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Army men load a truck with relief supplies for the quake-hit in the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar on Thursday. — Reuters
photo
PoK journalist surfaces in Rawalpindi
Cut off from rest of world since Saturday
Quake survivors killed in mishap
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Kashmiri youths in Pak survive quake
Rs 11.65 cr released for relief work
PoK journalist surfaces in Rawalpindi
Sikh leaders’ appeal for aid to quake-hit
10 arrested for cheating
in name of quake relief
Four killed in mishap
Aftershock rocks J&K
J&K Council poll on October 23
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More relief arrives for quake-hit
Srinagar, October 13 Lieut-Gen S. S. Dhillon, 15 Corps Cmmander, and the state Chief Secretary, Mr Vijay Bakaya, and Director-General of Police, Mr Gopal Sharma, were present on the occasion. The Chief Secretary said relief and rescue operations were being undertaken with full synergy between the civil administration and the armed forces. He said most of the villages were accessed even as around 10 villages out of 95 affected ones of Uri Sector and Teethwal of in the Karnah area of Kupwara district continued to be inaccessible. There was a requirement of two lakh tents while only 99,000 had been received so far, the Chief secretary said. He said 1,195 civilians had died in the state which included 1,178 only in Kashmir valley and 17 in the Jammu region. General Dhillon said 44 Army personnel had been killed in north kashmir. The number of civilians injured in the earthquake was 5,886 out of which 90 persons were injured in the Jammu region. The Chief Secretary said 32,335 houses were completely damaged, out of which 31,809 were in kashmir and 526 in Jammu. On the priority is the reconstruction of houses in view of the winter ahead. The Army has so far provided medical assistance to 5,000 civilians at makeshift camps at Uri and Tangdhar. More than 600 casualties have been evacuated to Srinagar, where the Army hospital has provided medical assistance to 174 civilians, while others were being treated at civilian hospitals here. So far 50 tonne of medical supplies and equipment and 25 medical teams have been sent to remote villages like Khal, Taad, Dardkote and Sultandhaki. The Army has established 34 relief camps in Uri and Tangdhar sectors, and arrangements have been made for providing electricity and potable water by installing generators. Referring to the status of connecting roads, the Army officials said Chowkibal-Tangdhar had already been cleared and other roads like Tangdhar-Chhamkote has also been cleared. Restoration work on the Chhamkot Teetwal, Taad road, Baghbela-Shararat and Tangdhar-Vayu was going on. In Uri Sector the Uri-Kamalkote road, Uri-Baaz, Mohura-Zorawar, Uri-Mike, Uri-Rustum roads had been cleared. Meanwhile, around 16,000 residential houses and 6,000 other structures have been damaged fully or partially in the Handwara area of Kupwara district in north Kashmir. This was stated by the Minister for Forest and Environment, Sofi Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din, during his day-long tour of the affected villages of the area and assured the affected families for every possible relief. He said the government had formulated a contingency plan to provide relief to the affected people under rehabilitation programme adding that 100 tents had already been provided to the affected people in the area, while more 250 tents and 15,000 blankets had been received which were being distributed soon. Damage has also been caused to structures in Rafiabad and Bandipore areas of Baramula district in north Kashmir. The Tourism, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Mr Ghulam Hassan Mir, the Irrigation and PHE Minister, Qazi Mohammad Afzal, and a senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Prof Saifuddin Soz, visited some of the affected areas yesterday. The Minister of State for Home, Mr Abdul Rehman Veeri, today visited village Khiram in the Bijbehara area of Anantnag district in south Kashmir and took stock of the damage caused to the ancient Khiram shrine. A large number of inhabitants, who were gathered there, requested the minister for carrying out necessary repairs at the shrine. |
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PoK journalist surfaces in Rawalpindi
Srinagar, October 13 ‘’I did not have any means to inform you because the battery of my mobile was down...There was, rather is, no light in Muzaffarabad. I came to Rawalpindi last night (Tuesday) to evacuate my family,’’ Mr Naqash said in an e-mail to Greater Kashmir, the leading English daily from here. Mr Naqash is also the Muzaffarabad Bureau Chief of Greater Kashmir. However, there is still no news about Roshan Mughal, the correspondent of The Nation in the PoK capital. Both Naqash and Mughal were members of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) delegation from Pakistan and the PoK that visited Jammu and Kashmir for six days in October last year. Naqash questioned the Pakistani army’s ability of relief operations while narrating his own tale of how he managed to reach a relief camp set by the army, holding his bleeding cousin in his arms. ‘’I reached the stadium ground and asked the army to help save my cousin. There was confusion all around. I approached a General, who was there and tried to attract his attention. He dismissed my point, saying the media has the habit of exaggerating things,’’ he said. “I had to run all the way to my damaged house to get some blankets to wrap the bleeding cousin,’’ he added. Naqash managed to get his wounded cousin airlifted to Rawalpindi next day only. His wounded family members are being treated in a Rawalpindi hospital.
— UNI |
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Cut off from rest of world since Saturday
Tangdhar
(Karnah), Octobe13 This apart the telephone exchange catering to the needs of the border belt close to the LoC, has also been damaged by the tremors creating anxious moments for the people and armed forces personnel for being “out of touch”. “It has otherwise been very difficult from here”, said a jawan on duty. He added that it took at least two to three hours to get a call mature outside the area, but after the earthquake that hope has also vanished. Not only that the Pahari or Gojri speaking people here do not get newspapers daily. “We get a newspaper here after 48 hours”, said Mr Amarjit Singh, a BSF officer. “If you can help please ensure the daily supply of newspapers in this area”, he commented. Popularly known Sadhana Pass at a height of 10,500 feet from the sea level serves as a dividing line between the bowl shaped Karnah area and its district headquarters of Kupwara, in north Kashmir. The high mountain peaks remaining snow-bound during winter keep the area, about 180 km from Srinagar, cut off from the rest of the world by road for over five months every year. When the earthquake hit the area on Saturday morning, leading to over 300 deaths and rendering about 47,000 persons shell-shocked, weather conditions have been hampering the supply of essentials. The small road from the district headquarters of Kupwara, 80 km away, gets rough and slippery for the heavy truckloads to ply. Even as the authorities in Srinagar since last week had been claiming that about 3200 tents had reached the area, the Deputy Commissioner confirmed the receipt of only 700 till Tuesday.
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Quake survivors killed in mishap
Srinagar, October 13 The victims were on their way to Nambla village in Uri, the worst hit by the massive quake on October 8, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it skidded off the road last night, official sources said today. The family had survived the Saturday’s killer earthquake and had shifted to Srinagar. Four members of the family, including a woman, were killed and four others injured in the accident. The injured were shifted to hospital and their condition was stated to be critical.
— PTI |
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Kashmiri youths in Pak survive quake
Jammu, October 13 Reports reaching here from across the border indicated that the destruction of the camps housing rebels belonging to Lashkar-i-Toiba and Al-Badr was evident from the way a wing of the Lashkar, Jamaitul Dawa, and Al-Badr leader Farooq Qureshi had launched a fund-collection drive for the tremor victims. The reports said what rescued the Kashmiri youths was the recent measure initiated by the “Azad” Kashmir government under which they had been shifted to a couple of tented colonies. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Hizbul Mujahideen in Muzaffarabad has denied the claim of the Indian Army that a large number of Hizb militants were killed in the earthquake.
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Rs 11.65 cr released for relief work
Srinagar, October 13 This was disclosed at a high-level meeting headed by the Chief Secretary, Mr Vijay Bakaya, here today, an official spokesman said. Out of the released amount, the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department has been provided with Rs 6 crore on account of one months’ free ration for the quake-hit people of Uri, Tangdar and Poonch. Moreover, Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned to the PHE Department for temporary restoration of the water supply schemes and making available tanker water supply in the affected areas, including Rs 50 lakh for same purpose in the quake-hit areas of Jammu division. The Agriculture Department would be getting Rs 2 crore out of the released amount for subsidy on rabi crop seeds and fertilisers whereas Rs 1.10 crore would be provided to the Social welfare Department for immediate rehabilitation of the destitutes rendered by the earthquake. The R&B Department, Jammu, would be provided Rs 50 lakh for the restoration of roads and communication. A joint control room has been set up at the Police Control Room in Srinagar by the civil administration and the police and the donors have been appealed to deposit their donations and relief material in the control room. |
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PoK journalist surfaces in Rawalpindi
Srinagar, October 13 “I did not have any means to inform you because the battery of my mobile was down...There was, rather is, no light in Muzaffarabad. I came to Rawalpindi last night (Tuesday) to evacuate my family,’’ Mr Naqash said in an e-mail to Greater Kashmir, the leading English daily from here. Mr Naqash is also the Muzaffarabad Bureau Chief of Greater Kashmir. However, there is still no news about Roshan Mughal, the correspondent of The Nation in the PoK capital. Both Naqash and Mughal were members of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) delegation from Pakistan and the PoK that visited Jammu and Kashmir for six days in October last year. Naqash questioned the Pakistani army’s ability of relief operations while narrating his own tale of how he managed to reach a relief camp set by the army, holding his bleeding cousin in his arms. “I reached the stadium ground and asked the army to help save my cousin. There was confusion all around. I approached a General, who was there and tried to attract his attention. He dismissed my point, saying the media has the habit of exaggerating things,’’ he said. “I had to run all the way to my damaged house to get some blankets to wrap the bleeding cousin,’’ he added. Naqash managed to get his wounded cousin airlifted to Rawalpindi next day only.
— UNI
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Sikh leaders’ appeal for aid to quake-hit
Jammu, October 13 The appeal was made after an emergency meeting of various Sikh organisations here today. Mr Mohinder Singh, chief
organiser, Bhai Kanahaya Nishkam Sewa Society, Mr Narbir Singh, president, Shiromani Youth Akali
Dal, Mr Amar Singh, president, Sikh Welfare Society, Mr Paramjit Singh, president,
AISSF, Mr Jagdev Singh, president, Shiromani Akali Dal, were among others who attended the meeting. The Sikh leaders, while appreciating Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for sanctioning Rs 642 crore for relief and rehabilitation of tremor victims urged the state government to contribute money for boosting the
aid. Mr Mohinder Singh said the Sikh leaders were unanimous in appealing to industrialists and common people to rise to the occasion and donate whatever they could for the aid of the tremor victims.
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10 arrested for cheating
in name of quake relief
Srinagar, October 13 Five persons were arrested yesterday from Parimpora locality near here, while the rest were detained at Khanyar a day before, Senior Superintendent of Police (Srinagar) Muneer Ahmad Khan told PTI. He said the arrested persons, moving in autorickshaws, were collecting cash and other materials in the name of relief for quake victims. Appreciating the NGOs and the Mohalla Committees for providing relief to the victims, Mr Khan said several unscrupulous elements were trying to make quick money in the name of helping quake-hit people. He said many people were let off after a stern warning, otherwise the number of arrests would have been higher.
— PTI |
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Four killed in mishap
Baramula, October 13 The accident occurred when a Sumo van collided with a truck at Nambla, they said. Four persons travelling in the van, including a couple Imtiyaz Ahmad and his wife Sharifa, died on the spot while five others were injured, sources added. The injured were admitted to the hospital, they added.
— UNI |
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Aftershock rocks J&K
Srinagar, October 13 The aftershock, the strongest since Saturday’s massive quake forced people to rush out of their houses in fear. The quake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, in the morning, Met Department officials here said. Reports from the worst hit Uri and Tangdhar areas said the tremor caused survivors to scramble out of their tents in alarm.
— UNI |
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J&K Council poll on October 23
Srinagar, October 13 According to the Returning Officer, the election to the Legislative Council from Kashmir Local Authorities Constituency will now take place on October 23. As per the revised schedule, the election for the constituency should be completed by October 27.
— UNI
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