Jammu, Jan 21: Apni Party on Wednesday held a protest demonstration against unscheduled power cuts amid bone-chilling cold in Jammu, outside the office premises of the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL).

The protest was led by Provincial Secretary and President, Trade Union, Apni Party, Ajaz Kazmi. Party leaders, including Provincial, District Presidents, and separate Wings participated in the demonstration, highlighting the plight of the general public. The protesters raised slogans in support of their demands, urging the authorities to address the power crisis in Jammu.

Addressing the peacefully protesting party leaders and workers, Ajaz Kazmi said that the electricity crisis has deepened in Jammu during the winter season, and that the JPDCL has failed to address public concerns despite consumers paying their electricity charges on a regular basis.

“The JPDCL hardly addresses the genuine concerns of the people,” he claimed. Later, Ajaz Kazmi, along with other party leaders, met the Chief Engineer of JPDCL at his office and submitted a memorandum of demands. After hearing them patiently, the Chief Engineer assured the delegation that their concerns would be looked into.

Pertinently, the memorandum sought the attention of the JPDCL towards frequent unscheduled power cuts in several residential colonies. These outages have severely affected normal life and have also disrupted the drinking water supply system due to the non-functioning of water pump stations.

During night and early morning hours, Jammu often plunges into darkness, he said, adding that this situation has left students preparing for various competitive examinations in great difficulty. The JPDCL was urged to ensure uninterrupted and adequate electricity supply to residential areas as well as water pump stations so that normal life is not adversely affected. Furthermore, it was demanded that the capacity of transformers be enhanced to prevent overloading and frequent load shedding in various areas. The replacement of burnt or damaged transformers should be expedited. Consumer care contact numbers should be widely publicised, and prompt responses must be ensured, as a majority of the public remains unaware of these facilities. The memorandum also demanded that the JPDCL ensure electricity supply to consumers who regularly pay their bills and that no consumer is harassed on one pretext or another.

Jammu, Jan 21: Union Minister of State in PMO and Union Minister of State (independent charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday directed that “Kaladi”, the GI-tagged traditional dairy product of Udhampur district, Jammu and Kashmir, be upscaled for wider food applications and recipes, while strictly preserving its original flavour, texture, and nutritional identity.

The Minister said that the focus should be on value addition and enhancement of shelf life, enabling Kaladi to reach national and international markets under the Government’s “One District One Product” (ODOP) initiative.

Dr Jitendra emphasised that any scientific intervention must be carefully calibrated so that nutrition, taste, and native character were not compromised. He said that limited shelf life was the biggest constraint in expanding Kaladi beyond local markets and said that improving shelf life through scientific validation, proper packaging, and processing, without altering its core properties, was essential for marketability and export potential.

The Minister also highlighted the scope for food recipe diversification, including fresh consumption, functional forms and alternative culinary applications, provided the traditional milky flavour, mouthfeel, and stretchable texture of Kaladi are retained.

He stressed that Kaladi’s uniqueness, often referred to as the “mozzarella of Jammu”, must remain intact even while exploring scalable formats.

During the meeting, Dr Jitendra interacted with the Directors of CSIR-Central Food Technology Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), Mysuru, Dr Giridhar Parvatam, and CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, Dr Zabeer Ahmed, and directed them to jointly work on nutrient profiling, characterisation, value addition, and shelf-life enhancement of Kaladi.

The Minister asked the two premier CSIR laboratories to collaborate closely and provide initial observations within weeks, with a comprehensive outcome expected within six months.

It was noted that Kaladi, traditionally prepared from raw full-fat milk using whey water as a coagulant, gained economic importance after receiving the GI tag, improving livelihoods and employment opportunities for local communities, particularly rural youth.

However, its short shelf life of a few days, especially under non-refrigerated conditions, remained a major bottleneck for wider distribution.

Dr Jitendra said that the project would also involve documenting traditional methods followed in different regions of Jammu and Kashmir and scientifically identifying a common, industry-friendly process suitable for scale-up.

Nutrient profiling and flavour validation will be integral to ensure consumer acceptance and regulatory validation.

The Union Minister further directed that technologies from India’s pioneering food technology institution, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru, one of the country’s most advanced and premier food research institutes, be leveraged for this initiative.

He referred to CFTRI’s recent success where food technologies developed for millet-based products have been adopted by leading global food chains, and said that similar scientific approaches and options may be explored for Kaladi, wherever feasible.

Dr Jitendra said the initiative aligned with the Government’s vision of linking science, technology, and traditional products to strengthen local economies. He expressed confidence that once shelf life and value addition challenges were addressed, Kaladi could be promoted well beyond Jammu & Kashmir, fetching better returns for farmers and artisanal producers, while showcasing the richness of Dogra cuisine on national and global platforms.

Jammu, Jan 21: As Republic Day is nearing, safety protocols are being significantly tightened across Jammu, with security forces on Wednesday conducting house to house searches in a locality with a large concentration of Rohingya Muslims, officials said.

They said additional Army troops were inducted in the higher reaches of Kishtwar district on day four of the ongoing search operation to flush out terrorists, who have escaped into deep forest after an encounter on Sunday.

Police, assisted by the Central Reserve Police Force personnel, are carrying out house to house searches at Bhatindi-Narwal-Rajiv Nagar area in the outskirts of Jammu city, officials said.

The locality houses a large number of settlements of Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslims. The search operation focused on their slums, they said, adding that no one was detained so far.

The move is part of the stringent security arrangements being made to ensure peaceful Republic Day celebrations and thwart any attempt by terrorists to cause disruption, they added.

According to officials, the security forces have already strengthened the border security grid and highway security by intensifying surveillance, checking and frisking.

In Kishtwar, additional troops were mobilised in Sonnar, Mandral-Singhpora and adjoining areas in the Chatroo belt to speed up the ongoing search for terrorists, which the Army has named ‘Operation Trashi-I’.

The operation launched on Sunday had led to a gunfight, leaving one paratrooper dead and seven soldiers injured, primarily due to splinter injuries from a sudden grenade attack by hiding terrorists.

A major terrorist hideout was busted near the encounter site on Monday and several individuals were picked up for questioning, the officials said, adding that there was no fresh contact with the terrorists.

A group of two to three terrorists, allegedly affiliated with Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, are believed to be trapped in the area, they said.

Security forces are also engaged in search and combing operations at dozens of places including Rajouri, Poonch, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Doda districts of Jammu, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel destroyed a bag with a rusty mortar shell in a controlled explosion at the Border Outpost Bundtip in Samba district, the officials added.

They said the bag was seized from some labourers collecting scrap near the Basantar-Devika river confluence.