Jammu, December 14
Two Wing Commanders, one Squadron Leader, four other IAF personnel and two officials of the Konkan Railways were injured when an Mi-26 helicopter crashed soon after taking off from the Technical Airport in Satwari here this morning.

Defence sources said the IAF chopper carrying defence personnel and the two officials of the Konkan Railways took off from the Technical Airport here and crashed around 9.35 a.m.

Jammu-based defence PRO Lt-Col Biplab Nath told The Tribune that soon after the mishap, the injured were rushed to the adjoining Military Hospital. A court of inquiry had been initiated to ascertain the cause of the mishap. He also identified the two injured Wing Commanders as R Ghosh and V Sharma and the Squadron Leader as Deepak Sharma.

Defence sources said the chopper had attained a height of around 40 feet when it crashed and overturned. The front portion of the chopper was damaged extensively, they added.

The sources attributed the mishap to a technical snag, which, however, was not serious in nature due to the low- altitude impact.

The transport chopper carrying equipment for the Kashmir rail project was on its way to Sangaldan in Ramban district where a track was being laid by the Northern Railways, they said.

After the mishap, the airport was closed for two hours for clearing operations and relief and rescue work started.

Rescuers rushed the injured to the Military Hospital in Satwari.

Senior Army, Air Force and police officers also rushed to the airport to take stock of the situation. Among the injured was Mahesh Dass Sharma, a resident of Kishtwar and financial adviser of the Konkan Railways.

Talking to The Tribune at the Military Hospital, Sharma’s brother, a Forest Department official, said his brother sustained fractures on his leg and ribs. “Mahesh was on official duty and was also travelling in the chopper. Luckily, all nine persons on board, including my brother, escaped with injuries”, he said.

Chandigarh, December 14
The crash of a Mi-26 helicopter near Jammu is the first such crash affecting this aircraft, but the third major incident involving the fleet. The incident occurred in the year when the entire Mi-26 fleet was fully operational for the first time in a decade.

According to sources, the helicopter “rolled sideways” when it was just a few metres above ground during take-off. This would possibly have resulted in damage to its rotors as well as the fuselage.

The Mi-26 is the largest helicopter in service in the world, with a payload capacity of 20 tonnes. The IAF had procured four choppers from the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1986 at a reported cost of Rs 18 crore each. These equip the 126 Helicopter Flight, The Featherweights, based at Chandigarh.

Since their induction into the IAF, the use of these massive machines has been limited, though they have performed vital missions of strategic importance as well as operated in aid to the civil authorities during natural calamities.

In 1997, the IAF had lost a Mi-26 in a freak incident after it toppled over following a gust of wind when it was parked on the tarmac at the airfield here. The aircraft was severely damaged and remained unserviciable for several years, till it was finally overhauled by Russia. In 2005, a helicopter suffered damage when it got entangled in overhead cables near Rampur in Himachal Pradesh while airlifting relief material. Owing to its high operating costs and lack of spares, the serviceability of the Mi-26 fleet suffered over the past two decades. This was also noted by the Comptroller and Auditor General in its reports. There were instances where three of the four helicopters remained on ground. According to CAG reports the serviceability gradually fell in the mid 90s from a high of 61 per cent to 40 per cent. The helicopters also remained underutilised. Against a projected utilisation of 50 hours per month per helicopter, the average utilisation hovered around 11 to 22 hours per month, according to reports.

The Mi-26, on the other hand, has also carried out tasks like airlifting heavy weapons and payloads to the northern sector, and extracting and airlifting the fuselage of the crashed aircraft, which otherwise, may not have been possible.

Jammu, December 14
Governor NN Vohra declared open the All India Inter-University Fencing Championship for Men and Women at the Gymnasium Hall of Jammu University here today. In all, teams from 35 universities from across the country are participating in this three-day sports event as against 18 teams last year.

The Governor observed sports were essential for the balanced personality development of the youth. He added it was necessary to provide all possible support to Jammu University for the promotion of sports. The Governor honoured the players of Jammu University, who had won the overall championship at the All-India Inter-University Fencing Championship held at Punjab University, Chandigarh, last year. He congratulated the men and women teams for their last year’s performance and hoped that they would demonstrate a better performance during this year’s championship.

The Governor lauded Vice-Chancellor, Jammu University, Prof Varun Sahni, the Directorate of Sports and Physical Education and all those associated with organising the sports event. He said as compared to last year, the number of teams was almost double this year, which indicates that fencing was gaining popularity in the country.

Earlier, the players participated in the march past and took oath before they were introduced to the Governor.

The Vice-Chancellor, in his welcome address, dwelt on the achievements registered by the varsity in various sports and other extra-curricular activities. He said continuous efforts were being made to make the university a major sporting varsity along with achieving excellence in academics.

The Director, Sports and Physical Education, Jammu University, Prof Dhian Singh Bhau, gave the details of the participating teams.

The Registrar, Jammu University, Dr PS Pathania, presented a vte of thanks. IG, Jammu Zone, Ashok Gupta, Deans, Heads of Departments, faculty members, players and sports lovers in a large number were present on the occasion.

Jammu, December 14
Even as many Kashmiri Pandit youth are elated to get government jobs in the Valley under the Prime Minister’s Employment Package, it is feared that this ‘exodus’ might lead to staff crunch in some private schools.

Majority of these youth who have now been appointed in the Education Department were earlier working in private schools here.

While talking to The Tribune, principals of some private schools expressed their worry about the matter and said they feared facing staff crunch as majority of their teaching staff comprised of migrant boys and girls.

However, there is always a silver lining. They said, “No doubt that we might face the problem of shortage of staff to some extent, but educated youth too will get the opportunity to apply in private schools against the vacant posts.”

“Some of the migrant youth who have got government jobs have resigned, while others would leave soon. Around 30 per cent of the teaching staff of my school is comprised of Kashmiri Pandit girls and boys,” said a principal of the private school.

Meanwhile, people who have bagged the jobs are jubiliant over their success. Archana Bhat, an appointee, said, “I have been appointed as a teacher in the Education Department under the PM’s Employment package for Kashmiri Migrants. I was working in a private school, which I have left now.”

Jammu, December 14
Three persons, all residents of Bihar and presently working at Sopore in Kashmir, were found lying unconscious at the Jammu Tawi Railway Station here this morning.

The police said some unknown persons might have given them some intoxicants mixed with some eatables, which the trio consumed and fell unconscious.

It added that the trio was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) by some passer-by and have been identified as Ram Vyas, Ramesh, both in their forties, and Shabir Alam in his mid-twenties.

SHO, Railway Station, Rajinder Bhardwaj said, “We have not yet recorded the statements of the victims and are unaware about the loss they suffered. As soon as they are able to give their statement, the police would start investigations in this regard.”

Jammu, December 14
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) today said farmers in Jammu region were facing hardships due to the non-availability of fertilisers, but the authorities were not serious about it.

Addressing a meeting of prominent party workers at Bishnah, PDP vice-president and former Rajya Sabha member Trilok Singh Bajwa said the government’s claims of supplying adequate fertilisers in border areas remained only on papers as majority of farmers in these belts had to struggle to get fertilisers.

Bajwa said the government was not aware of the problems of the farmers.

Taking a dig at the coalition regime, he said the government had constituted the Kisan Advisory Board to accomodate businessmen and traders. However, no steps had been taken to minimise the woes of the farmers.

He termed the formation of the board as a cruel joke with the farmers and their true representatives.

The PDP vice-president said the casual approach of the government towards the woes of the farmers could be gauged from the fact that even after three months, no compensation had been given to farmers whose crops were damaged due to hailstorms.

Jammu, December 14
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Jammu, felicitated meritorious students belonging to the economically weaker section with scholarships today. The scholarships were provided to the students securing the first three positions in the annual examinations of Classes V to VIII.

The company supported at least 250 students of Government Middle School, Marakhari, Channi Himmat, to excel in studies.

It also supported the school in infrastructural work and provided students with annual fee and stationery.

Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Raman Bhalla presented the scholarship cheques to the parents of these students at a function held on the school premises today. Besides the parents, students and staff of the school, a large number of people from surrounding areas were also present.

Bhalla appreciated the gesture of Hindustan Coca-Cola and said the company had been playing a positive role in supporting the education of the poor children for past many years. Amarpal Kaur, Principal of the school, also appreciated the gesture of the company.

Jammu, December 14
The Panun Kashmir,headed by its convener, Dr Agnishekhar, has cautioned the displaced Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community against long-term repercussions of the implementation of the Prime Minister’s employment package.

The package is being projected as part of the return and rehabilitation module for the community. According to a statement issued here, the Panun Kashmir rejected the present return and rehabilitation module of the state government as it said the package did not address the core issue of exodus and genocide of the Kashmiri Hindu community.

Dr Agnishekhar said the community should understand that this process was aimed at paving the way for greater autonomy or self-rule or demilitarisation and excluding the KPs from the political milieu of the state.

While condemning the state government’s design of linking the two issues of employment and the return, Dr Agnishekhar expressed anguish over the hand-in-glove attitude of the so-called senior leaders of the KP organisations and government appointed KP representatives of the apex committee.

Dr Agnishekhar said the Panun Kashmir had warned the apex committee members and organisations not to be part of this sinister design of the state government to trivialise the issue of genocide and exodus of the KP community.

The convener cautioned the community about a design of finishing the chapter of migration of the community. This would be done by allotment of the transit accommodation to refugee camp dwellers at Jagati followed by mass transfers of the employees to the Valley.