Jammu, March 14
Hundreds of men, women and children,stranded here due to many roads of Jammu and Kashmir being blocked for the past three days because of landslides and snow, squatted outside the general bus stand demanding their evacuation.

The stranded persons were forced to spend the extremely cold nights in the open in the bus stand.They raised slogans against the government for the delay in the reopening of the highways.Women were cooking their meals in the open.

Hundreds of others were stranded at different places on the Jammu-Srinagar highway and other district towns.

While it was bright and sunny morning here, many important roads in Jammu and Kashmir,including the Jammu-Srinagar highway, remained closed because of landslides.As many as 17 lives have been lost due to bad weather in the past three days.

Engineers and men of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) were engaged in the reopening of the roads in Jammu division and the Kashmir valley.

Power and drinking water supply have been badly hit in certain areas. Telephone services too have been disrupted in far-flung areas. The districts of Doda, Poonch and Rajouri were still cut off.

The air services to the valley resumed after two days today. The Bani-Basohli road in Kathua district was blocked at several places, while many roads in the border district of Poonch were still to be reopened.

Kishtwar and Bhaderwah in Doda were cut off from the district headquarters. Reports said some roads in Udhampur district were also blocked by landslides.

Srinagar, March 14
Five persons died and two were injured in the recent snowfall while 54 houses and a shrine suffered damages in Kashmir valley since Sunday.

The Kashmir valley remained cut off from the rest of the country by road for the fourth consecutive day today due landslides at different places and snowfall at Banohal and Patnitop on the highway.

Air services were restored today after two days of suspension of flights to Srinagar airport from Jammu and New Delhi.

Most parts of the capital city (summer) remained powerless for the past two days despite tall claims of the government on the restoration of the 220-kv Jammu-Srinagar transmission line and restoration of the functioning of 13 grid stations across the valley.

Even as 39 snow-clearing machines were pressed into service since Monday, waterlogging on roads and residential colonies disrupted normal life. Many areas remained without power and water supplies and were waterlogged across the city.

The police here said the dead were identified as Wazira Bano (18) Gudsath Budgam, Abdul Hamid Matoo (38) of Chandgam Pulwama, Ghulam Mohammed Khokhar of Sonabrari Kokarnag, Anantnag, Ghulam Nabi Bhat of Asham Sonawari who died at Gulzarpora in Awantipora and sepoy D. Iyapparaj of the Air Force at Srinagar airfield.

Two CRPF personnel were injured at Sanath Nagar in Srinagar.

Apart from this, three houses collapsed and 51 were partially damaged due to the snow. Sixteen sheds and 18 other structures, including a shrine, also suffered damages.

Out of these, 24 houses, 14 sheds, two shops, nine kitchens and a shrine were damaged in Srinagar alone while two houses and two sheds were damaged in Ganderbal. Nine houses in Pulwama and 16 houses in Pahalgam also suffered damages in the recent snow, the police here said.

Jammu, March 14
Having successfully monitored the Naradu glacier in the tribal area of Himachal Pradesh for 10 years, the University of Jammu has now been given the task of setting up an observatory at Siachen which is the world's second-longest glacier in the non-polar region.

Appreciative of the work done at Naradu, the Space Application Centre (SAC) of the Government of India has handpicked the university for studying the behaviour of the Siachen glacier on the basis of fears that it was melting at an alarming rate.

Prof R.K.Ganjoo, professor of quaternary geology, said the university would study whether Siachen was receding or not. Fears had been expressed that it was retreating due to movement of the army vehicles in the area,he said.

Siachen was in focus again recently when concern was expressed in Pakistan that the glacier was melting and it might cause disaster in that country.However, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) had reported that the glacier was not retreating.

Professor Ganjoo said the university would install the required equipment at Siachen around June when the Leh road was cleared of snow.The behaviour of the glacier would be studied for at least three years before releasing any data.

He said the Department of Science and Technology at the centre had assigned to the university the task of monitoring the Durung-Durung and Kangriz glaciers in the Zanskar valley of Ladakh where no one had so far worked.

In an effort to minutely study the Himalayan glaciology, the university had established a regional centre for field operations and research in the area. However, the focus would be on the J&K Himalayas. The centre had sought financial assistance from various organisations for this purpose.

He said the centre would study the behaviour of glaciers and mountain hazards,including avalanches and blizzards.

Commenting on the current erratic climate, Professor Ganjoo described it as a geological process through which the planet earth was passing to the glacial period.

He said the university monitored the Naradu glacier between 1994 and 2004, where after ISRO had taken the task in its hands. The mass balance of the glacier was closely linked to kinematic response to seasonal and climatic changes.

There was a high degree of melting of the Naradu glacier during 2003 when it was comparatively warmer than 2001 and 2002. The maximum summer temperature ranged between 12.2 degrees Celsius and 22 degrees Celsius with July being the hottest month.

The year 2001-2002 was the wettest year during which 97.23 inches of precipitation was recorded out of which 71 inches was received in the form of snowfall alone.