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Worst floods in Jammu & Kashmir in six decades
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Daredevil IAF pilots save many lives
Soldiers offload aid material from an IAF copter in Jammu. AFP
Braving odds, Army rescues man from Tawi islet
50 still missing in Udhampur village
Migrant workers return from J-K shaken
Survivours from the flood-hit J&K at the Chandigarh railway station on Monday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan
SNAPSHOTS
Tata Camelot project
SC stays Nithari killer’s execution
Semi-high speed trains on 9 routes by year-end
Rly Minister’s son gets bail in rape case
Govt puts onus on SC to decide fate of coal blocks
Centre playing politics over power crisis: UP CM Centre gets SC notice on Italian marine’s plea
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Worst floods in Jammu & Kashmir in six decades
Srinagar, September 8 Official estimates said nearly 17,000 persons, including 2,000 Army men, were trapped at various localities in Srinagar. Unofficial figures suggested that the number was higher. It was feared that casualty figures might rise as rescuers recovered bodies of seven infants from GB Pant Children Hospital, where between 300 and 400 persons were still trapped. “We have launched a massive rescues operation, but a large number of people are still trapped in submerged localities,” said an Army spokesman in Srinagar. He added that the Air Force was pressed into service for rescue and relief operations. Despite rescue operations, families were trapped in Srinagar neighbourhoods. The situation was grim due to breakdown of the communication network in the Kashmir valley. People lost contact with relatives trapped in submerged areas. There were reports that houses in many marooned localities had collapsed, giving rise to fears of more civilian casualties. “My brother and his family are trapped in their house in Jawahar Nagar. I had telephone contact with him till 10 pm on Sunday,” said Dr Govinder Singh, a pediatrician. “My brother had shifted to a house in the locality from the third floor of his marooned house using a wooden log,” he said. He was waiting at Lawaypora on the outskirts of the city to arrange a rescue operation for his brother. He could not go beyond Lawaypora as the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway beyond it was submerged. “When I last talked to my brother, he was crying and losing hope. He told me that a house adjacent to his had collapsed. I feel helpless as I cannot arrange any rescue operation.” he said. He added that his brother last told him that the water level in the area was not receding despite the passage of more than 10 hours. Security forces and civilian volunteer teams continued rescue operations on Monday. At Lawaypora, Dr Tariq Wani of Kupwara was waiting for his brother Khalid, whose wife and little daughter were trapped in Jawahar Nagar. “On Saturday night, Dr Khalid was posted at LD Hospital. As flooding started in Srinagar on Sunday morning, he came out and told his wife in Jawahar Nagar to get out,” he said. “Khalid managed to come out, but his wife and daughter got trapped as the water level rose fast. We do not know their fate as there is no contact. We cannot make a telephone call,” he said. Radio and television stations closed transmission as the installations were flooded. A woman leaving an HMT locality with her infant daughter broke down, saying all belonging were washed away. “I came back to see my house. People told me that all houses in the locality were submerged. We have nothing as we could not carry anything when we fled yesterday,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. The critical areas in Srinagar were on the right of the river, including Badamibagh headquarters, and on the Rajbagh side. From Badamibagh side, 25 boats were pressed into service. Between 300 and 400 persons, including staff, were trapped in GB Pant Hospital. From Rajbagh side, over 20 boats were pressed into service. The Army estimated that nearly 15,000 civilians were still trapped in their houses in Srinagar. The body of a woman was recovered from Shivpora on Sunday. The Army rescued 28 Pakistani nationals and shifted them to safe places. They had come here to attend the SAARC Golf Tournament. Now, flood alert in North Kashmir n
The situation in north Kashmir, particularly Baramulla, was critical as the water level in the Jhelum was rising. The civil administration sounded an alert in the low-lying areas and localities near the river. n
The authorities shifted some families from Jahama locality in Baramulla on Sunday evening. The authorities evacuated people from a gurdwara and a religious seminary in
Baramulla. n The police evacuated personnel from a training centre in Sheeree. Villages from Hajin, Sumbal, Sonawari and Gundjahangir in Bandipora fled as there were fears that the Jhelum might breach the Hajin area.
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Daredevil IAF pilots save many lives
Jammu, September 8 “We are landing in unprepared areas like rooftops as there is no helipad or ground. We are touching down on rooftops to rescue people in distress and give relief material,” Col Arvind Khimta, a helicopter pilot of the 9 Corps (Rising Star Corps) said at the Tiger Division helipad. Asked about the challenges, he mentioned weather and ground conditions. He said the weather was very bad in the initial couple of days, but had improved now. He said they were flying close to the border where people were stuck for want of road connectivity. He said roads and bridges had collapsed. Colonel Khimta said helicopter pilots looked for rooftops as there was no helipad or dry ground. “Rooftops are not so strong, but we take a certain amount of risk because the situation demands it. We have been lucky so far and wish the best for the team,” he added. He said helicopters had started reaching villages and hamlets south of the Pir Panjal range, which they could not earlier because of inclement weather. “We have started reaching villages and remaining areas will be accessed soon,” he added. He said the situation had improved, by and large. He said the water level in rivers and rivulets had receded and the weather was sunny. He hoped that the ground communication network would improve.
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Braving odds, Army rescues man from Tawi islet
Jammu, September 8 One of the incidents that brought to fore the Army’s selfless service was when the sarpanch of lower Narian village in Rajouri district made a distress call to the nearest Army unit at
Narian. He informed them that an individual was stranded on a small island in the middle of the Nowshera Tawi river since Thursday evening. The unit immediately responded and a team comprising an officer, one JCO and 20 soldiers reached the spot, said a Defence spokesperson. The river was in spate and attempts were made to cross it using fixed lines, but they could not succeed. The higher formation was informed of the situation and they contacted their superior authorities in no time, he added. A requisition was also given to Indian Air Force to evacuate the individual, Mohammed Shafiq, with the grid references as well as latitude and longitude of the spot. However, due to inclement weather, clearance was not accorded to them. Next day, a team of special Army forces was called from Nowshera to undertake recce of the area where the individual was stranded. A joint recce was carried out by the special forces and the Infantry Battalion wherein it was decided that the rescue attempt would be made in the evening when the water level would go down. An outboard motor was used with the raft harnessed with heavy duty nylon ropes. As soon as it reached the island, the stranded individual was pulled inside the raft. Once on the banks, the individual was given first-aid.
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50 still missing in Udhampur village
Udhampur, September 8 Reports said at least 50 persons were feared dead in a house collapse triggered by landslides in the remote village on Saturday evening. The NDRF launched a rescue operation with the help of the CRPF and the police.
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Migrant workers return from J-K shaken
Chandigarh, September 8 “It was terrifying. Water was surging everywhere and people were screaming for help and scrambling for higher reaches. I saw some houses and structures collapse right in front of my eyes,” he said. “Maine apne kaano ko haath laga liya ki main ab kabhi Srinagar nahi jaaunga (I have sworn never to go to Srinagar again),” the teenager, on his second trip to Srinagar, added. Still dazed over his traumatic experience in flood-hit Srinagar, he was among the 67 people airlifted to Chandigarh this morning by an IL-76 from the Mighty Jets Squadron. Among them, 10 were in a critical condition. Most of those evacuated were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi. For many, who got out, it was their first and now, in their own words, possibly the last trip to the Valley. Fear is writ large on their faces and their silence and demure demeanour are indicative of the harrowing hours the spent marooned amidst swirling waters and pouring skies. A relief camp was set up at the Air Force station, where they were provided medical care and food and arrangements were made for their onward journey to their native places. Most of the survivors had lost their personal belongings and the tools of their trades. Some were carrying just bare essentials or a change of clothes.
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Vaishno Devi yatra resumes
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The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board resumed pilgrimage to the holy cave via the Sanjichhat-Bhairon temple track on Monday morning
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The yatra was suspended on September 4 due to heavy rain over the previous three days
No info about Pandits working in Valley
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A majority of the displaced Pandit government employees, working in Srinagar, have not made any contact with their families in Jammu and other parts of the country, creating panic among the families n
The areas such as Shivpora, Indira Nagar, Balgarden and several parts of Srinagar city, severely affected by the floods, is home to a majority of the Pandit government employees, transferred by their respective departments from Jammu n
Many Darbar Move employees are also stuck in hotels
12 Wing evacuates 417 flood victims
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Three IL-76 heavy lift freighters from No 44 Squadron and three AN-32 tactical transporters from No 48 Squadron aircraft have been deployed by the airbase for the ongoing relief operations, with another three aircraft placed on standby
BRO intensifies J-K highway clearance
n The Border Roads Organisation intensified its operation to clear the
300-km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway which remained closed for the fifth consecutive day on Monday due to landslides and sinking of road at various places n
Over 3,000 passenger and commercial vehicles were stranded on the highway at various place in Banihal, Ramban, Batote, Kud, Patnitop, Chenani, Udhampur and Jammu due to closure of the road
Vajra corps despatch relief column to J&K
n To give a fillip to the ongoing rescue operations in J&K, Vajra Corps flood relief column was activated on war footing and despatched to the Valley. The column consisting of four officers and 79 experienced soldiers were sent to the Valley to save the lives of residents n
The column carried adequate boats, power motors, heavy engineer plants, sand bags and other relief operation stores
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‘No inter-state dispute between UT, Punjab’
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, September 8 Appearing for the petitioners and the administration, senior advocates PS Patwalia and AS Chandiok said the only dispute was the location of the project in an ecologically fragile area and once it was shifted to some other place there would not be any problem. The senior counsel were responding to a remark from a Bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw that the case would have to be sent to the Supreme Court if it involved an inter-state dispute. Under the Constitution, the SC was the sole authority to resolve such disputes if the Centre was unable to find a solution through mediation. Since Chandigarh was contending that the project was in the catchment area and Punjab was denying it, would it amount to inter-state dispute, the Bench wanted to know. Patwalia said besides obstructing the water flow from the catchment area, the high-rise project would also result in the use of huge quantity of ground water by residents of the proposed township and this would also threaten the existence of Sukhna Lake. Chandigarh contended that Punjab had enacted the periphery law covering all areas falling within 16 kilometres from the UT and as such it could not allow the project to come up ignoring the administration’s objection and the fact that it was very much within the 16-km periphery. “Can a state be a violator of its own law,” he asked. He also pleaded that there was “no dispute” over any river or boundary between Punjab and Chandigarh. The arguments would continue tomorrow.
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SC stays Nithari killer’s execution
New Delhi, September 8 A Bench comprising Justices HL Dattu and AR Dave granted a week-long stay after hearing the prisoner’s plea. Koli was to be hanged in Meerut jail on September 12. Senior advocate Indira Jaisingh and a few other lawyers have moved a petition seeking a review of the July 24 verdict of the SC that upheld the death sentence awarded to the rapist-cum-serial killer. “Considering the urgency of the matter, we stay the execution of the death sentence,” the Bench said. It is the usual practice of the SC to grant stay in such cases as death penalty is irreversible. — TNS
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Semi-high speed trains on 9 routes by year-end New Delhi, September 8 Giving the 100-day report card of the Narendra Modi-government, Gowda, who had two months ago stressed on the need for improving the passenger amenities and safety, said in the last three months a lot of work had been done on automatic signalling. He said automatic signalling on 150 route kms is targeted for commissioning during 2014-15. Against this, 53 route kms of automatic signalling had been commissioned during these three months. Automatic block signalling is being provided on the sub-urban section and high density routes which permit more than one train between two block stations to increase the line capacity and reduce headway between two trains. Gowda said following the successful trial run of a semi high-speed train between Delhi and Agra, the exercise would be replicated on eight more routes by the end of this year leading to reduction of travel time for passengers. “We conducted the trial run at 160 kmph in the Delhi-Agra sector and it was successful. Similar trials will be conducted in the other identified sectors by this year end,” Gowda said. The other routes that have been identified are Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai; Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Ahmedabad; Chennai- Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secunderabad stretches. The trial of the semi high-speed train with 10 coaches was conducted in July and first such service by the Railways is expected to be introduced commercially by this November. A high level meeting was convened by Railway Board to discuss the action plan for these nine corridors. The meeting was, among others, attended by 19 divisional railway managers connected with these nine corridors. Simultaneously, the Railways took steps for introduction of high speed bullet trains in the country on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor. It is part of the ministry’s ambitious plan to have Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres of the country. Gowda said various initiatives had been taken to improve the functioning and performance of railways in the last three months after the NDA coalition assumed power in the last week of May. He said the decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in the rail sector would be of benefit in the big ticket projects like high-speed services and dedicated freight corridor as well as in capacity augmentation. However, he said the Railways had not fixed any target for attracting FDI. On the possibility of the implementation of fuel adjustment component (FAC) in passenger and freight rate revision, due in the current month, the minister said, “I cannot say anything right now. We will examine it. Recently, we have also announced Stressing on the safety, the minister said top priority was being given to the issue of passenger safety and the implementation of the Kakodkar Committee recommendations. Listing out the “achievements” of the NDA government in its first 100 days in office, Gowda said about 80 per cent of its budget announcements were in various stages of implementation and the remaining would be taken up in a month. On fast track n Besides the Delhi-Agra sector, the other routes identified n
Trials will be conducted in the other identified sectors by this year-end. The trial of the semi high-speed train was conducted in July n
The first such service by the railways is expected to be introduced by November
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Rly Minister’s son gets bail in rape case
Bangalore, September 8 The relief came to Karthik Gowda three days after a magistrate’s court issued arrest warrant against him with the police declaring him an absconder and forming teams to trace him even as the sessions court heard his anticipatory bail plea. Sessions Court Judge Mudigoudar directed Karthik to execute a personal bond for Rs 2 lakh along with two solvent sureties and cooperate with police in the probe into the complaint by the starlet who claims to have married him. — PTI
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SC gives Sahara chief 15 more days to sell hotels New Delhi, September 8 A Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur passed the order after Roy’s senior counsel S Ganesh said more time was required as the proposed deal with the Sultan of Brunei had virtually fallen through following protests outside these hotels against Brunei in view of that country’s tough laws against adultery. Though the Sahara group had kept the negotiations under the wraps, a section of the international media published the proposed deal leading to the protests by social activists against the hotel being run by the ruler of a country with such “retrograde laws”, Ganesh pleaded. The sale of the group’s properties within India had also run into problems due to the difficult phase the real estate market was going through since June this year, he said. The group did not want to go for distress sale which would not be in anybody’s interest, he explained. “We are of the view that the prayer for grant of 15 days’ time to finalise the sale of assets deserves to be granted,” the Bench said in the order. Ganesh said nobody was more anxious than his client to sell the properties and raise money for the bail amount of Rs 10,000 crore.
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Govt puts onus on SC to decide fate of coal blocks
New Delhi, September 8 The affidavit filed by the Ministry of Coal incorporated the statements made by the Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi on September 1 that the Centre has “no objection” to the cancellation of allocations declared as illegal by the apex court and was also not insisting on any particular course of action. Giving details as directed by the court about the 40 coal producing blocks and six likely to come under production during the year 2014-15, the affidavit said they “are estimated to produce about 50 million tonnes of coal in the current year.” The ministry placed before it the gist of information about mining lease, commencement of production and linked end-use production (EUP) investment received from allocatees of these 40 productional coal mines and six on verge of production. Out of 40 functional mines, two are allocated to an Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), which has not been declared as illegal by August 25 judgment, it said. — PTI
No objection to the cancellation: Centre
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The govt affidavit said the Centre has "no objection" to the cancellation of allocations declared as illegal by the SC n
It said 40 blocks were operational and another six were ready to produce 50 million tonnes of coal in the current year
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Centre playing politics over power crisis: UP CM Lucknow, September 8 Akhilesh’s SOS to the Power Minister on the precarious power situation in the state following the non-functioning of power plants due to coal shortage has failed to elicit any favourable response from the Centre. The state is reeling under power shortage as four of its power plants — Tanda, Rihand, Singrauli and Roza— have become non-function due to coal shortage. Sources said coal reserves in Anpara and Parishcha plants were likely to be depleted, leading to their closure. Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhury accused the Modi government of step-motherly treatment towards UP. He said, “The Central government yesterday allotted 5,863 MW to UP from its pool, but they supplied just 3,972 MW.” Chaudhury said UP, the most populous state of the country, gets less power supply than Delhi and
Maharashtra.
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Centre gets SC notice on Italian marine’s plea New Delhi, September 8 Appearing for the marine, Massimilano Lattorre, senior advocates Soli Sorabjee and KTS Tulsi said Italian Ambassador Daniele Mancini was present in the court and willing to give any undertaking in this regard. Lattorre was hospitalised here after suffering a brain stroke on August 31, they said pleading for letting him to go home for two months for taking proper treatment.
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With nearly 30 aircraft of the IAF and the Army Aviation Corps in Jammu and Kashmir for relief and rescue operations, pilots are risking their lives by flying in hostile conditions. Despite inclement weather, improving since the evening of September 6, pilots battle the odds to reach cut-off areas.
Braving all odds and caring least for their own lives, the men in olive green are doing their best to provide relief to the civilians of the Kashmir valley. These gallant men are reaching out to people cut off from the outside world.
One of the incidents that brought to fore the Army’s selfless service was when the sarpanch of lower Narian village in Rajouri district made a distress call to the nearest Army unit at
Narian.
When 17-year-old Mohammad Nadim eagerly returned to Srinagar from his home town in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar to work in an aluminium-moulding foundry, he could never have imagined that his dreams of earning a livelihood in what many people call paradise, would be washed away by the fury of nature’s forces.
Reiterating that improving passenger amenities and safety was the priority of the government, Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda today said that semi-high speed trains would be run on nine routes by the end of the year.
Giving the 100-day report card of the Narendra Modi-government, Gowda, who had two months ago stressed on the need for improving the passenger amenities and safety, said in the last three months a lot of work had been done on automatic
signalling.
n About 2,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandit youth, engaged in various departments under the Prime Minister’s employment package and working in various parts of the Valley, are cut off from their families in Jammu for the last three days
n 294 persons rescued from flood-hit parts of J&K were airlifted to Chandigarh by IL-76 aircraft on Monday