The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Copter crash: 20 bravehearts to get guard of honour

New Delhi, June 27
Twenty bravehearts, who died in Tuesday's helicopter crash while rescuing stranded people in flood-ravaged areas of Uttarakhand, will be given a guard of honour -- a ceremonial mark of respect -- by the government tomorrow in Dehradun.

"Twenty persons - National Disaster Response Force (9), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (6) and five from Indian Air Force - will be a given guard of honour tomorrow at 12.30 pm in Dehradun," Vice-Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) M Shashidhar Reddy told reporters here.

Reddy said he would be accompanying Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to Dehradun to pay homage to these brave personnel who laid down their lives in the service of the nation.

A sophisticated Mi-17V5 helicopter, belonging to IAF, had crashed in bad weather during a rescue mission in the flood-ravaged hill state. Bodies of all 20 personnel, on board the ill-fated copter, have been recovered.

He said so far over 1 lakh persons have been evacuated from different areas
of the state.

"As many as 1,495 people have been evacuated till 2 pm today both by air and by road. A total of 1,04,095 people have been evacuated so far since the disaster struck," Reddy said.

He said that 560 people have died in the disaster, 476 have been injured and about 344 people are still missing. A total of 2,232 houses, 154 bridges and 320 roads have been damaged due to the disaster.

Reddy's figures are lower to official estimates of 822 people having lost their lives following the natural disaster in the hill state.

Reddy hoped that the rescue operation would be completed by tomorrow. — PTI

The pioneering C-130 sortie that fuelled life-saving copters
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 27
“Sir, I can hear your engines overhead, but still cannot see you,” came the voice over the headsets in the cockpit of the IAF’s newly acquired C-130J medium-lift transport aircraft as it made a precarious approach to a small, weather-beaten airfield in the mountains of Uttarakhand to help rescue thousands of pilgrims stranded in the area due to flash floods.

The aircraft was just about a km away from touchdown when it broke a cloud cover and made a pioneering landing at Dharasu near Uttarkashi on June 22.

With no navigation aids or communication facilities on ground, the weather playing truant and no prior recce, a trial landing by an aircraft in adverse conditions posed a huge challenge.

“Ideally, visibility of at least 3-4 km is required. At first, the chaps on ground thought we would not be able to make it,” Gp Capt Tejbir Singh, the commanding officer of No. 77 Squadron that operates the C-130, said.

“It is the advanced avionics suite and onboard equipment, including sensors and infrared cameras, that give the C-130 the capability to operate in adverse circumstances like this,” he added.

With him in the cockpit were his co-pilot Wg Cdr A. Verma and combat systems operator Wg Cdr AK Bahuguna.

With no flying support facilities at Dharasu, a squadron officer, Sqdn Ldr HR Bhatt, sat in a parked Mi-17 cockpit and used the helicopter’s radio to maintain contact with the C-130.

He had gone there the previous evening just to see if the surface of the airstrip was fit for a landing. He had spent the night making bulldozers clear 6-7 ft-high bushes from the runway’s shoulders that otherwise could have got entangled in the aircraft’s propellers.

The landing of the C-130 at Dharasu was vital so that much-needed fuel for helicopters engaged in rescue work could be made available.

Ferrying fuel drums was not an option as the drums would have to be made to “sit” for 48 hours to allow the sediment to settle before the fuel could be used. With thousands of people stranded or dying, this kind of time was not available. Nor was use of the heavy Il-78 midair re-fuellers possible.

An out-of-the-box approach resulted in the C-130’s internal tanks being used to ferry fuel.

“There was no time even to adhere to standard operating procedures like prior ground and air recce and to make technical assessments. The cloud cover did not even permit an overhead circuit assess of the lay of the land prior to approach,” Gp Capt Tejbir said. “It was a blind mission. We just had to go in straight,” he added. The approach to Dharasu was difficult with the aircraft having to follow a curved flight path around a hill.

At 130 knots, the aircraft touched down on the 3,265 ft of the available runway. Not only was the runway length much less than that needed for an ideal landing, but the airspeed was also more at that altitude for an aircraft of that size and given the fact that it was carrying nine tonnes of additional fuel.

The fuel was offloaded into a bowser, airlifted by a Mi-26 the day before, through reverse action of the C-130’s fuel pumps. Hoses used for the purpose had been specially modified and tested at the Hindon airbase the night before.

With the fuel available, helicopter engines revved up again for rescue work. Two more sorties were carried out and in the meantime road links were restored to ensure regular fuel supply.

Ingenious ways

Ferrying fuel drums was not an option as the drums would have to be made to ‘sit’ for 48 hours to allow the sediment to settle before the fuel could be used

The use of the heavy Il-78 midair re-fuellers was also not possible

So C-130’s internal tanks were used to ferry fuel

Road to Badrinath shut for at least 6 months
Ajay Banerjee/TNS

Army Commander Lt Gen Anil Chait treks with pilgrims towards Gobind Ghat. A Tribune phogograph

Joshimath, June 27
It will take more than six months to reopen the badly damaged stretch of the national highway No. 58 between Joshimath and Badrinath for vehicular traffic, says an internal assessment conveyed to the Ministry of Defence, the Home Ministry and the local government.

The NH-58 originates at Ghaziabad, east of New Delhi, and leads to the China frontier north of the 18,592-feet Mana pass in the glacier-bound section of the Himalayas.

The highway beyond the Badrinath shrine is classified as “Army and ITBP road”.

In September 2011, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had opened a 53-km land route till Ghartoli, right up to the frontier with China.

The road assessment beyond the Mana pass in not “very encouraging” and it may take several months to open the section, say sources, adding that the first priority will be the stretch till Badrinath.

The biggest stumbling block in reopening the road till Badrinath is a 4-km stretch near Lambagar, which has been washed away.

“No road exists there and a new road alignment will be needed cutting through the jagged and rocky part of the Himalayas,” an official said.

An existing bridge has been washed away at another place. The BRO and the Army have set up a new steel bridge, which is also under threat from the rising waters of the Alaknanda.

The steel bridge is being used to bring people across the Alaknanda between Hanuman Chatti and Gobind Ghat as groups of pilgrims use the land route between Badrinath and Joshimath.

The BRO has sent its team to open the road at Gobind Ghat, 22 km from Joshimath. The hard rock of the Himalayas is proving difficult to breach. The BRO today used dynamite to blast through rocks and open a foot path.

This is the first roadblock en route to Badrinath. Between Joshimath and Gobind Ghat, the road has been partially damaged by the raging fury of the Alaknanda.

The 22-km stretch has several spots where the riverbed has risen due to the accumulation of rock and mud, posing a threat to the road as also villages alongside.

Locals ‘misusing’ helicopter service
Shaurya Karanbir Gurung
Tribune News Service

Chinyali Saur (Uttarakhand), June 27
When floods hit the town of Gangotri in Uttarakhand, Lal Bahadur - like everyone who was stranded there - was desperate to get out. But what really made him restless was a phone call to his younger brother who informed him that their mother had died.

Bahadur (50) had reached Gangotri on June 3. His mother had died the same day. "I called my brother on June 15 and he broke the news to me. All this time, I was in Gangotri and was unaware of it. The worst part was that I could not get out of this place to reach my hometown in Uttar Pradesh.

“My mother had died. When I left home, she was fine and suddenly, she passed away. She was 60 years old. After the floods, I have been unable to contact my family. Now, all I think about is reaching home,” he said.

Bahadur was among 572 persons who were evacuated by Indian Air Force helicopters from an Army camp at Harsil today. The Air Force conducted 27 sorties to Harsil from an airbase at Chinyali Saur.

By the end of the day, all the pilgrims had been evacuated from Harsil and the nearby flood-affected areas, according to the Army.

Thirty-one hawkers and 300 local residents are left in Harsil. The Air Force plans to conduct sorties tomorrow to evacuate them.

Yesterday, there were 350 persons stuck at the Army camp in Harsil. The numbers have increased as the locals, who are unable to travel on the flood-affected road from Harsil to Chinyali Saur, are reaching the Army camp to get a helicopter ride.

"The locals have been coming from Harsil to Chinyali. They buy their rations and then go back in the helicopters. Everyone wants a ride in the helicopter, even the local sweeper. Sadhus are also arriving here in large numbers," said an official who is part of the rescue operations.

Among the several sadhus who arrived at Chinyali Saur from Harsil by air is Mohan Giri. He stays at an ashram in Sonepat, Haryana. "I reached Gangotri on June 14. I have been stuck here for the past 10 days. I have fallen sick and have not been able to eat properly. I managed to walk to Harsil with two other sadhus," he said.

The locals have been coming from Harsil to Chinyali. They buy their rations and then go back in the helicopters. Everyone wants a ride in the helicopter, even the local sweeper. Sadhus are also arriving here in large numbers
— An official involved in relief operations

Modi asks workers to prepare for online offensive
Shiv Kumar/TNS

Mumbai, June 27
The next Lok Sabha elections will be fought online and the BJP needs to be in the forefront in harnessing the power of social media, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told party leaders in Maharashtra today.

Modi, in charge of the BJP’s election committee, asked the state leadership to begin work on building an online database of voters in the state. “Modi has asked the leadership to collect Facebook and Twitter profiles of at least one lakh people from each of the 48 constituencies in the state,” said a member who attended a closed-door meeting with Modi.

Senior party leaders who attended the meeting promised to begin work right away. Booth-level workers of the BJP have been told to collect voter information even in seats held by its ally, the Shiv Sena.

“We will begin a campaign to highlight the corruption in the Congress,” state BJP president Devendra Phadnavis said after the meeting.

Modi asked the rank and file to work in tandem with the Shiv Sena to ensure that the allies jointly notched up a decent haul in the general election.

“The BJP has to be voter-centric. We should go to the people well before the elections and highlight the corruption in the Congress. The people should also know about the good governance of the BJP-ruled states,” Modi is said to have told the party leaders.

The Gujarat Chief Minister’s meeting with workers in Maharashtra was, however, marred by the absence of former party president Nitin Gadkari.

Modi is said to be favouring Gadkari’s rival and senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde who is a grassroots-level leader.

BJP leaders said Gadkari was in Delhi to complete visa formalities for his forthcoming Norway visit. They added that Gadkari would meet Modi during the latter’s stay in Mumbai.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said Modi’s visit was part of an exercise to review the party’s electoral machinery across the country. Modi was keen on strengthening his party’s ties with the Shiv Sena.

“We have to jointly plan a strategy to win the seats we lost in Mumbai, Pune and Marathwada in the 2009 elections,” Javadekar said.

“We should exceed our tally in the 2009 elections,” he added. While the BJP won 18 Lok Sabha seats, the Sena bagged 15 in the last general election.

Warming up to Thackeray

Modi called on Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and discussed the political situation in Maharashtra. The meeting comes days after Thackeray hit out at Modi over claims that the Gujarat Chief Minister rescued 15,000 Gujaratis from disaster-hit Uttarakhand. Observers feel Thackeray’s seemingly hard stance towards Modi is because of the latter’s soft corner for MNS leader Raj Thackeray.

Rajnath asks Oppn to unite against Cong
Tribune News Service

BJP president Rajnath Singh and party’s UP in charge Amit Shah at a press conference in Lucknow on Thursday. PTI

Lucknow, June 27
BJP national president Rajnath Singh today urged Opposition parties to join hands to rid the country of Congress ‘misrule’ saying it had failed the country on all fronts.

He said the BJP as the principal Opposition party was ready to stand by the government if it had a comprehensive plan to address the problems facing the country.

Interacting with mediapersons on the second day of his three-day visit, the first since he took over as national president, Rajnath blamed the Congress for the dismal financial health of the country.

“In the past two weeks, foreign investors have withdrawn $ 4.2 billion from the country. Even Indian investors prefer to invest elsewhere. The country has an investment unfriendly environment,” he said.

On the recent terror attack on an Army convoy in Srinagar, he said it was a matter of concern that terrorist felt brave enough to strike just a day before a high-profile visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

He said the BJP did not believe in indulging in politics at a time of crisis. He defended his party against Congress charges of politicising the Uttrakhand calamity saying he did not make a photo op of flagging off relief material to the hill state yesterday.

“Who did so, we all know very well,” he quipped.

The Congress was in the process of changing its agenda to take the attention away from its failures.

On 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, Rajnath said: “There have been 3,009 riots since Independence, most of them under Congress rule. In Gujarat many have been punished for the riots. Can this be said of other riots? We all know who provoked the 1984 Sikh riots.”

He also hit out at the Samajwadi Party for undermining the judiciary by deciding to withdraw terror cases.

Three arrested for rape of Manipal MBBS student
Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS

Bangalore, June 27
The Karnataka police today achieved a breakthrough in the abduction and gang rape of a medical student at Manipal near Udupi town on June 20 by arresting the three alleged culprits.

As if the rape of the 22-year-old woman was not macabre enough, the case took a further grim turn as two of the three accused tried to commit suicide.

Asked if the suicide attempts were genuine or shows enacted by the culprits to gain sympathy, zonal IGP Pratap Reddy said, "The accused, who had taken poison, is in an extremely critical condition. Perhaps the manhunt launched against them and the condemnation heaped on them by society wore heavy on them, prompting two of the three culprits to attempt suicide."

While accused Anand was nabbed near Manipal today evening, Yogesh and Harish were arrested earlier in the day. "Anand was hiding in a place called Porokola near Manipal. When the police team zeroed in on him, he tried to commit suicide by hanging. He was retrieved by the police team and is now undergoing treatment at the Manipal Hospital," Reddy said. He said the three culprits were autorickshaw drivers who used to operate in the Manipal area.

Yogesh had taken poison when the police reached his hideout to nab him. He is also admitted to the Manipal Hospital.

The police learnt from Harish that Yogesh had recorded the entire rape incident on his mobile phone.

A criminal case was registered on June 21 against three unidentified culprits under Sections 366 and 376 (abduction and rape) read with 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint by the 22-year-old victim to the local police station.

The incident occurred when the victim was waiting to hire an autorickshaw outside the Manipal University to go to her flat from the library at around 11.30 pm. A major educational centre, Manipal is 5 km from the famous Udupi temple town on the west coast of Karnataka and is about 410 km from Bangalore.

The police has also traced the autorickshaw used in the crime and seized it.

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saidthe case would be tried in a fast track court, ADGP (law & order) Bipin Gopalakrishna said the anti-rape law enacted recently would be slapped against the culprits.

Police action

Three suspects, Yogesh and Harish and Anand, nabbed

Yogesh and Anand attempt suicide on arrival of police, admitted to hospital

The police seizes autorickshaw used in the crime

Bring back Yeddyurappa to BJP campaign gains momentum
Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS

Bangalore, June 27
The move to bring back former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa into the BJP fold is fast gaining momentum.

Several party members today met state unit president Prahalad Joshi to discuss the homecoming of Yeddyurappa, who has floated the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) after breaking away from the BJP.

Interestingly, the BJP contingent that met Joshi today was led by former Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, who until recently was bitterly critical of Yeddyurappa. Gowda could become the Chief Minister because of the support of Yeddyurappa. But Yeddyurappa dislodged Gowda later when he tried to assert his independence. However, Gowda, now the leader of the BJP in the Legislative Council, decided to let bygones be bygones.

Former ministers Aravind Limbavali, Umesh Katti and Basavaraj Bommai also advocated Yeddyurappa’s return. Later, they went to Yeddyurappa’s Dollar Colony residence to meet him.

The pro-Yeddyurappa faction leaders had met at Lok Sabha member D B Chandre Gowda's residence last week to discuss their plan of action to bring the Lingayat leader back into the party. These leaders argue that only Yeddyurappa’s return can ensure a decent performance by the party in the Lok Sabha elections next year. The party had won 18 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats of Karnataka in the 2009 general elections. A repeat of the performance appears quite unlikely at this point of time.

In the May Assembly polls, Yeddyurappa’s KJP secured 10 per cent vote share and played a major role in the relegation of the BJP to the third position in the Assembly from being the ruling party.

“A section of the state BJP leaders have presented their views on the matter (return of Yeddyurappa to the BJP) and I am going to convey it to BJP president Rajnath Singh and party central leadership through Thawar Chand Gehlot (party in charge of Karnataka). The next course of action will depend on the central leadership's decision,” Joshi told reporters here.

Joshi said the party’s Core Committee on June 29 would discuss the issue of return of Yeddyurappa to the BJP. This would be the first formal meeting of BJP leaders to discuss the issue.

Ananth Kumar, Lok Sabha member and a known Yeddyurappa-baiter, has kept away from the “bring back Yeddyurappa” campaign for obvious reasons. However, Kumar, also a party national general secretary, has the reputation of being a LK Advani protégé and for this reason is expected to keep a low profile now that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is fast emerging as party’s poster boy for the coming elections.

Better Indo-Pak ties will improve Afghan situation: Dobbins

US Special Af-Pak envoy James Dobbins speaks to the media in New Delhi on Thursday. — Reuters

New Delhi, June 27
Improvement in Indo-Pak ties will automatically improve the situation in Afghanistan, US Special Af-Pak envoy James Dobbins said today even as he discussed the current state of play in US-Afghan relations and attempts to work towards reconciliation with top officials here.

Dobbins, who arrived here yesterday to brief Indian officials on the proposed talks with the Taliban as part of stabilising war-torn Afghanistan, also said there is no prospect of any agreement with the Taliban unless they decide on severing ties with all terror groups, including the Al-Qaida, a major concern of India.

"In an agreement, they need to improve on cessation of hostilities, respectfully attend the Constitution and go about severing of all ties with the Al-Qaida and similar terrorist organisations," he said.

Dobbins, who flew-in here after visiting Kabul and Islamabad, also said, "Any improvement in Indo-Pak ties will almost automatically improve the Afghanistan situation."

After his two-day official engagements which included meeting with Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai yesterday, official sources here said the discussions "focused on the current state of play in US-Afghan relations and attempts to work towards reconciliation". — PTI

Rail ticket cancellation gets more ‘taxing’
Aarti Kapur/TNS

Chandigarh, June 27
To get the maximum refund on the cancellation of reserved tickets, the railway passengers will now have to present their tickets at the reservation counter 48 hours before the start of journey, instead of the existing norm of 24 hours.

The minimum cancellation charges in such a case will be Rs 120 for AC first class or executive class, Rs 100 for AC-II tier or first class, Rs 90 for AC III-tier, economy and chair car, Rs 60 for sleeper class and Rs 30 for second class per passenger.

The Railway Ministry has revised the cancellation and refund norms after around 15 years. The new rules will come into effect from July 1.

Those getting their tickets cancelled within 48 hours but at least six hours before the departure of the train will have to forfeit 25 per cent of the fare amount as cancellation charges. The existing time limit for the same amount of fare deduction is between 24 hours to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train.

As per the new policy, if the passenger presents his ticket for cancellation within six hours before the scheduled departure of the train and up to two hours after its actual departure, the cancellation charges would be 50 per cent of the fare.

According to the new rules, no refund will be given on the cancellation of reserved tickets, if these are surrendered two hours after the train’s actual departure.

In case of unforeseen circumstances, including a strike or a natural calamity, the time for claiming refund has been reduced from existing 90 days to 10 days after the train’s departure.

What you forfeit

48 hours before the start of journey: Rs 120 for AC first class or executive class, Rs 100 for AC-II tier or first class, Rs 90 for AC III-tier, economy and chair car, Rs 60 for sleeper class and Rs 30 for second class per passenger

Within 48 hours, but at least six hours before the train departure: 25% of the fare

Within six hours before the scheduled train departure and up to two hours after actual departure: 50% of the fare

More than two hours after the train’s departure: No refund

AP among most unsafe states for women

Hyderabad, June 27
Despite its image of being a progressive and IT-savvy state, Andhra Pradesh has earned the dubious distinction of becoming one of the most unsafe states for women in the country. AP has registered the second highest number of crimes against women last year after West Bengal.

The statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau reveal that over 11 per cent of all crimes against women in the country occur in AP. Hyderabad and Vijayawada together accounted for more than 10 per cent of crimes against women in the country.

The report said that 28,171 cases of crimes against women were booked in the state in 2012. Only West Bengal had more with 30,942 cases. Hyderabad recorded 1,899 cases of crimes against women while Vijayawada had one less at 1,898. Only Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru had higher incidences of crimes against women. — TNS

Prices of commonly used medicines to be reduced soon
Sushil Manav/TNS

Sirsa, June 27
The prices of commonly used medicines like antiseptic solution betadine, anti-diabetic daonil or antibiotic azithral are set to slash soon.

After the release of the Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013, earlier this month, the prices of hundreds of drugs formulations are likely to come down in the coming days.

Sources said the average benefit to consumers could range between 25 and 27 per cent and the combined loss to some big pharmaceutical concerns of the country could run up to Rs 1,000 crore annually after the implementation of the DPCO, 2013.

“The DPCO is an order issued by the Central government published in the Gazette of India under the Essential Commodities Act to control the prices of drugs.

BRIEFLY

Mumbai
Gangster Abu Salem shot inside Taloja prison, injured: Gangster Abu Salem, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was today attacked inside Taloja Central Jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, the police said. Salem was shot by Devendra Jagtap, an accused in the advocate Shahid Azmi murder case. This is the second attack on Salem inside a jail after he was deported from Portugal in 2005. He had faced attack at the Arthur Road jail here in 2010.

Jiah suicide: Sooraj’s judicial custody extended till July 11: A Mumbai court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Sooraj Pancholi, charged with abetting the suicide of Bollywood actress Nafisa alias Jiah Khan, till July 11. Pancholi, 22, son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, was produced before the Andheri magistrate after the expiry of his judicial custody in the morning. On June 3, Jiah, 25, was found hanging in her flat in Juhu area here. — IANS