 150 MW for the state to meet its power requirements. I also hope that other projects like Uri II project in Baramulla will be completed soon and the state will receive power from it," he said.

Singh said a transmission line costing Rs 1629 crore between Srinagar and Leh is being laid, which will meet the electricity needs of people in Ladakh region throughout year.

The Prime Minister said the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation has taken five ITIs and plans to take two more for imparting training to the youth for working in power projects.

He said the Power Grid Corporation will also set up a training institute at Kangan in Ganderbal district.