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1,900 more passengers airlifted

Jammu, March 1
The Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) continued its Operation Humsafar for the second day today by airlifting 1,900 passengers as the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed. Stranded passengers board the aircraft at the technical airport in Jammu on Thursday.

Stranded passengers board the aircraft at the technical airport in Jammu on Thursday.— PTI photo

NC apprehends early poll, seeks mandate in Jammu
Jammu, March 1
Apprehending early assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir following the severe differences emerging between the Congress and coalition partner People's Democratic Party (PDP), the National Conference (NC) today sought the people's mandate with the rhetoric promises like employment and eradication of corruption.

Educational institutions reopen
Srinagar, March 1
All educational institutions in Kashmir reopened after winter vacations today. These schools had closed for winter vacations on December 6, 2006, following bad weather conditions and were scheduled to reopen on February 19.

YOUR TOWN

Jammu
Srinagar

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1,900 more passengers airlifted

Jammu, March 1
The Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) continued its Operation Humsafar for the second day today by airlifting 1,900 passengers as the 300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed for the 10th consecutive day.

"We have continued Operation Humsafar by pressing into services a fleet of five AN-32s and two IL-76s, thereby airlifting a total of 4,000 stranded passengers, including 1,900 today, in 26 sorties to the Kashmir valley and back," a defence official said.

Of the 1,900 airlifted passengers, 1,477 were taken from here and over 400 from Udhampur, the official said, adding 780 passengers were flown from here to Srinagar and 697 were airlifted from Srinagar to Jammu.

With the number of stranded passengers still high, over 2,700 people have been so far registered for airlift to Srinagar in IL-76s and AN-32s during the day from Jammu and Udhampur technical airfields.

The operation will continue from Udhampur and Jammu Air Force stations in assistance with civil officials, defence officials said.

IAF aircraft were flown from Chandigarh to Jammu and Udhampur Air Force stations for Operation Humsafar, they said.

From Udhampur, the rescue operation was started today where cloudy weather and heavy rain grounded the efforts yesterday. — Agency

NC apprehends early poll, seeks mandate in Jammu
Prabhjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 1
Apprehending early assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir following the severe differences emerging between the Congress and coalition partner People's Democratic Party (PDP), the National Conference (NC) today sought the people's mandate with the rhetoric promises like employment and eradication of corruption.

''The bugle for early elections in the state can be sounded any day and it is now in your hands to elect the National Conference back to power as it is the only party which can provide a dignified life to the people of the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions,'' NC convener and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said at a public meeting here.

Daring the PDP to withdraw its support to the Ghulam Nabi Azad government ''on the issue of demilitarisation as raised by the PDP itself'', Abdullah pointed out that the PDP had already boycotted the state Cabinet meeting yesterday.

The PDP never took up the issue of demilitarisation with the Centre in the first three years of the present regime when Mufti Mohammad Syed was the Chief Minister, Abdullah said.

Expressing the hope that the NC would form the next government ''with the help of the electorate cutting across the regional and religious differences'', he even announced that the present leader of opposition Abdul Rahim Rather of the NC would be the state's finance minister.

Educational institutions reopen
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 1
All educational institutions in Kashmir reopened after winter vacations today. These schools had closed for winter vacations on December 6, 2006, following bad weather conditions and were scheduled to reopen on February 19.

The government last month decided to extend the vacations till March 1. A few private schools, however, have extended their winter vacations till March 5.