Jammu, October 8
All Jammu-based political parties, including the Congress, which is part of the National Conference-led coalition government in the state, today opposed the postponement of the Assembly elections in the flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir.

These parties argued that the democratic process should not be stalled in the name of rescue and relief operations.

Although Deputy Election Commissioner of India Vinod Zutshi said the final decision would be taken by Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath, the representatives of various political parties who met the visiting team made it clear that there was no reason to postpone the poll.

Representatives of the Congress, BJP, National Panthers Party, BSP, NCP and the CPI met the ECI team here today. The team is scheduled to meet the NC and PDP representatives in Srinagar on Thursday.

“We have made our stand clear before the ECI team,” Congress leader Thakur Hari Singh told The Tribune after meeting the visiting team.

He along with veteran leader Janak Raj Gupta represented the Congress. “We have made it clear to the ECI team that Assembly elections should be held on time,” Singh said, adding that they had suggested that the election process and rehabilitation operation should go simultaneously.

BJP representatives Bali Bhagat and Kavinder Gupta also suggested that the elections should be held in time. “We made it clear that there was no reason to postpone the elections,” Gupta said.

Ramnagar legislator and Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh, after meeting the team, said his party was in favour of holding the Assembly elections on time.

The BSP delegation, which met the ECI team under the leadership of state president Tulsi Dass Langeh, also insisted that there was no need to put off the elections.

Interacting with mediapersons, Zutshi said he had been deputed by the Chief Election Commissioner to assess the ground situation regarding the preparedness for the Assembly elections.

Earlier, Zutshi had a video conference with the Deputy Commissioners of all 10 districts of Jammu province. and got feedback from them. 

Assembly poll planning

Leaders of the Congress, BJP, Panthers Party, BSP, NCP and the CPI met Deputy Election Commissioner of India Vinod Zutshi in Jammu on Wednesday.

All Jammu-based political parties, including the Congress, have opposed the postponement of the poll in the flood-ravaged J&K.

They have suggested that the election process and flood rehabilitation should go simultaneously.

The final call on elections will be taken by Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath. The term of the 87-member J&K Assembly will end on January 19 next year.

Srinagar, October 8
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today directed the divisional administration, Jammu, to take all the requisite measures to ensure safety of people in the border areas affected by Pakistan shelling.

Food, temporary shelter, transportation, medical facilities and supply of drinking water should be made available at the camps established for the people, who have been forced to abandon their homes due to heavy shelling from their areas, Omar told the authorities.

The Chief Minister had a video conference with the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Inspector General and Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, this noon, an official spokesperson said.

“The Chief Minister received brief on the arrangements made to safeguard the lives of border people,” the spokesperson said.

He was informed that 24 temporary camps have been established in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts for the affected families and over 7,000 people were residing in them. 

Arnia, October 8
A thriving town with a population of over 20,000 that once provided refuge to border residents on the Zero Line during Pakistan firing and shelling, today itself has become a deserted and abandoned place.

Targeted shelling of this town with 82 mm mortars by the Pakistan Rangers has baffled the people here.

“This town, which was never targeted by Pakistan during 1965, 1971 and even during the Kargil war, has suddenly turned a favourite target for the Pakistani forces. I don’t know why,” said 60-year-old Gian Singh.

He recalled that during heightened tension between the two countries and indiscriminate firing on border hamlets, villagers from Sai, Sai Kalan, Chanana, Trewa, Kaku-de-Kothe, Mahashe-De-Kothe and other hamlets used to take refuge here to escape Pakistan shelling. “We are totally baffled by the relentless shelling,” Singh said.

Nalin Kumar, another resident, who also echoed similar views, said the people of this town, who once gave shelter to villagers from the Zero Line, have themselves been displaced.

“We have now become refugees,” he said.

Arnia town, a business hub of the RS Pura sector, has a full-fledged municipal committee and before it grew into a business hub, it was the biggest village of Jammu and Kashmir in terms of area and population.

“The town is densely populated and people, including migrant labourers from outside the state, come here to eke out a living,” said Rabinderpal Singh, a shopkeeper.

Jammu, October 8
Senior Congress leader Kapil Singh has condemned Pakistan for firing on borders in which several civilians lost their lives and scores of others got grievously injured that included elderly persons and children.

Demanding tough stance against unprovoked firing by Pakistan, Kapil Singh urged the Prime Minister Narinder Modi to give a befitting reply to Pakistan for ceasefire violations and take a tough stand against Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief in the coming SARRC summit in Nepal.

“It seems Narendra Modi remained strong till he become Prime Minister by levelling baseless charges against the Congress leadership for following weak policies. What happened to the tough Modi who had failed to even mention about the plight of border people?” Kapil Singh said.

Kapil Singh demanded best medical care for seriously injured persons, besides adequate compensation to the injured persons and kin of the deceased.

Srinagar, October 8
Expressing concern over the escalating tension along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today regretted the loss of life on both sides of the fence.

Mirwaiz appealed both India and Pakistan to leave the path of confrontation and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue.

Both the countries have been engaged in a heavy exchange of fire along the Line of Control and international border in the Jammu region for the past few days.

“The border confrontation between India and Pakistan is highly regrettable,” Mirwaiz said in a statement here.

“During the border confrontation between India and Pakistan, on most of the occasions, it is the hapless civilians of Jammu and Kashmir who lose their precious lives. And during the last so many decades, the biggest price for this confrontation has been paid by the Kashmiri people on both sides of the divide,” Mirwaiz said while regretting the loss of innocent lives on both sides of the border in the region.

The separatist leader said: “The real cause of tension between the two nuclear countries is Kashmir. Unless this issue is not resolved as per the aspirations of its people, the threat to peace in this region won’t minimise.”

Jammu, October 8
As the firing by Pakistan has intensified along the international border in Jammu, there is no break for the doctors and paramedics at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), part of the special cell to deal with the influx of the injured, mostly with shrapnel injuries.

A mechanism has been evolved to ensure that the injured civilians and soldiers get immediate attention from the medical staff which has to deal with hundreds of patients in the emergency block daily.

On Tuesday, 13 people injured in shelling were brought to the GMCH in the morning, taking the total number of casualties to 59 since intense shelling from across the border started taking a toll on the local population living close to the border. So far, seven people have been killed in the shelling.

Anticipating further increase in the casualties as Pakistan has been targeting civilians and the Army in Arnia, RS Pura, Samba, Akhnoor and areas along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch, the medical college has kept an additional team of doctors and paramedical staff on a standby.

“According to the policy of the government, those injured in militancy attacks and border firing are provided free of cost treatment. Doctors at the surgery ward, orthopaedic ward and other departments are coordinating with each other to provide medical assistance as per the requirements. The operation theatre has been kept ready 24x7,” said Sunita, in charge, control room, GMCH.

Doctors attending to the injured say most of the injured are in shock due to constant shelling on their villages.

“Treating the people for shrapnel wounds is a slow process. The wounded are in shock as fragments from shells are in different parts of the body. It will take weeks before they are able to recover,” said a doctor at the disaster ward of the hospital.

Meanwhile, patience is also running out among the affected.

“We want the government to give a strong reply to Pakistan. How many times will we have to leave our villages. Aggression should be met with aggression so that we can live in peace,” said Madan Lal from Arnia village, whose brother was injured in shelling.

Srinagar, October 8
The overnight rainfall and gusty winds sparked a fresh wave of panic and anxiety among flood-weary residents in the Kashmir region, where thousands were displaced by a deluge last month.

The rainfall began on Tuesday evening and continued till Wednesday noon in most parts of the region, including the state’s summer capital here, where many residential and commercial neighbourhoods were inundated for more than a fortnight last month.

The precipitation also brought down the mercury as the minimum temperature in the city here was recorded at 10.1°C, a dip of two to four degrees from the low of past week, 6.5°C in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort and 3.5°C in north Kashmir’s Gulmarg resort.

An official of the state Meteorological Department said the city received 23.6 mm rainfall while south Kashmir’s gateway Qazigund town received 30.1 mm and north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara town received 15.6 mm rainfall overnight.

The official said light to moderate rainfall and thundershowers would occur at few places in 
the state during the next 24 hours.

The night-long rainfall, which was the first since the deluge devastated parts of the region, set off panic among the residents here as many wrote prayers and expressed anxiety on social networking sites. “It is raining; and with every drop, I am sinking,” wrote Nisar Ahmad, a bank employee and a resident of Srinagar.

The rainfall also set off a scare among the residents here as many embankments, shielding the neighbourhoods from the river and its various canals, were breached and weakened by the deluge last month and is yet to be repaired.

The Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which was also damaged by the deluge, will remain closed for three days from October 9 to11 to allow its repair at Gangroo, where a portion of hillside has developed cracks.

“No movement of vehicular traffic will be allowed on these days. However, to facilitate passengers, transportation of fruit and essential commodities, passenger service vehicles, empty oil tankers, empty trucks and fruit load carriers of medium size can use Mughal Road from Srinagar to Jammu after getting clearance from concerned district administration,” an official spokesman said.

Dip in temperature

The rainfall began on Tuesday evening and continued till Wednesday noon in most parts of the region, including Srinagar.

The precipitation brought down the mercury as the minimum temperature |in the city here was recorded at 10.1°C, a dip of two to four degrees from the low of past week.

Srinagar, October 8
There is some good news for the tourism sector, considered the backbone of the Valley’s economy, after the devastating floods.

Bookings are being made at various hotels for the winter and the stakeholders are considering it as a positive sign for the sector. They are expecting a decent rush of tourists in the winter, though full revival is likely by next year.

“For November, we received five-day booking from a party for 50 rooms and that is a very positive sign. Others are also giving good response,” said J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC), Managing Director, Shamim Ahmad Wani.

He said JKTDC’s well-known 76-bedded hotel, ‘Heemal’, on the banks of the Dal Lake, had been made functional on September 25 after remaining submerged under 18ft of water.

Wani said a few other hotels had also been made functional and were expecting a decent rush of tourists in the winter. “Though the extent of the damage was immense in Srinagar, winter tourist spots such as Gulmarg were unaffected. Therefore, we can expect a decent rush of tourists in the winter. However, all other (private) hotels in Srinagar that suffered huge damage should function again after the winter,” he said.

While the tourism stakeholders have been maintaining that the extensive coverage of the floods by the media had created a fear among visitors, Wani said a strategy was being devised to attract tourists in a big way to dispel any negative feelings.

He said Tourism Minister GA Mir had chaired a few meetings in this regard and would soon come up with a strategy.

Meanwhile, private stakeholders are waiting for the government to get proactive and revive the sector.

Abdul Hamid Wangnoo, president, Domestic Tour Operators Kashmir, said the government had to send out positive signals as tourist destinations outside Srinagar city had remained unaffected during the floods.

“Hotels and houseboats in Srinagar suffered unimaginable damage but tourists can go to spots outside the city. There is no reason why the sector should become completely lifeless,” Wangnoo said.

MP promises help

Member of Parliament and CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury while interacting with the victims assured them that he would raise their sufferings in the coming session of Parliament and also with the state government in Srinagar.

Yechury said his party MPs had deposited ~10 crore in the relief fund for the flood victims. 

Srinagar, October 8
Governor NN Vohra today emphasized the need for building a sound knowledge base at the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of Kashmir Studies (UMIKS) to widen the intellectual horizon of the scholars at the institution.

The Governor stressed the importance of establishing a list of eminent guest speakers and collecting and publishing volumes containing lectures delivered and papers presented by the experts invited by the UMIKS.

Such corpus of knowledge would contribute towards widening the intellectual horizons of the scholars at the institute, Vohra said.

He also suggested that significant research work done at the institute should be suitably highlighted.

The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of Kashmir University and Chairman of the Governing Board of the UMIKS, was chairing a review meeting the institution at Raj Bhawan here.

The meeting reviewed the UMIKS’ functioning in the past year and discussed activities planned during the 2015 and 2016.

Chairperson of the South Asia Foundation (SAF) Mani Shankar Aiyar; Vice Chairperson of the SAF, Ambassador (retired) Veena Sikri; CEO, SAF, PK Prabhakaran; acting Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University AM Shah; Principal Secretary to the Governor Rakesh K Gupta; Director, UMIKS, Gul Mohammad Wani; Registrar, Kashmir University, Zafar Ahmad; Dean Faculty of Social Science, Kashmir University, Naseem Ahmad Shah; and Satyabhama Razdan from the Department of Sanskrit, Kashmir University, attended the meeting.

The Governor stressed the need for making the UMIKS an attractive academic destination and vibrant centre of excellence by offering courses having future relevance.

He suggested that the institute should offer courses in “comparative studies”, which encompass all the South Asian countries.

Vohra said courses should be designed in such a manner as would enable students of the institute to undertake the “choice based credit courses” in other universities and institutions of the country.

He also urged that the students, both the SAARC scholars and local students, should be counseled at the time of admission to the institute.

The Governor further urged the Chairman, SAF, to provide adequate funding for the balanced growth of the UMIKS. Aiyar, meanwhile, suggested framing of an annual calendar of visiting academicians and experts at the institute.

He also assured the Governor that the issue of visa extension of the foreign students at the UMIKS shall be taken up at the appropriate level in the Central government. Aiyar assured adequate financial and other required support to the institute for undertaking its activities. 

Srinagar, October 8
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Northern Command Lt Gen DS Hooda visited Srinagar today to review the restoration and relocation operation at the Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar.

On his arrival, the Northern Command chief was received by Lt Gen Subrata Saha, GOC, 15 Corps, and briefed on the restoration and relocation operations launched by the 15 Corps under “Mission Sahayata”.

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

The GOC-in-C commended all ranks of the 15 Corps on the progress achieved in the restoration process and assured the Corps of all support to enable it to overcome the losses suffered during the floods at the earliest. 

Udhampur, October 8
The Air Force Station, Udhampur, today celebrated the 82nd anniversary of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with zeal and fervour. A series of functions were organised to mark the occasion.

Ceremonial oath taking was carried by all ranks of the Air Force Station, Udhampur, which was administered by Station Commander, Group Captain Manish Singh. Functions were organised in all messes which were attended by all ranks fostering camaraderie and team spirit.

The fortnight-long celebrations were commenced from September 27 with a cross-country event, “Run for Fun”. More than 600 air warriors and families, including 250 children, took part in it.

The Air Force Station, Udhampur, is instrumental in supporting the troops of the Northern Command of the Army deployed in the forward areas of the state. The base has actively participated in providing rescue and relief to civilians during the recent floods in the region, which was the biggest and challenging helicopter and transport operations carried out in one of the most challenging circumstances. — TNS

Srinagar, October 8
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today fixed a time frame of one week for distributing interim relief of Rs 75,000 to the families whose residential houses completely collapsed in the recent floods.

Chairing a meeting here, the Chief Minister said all Deputy Commissioners should be sensitised in this regard so that affected families get urgent interim relief in one week’s time from today.

“Ask the Deputy Commissioners to complete the task within a week from today or pack their bags,” he told officials present in the meeting as per an official statement.

Omar said the focus should be on putting in place a concrete rehabilitation programme, particularly to provide temporary shelters to those whose houses have been totally damaged and are residing in tents on roadsides.

“They cannot be left like this as the winter is approaching,” he said and asked the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, to take immediate measures in this regard so that these people are temporarily rehabilitated.

“You should sit with the officers concerned to ascertain the number of these families and formulate a befitting temporary rehabilitation programme for them,” he directed the Divisional Commissioner.

The Chief Minister while receiving brief on the restoration of health institutions was apprised that no radiation leakage had taken place from the SMHS Hospital as the radio therapy plant of the hospital was not submerged. It was told that a team of experts from SKIMS and others have certified that no leakage of radiation had taken place in the SMHS hospital.

It was stated that the CT scan equipment for the hospital would arrive soon and an MIR was likely to be installed within next four to six weeks.

It was stated that nine lakh children between zero and 15 years of age had been vaccinated against measles and the process would continue for the next six months. 

Talking tough

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah says the Deputy Commissioners should either complete the task within a week from Wednesday or pack their bags.

He said the focus should be laid on putting in place a concrete rehabilitation programme, particularly to provide temporary shelters to those whose houses have been totally damaged and are residing in tents on roadsides

The CM was told that no radiation leakage had taken place from the SMHS Hospital as the radio therapy plant of the hospital was not submerged

Jammu, October 8
The lack of coordination between the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department is affecting the service delivery system in the winter capital of the state, stated the Ministry of Urban Development.

Both the JMC and the PHE are engaged in the provision of water distribution system in Jammu, but there is no clarity on their respective roles in this regard.

“…eventually, the service delivery is affected in Jammu,” the ministry stated in a report.

“The transmission and distribution losses of water are estimated in access to 30 per cent. As a result, the non-revenue water supply is higher. It affects the potential revenues from the water charges, leading to poor service delivery and low cost recovery,” the report claimed.

It further said the water tariffs were very low and the collection efficiency and cost recovered was less.

It added that no initiative has been taken for the public-private partnership and no regular training is being imparted to the Urban Local Bodies staff.

“The sewerage network is present in a very limited part of Jammu and the rest of the city predominately depend on individual toilets and onsite septic tanks, resulting sewage outflow into open drains leading to unhygienic conditions in the localities,” the Ministry stated.

The report emphasised the need to carry out diagnostic studies to improve the revenues from various sources and business process reengineering for accounts.

It stated that detailed study on the water sector and property tax was the need of the hour to identify the grey areas for improving the coverage and collection efficiency.

The ministry suggested that state-level intervention was required to improve the coordination between the JMC, Jammu Development Authority (JDA), District Development Board and the Town Planning Organisation.

It maintained that an updated database on urban Jammu, including demographic data, service-level data and data on finances must be maintained by the JDA and the JMC.

The ministry added that for achieving the desirable results, the coordination between the JDA and the JMC must be strengthened in respect of matters related to planning and regulation of land-use.

New Delhi, October 8
The Centre and the J&K Government are not taking adequate steps to bring life to normal in the flood-hit state and thousands of people are still camping in broken tents, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party alleged in the Supreme Court today.

In an affidavit, the party said, “Relief material is not delivered to the needy and many people complained that they were not being provided food regularly.”

“In Srinagar, thousands of people are camping in some broken tents, mostly provided by NGOs,” the affidavit said, adding, “streets and lanes of Srinagar are stinking because of the foul smell, may be due to the fact that dead animals have not been removed till date and many persons are still untraceable.”

It sought “urgent attention” by the Central and state governments which should ensure that a reasonable piece of land is given to each family who has lost agricultural land anywhere in the state. There is also need for giving free-of-cost medical care and education to all schoolchildren in villages,” it said. Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh had argued the matter earlier in the apex court, which had appointed a five-member committee headed by Senior Registrar of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to ascertain the ground situation of the flood-affected state and asked it to file its report within two weeks. — PTI

Srinagar, October 8
Rumours of “air blast” which is making rounds in the worst flood-hit localities of Jawahar Nagar and Ikhraj Pora is keeping people away from returning to their homes after floods.

As more than 50 homes have collapsed in many parts of Srinagar, mostly Jawahar Nagar and Raj Bagh, people are scared to return to their homes, fearing that their houses would collapse.

“We wanted to go back to our home but everyone is saying that air blast will take place in the vicinity of Raj Bagh and Jawahar Nagar on October 16. Our house is very old and we fear it may collapse,” said Yousuf Ahmad, a resident of Jawahar Nagar.

In the localities of Jawahar Nagar, Raj Bagh and Gogji Bagh, which were hit in the flash floods that hit the state on September 7, water remained inside the houses for more than 20 days thus making the structures more vulnerable to collapse. The water was drained out from the houses with the help of high-end motors that took more than a week.

A rumour has spread among people that the government will conduct air blast in these localities to check which structures have chances to collapse to avoid any causality beforehand. However, there was no official announcement about the same.

“We also heard that the area has been declared unsafe for living for six months fearing collapsing of houses. These things are keeping us away from going back to our homes. There are mostly old structures made of mud and brick. We survived the floods, but we don’t want to take further risk. If it is true then the government should make some arrangements for our shelter,” said Abdul Rasheed, a resident of Ikhrajpora. “Our houses have already developed cracks. The government is yet to come with some relief package for us,” he added.

The Srinagar Deputy Commissioner, however, ruled out any air blast or water blast being carried by the government and appealed to the people not to believe such rumours.

“The government is not doing any such thing. We are only trying to clean the roads and lanes so that people can return to their homes as early as possible. Regarding weak structures or houses that have developed cracks, we have already made guidelines to be followed by people while entering and cleaning their homes,” he said.

The Chief Engineer, R&B, Kashmir, SK Razdan, has also ruled out any such possibility saying there were no such plans. The R&B Department has already been tasked to check the strength of various buildings, particularly major schools in the capital, so as to ensure the safety of the people and schoolchildren. These houses and buildings remained under water for three to four weeks, thereby putting a question mark on the strength of these structures. 

Don't believe in such rumours: DC

A rumour has spread among people that the government will conduct an ‘air blast’ in Jawahar Nagar, Raj Bagh and Gogji Bagh localities to check the strength of structures and houses. However, officials concerned say there is no official announcement in this connection

The Srinagar Deputy Commissioner has ruled out any air blast or water blast being carried by the government and appealed to the people not to believe such rumours

Jammu, October 8
A rank ceremony was held on the premises of the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station. The rank of head constable (telecom) was pinned to two selection-grade constables (telecom) and rank of selection-grade constables (telecom) was pinned to 11 CTs (telecom).

The pinning was done by Shiv Kumar Sharma, SSP, Railways, Jammu, Chander Jeet Singh SDPO, GRP, Jammu, and PK Mengi, DSP, GRP, Lines, Jammu.

Srinagar, October 8
Speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly Mubarak Gul today visited Soedpora Eidgah in Srinagar to enquire about the health of the victims injured in a gas cylinder blast, which left three persons injured, yesterday.

The Speaker handed over Rs 25,000 to each injured as financial assistance for meeting the medical treatment, an official statement said here.

Gul also visited the residence of Manzoor Ahmad Dar at Guzarbal, Chattabal, who lost his life in the recent floods while rescuing trapped persons.

He condoled the demise of Manzoor Ahmad Dar and expressed sympathy with the bereaved family.

Later, the Speaker also inspected ration ghats of the area and directed the authorities concerned for making available adequate quantity of essentials on the ghats for the consumers. 

Financial aid

Speaker Mubarak Gul handed over ~25,000 each to all injured as financial assistance

Gul also visited the residence of Manzoor Ahmad Dar at Guzarbal, Chattabal, who lost his life in the recent floods while rescuing trapped persons

Srinagar, October 8
The regular theory classes of BG-III year in the flood-affected colleges of Srinagar are likely to start from October 15, while the dates for regular classes of BG I and II year would be notified separately.

According to a notification issued by the Principal, Amar Singh College, Srinagar, the students of all flood-affected degree colleges of Srinagar city have been intimated that the regular theory classes of the BG III year would restart from October 15 in their respective colleges.

All students have been advised to attend their classes regularly in their respective colleges from the notified date.

The Principal, Amar Singh College, has been designated as the Nodal Principal for all affected colleges in the city, which had suffered severely due to the floods that hit the city on September 6 and 7. The floods have adversely affected the class work during the peak of the academic session, as all annual examinations being conducted by the University of Kashmir are held in November-December every year.

The decision to start class work for BG III has been taken in view of the annual examination by the end of this year, which is the qualifying examination for admissions to the postgraduate courses in the University of Kashmir and other universities.

“This would be a trial for starting classes,” said one of the college principals in Srinagar, as most of the colleges have suffered damage to the classrooms located on the ground floors and the libraries or laboratories located therein.

The colleges affected by the floods in Srinagar included Amar Singh College, SP College, Government College for Women, Moulana Azad Road, Sri Pratap College, Government College, Bemina, and others. 

Jammu, October 8
Strong winds which struck Jammu for about an hour on Tuesday night left behind trail of devastation as it uprooted trees and destroyed the power infrastructure, plunging the entire city into darkness.

Till late evening on Wednesday several areas of the city were without electricity as the storm snapped power lines, while the flying debris smashed glass windows of several houses, which created panic among the inhabitants.

Though the residents were caught unawares and the effect has been unprecedented, the phenomenon has struck the city before as well, but this time people were quite afraid due to the last month’s floods.

“The storm caused massive damage to the infrastructure of the Power Development Department (PDD) in terms of tilting of the poles and snapping of electricity wires due to felling of trees and branches,” said a PDD official.

Although no loss of life has been reported so far from anywhere, but standing crop of paddy has suffered damage, while several cowsheds have been destroyed.

In the posh Gandhi Nagar area, the traffic police had to divert traffic as several trees had fallen on the roads snapping the power lines. It took hours before the PDD technical team was able to clear the debris for the passage of vehicles.

“It seems nature is in angry mode. The frequent heavy rainfall and winds are quite scary now keeping in view the destruction left by the flashfloods. We feel so helpless before the mother nature,” said Kuldeep Sharma, a government employee.

In the old city area, windowpanes of several homes were smashed, while water tanks on rooftops were also damaged. Landline connections of BSNL in many areas were also snapped and mobile network remained disrupted.

Jammu, October 8
After rendering a huge support in the restoration of electricity supply to the Kashmir valley, the Powergrid today came forward to provide help to the health sector by handing over an ambulance to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura.

SK Sharma, Executive Director, Powergrid, Northern Region-II, handed over an ambulance to Dr SA Zargar, Director, SKIMS.

Speaking on the occasion, Sharma said the Powergrid realised the indispensable role of ambulance service in emergency pre-hospital medical care, patient transfer, ease of access to health services, particularly to rural areas, and has taken the initiative of providing ambulances to government hospitals as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.

The Powergrid has donated 28 such ambulances to various government hospitals across the country under its CSR initiative with the objective that it will strengthen the public health infrastructure, increase confidence of people in public healthcare services and enhanced utilisation of public health infrastructure.

Srinagar, October 8
The Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) Officers Association organised a condolence meeting at the Civil Secretariat here today to condole the demise of Yasir Arfat, Assistant Commissioner Development (ACD), Kishtwar, who died in a road accident yesterday. — TNS

Jammu, October 8
Government Maulana Azad Memorial (MAM) College defeated Government Degree College (GDC), Kathua, by 3-1 in the final to clinch the trophy in Inter-Collegiate Badminton Tournament in the men’s section at the University of Jammu here today.

The match was officiated by Ravish Vaid, Vikram Jamwal and Manmohan Sharma. In the women’s section, PG Department toppled GGM Science College by 2–0.

Prof Prameshwari Sharma, chairperson Campus Culture Committee, along with Prof Dhian S Bhau, Director, Directorate of Sports and Physical Education, University of Jammu, awarded trophies to the winners.

Romesh Sharma, Gagan Kumar, Balbir Singh, Jai Bharat and Ashok Kumar were also present on the occasion.

Jammu, October 8
Students of Naveen Shiksha Kendra High School, Bari Brahmana, bagged 14 medals in the recently concluded 11th Senior National Jump Rope Championship held at Gujarat.

A total of 349 students from 20 states in the country participated in the championship. The J&K team clinched 20 medals, out of which 14 were bagged by students of Naveen Shiksha Kendra School.

Uddit Khullar claimed three gold medals in the speed 30 seconds, double under and tripple under events. Raja Babu bagged the silver medal in the speed 30 seconds event, while Navjot Singh and Nadeem Sayyad won the silver medal in the team event.

Aman Rai, Ibrar Khan, Mohit Kumar, Raja Babu and Sanjeet Saini won bronze medals each.

Navjot Singh bagged a bronze medal in the double touch event. Nadeem Sayyad and Navjot Singh also won a bronze medal in the double touch event.

Principal of Naveen Shiksha Kendra High School, Bari Brahmana, Rajeev Slathia, Vice-Principal, Pratibha Jamwal, staff members and students gave warm welcome to the medallists on their return to the school. They also congratulated them.