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PM inaugurates Sindhu festival

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the three-day Sindhu festival today on the banks of the Indus (Sindhu) hoping the river, which flows into Pakistan, would carry a message of peace and friendship.

"We want friendship, but we are ready to wait with a hope that it will succeed," Vajpayee said in an indirect reiteration of his government's stand that dialogue with Pakistan will resume only after Islamabad stops aiding and abetting cross-border terrorism.

"Yeh mitrata ki nadi hai or iski dhara shanti ka sandesh hai (this is a river of friendship and its perennial stream carries the message of peace and friendship," he said.

The function at Shey village, about 10km from Leh, was attended, among others, by Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Girish Saxena, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Union Tourism Minister Ananth Kumar, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Mukut Mithi, Goa Governor Mohammad Fazal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta.

There were repeated references by leaders to last year's Kargil war against Pakistani intruders.

Abdullah recalled Pakistan's betrayal of the Lahore spirit and stressed that Islamabad's evil designs on Kashmir would never succeed.

Abdullah called for granting the status of a full-fledged army unit to the Ladakh Scouts, which fought valiantly during the Kargil conflict, losing 28 men. The Ladakh Scouts were awarded the chief of army staff's banner for their performance.

He said the runway at Kargil airport should be extended to 9,000 feet to enable Boeing aircraft to land as the area is growing as a tourist spot. The airport under construction has a 6,000ft runway. He also urged the government to invite private airlines to operate flights from Delhi to Leh regularly.

Vajpayee said the government would look into the possibility of making the Leh-Srinagar road motorable throughout the year to take care of security and civilian needs.

A large number of children lined the route from the airport to the venue as Vajpayee arrived, attired in a brown, traditional Ladakhi choga. He also laid the foundation stones for the Sindhu Cultural Centre and a hostel complex of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies.

But Vajpayee, who came to Leh from Manali, could not inaugurate the newly built complex of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. "The prime minister is not feeling well," LAHDC chairman Thupsten Chhewang said.

The complex was inaugurated by Advani, who stressed the devolution of powers to bring su-raj (good governance). "Shortcomings, if any, in the [LAHDC] will be removed," he promised.

Chhewang sought more funds from the Centre and the state government to carry out developmental activities, besides inclusion of the Ladakhi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

UNI

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