Jammu, October 14
The dismantled toll plaza at Patli Morh on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway (NH) poses risk to commuters as the concrete slabs have not been removed from the road.

Several accidents have taken place, but no action has been taken to clear the road.

The toll tax booth was constructed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to charge people for using the four-lane highway, but after protests from people who opposed the site citing that they already have to pay tax at Lakhanpur, the state government had approached the Union Government last year not to start the booth.

After this, the toll post was dismantled, but the bases of the six small structures remained on the road, which have become a major threat to commuters. In the last six months several fatal road accidents have taken place due to them.

“When you have a vehicle going at 100 km per hour and suddenly you find an obstacle in the path, it is very difficult to slow down. The road has narrowed because of the remnant structure,” said Sushil Sharma, a daily commuter to Samba.

The 90 km-long highway, constructed at the cost of Rs 393.31 crore, was one of the main Centrally sponsored project approved by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to connect the state with the all-weather road with rest of the country.

“I had a close shave with death a few days back while overtaking a bus near the area as it becomes difficult to see it from a distance,” said Surinder Gupta, a businessman.

Another problem cropping up on the highway is the illegal parking of trucks and at times drivers have a close shave with death while overtaking vehicles as they suddenly find a truck, two wheelers or cars parked on the sides of the highway.

This is a problem right from Channi Himmat, Kunjwani, up to Samba, but no step has been taken to discourage people from parking their vehicles on the roadsides.

When you have a vehicle going at 100 km per hour and suddenly you find an obstacle in the path, it is very difficult to slow down. The road has narrowed because of the remaining structure.
—Sushil Sharma, commuter

Srinagar, October 14
The Supreme Court-appointed panel set up to assess the ground situation following the floods has recommended a ban on construction along flood-prone rivers, streams and water bodies.

Apart from recommending equitable distribution of free ration in flood-hit areas, particularly Srinagar and Udhampur, the five-member panel, in its comprehensive report submitted on October 9, recommended that the supply of essential medicines to hospitals should be made on a “regular basis” so that flood-affected persons “do not suffer any more on account of shortage”.

In the report, the government has been blamed for its failure to issue warning and evacuate people in Srinagar when upper reaches of Kulgam and Anantnag in south Kashmir were submerged.

“The free ration has not properly been distributed in some districts, particularly Srinagar and Udhampur. The distribution machinery at the district level is required to be geared up and revamped,” the panel stated in its report.

“In view of winter, which has set in, blankets and warm clothing are required to be distributed equitably to the flood victims who have not received these so far,” it said.

The panel has recommended “concrete steps” for “speedy rehabilitation” of victims living in tents or makeshift accommodation or whose houses have collapsed or severely damaged.

The panel has also recommended that all residential areas, particularly in Srinagar district, should be made “worth dwelling in” by clearing the standing flood water and restoring basic services.

“The supply of essential medicines is required to be regularly made so that these flood-affected persons do not suffer any more on account of shortage,” the panel recommended, pressing for free supply of medicines, especially life-saving drugs, to the poor flood-affected people for the next six months.

The report, while noting that the assessment of the damaged properties had so far not been completed, has recommended that the “disbursement of ex gratia” needs to be “expedited”.

“The construction on the beds of flood-prone nullahs and rivers must be strictly banned. Similarly, the laying of cables on hilly roads towards the hillside must be adhered to,” the report recommended.

“In case of any violation, accountability must be fixed and the guilty must be made personally liable,” the report says while highlighting the failure of the government to issue advance warnings of floods for Srinagar city even as large parts in south Kashmir had been inundated on September 3 night, much before the city was flooded on September 7.

“It was obligatory on the part of the government to warn people about floods in advance so that they could have taken safety measures for protecting their life and property. No such warning was given by the government or by its officials and as such the government has shown dereliction of duty,” reads the section of the report prepared by Kashmir High Court Bar Association president Mian Qayoom, one of the members of the panel, which visited various areas in Srinagar and other flood-hit districts such as Anantnag, Kulgam and Pulwama in Kashmir division and Poonch and Udhampur in Jammu division before preparing the report.

Srinagar, October 14
Observing that the insurance companies operating in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir are not bothered to follow the court orders, the J&K High Court today warned these companies that it might be compelled to issue contempt of court and order freezing of the accounts of these companies if they try to defeat the spirit of the earlier court directions.

The court said, "It has enough weapons in its armoury to make the insurance companies comply with its orders if they fail to understand the sobre language of the court." These observations were today made by the Chief Justice of the J&K High Court, Justice MM Kumar, during the hearing of a PIL seeking directions to insurance companies to settle claims of the flood-affected in J&K.

The High Court in its directions issued on September 26 and subsequently on October 1 had asked the insurance companies to pay 50 per cent of the insured amount for policies above Rs 25 lakh and 95 per cent for policies below Rs 25 lakh as interim relief to the people affected by the floods in Jammu and Kashmir.

As the matter came up before the division bench comprising Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Margay, the court was informed by petitioner counsel advocate Zaffar Shah that the insurance companies were defeating the spirit of the High Court orders by insisting on survey/assessment reports and not disbursing 50 per cent of the insured amount for policies above Rs 25 lakh.

Besides, senior high court lawyer Bashir Ahmad Bashir also submitted that the High Court orders were being flouted by the insurance companies.

"Please don't check our patience. If you insist on it (survey/assessment reports) then we are going to use contempt against you. Can you tell a single case where you have paid 50 per cent of the amount in accordance with the High Court directions," the Chief Justice observed when counsel Bhan representing four nationalised insurance companies insisted that the companies have already appointed adequate number of surveyors.

Asking the insurance companies to disburse the amount without assessment of reports, the court in its orders on October 1 had also observed that dependence on preliminary survey reports (to finalise the claims) is likely to take a long time or even years.

"If you don't have any substantial data to prove that you are complying with the spirit of the court directions then we will freeze your accounts and appoint two senior advocates to disburse the amount to the claimants," the Bench warned the insurance companies in its observations today.

"The impression gathered so for is that the insurance companies are not bothered to comply with the curt directions. They want to do the things and settle claims on the basis of their own principles," the Bench observed.

Srinagar, October 14
Shopkeepers of Karan Nagar area that had remained submerged under floodwaters for around three weeks today threatened to launch an agitation against the insurance companies.

“The insurance companies are playing with our emotions. Many of the surveyors have sent their final reports to the insurance companies, but they have left the cases pending in their offices. Many traders are also waiting for the surveyors to come,” president of the Traders Federation, Karan Nagar (TFK), Aijaz Shahdar said after a meeting of the body here.

Stating that most of the shops at Karan Nagar were still closed after being hit by the floods, Shahdar said the people, including businessmen, had suffered huge losses. He regretted the “negative attitude’ of the insurance companies.

The traders also threatened to launch an agitation against the insurance companies in case their demands were not fulfilled.

Alleging that the government was “sleeping” over the matter, the TFK also urged the J&K Bank to come forward and help them. — TNS

Srinagar, October 14
As part of the Durbar Move, the Civil Secretariat and other government offices will close in Srinagar on October 31 and reopen in Jammu on November 10.

This will be the last Durbar Move of the Omar Abdullah-led government.

The government has ordered that the officers of the level of special and additional secretaries will remain in Srinagar. The decision has been taken in view of relief, rehabilitation and restoration measures. The departments are Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control, Health and Medical Education and Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution.

The departments will operate from the new secretariat building. The General Administration Department will give secretarial help and Class IV staff.

It has been ordered that the Chief Secretary, Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, Commissioner Secretary, Public Health Engineering, I&FC, Commissioner Secretary, Public Works Department (Roads and Buildings), Commissioner Secretary, Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Commissioner-Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Secretary, General Administration Department, and Secretary, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department, will visit Kashmir every Thursday and spend at least two days in the Valley.

Srinagar, October 14
There is good news for rail commuters. The Railways will resume full operations from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Banihal in the Jammu region from Friday, almost three weeks after partial service was resumed.

Senior officials in the Railways said the trains would make 22 trips between Baramulla and Banihal from October 17. This was the schedule prior to the floods.

“After partial resumption, trains were making 10 trips and the speed was reduced from 100 km per hour to 45 km per hr. In the coming days, the service will be fully operational,” said a railway official.

“We have carried out almost the entire repairs of the railway track which was damaged and weakened due to the floods,” he added.

The railway track was damaged at various places, especially in south Kashmir. The worst hit was the track between Awantipora and Panzgam and Bijbehara and Anantnag. The floods that hit the Valley in first week of September had washed away the track at various places.

The train service was suspended on September 5 after the floods hit the Valley. The partial service was resumed between Nowgam in Srinagar and Baramulla on September 15.

Two weeks later, partial operations were resumed to Banihal. The decision to resume full operations brought cheer on the faces of daily commuters, who had been inconvenienced.

“After partial services were resumed, trains were never on schedule, causing inconvenience to commuters. We had raised the issue of delay with officials, but they expressed their helplessness. We hope that all issues will be resolved now,” said Shahnawaz Ahmed of the Awantipore area in south Kashmir.

Srinagar, October 14
More than a month after the floods ravaged parts of Kashmir, including the summer capital, and displaced thousands of families, the region’s distressed population is battling an early winter.

The situation was further aggravated by rain, which began on today afternoon and was continuing till late evening, resulting in the further dip in temperature.

The minimum temperature in the past few nights has plunged several degrees from the average normal for this time of the year, leading to cold nights and mornings. The temperature is likely to remain below normal and close to freezing point for at least next seven nights, according to the data provided on the website of the Indian Meteorological Department.

The temperature in the city here has been recorded at a low of 6.2°C, 6.9°C and 9°C during the past three nights.

The Weather Department forecast suggests that the minimum temperature in the city will drop to 4°C.

The minimum temperature at Gulmarg was recorded at 3.6°C while the minimum temperature in Pahalgam was recorded at 4.1°C, an official of state Meteorological Department said.

The drop in the minimum temperature is severely affecting the lives of hundreds of residents whose houses collapsed in the floods last month and have since been living in tents.

Many of the residents, whose houses survived the deluge, are without heating arrangements, including woollens and blankets as the floods washed away their household merchandise.

The local volunteer groups, which launched the first relief and rescue operations during the critical hours of the flood, are making appeals via the social networking sites for collection of winter clothes. “Thousands of flood-affected people are homeless or have lost most of their belongings. With the winter approaching, the time to act is now,” the volunteer group, Self Help Group for Kashmir Flood Victims, posted on its Facebook page.

Jammu, October 14
Four more trucks carrying relief material were sent by Chenab Textile Mills (CTM) to flood–hit areas today.

The trucks were flagged off by Prasanna Ramaswamy, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Kathua. Two trucks carrying 5,000 blankets each, were dispatched to Divisional Commissioner, Srinagar, and one truck carrying medicines worth Rs 5.14 lakh, was dispatched to Registrar, Department of Medicines, SMHS Hospital, Srinagar.

One truck carrying 1,000 blankets and 1,000 GI roofing sheets for the reconstruction of houses have been sent to the Deputy Commissioner, Reasi.

So far, items worth more than Rs 50 lakh have been sent to areas where floods have caused extensive damage. Two trucks carrying 2,000 blankets each were sent to Poonch and Rajouri districts and medicines worth Rs 5.06 lakh were sent to Srinagar last month for distribution in free medical camps organised by NGOs.

This was disclosed by executive president of the company KC Sharma.

Pulwama, October 14
Farmers in flood affected areas of Pulwama district in south Kashmir have been compelled to sell their cattle for lack of shelter and fodder, which have been damaged or washed away following the floods in the area last month.

Residents said they did not have any alternative but to sell their cattle at low rates. Many people slaughtered their livestock during the floods or sold those prior to Eid-ul-Azha celebrations.

“It seemed that my cattle would die without feed and fodder. I decided to sell my cow for a meagre amount of Rs 15,000 even though it was worth Rs 40,000,” said Abdul Gani Teli of Goripora.

Many cowsheds had either collapsed or were partially damaged, which was a reason for selling livestock. The cattle were suffering on account of fodder damaged due to the floodwaters, residents claimed.

Pulwama Chief Animal Husbandry Officer Tariq Quereshi said production of milk in this milk bowl of Kashmir had been reduced and they were assessing the reduction. He said eight veterinary medical camps had been organised soon after the floods struck the area on September 5. The department was planning to further help farmers.

Jammu, October 14
The J&K Female Multipurpose Health Workers Welfare Association today demanded the release of salaries of 2,211 female multipurpose health workers engaged on the contract basis. They have not been paid salaries for the last 18-months by the state government.

Protesters alleged that the state government is following anti-workers policy and most of the workers engaged by the Health Department have not been paid salaries for months.

“We are not receiving our salaries on time and at times hospital heads do not consider our applications for leaves. At present, promotion avenues are also not there for us,” said Sushil Sudan, association president. He also demanded the creation of new posts of worker in the newly established primary health centres.

Another senior union member, Mahima Devi, threatened to start indefinite strike in the coming weeks if their demands are not met.

Dozens of multipurpose workers assembled in front of the Director, Health Service, complex and raised slogans against the government for not fulfilling their demands, including regular disbursement of salary, creation of posts in the Health and Family Welfare Department and promotion of female multipurpose health workers.

Chandigarh, October 14
The Tribune Employees Union, Chandigarh, has contributed Rs 4,42,900 to The Tribune Jammu and Kashmir Relief Fund.

Anil Kumar Gupta, president of the union, said the newspaper employees at Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Bathinda, and Gurgaon printing centres and sub-offices contributed generously for the relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims in J&K following the appeal by The Tribune Trust. Earlier, the Trust had contributed Rs 15 lakh to the fund.

As of today, The Tribune J&K Relief Fund has received donations totalling Rs 2,64,89,621.

Jammu/Poonch, October 14
Two soldiers sustained minor injuries in Pak shelling in the Sabzian sector of Poonch last night even as exchange of fire between in the Mendhar sector lasted till 4 am today.

“Last night, after Parveen Begum, 30, was injured in Chhool village in the Gagrian area, two soldiers sustained minor injuries,” said an Intelligence source.

The source said the Pakistani troops later targeted the Mendhar sector, opening unprovoked small arms and automatic weapon fire.

The exchange of fire between the two sides lasted till 4 am today, the source added.

A senior police officer confirmed the development. “They kept firing at the Indian positions in Shahpur, Kirni and Balakote areas,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, amid continuous shelling Pakistani troops reportedly sought reinforcements in some of its areas, particularly opposite the Sabzian sector, prompting Indian forces to reinforce their defences as well.

“They have made some changes and reinforcements are also there in some areas. Therefore, we too had to make some tactical changes,” said a Defence source.

In June 2012, India had moved an artillery battalion from Mendhar to the Krishna Ghati sector in the wake of intense shelling from across the LoC.

The stand-off had ended only after the Brigade Commander-level meeting. It also paved way for the resumption of trans-border trade and travel.

Since October 1, at least eight people have been killed and 90 injured in Pak shelling on the frontiers.

Pak guns remained silent along the international border for the third day. “Arnia, RS Pura, Samba, Ramgarh, Hiranagar, Pargwal and Kanachak sub-sectors are calm,” said a BSF officer.

The Jammu district administration has constituted 17 veterinary teams to provide medicare facilities to livestock. Over 28,000 persons from affected areas in Jammu district have been shifted to camps.

Jammu, October 14
The 7th Central Pay Commission team headed by its chairman, Justice AK Mathur, have visited the Siachen Glacier, highest battlefield in the world, and other Army formations in Ladakh to get first-hand knowledge of hardships being faced by the men in olive green.

“The team included full-time member Vivek Rae, secretary Meena Agarwal and 14 other members. They visited Ladakh from October 12,” said a Defence spokesperson.

On its arrival in Leh, the delegation visited the headquarters of the Fire and Fury Corps (14 Corps), where they were welcomed by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Lt Gen BS Negi.

The delegation was briefed on peculiarities of difficult terrain, inclement weather and challenging operational conditions under which soldiers performed duties in the Siachen Glacier and other parts of Ladakh. The delegation was briefed at the Air Force Station in Leh.

“At the base camp of the Siachen Glacier, the members spent time interacting with soldiers and experiencing their tough life. They witnessed ice craft and mountaineering training being carried out at the Siachen Battle School,” he said.

They flew over the entire Siachen Glacier and landed at a forward post to get familiarised with the difficult conditions under which soldiers performed duty, he added.

In addition to the Siachen Glacier, the members visited remote posts in eastern Ladakh, bordering China. They landed at Daulat Beg Oldie, highest landing ground in the world, to experience the hardships being faced by soldiers in the area.

The members interacted with personnel of the Air Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Roads Organisation and the Defence Research and Development Organisation as well. The members laid wreaths at the Siachen, Kargil and Rezangla war memorials.

Lt Gen Negi thanked Justice Mathur and other members for visiting forward areas and experiencing the difficulties being faced by soldiers deployed in the areas.

The concern displayed by members of the commission during the interactions boosted the morale of soldiers, he said.

Jammu, October 14
The BJP high command has summoned senior party leaders of the state to New Delhi to devise a strategy ahead of the Assembly elections.

The summoning of senior state BJP leaders has come amid reports that the Assembly elections are likely to be held on time.

Highly placed sources said state BJP president Jugal Kishore Sharma along with party general secretary Ashok Koul had gone to Delhi two days ago while as campaign committee chairman Nirmal Singh, BJP legislature party leader Ashok Khajuria, Bali Bhagat, Shamsher Singh Manhas and Chander Parkash Ganga reached Delhi this morning.

Sources said during their stay at New Delhi, the state BJP leaders will meet senior party leaders to devise a strategy for the Assembly elections in J&K.

“It is believed that discussions on names of some candidates would also be held during interaction with central leaders,” a source said and added that the party would release the first list of candidates after Diwali, if the Election Commission of India announces the schedule for the Assembly elections.

Like other parties, the BJP has also completed shortlisting potential candidates for most of the Assembly seats of Jammu province.

Some party leaders have already been given a hint by the senior leaders to start work in their respective Assembly segments.

As the campaign for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections ended on Monday, all senior leaders, including national president Amit Shah, have reached Delhi so BJP leaders were summoned today for deliberations.

The sources said the BJP leaders from J&K were likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him about the post-flood situation in the state.

Encouraged by the Lok Sabha election results in which the party won three of the six parliamentary seats in J&K, the BJP has set a target of “Plus 44 seats” in the J&K Assembly to form the government on its own.

Jammu, October 14
Uncertainty looms large over the academic future of students of villages on the international border, who have taken refuge in relief camps and are attending classes in makeshift arrangements made by the administration.

Not only students but also their parents are a worried lot as due to cross border shelling their wards have not been able to attend their schools.

At Government High School, Deoli in Bishnah Zone, where a relief camp has been established by the authorities for the affected residents of Arnia and adjoining villages on the international border, special classes have been arranged for students of these villages where a group of around 50 students are studying.

However, in despite this, the students as well as their parents are concerned about the future of their wards owing to the prevailing tense situation.

“Though I am enjoying studying in the class here, I am missing my village school,” said Harsh Kumar, a Class V student of Government High School, Arnia.

“Here it’’s fun, but you cannot expect serious study because there is a mixture of students of different classes and it is difficult for a teacher to focus on one class. I am hoping that the situation improves so that I along with my family can return to our village and I can attend my school on a regular basis,” he said.

Shubam Kumar, a Class X student, said, “With the annual examinations approaching, there is still too much syllabus to be covered, especially for students of higher classes. Looking at the present circumstances, not only me but also other students are in a fix regarding their academic future.”

“It is the dream of every parent to see his ward excel in his academic career, but unfortunately this is not the case with us. Are we paying the price for constructing our houses near the international border,” said Surinder Singh, a resident of Arnia village.

“We are really praying that the situation gets normal and our children should start going to schools, otherwise if the present scenario continues for long, it will be a real disaster as far as academic future of our children is concerned,” Bawa, another villager, said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare has also established an anganwadi centre inside the relief camp where the kids of affected villages are participating in playway activities. 

Jammu, October 14
With the government issuing orders for the opening of Durbar in Jammu on November 10, the demand for a separate secretariat for the Jammu region has gained momentum.

A large number of people under the leadership of former minister and senior Congress leader Gulchain Singh Charak today staged a demonstration here in support of a separate secretariat.

Charak said a separate secretariat for the Jammu region was a must to address grievances of the people.

The state government had yesterday ordered the opening of civil secretariat in Jammu on November 10 but this time it has been decided that senior officers will be stationed at Srinagar to monitor flood relief and rehabilitation operations in the Valley.

Charak said separate secretariats should immediately start functioning in both capitals of the state. “It is high time we did away with the wasteful exercise of moving the secretariat after every six months,” he said, adding that separate secretariats would help people get rid of numerous problems in getting justice from the state government.

Charak, who held demonstration under the banner of the Dogra Sadar Sabha, also highlighted the plight of the border residents. 

Jammu, October 14
The National Conference (NC) has sought judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge into class IV appointments in the Education Department following the “widespread allegations of corruption”.

The demand was made by NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana while responding to allegations of “corruption and nepotism” by aggrieved candidates who met him here yesterday.

While calling for immediate quashing of these appointments, Rana said: “The NC cannot act as fence-sitter and watch helplessly betrayal of public trust.”

He said the issue would be taken up with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and steps would be taken to restore public confidence in the government.

Rana shared the anguish of those not considered for the said post despite having better merit and said his party NC would take all measures necessary for ensuring fair play in recruitment.

He also made a fervent appeal to the Chief Minister to quash the list of class IV appointees in the Education Department.

Srinagar, October 14
A festive atmosphere prevailed in the households when Hajis used to return after performing the annual pilgrimage.

Though friends and relatives are visiting the houses of Hajis, the recent floods have dampened the festivities.

While some have returned to find their houses damaged in the floods, many others are skipping throwing the traditional “Wazwan” feasts.

“Before my parents had left for Haj, we prepared wazwan for our friends and relatives. We were planning to give them a grand welcome on their return as well, but the floods played a spoilsport as two floors of our house got inundated. Though we have shifted back, we are yet to settle down and throwing a feast is out of question,” said Adil, a resident of Indranagar.

Several other Hajis, who have started returning from Saturday last, too have preferred to avoid throwing lavish feasts on their return.

Haj is among the five fundamentals of Islam and every believing Muslim aspires to perform the pilgrimage at least once in his/her lifetime. The departure of intending Hajis in the Valley is a joyous occasion as the kith and kin can be seen thronging the residences of the respective pilgrims.

Relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours can also be seen pouring in at the house for at least a week once a Haji returns home.

Meanwhile, delay in arrivals has also been causing inconvenience to both the pilgrims and their relatives, who receive them at the airport.

However, an official said the flights were getting delayed from the Jeddah airport only.

Srinagar, October 14
The Consumers Affairs and Public Distribution (CA&PD) Department today fined 37 shopkeepers during market checking.

“The enforcement wing of the CA&PD Department conducted market inspections in the past one week. The markets of Soiteng, Shalteng, Soura, Ahmad Nagar, Hyderpora, Sanat Nagar, Khonmoh, Zewan, Nowshera, Amda Kadal, Zadibal, Umer Colony, Nawab Bazar, Hawal, Lal Bazar and Bagat-i-Shoor were inspected,” an official statement said. The wing checked 325 business establishments and found 37 shopkeepers violating the Essential Commodity Act, 1955. The team realised over Rs 25,000 as fine. — TNS

Jammu, October 14
The Bhawani team defeated the Lam village team by 32 runs in the final to clinch the trophy in the Rashtriya Rifles Big Bash (RRBB) Intra-Village T20 Cricket Tournament.

Batting first, the Bhawani team accumulated 148 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Lam village could manage only 116 runs in 19.3 overs.

The Bhawani team besides winning the trophy got a cash prize of Rs 16,000. The runner-up team received a cash prize of Rs 8,000. — TNS

Jammu, October 14
A 26-year-old youth, riding a motorcycle, was crushed to death by a speeding truck near Kaluchak on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway today.

The deceased has been identified as Ashish Sharma, son of Ajay Sharma, a resident of Talab Tillo.

The police said the driver of the truck managed to escape from the spot.

The police shifted the body to a hospital for postmortem examination.

Panchari (Udhampur), Oct 14
Nearly 40 days after the Saddal village in Panjar panchayat area of Udhampur district was buried under the landslide, four more bodies were retrieved from the debris today.

With today’s recovery, the number of bodies retrieved from the debris has gone up to 25.

Forty people were feared dead in the landslide that struck the village on the intervening night of September 5 and 6.

The recovery of four more bodies has given the authorities hope that rest of the 15 bodies trapped in the rubble could be retrieved soon.

Since the operation had not yield any result in the past eight days the officials overseeing the evacuation process had lost hope of retrieving the remaining bodies.

Bodies of Rinku Devi (16), Kavi Devi (6), Savita Devi (12) and Gashu Ram (38) were retrieved today.

Doda, October 14
A bear killed a youth and injured a minor girl in two separate incidents in the mountainous Dessa area of Doda district Tuesday.

The first incident was reported in the afternoon. Zulfa Bhanu of Kadlal in Dessa was critically injured in a bear attack.

“Her ears were bitten by the bear,” said her brother, who took her to the district hospital in Doda.

He said the minor was attacked by the bear in the jungle and local residents came to her rescue and saved her life.

In the other incident, 25-year-old Altaf Hussain of Zangoti in the Dessa area of the mountainous district of Doda was killed in a bear attack.