Snowfall triggers multiple avalanches burying Army Post in Batalik Sector, 2 soldiers out of 5 rescued; rescue ops for 3 in progress At least five soldiers got trapped on Thursday after multiple avalanches triggered by heavy snowfall hit an army post in Batalik Sector in Jammu and Kashmir. According to media report, two out of the five soldiers have been evacuated while rescue operation to bring out remaining three is in progress. The official Twitter handler confirmed the report and tweeted, “Unprecedented snowfall triggers multiple avalanches; a Post in Batalik…
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Ladakh
Uncertainty, Harsh weather cast shadow on Zojila tunnel project
Bidders have shown reluctance to execute the ambitious South East Asia’s longest Zojila tunnel project, connecting Kashmir with the strategic Ladakh region, owing to “uncertainty” in the Valley and “very hostile weather conditions”. This is in spite of change in the mode of execution from the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) (Annuity) basis to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. Under the new EPC model, the government is fully funding the project. “Uncertainty hangs over the execution of the project as bidders have shown strong reluctance to the project due to large-scale tension…
Read MoreLadakh worried over costly air travel ahead of tourist season
Civil Aviation Ministry non-committal about subsidised air tickets With Ladakh bracing up to host domestic and foreign tourists, the exorbitant air travel to the arid region continues to be a cause for worry for all stakeholders as the Civil Aviation Ministry is yet to make a formal commitment on “rationalisation of airfares” for Ladakh during peak tourist season from May to September. Their only hope about some relief lies in the expected increase in the frequency of flights to Ladakh in summer. Besides Vistara, a domestic airline, has also decided…
Read MoreCold sets in Kashmir; Leh coldest at minus 9.5 deg C
Leh in frontier Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir was the coldest place in the state with the night temperature plummeting to minus 9.5 degrees Celsius. The cold has set in Kashmir as the minimum temperatures have dipped below the freezing point in most places in the Valley along with Ladakh region, MeT office said here today. It said Kargil town, also in Ladakh region, recorded the minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius. Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, registered the coldest night of the season so far…
Read MoreKargil mourning procession turns into Pro-Kashmir Protest
Thousands of people attending the fourth day ceremonies after Ashura in Sankoo near Kargil turned into protest against the recent killings of Muslims in different parts of the world including Kashmir valley. Anjuman-e-Sahib Zaman spokesperson Agha Ahmad Rizvi in a statement appealed for meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir to restore peace and normalcy. “Today worst atrocities are being perpetrated in Kashmir including on women and children and Kashmir has been converted into big jail and we strongly condemn it,” the statement said. The procession organised by…
Read MoreUnion Territory Status demand divides Ladakh
Day after Leh’s united face over issue, Kargil district opposes demand The long-standing demand for union territory (UT) status to Ladakh today divided the region on religious lines with the Muslim-majority Kargil area telling the Centre that it was against the division of Ladakh and its separation from the state. The move came a day after the demand of a joint delegation of all political parties, religious organisations and civil society groups in Leh to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday. The Ladakh region comprises Leh and Kargil districts.…
Read MoreNubra valley now open to foreign tourists
The government has ordered relaxation in the protected area permit regime for allowing foreigners to visit the hitherto restricted areas in Leh district. A formal notification in this connection has been issued by the Home Department. According to a spokesman of the Home Department, foreign tourists will now be permitted to visit a number of unexplored areas like Panamik, Phukpochey, Hargam, Taksha, Sasoma, Chaglung, Kobet, Aranu, Khemi, Warshi, Yarma Gompa and Yarma Gonbo monastery in Leh. These areas were thrown open to local tourists last year. Situated at an average…
Read MoreLadakh on high alert; Residents asked to vacate border villages
Amid escalating Indo-Pak tension after the Army’s surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Ladakh, which shares vast boundaries with China and Pakistan, has been put on a high alert, following apprehension of “possible aggression” from the other side of the border. While the administration has sounded the alert for all habitations along the Line of Control (LoC), it has kept the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), an unmarked boundary between China and India, on a “close watch.” The Ladakh region has 225-km LoC, 955-km…
Read More10,500 Year-old camping site found in Nubra Valley
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered a 10,500-year-old (8,500 BC) camping site at a height of 14,000 feet en route the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh. There is an evidence of human activity at the camping site for about 800 years. The site is in the Nubra valley on the way to Saser La which leads to the Karakoram Pass. While exploring the Nubra valley in 2015-16, Dr SB Ota, Joint DG, ASI, observed both sides of the hill and valley as the serpentine road gradually climbed along the…
Read MoreLadakh’s involvement in talks on Kashmir crisis imperative: Leh religious organisations
In a significant move, all religious organisations of Leh have jointly appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Ladakh’s aspirations should never be ignored while having talks with stakeholders to find a solution to the ongoing crisis in Kashmir. They asserted that Ladakh, having its own identity with no homogeneity with Kashmir in terms of culture, language and ethnicity, needs to be involved in all talks and meetings on Kashmir issue so as to avoid any resentment in future. Religious heads of Leh held a joint Press Conference at Ladakh…
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