Srinagar, September 20
The Army foiled an infiltration bid — the third since floods ravaged the Valley —and killed four militants close to the Line of Control (LoC) in frontier district of Kupwara today.

The four militants, whose identity and group affiliation is yet to be established, were killed in a gunfight in rugged mountains of the Tangdhar sector, 185 km from Srinagar.

The gunfight was triggered when troops of 5/5 GR noticed suspected movement of a group of militants close to the LoC near Eagle Bowl in the sector.

“The group of militants was challenged on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. The militants opened fire, which was retaliated triggering an encounter. In the ensuing encounter that lasted for six hours, four unidentified militants were killed,” said a Defence official. “Four AK rifles and war-like stores were recovered from the encounter area,” he added.

The official said though the exchange of fire has stopped, but massive combing and search operation in the area is continuing to trace if any other militant is hiding in the area.

Defence sources said a large number of militants are waiting across the LoC and are desperate to sneak into the Valley before the snow blocks the mountain passes. Militants are also trying to take advantage of the heavy damage to the LoC fence caused by the flash floods that triggered heavy landslides in the upper reaches of the Valley.

In the past 10 days, three infiltration attempts have been foiled by troops, in which nine militants were killed.

Three militants were killed on September 10 in the Keran sector when troops in Srinagar and other parts of the state were involved in a massive rescue and relief operation after devastating floods hit Srinagar.

A week later two militants were killed close to the LoC in the Machil sector.

Infiltration bids in September September 10: Three militants killed in the Keran sector September 17: Two militants killed close to the LoC in the Machil sector of frontier Kupwara district September 20: Four militants killed in the Tangdhar sector

Jammu, September 20
The Army foiled an intrusion bid along the Line of Control in the Balakote sector of Poonch district last night.

“Around 9 pm yesterday, a group of nine or ten armed militants tried to sneak into the Indian territory through the Balakote sector. The movement was noticed by troops of the 6 Rajput Regiment,” said an Intelligence source.

He said the militants were trying to enter from the Tarkundi forward area.

Troops immediately challenged the intruders and a gunfight ensued, he said.

The source further said the exchange of fire lasted till 10 pm, forcing the militants to flee to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Despite the floods in the state, there has been no let up in guarding the vast frontiers of the state.

While General Officer Commanding of the 16 Corps Lt Gen KH Singh had put the figures of militants opposite the 16 Corps zone at nearly 200, his counterpart in the 15 Corps, Lt Gen Subrata Saha, today said the same number of militants was waiting across, opposite the 15 Corps zone in the Kashmir region.

Lt Gen KH Singh had recently said if the militants tried to take advantage of the floods that caused damage to border fence, they would pay for it.

Since September 10, the Army has killed nine militants in the Kashmir region.

“The Army has almost repaired and restored its anti-infiltration obstacle system. Those areas, where the repair work is going on, are being dominated by men, surveillance equipment and other means,” said an Army officer.

Srinagar, September 20
Governor NN Vohra today reviewed the ongoing relief and restoration operations in the Valley.

He paid a visit to the Badami Bagh here and reviewed the damage caused by floods in different portions of the cantonment.

On his arrival, the Governor was received by the General Officer Commanding of the 15 Corps, Lt Gen Subrata Saha. Vohra was briefed on the relief and restoration operations launched by the 15 Corps under the ‘Mission Sahayata’.

The Governor also visited the flood-affected areas inside the Badami Bagh Cantonment. He was given a detailed overview of the damages suffered by various establishments within the cantonment and other Army camps in Kashmir.

Vohra commended all ranks of the 15 Corps for their relentless efforts towards rescue, relief and restoration operations in the Valley, despite enormous challenges being faced by the Army as its own personnel were badly affected by the floods.

The Governor assured all support to the 15 Corps to enable it to overcome the losses suffered during the floods at the earliest. — TNS

Srinagar, September 20
With various state departments trying to restore the crumbled infrastructure, the government is faced with the challenge of draining out water from the inundated areas of the city.

Parts of Srinagar continue to remain submerged after the gushing Jhelum flooded the urban centre two weeks ago, causing heavy damage to property and loss of human lives.

City’s commercial hub Lal Chowk and other parts, including Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Bemina, Qamarwari, that were inundated due to breaches in the embankment of the Jhelum on September 6 night continue to remain flooded.

A senior official said the administration had to drain out water from the major portion of the summer capital and many suction pumps were being used to drain the water. “We had to cover a vast area. A major portion has been covered, the process is on to drain out water from the remaining areas,” the official said.

The other challenge for the government is to dispose of garbage and keep a check on the possibility of epidemic in the city.

The health services which suffered a major breakdown due to the floods in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley are limping back to routine, an official spokesperson said.

The Department of Health and Medical Education has set up 58 mobile clinics in Srinagar, even as water has been drained out from GB Pant Hospital, Lal Ded Hospital and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, the spokesperson said.

Cleaning operations at hospitals have started and once the electricity and water supply is restored, the hospitals will be ready for routine work, the spokesperson said.

SMHS Hospital alone has suffered Rs 100 crore loss to its machinery and diagnostic equipment due to the floods.

Minister for Health and Medical Education Taj Mohiuddin last evening visited the hospital and reviewed the extent of damage to the diagnostic equipments.

The Police Department, which also suffered damage to its infrastructure in the floods, has also started restoration works.

More than 16 police stations and police posts were severely damaged by the floods in Srinagar, a police spokesperson said.

The police have started work to restore the police stations and police posts where the water level has receded. Orders have been issued to restore the installations as soon as possible, the spokesperson said.

Jammu, September 20
As many as 272 persons are missing in the recent flash floods in the state. The J&K Connect Centre has got 362 missing person reports till this morning, out of which 90 have been traced.

The J&K Connect Centre, established by the state government to trace out the missing people in the recent flash floods in the state, has received 362 missing person complaints till Saturday morning, out of which 90 people have been traced so far.

The centre is receiving more than hundred calls a day from family members of the people missing in the floods in the state, especially in the Kashmir valley.

“We are getting a number of calls from the people trapped in Kashmir for rescue and relief and we inform the agencies involved in rescue operations to help these victims,” said Amit Sharma, Nodal Officer, J&K Connect Centre at Jammu.

“We have so far traced 25 per cent of the missing people, which is a good achievement for this centre. But we will work till the last missing person is traced,” he added.

The centre is not only getting calls from the state and outside the state, but also getting calls from foreign countries. The centre has also traced a Brazilian woman from Pahalgam and sent her to her friend, who had lodged her missing complaint at the J&K Connect Centre, in New Delhi.

Jammu, September 20
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has extended a helping hand to the people of flood-hit J&K.

The first consignment of the two truckloads of relief material sent by the former cricketer in association with SAR group of companies was received by Jammu Divisional Commissioner Shantmanu here today.

The relief material included 400 water filters, 1lakh water purifying chlorine tablets, 1,000 blankets and five tonnes of eatables.

The Divisional Commissioner thanked Sachin on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and assured him that the relief material would soon be dispatched to various flood-affected districts of the state.

Former J&K cricketer and member, BCCI, Ranjeet Kalra expressed gratitude to Tendulkar and said the people of the state would never forget the concern and large-heartedness shown by the legendary cricketer, who had come forward to share the pain of people in these testing times.

Talking to The Tribune, Kalra said the former cricketer had also donated Rs 25 lakh from his MPLADS fund.

“It is really an encouraging sign that a world class cricketer has shown so much concern for the flood victims of the state,” he said. — TNS

Srinagar, September 20
As some of the major market centres in the city continue to remain inundated, the Kashmir Traders Federation today appealed to all the trade organisations to get united and put pressure on the government to drain out water from the main commercial areas of the summer capital.

The federation’s publicity chief Aijaz Shahdhar in a statement said by putting up a united front, the traders would be able to pressurise the government to drain out water from the main market areas of the city.

Expressing anguish over the “non-serious” attitude of the government, Shahdhar regretted that commercial hubs like the Karan Nagar Gole Market, Lal Chowk, Maisuma, Hari Singh High Street, Magmal Bagh Road and Aftab Market continue to remain inundated.

The traders have already stated that the government needed to come forward in big way for the rehabilitation of affected shopkeepers.

Srinagar, September 20
Scores of inmates of the Central Jail, Srinagar, have approached the authorities for considering their cases for enlargement on bail or temporary release, furlough or parole as they are worried about their families, affected by the recent floods in the Valley.

The jail authorities, while considering their requests, it is learnt, have forwarded the applications of the inmates to the government for further consideration.

At present, there are 472 inmates at the Central Jail in Srinagar. About 110 inmates belonging to Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Budgam, Baramulla and Bandipora districts, sources said, were “worried about their families” after receiving news about the devastation caused by the floods from visitors of various inmates.

On September 18, a delegation of the Bar Association, headed by president Mian Qayoom, visited the jail to “discuss the scope of possible legal aid and assistance” to such victims, Bar spokesman Arshad Andrabi said.

“These inmates have moved applications before the jail authorities to consider their cases for enlargement on bail or temporary release, furlough or parole,” Andrabi said, adding that since the courts have become dysfunctional due to the floods and most of the records have been destroyed, there is no scope for hearing of their cases and disposal of bail applications, pending in the courts.

Most of the inmates who have moved their applications for temporary release, it is learnt, have either lost their houses or have no information about their family.

The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, had also visited the Central Jail recently to “explore the possibility” of taking up the bail applications inside the jail, Andrabi said.

Srinagar, September 20
The Haj flights resumed today after more than two weeks as 550 pilgrims were seen off from the Srinagar International Airport.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said two flights carrying 275 pilgrims each took off. Omar said the flood and torrential rains had affected the normal Haj flight schedule, but it was heartening that the same resumed.

He expressed hope that the annual pilgrimage would be conducted smoothly from now onwards.

The last Haj flight had left from here on September 3.Till date, as many as 3,848 pilgrims have left for Madina Munawara.

Meanwhile, the pilgrims were seen off by Minister for Haj and Auqaf, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed.

“ Starting from today, in all 13 flights carrying 3,775 pilgrims,would take off from here to Saudi Arabia. The flights will also take off on September 21, 22, 24, 25 and 26,” said Syeed.

He said the last flight was scheduled to take off on September 27.

While the Haj House, Bemina, is still inundated, the pilgrims have been requested to reach directly to the Srinagar Airport for immigration and other formalities.

Pertinently, the pilgrims used to converge at the Haj House before starting their journey to Saudi Arabia. The first flight of pilgrims of the state had left for the annual Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia on August 27.

This year, each male Haji has been provided with a special jacket and female Haji with a scarf having a logo of the State Haj Committee. The same has been done for identification purposes as a sea of devotees perform the Haj, which is among the five fundamentals of the Islam.

Flight operations The last Haj flight had left from Srinagar on September 3. Till date, 3,848 pilgrims have left for Madina. The pilgrims were seen off by Minister for Haj and Auqaf Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed.

Srinagar, September 20
Two weeks after the floods, services of by various telecom providers in the Valley are still erratic, irking thousands of customers.

Some of the people have even switched on to other cellular companies.

On September 7, when the Jhelum inundated Srinagar city, mobile phone services got snapped, leaving people without any mode of communication.

“In times of calamity, mobile phones should have provided us some respite by helping us get in touch with each other, but they deceived us. There was no connectivity. People had to put their lives in danger to reach their dear ones to know about their well-being,” said Muhammad Iqbal, a resident of Qamarwari in Srinagar.

“My mobile phone stopped working on September 7 night. It was the most horrible night of my life as my aunt and grandmother were trapped in the floodwaters at Natipora. I dialled my aunt’s number so many times but it didn’t connect. At least, mobile phone companies should not have deceived us,” said Saqlain Ahmad, a resident of Nowshehra.

Though people are blaming the state government for doing little to help the people during the floods, they say the private cellular companies had also done the same.

“We have no expectations from the government, but private phone companies left us alone in the floods. A phone call would have relieved thousands of worried families but alas,” said another local.

People living abroad and in other states said they had to live the nightmare of their life as they did not know about their families in Kashmir.

Most of the mobile and internet networks are still down, making people suffer. “We were trying to call our son in Mumbai so that we could tell him that we were safe but we couldn’t contact him for more than a week. Communication breakdown added to our tragedy. The phones and internet are still not working properly in the flood-hit areas. Hundreds of lives were lost because of no network. People were not able to contact anyone and family members lost track of each other,” said Abdul Majeed, a former government official.

Srinagar, September 20
A relief camp for the flood-hit was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police at Girls High School Barbar Shah here today.

Besides other items, more than 600 blankets, 500 ration packets and medicines were distributed among the residents of the area.

Doctors from Police Hospital, Srinagar, provide medical assistance and medicines to patients. They educated the residents on precautions to be taken to avoid water-borne and other diseases.

Additional Director General of Police (Armed) SM Sahai also visited the camp. He said the state police had to play a great role to ease the sufferings of people in this need of hour. — TNS

Jammu, September 20
Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology Mian Altaf today directed the forest authorities to ensure liberal and timely supply of timber to the flood victims, particularly in the far-off areas of Jammu division.

Altaf said this while chairing a high-level meeting of senior officials of the Forest Department here this morning. He issued instructions to the District Forest Officers concerned to prepare a roadmap and ensure that timber was provided to the flood-affected people within a week on concessional rates so that they could start construction or repair work of their houses. He also directed the officials to ensure routine timber supply to the consumers.

The Forest Minister said priority would be given to the inaccessible areas where besides residential houses, bridges and single connectivity means were damaged.

The minister said funds for restoration works would be released by the district administration after proper verification and assessment of losses. He took stock of the damage to the infrastructure under the forest sector. — TNS

Jammu, September 20
HDFC Bank has set up a toll-free number to provide a dedicated service in the state. Customers in Jammu and Kashmir can dial toll free number 1800 22 1819 for information on banking services, requests and transactions-related queries.

The bank has also resumed operations in its 53 branches that were affected by the floods. The bank has 69 branches in the state.

In the Valley, out of 37 branches, 21 are already operational.