 |
|
Pak troops return soldier after quake
Passenger to PoK dies in quake
Passenger on bus to Pak loses brother in quake
Advani visits quake-hit areas
VVIPs’ visits impede rescue work
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bodies of forty labourers recovered
Militants suspend “operations”
Rumours lead to panic in valley
Hurriyat’s meeting deferred
|
|
Pak troops return soldier after quake
Srinagar, October 10 “One of our soldiers, who had gone across the Line of Control was returned by the Pakistanis in the Tangdhar sector,” J-K Governor Lt. Gen S. K. Sinha (retd) said after visiting Tangdhar, which has been among the worst-affected areas by the quake. During his visit to the affected border pockets General Sinha was told that the Army had lost 54 personnel. Some of the forward defences and pickets had also suffered heavy damage. At ‘Eagle’ picket in the sector, 12 soldiers went down 3,000 feet with the landslide. Their bodies are yet to be recovered. Flag meetings have been held on the Line of Control with the Pakistani commanders and help offered. He said Army patrols had gone out and contacted remote villages to assess the damage and recover casualties. The Governor said the devastation in the state due to the quake had been tremendous. “Poonch in the Jammu province has also suffered but the damage there is much less. Thirteen persons have been killed and 50 injured,” he added. General Sinha said the Army and the Air Force had been doing “excellent” rescue and relief works and also acknowledged the civil administration’s role in providing succour to the victims. The Governor, who is also the President of the Red Cross, said the organisation was being mobilized to meet the situation. About relief and rescue measures, the Governor said serious casualties were being evacuated from affected areas to Srinagar and treated in both Army and civil hospitals. “The Air Force helicopters are running a constant shuttle service,” he said.
— PTI |
|
Passenger to PoK dies in quake
Jammu, October 10 His family members had been waiting for a word from him since Saturday when the earthquake hit the area. They were stunned when the injured Subhash, nephew of Mr Basti Ram, rang up the family here this afternoon to inform them about the tragedy. Subhash and his father, Mr Jagdish Lal Tandon, were badly injured due to the quake on October 8. They were among the first ever non-Muslim delegation comprising four Sikhs and three Hindus who went to PoK on October 6, two days before the earthquake, to visit their ancestral houses in Hattian Dupatta near Muzaffarabad. They had migrated here during the Partition. Kamal Tandon, another son of Mr Jagdish Lal Tandon, confirmed that he had received a telephone call from Subhash, who was admitted to a medical camp near Muzaffarabad. Subhash informed him about the death of Mr.Basti Ram, who had cherished the hope of revisiting his ancestral home. Kamal Tandon has urged the government to airlift his injured father and brother from Muzaffarabad so that they could get proper treatment in the hospital here. Meanwhile, with no word from other passengers, who had gone to Muzaffarabad on October 6, their relatives were spending sleepless nights. |
|
Passenger on bus to Pak loses brother in quake
Jammu, October 10 According to information received by family members of the deceased here in Jammu, Basti Ram Tandon
succumbed to his injuries on Monday afternoon after battling for life for more than 48 hours. Basti Ram Tandon had accompanied his brother Jagdish Raj, and his son Subash Tandon to Muzaffarabad to meet their separated relatives living in Hattian Dopattian in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The family was among the two richest families of PoK before they migrated from Muzaffarabad during Partition. The family could not be contacted earlier after the telephone links were snapped due to the earthquake. The trio had gone to PoK on an invitation of PoK authorities to meet Maqbool Bhai Jaan and other family members who had converted to Islam after the Partition. Wife of Subash Tandon, Ms Jyoti Tandon, said in Jammu that her husband and father-in-law were also injured and were waiting for help. “We have also requested the state government to help us so that we can bring them back”, she added. |
|
Advani visits quake-hit areas
Srinagar, October 10 Mr Advani, who arrived here this afternoon, flew to Uri to express sympathies with the quake-affected families. He was briefed at Uri by senior Army and civil officials about the devastation caused by the killer earthquake. The BJP chief was also informed about the rescue and relief operations undertaken by the Army, the Indian Air Force and the civil administration there. Uri is one of the two most affected areas in the valley by the devastating earthquake which left more than 1,000 persons dead and 4,000 others wounded, besides more than a lakh
homeless. Mr Advani then flew to Poonch in the Jammu region where about 10 persons were killed and hundreds rendered homeless due to the powerful quake. The BJP chief later left for New Delhi.
— UNI |
|
VVIPs’ visits impede rescue work
Uri (J&K), October 10 In their hour of grief resulting from the killer earthquake, people of these northern parts of Kashmir have already been visited by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani and other VVIPs who came to express sympathies and promise all help. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is on his way. The problem with VVIP visits is that they ironically serve as a distraction in rescue and relief operations. Visits by personalities like the Prime Minister, the Congress president and the BJP president to the quake-hit areas means shifting of the administration’s focus to protocol and security of the highly-protected leaders, officials said here.
— PTI |
|
Bodies of forty labourers recovered
Srinagar, October 10 Eighteen labourers and three personnel of the BRO’s engineering wing, General Road Engineering Force (GREF), are still missing, a Defence spokesman told UNI here today. He said 58 labourers working with the BRO’s engineering wing, General Road Engineering Force (GREF), had gone missing as several landslides hit the area between Salamabad and the Kaman Post or Aman Setu. The spokesman said three GREF personnel had also gone missing. He said bodies of 40 labourers had been recovered by the rescue teams sent there. Efforts were being made to recover the bodies of other missing persons, he added. The spokesman said several landslides had hit the border area after the earthquake. These men were clearing the road when more landslides were triggered by aftershocks, he added.
— UNI |
|
Militants suspend “operations”
Srinagar, October 10 A local news agency here, received a faxed message of the UJC from Muzaffarabad yesterday. The message stated that the decision to suspend the operations was taken at an emergency meeting of the council headed by its chairman, Syed Salahauddin, who is also the supreme commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.
— TNS |
|
|
Rumours lead to panic in valley
Srinagar, October 10 The panic gripped the residents after announcements were made from the loudspeakers of mosques asking the people to come out of their houses for safety measures. Within minutes all residents of the capital city followed by those in other urban centres and rural areas of the valley came out in panic with women wailing and children crying. The situation continued for about two hours until the police made announcements from loudspeakers-fitted dispelling the rumours. According to the officials concerned, since the people were already in a state of shock, there was much panic due to the rumours. The Chief Secretary, Mr Vijay Bakaya, said the high intensity earthquake that took place on Saturday morning was expected to be followed by aftershocks. Normally these aftershocks are not as intense as the earthquake, he added. He said 26 aftershocks had been observed on the first day after the quake. This had been followed by 10 aftershocks on the second day with less intensity. “There is no reason for panic. These are aftershocks because of the first earthquake. The earth is shaken and it is vibrating inside”, he said.
|
|
|
Hurriyat’s meeting deferred
Srinagar, October 10 The Hurriyat had called a crucial meeting to discuss the proposals and roadmap leaders are going to present to India and Pakistan, and also its future strategy vis-a-vis the dialogue process with both countries. “The meeting stands postponed as of now. We have taken the decision in view of the enormous loss of life and property caused by the deadly earthquake on Saturday,’’ a Hurriyat spokesman said. He said the new date would be announced later.
— UNI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
