Srinagar, January 3
With same improvement in the weather conditions after heavy snowfall during the past two days, traffic on the 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway was cleared today. Traffic on inter-district roads in the Kashmir valley was also restored.

Power supply was partly restored to hospitals. It had been suspended due to disruption in the 220 kv transmission line.

The supply from the National Grid is yet to be restored. All flights between Srinagar and Jammu-Delhi were restored today after snow was cleared on the runway.

Official sources said all stranded vehicles between Qazigund and Ramban on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway were moved to Srinagar today after snow was cleared around Jawahar Tunnel.

In case of fair weather conditions, one-way traffic from Jammu to Srinagar would be allowed tomorrow. No vehicles would be allowed from Srinagar to Jammu tomorrow.

Traffic was restored on inter-district routes but some far-flung areas continued to remain cut off from the rest of the valley.

The Tangdhar area was cut off for the second day in succession today due to accumulation of over 6 ft snow at Sadhna Pass.

The Chief Minister, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, who flew in from Jammu, reviewed the measures taken by the administration here this afternoon.

The review meeting was told that quake-affected people in Tangdhar and Uri were safe and construction of shelter sheds had proved fruitful. But people were still putting up in partially damaged houses and had stored their stocks in these shelter sheds.

He appealed to them to shift to these sheds to avoid loss of life due to heavy snowfall.

In Srinagar, People at Badshah Nagar, Natipora, took to the streets, protesting against the civic autorities failure to clear the snow.

Communication services, including mobile and landline services were also affected.

The Kashmir University and the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education have postponed all examinations for two days. — UNI

Jammu, January 3
Three BSF personnel were killed and five injured in an accidental mortar explosion at the army’s field mortar firing range in Kaleeth, Akhnoor, last evening, sources said today.

A BSF spokesman said men of the BSF’s Udhampur-based 30 Bn were being trained by Army personnel at Kaleeth in the handling and firing of mortars when a mortar exploded accidentally.

In the explosion, Rajesh Kumar and Jabbar Singh were killed on the spot, while Sunil Kumar Ojha, Kabir Daan, Vishnu Murari, A.K. Misra and Bhaskar Reddy and Head Constable Avdesh Kumar sustained critical injuries.

The injured were admitted to Military Hospital at Akhnoor where Ojha later succumbed to his wounds, he added, adding the condition of the other injured was stated to be stable.

A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident. — UNI

Jammu, January 3
The Bangalore police is in touch with the Kashmir police for securing clues about the killing of scientist Prof M.C. Puri at the Institute of Indian Sciences on December 28, last year.

A senior Bangalore police official rang up the Inspector-General of Police, Kashmir Range, for exchanging notes on the incident.

A senior police official here said so far “we have not been able to establish any link between a terrorist group operating in the state with Abdul Rehman, a Lashkar operative arrested in connection with the case.”

However, the J&K police has streamlined its resources in finding out whether the Bangalore incident had been engineered by any Kashmiri-based militant group.

Jammu, January 3
Two persons were arrested and 2 kg of raw ‘neelam’ worth more than Rs 2 crore, allegedly smuggled out of the sapphire mining area in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir seized from them, the police said today.

Nissar Ahmed of Kokernag in Anantnag district and Manzoor Ahmed of Kishtwar in Doda were intercepted by a police team at the Jammu bus stand last night and 2 kg of raw sapphire found on them.

They said the sapphire was believed to be from the Paddar mines in Doda district and the two suspected smugglers were being interrogated.

The exact cost of the seizure was being ascertained and even though the sapphire was in raw, uncut form, it could be worth over Rs 2 crore in the market, they said. —PTI

Baramula, January 3
A 75-year-old man, who survived the 7.8 magnitude killer quake in October last, died after a makeshift shelter collapsed due to heavy snowfall at Balakote in Uri last evening, official sources said today.

Ghulam Rasool Bhat died on the spot. His family members were rescued by other villagers.

Sources said tents and other temporary shelters of the quake survivors collapsed at different places in Uri and Tangdhar.

A majority of people who were in tents, migrated to Uri town.

The quake affected poeple from Balla were shifted to Boniyar and accommodated in educational instutitons.

Officials said 500 blankets were distributed among the quake survivors. — UNI

Jammu, January 3
A pilgrim en route to the Vaishnodevi cave shrine in the Trikuta hills died after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Katra base camp, official sources said today.

Identified as Sowrab Kumar of Jalandhar, the youth died of a heart attack when he was heading towards the shrine along with his friends last night.

His body is being sent to his native place. — PTI