One person has died after an under-construction tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district caved in Thursday night. Nine others are still trapped. The dead man was from West Bengal, deputy commissioner Mussarat Islam said, adding that of those still trapped, four more were from that state. Two of the trapped men are from Nepal, one is from Assam and the other two are locals, Islam said. The cave-in occurred at Khoni Nallah on the Jammu and Srinagar national highway. A part of the tunnel collapsed during an audit, injuring…
Read MoreCategory: Ramban
Ramban
Over 50 Rural Local body members quit in district Ramban
Over 50 sarpanches and panches have resigned en masse in two blocks of Ramban district in Jammu and Kashmir over various issues, officials said on Saturday. They have resigned alleging lack of promised empowerment, unnecessary interference, and their side-lining by the administration during the ongoing public outreach program of the Central ministers, officials said. The Peoples Democratic Party took a pot-shot at the BJP government, saying the “cosmetic normalcy and pomp and show being projected (in the Union Territory) stands punctured.” Officials, however, said the district panchayat officer Ashok Singh…
Read MoreGujjar killed, another hurt in Army firing in Ramban
A civilian was killed and another injured when the Army allegedly opened fire on them in the wee hours of Sunday in Upper Kohli village of Gool tehsil in Ramban district. The deceased has been identified as Muhammad Rafiq Gujjar (28) and the injured as Shakeel Ahmed (30). Both were residents of the Dalwa area in Gool. The police registered an FIR against the Army in Dharamkund police station under Sections 302 and 307 of the RPC and Sections 7, 27 and 30 of the Arms Act after people of…
Read MoreChenani-Nashri tunnel impacts footfall in Patnitop?
The country’s longest surface tunnel — the 9.2-km Chenani-Nashri tunnel — has come as a boon for travellers, but it could have an adverse impact on the tourism sector in Patnitop area in Udhampur district of Jammu region, with Kashmir and Ladakh-bound tourists skipping the popular hill station for a stopover. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 31-km tunnel on April 2. It has cut short the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by two hours, bypassing Patnitop, which has some 65 hotels, cottages and guest houses. Where the…
Read MoreWinter carnival gets underway at Patnitop
Livening up the winters in picturesque Patnitop, three day Winter Carnival got underway Sunday attracting tourists in large number. MLA Chenani Dinanath Bhagat formally inaugurated the programme. CEO Patnitop Development Authority Rakesh Sangral was also present on the occasion. Organised by the Department of Tourism and Patnitop Development Authority, three day carnival includes cultural programmes in which prominent artists from within and outside the state will perform. Various adventure sports specially ice skiing will also be one of the major attractions of the festival.
Read MoreResidents from Ramban fumes due to power outage
The supply of electricity remained disrupted in several areas of Ramban tehsil since Wednesday night even as the locals accused the Power Development Department of “carelessness”. Power supply was yet to be restored by Thursday late afternoon. Reports said power outage affected Parnote, Seri, Chandroog, Kanga, Halla, Rajgargh, Kumait, Dhanrath, Gandhri and Digdool villages being fed electric supply from receiving station Maitra. PDD officials said disruption of electric supply to some areas occurred due to the faults in HT transmission lines due to wind storm in the area. However, the…
Read MoreHCC ‘fails’ to maintain highway, DM initiates criminal proceedings
The work of four-laning project from ‘Km 150 to 187’ was allotted to HCC under the conditions that the company also has to properly maintain the existing NHW, an official spokesman said. District Magistrate Ramban, Muhammad Aijaz on Thursday initiated criminal proceedings against Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) for “failing” to properly maintain the Srinagar-Jammu highway from Ramban to Banihal, leading to various traffic accidents. The work of four-lanning project from ‘Km 150 to 187’ was allotted to HCC under the conditions that the company also has to properly maintain the…
Read MoreHeavy rain wreaks havoc in Batote
Heavy rain and a reported cloudburst in the Patnitop area on Thursday wreaked havoc and caused widespread destruction in the Batote tehsil of Ramban district. Three minor students and many heads of cattle were reportedly swept away. Several houses, link roads, culverts and crops were damaged due to the downpour, particularly in Boon, Badi, Gami and Tringla. The traffic on the Batote-Doda and Jammu-Srinagar highways was disrupted for about two hours due to the landslides at several places on Thursday evening. Slush entered the mosque in Boon. A total of…
Read MoreThree students swept away in Ramban flash floods
2 bodies recovered, several houses damaged in Chenani Three students were washed away in a flooded nullah following flash floods after a downpour at Ladhwal in the Batote area of Ramban district this afternoon. According to sources, the bodies of Rakesh Kumar, 14, a student of Class VIII, and Shallu Devi, 5, were recovered from a nullah this evening. However, efforts were on to trace the body of another missing girl, identified as Pallavi Devi, 14, a student of Class VIII. It is feared that she might have been washed…
Read MoreTwo killed, three hurt as rain triggers landslides in Ramsu area
Taxi plunges into nullah after being hit by shooting stones; Srinagar, Kishtwar highways shut Two persons were killed and three others sustained grievous injuries after a Jammu-bound Sumo taxi skidded off road and plunged into the turbulent Bisleri Nullah at Gangroo in the Ramsu area of Ramban district. Three passengers of the taxi went missing after the mishap and a search was launched to trace them. The vehicle reportedly skidded off road after being hit by shooting stones around 12 noon. The deceased have been identified as septuagenarian Haji Mir…
Read More