Security forces gun down three terrorists in Srinagar
ONE OF THE TERRORISTS — A LOCAL RESIDENT — WAS INVOLVED IN THE KILLING OF TWO BSF PERSONNEL NEAR THE CITY’S PANDACH CHOWK DURING RAMZAN
nSRINAGAR: Security forces shot dead three terrorists in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar after they refused to surrender on Sunday, officials said. This was the second such operation in the city in just over a month.
Vijay Kumar, Kashmir inspector general of police, said one of the terrorists — a local resident — was involved in the killing of two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel near the city’s Pandach Chowk during Ramzan May 20.
He was identified as Shakoor Farooq Langoo of Bharthana near Srinagar. The second militant, Shahid Ahmad Bhat, was a resident of Semthan Bijbehara in South Kashmir, while the third person was yet to be identified.
They were affiliated to the Hizbul Mujahideen, a banned local group, and the Kashmir unit of the Islamic State, according to the police, who said the terrorists were working jointly.
Security personnel launched the operation after receiving intelligence inputs about their presence in a house in the densely populated Zadibal in downtown Srinagar late on Saturday night. Subsequently, the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a cordon-andsearch operation in the area’s Zoonimar. “Through our sources, we go to know of their identity and called their parents who appealed to them to surrender. But they didn’t relent...after that, an operation was launched to neutralize them,” he said.
The house owner and people from nearby houses were evacuated successfully, and the terrorists cornered during the operation. “Your mother is suffering from a heart ailment. Come out and surrender. They will help you,” the uncle of one of the terrorists said. The mother of one of them, with tears in her eyes, urged her son to lay down his arms, according to PTI.
A police spokesperson said security forces showed patience and restraint, and ensured a “clean operation with no collateral damage in a highly congested and densely populated area of
Srinagar”.
Mobile internet services were suspended in the city view of the operation. The operation came less than 24 hours of security forces killing a terrorist, a Pakistani national, at Likhdipora village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The police spokesperson said he was identified as Tayab Waleed, alias Imran Bhai, alias Gazi Baba, who was affiliated to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-mohammed.
According to police records, he was the operational commander of the JEM and an expert in making improvised explosive devices (IEDS), besides being a sharp shooter. One AK rifle, one M-4 Carbine, and a pistol, among others, were recovered from the encounter.
Security personnel have stepped up the offensive in the Kashmir Valley, killing over 100 terrorists in operations since the beginning of the year. Several of these encounters have taken place in south Kashmir, considered the hotbed of militancy. Among the major successes of security forces this year was the killing of Riyaz Naikoo, a top commander of the Hizbul, in an operation in Beighpora last month. On May 19, two top Hizbul terrorists were killed in the Safakdal area in Srinagar.
nNEWDELHI: State Pollution Control Boards are severely underperforming. The case of the Assam Pollution Control Board’s action in the ongoing Indian Oil fire case, which has devastated the global biodiversity hot spot, Dibru Sikhowa, is a case in point.
Why not learn from the Swachh Bharat Sarvekshan (SBS) — a competitive survey and ranking of Urban Local Bodies (ULBS) — to foster institutional action? The SBS relies on the ULBS to fill in the information, and sends out teams for verification. The public is also asked to participate. Of course, this has loopholes, many ULBS claim more than they do, but it forces them to act more swiftly in many areas ranking high on the survey.
Given the high toll of pollution, institutional change is urgent.
The Pollution Control Boards should be similarly ranked, with modifications. Public participation should be given more weightage.
The space given to public opinion will also serve as an incentive for the PCBS to improve public engagement and respond to complaints. Second, pollution control boards are understaffed. It isn’t all lack of funds — it’s just poor management.
Scientific posts remain unfilled — recruitment is slow, and technical capacity remains low. Being scored on this could change this. Pollution costs lives and lost lives cost the country. One can offer several remedies, but incentives for institutional strengthening are key.
The SBS is an evolving process, yet it is instructive. A Pradooshan Sarvekshan could be the low-cost incentive we need to kick-start pollution abatement. (The writer is the Founder and Director of the Chintan Environmental Research
and Action Group)
GIVEN THE HIGH TOLL OF POLLUTION, INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IS URGENT