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| Lashkar militants target Wullar barrage, blow up IED | | SSP Bandipora denies! | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Aug 28: Militants belonging to Laskhkar-e-Toiba detonated an IED and made desperate attempts to blow up the concrete structures of Wullar barrage.
Official sources said that militants numbering 7, appeared at the site of the work of wullar barrage in Bandipora district of North Kashmir at around 10 PM in the night. They added that the heavily armed militants rounded up the workers, threatened them of dire consequences, asking them to leave site of work within shortest possible time. Terrified workers could not even raise alarm, sources confirmed.
They said that the militants inspected the site of the work for around five and a half hours. During this time, three of the seven militants forced the engineering staff to start machines which included JCBs and other heavy machines for raising down the structures which have been built during the last 28 years, said an official. He disclosed that the use of machines has caused loss of around Rs.25 to 30 lakhs.
They wanted the workers to bring down the concrete structures, said the source. He added that workers were forced to use even iron hammers and other instruments. Sources stressed that when the efforts did not materialize, militants thrashed the engineering staff. They said that they warned not to return to the site of the work. Later, the militants planted an IED at the site of the work.
The militants left the site of work at around 3.30 in the morning, sources confirmed. They did not leave before telling the workers that the site has strategic importance for Pakistan and hence, they should not work here. While they were leaving, workers at the site have reportedly told the PHE Minister Taj Mohiuddin that the militants promised to return. "The workers are terrified. They have been told to leave the site of the work," said a close aide of PHE Minister.
The IED blew off at around 10 am in the morning, sources said. Police sources said that they had no clues about the movement of militants around this sensitive site. They accepted that the militants sneaked in, possibly with the help of some insiders. A senior police officer said that the militants have for the first time tried to damage a project in Jammu and Kashmir which has international importance both for India and Pakistan.
He added that initial investigation has pointed towards the involvement of Laskhkar-e-Toiba. "We are looking into the movement of militants and trying to ascertain the route which they might have taken to reach to this critical site. We have got some clues and we are working on them," said the official. He said that a contingent of police has been moved in at the site of the work to prevent future occurrences. Army has also been asked to coordinate with local police in ensuring safety of the structures which have been raised at the site of wuller Barrage.
However, Police as well as Divisional Administration is tightlipped over the incident. PHE Minister Taj Mohiuddin when contacted confirmed that militants had reached the site of wullar barrage but refused to divulge the details. However, SSP Bandipora Bashir Khan expressed ignorance about the incident. "No such event took place here ," said Khan. Deputy commissioner Bandipora Manzoor Lone could not be reached for comments.
It needs to be mentioned here that wullar Barrage Project is a "navigation lock-cum-control structure" at the mouth of Wular Lake. According to the original plan, the barrage was expected to be of 439 feet (134 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, and would have a maximum storage capacity of 300,000 acre feet (370,000,000 m3) of water. One aim was to regulate the release of water from the natural storage in the lake to maintain a minimum draught of 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in the river up to Baramulla during the lean winter months. The project was conceived in the early 1980s and work began in 1984.
There has been an ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan over the barrage Project since 1987, when Pakistan objected that the it violated the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. India stopped work on the project that year, but has since pressed to restart construction. The Jhelum River through the Kashmir valley below Wular Lake provides an important means of transport for goods and people. To sustain navigation throughout the year a minimum depth of water is needed.
India contends that this makes development of the barrage project permissible under the treaty, while Pakistan maintains that the project is a violation of the treaty. India says suspension of work is harming the interests of people of Jammu and Kashmir and also depriving the people of Pakistan of irrigation and power benefits that may accrue from regulated water releases.
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