SRINAGAR : Outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh and his successor-designate Lt Gen Subrata Saha today called on Governor N N Vohra here and discussed various security issues including arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra.
“The Governor discussed with the Generals various issues relating to internal and external security management and also reviewed the security arrangements being made for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra,” an official spokesman said after the meeting.
He said the Governor conveyed his good wishes to Lt Gen Singh on his moving to the Army Headquarters to hold a responsible assignment.
Vohra also welcomed Lt Gen Saha and wished him a very successful tenure as GOC 15 Corps, the spokesman said.
Lt Gen Saha will assume the charge of office tomorrow. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR: Curfew remained in force in Sopore township of Baramulla district for the second day today while the Inquiry Officer appointed to probe the killing of a youth in the alleged security forces firing asked eye-witnesses to depose before him from tomorrow.
The firing took place in Krankshivan area of Sopore on June 23 leading to the death of Arshad Ahmad Shah, a resident of Naseem Bagh locality, and injuries to four others.
Following the killing of the youth, authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in the town as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.
Although there was no report of any untoward incident, the authorities continued with the curfew for the second day fearing violent protests, officials said.
“Baramulla District Magistrate Farooq Ahmed Lone, who has been appointed IO to probe the killing of a civilian at Sopore on June 23, has notified that any person having any knowledge about the incident can depose before him between June 26 to June 30 from 2 PM onwards in his office,” an official spokesman said.
According to the notice issued today, the spokesman said the depositions can be made orally or in the form of written affidavits. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR: Shri Amarnath Shrine Board today decided to defer the start of annual yatra to the holy cave shrine “from the traditional Pahalgam route by three days” as the track has not been completely cleared of snow yet.
However, the yatra is expected to commence from the shorter Baltal route on schedule this weekend (June 28).
“After detailed discussions, the meeting, chaired by Governor N N Vohra, decided that keeping in view the considerable snow accumulation in the entire area of the Sheshnag yatra Camp, and also keeping in view the present status of the track from Sheshnag Camp-Mahagunus Pass- Panjtarni Camp, the yatra via the Pahalgam–Sheshnag route would not commence on June 28,” an official spokesman said.
The Governor, who is the chairman of the SASB, directed that the pace of the ongoing clearing of snows and repair and renovation work should be further enhanced and he would review the progress every day.
“It was decided that a further meeting, chaired by the Governor, would be held on June 30 to review whether the Pahalgam route could be opened on July 1,” the spokesman said.
He said it was also decided that the pilgrims who are registered to undertake the yatra from the Pahalgam route from June 28-30 would be allowed to perform the pilgrimage from Baltal route, if they desired so.
The spokesman said in 2013-14 winter, the Himalayan mountain ranges in the entire yatra area witnessed very heavy snowfall.
“The very large accumulation of snow in the yatra area, and the slow rate of snow-melting, has caused serious concern to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board whose officers have been undertaking regular assessments of the ground situation,” he said. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI : Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited would launch daily services from this Saturday to fly pilgrims for the Amarnath Yatra.
The state-run company would deploy two Dauphin 407 and a Eurocopter AS 350-B3 helicopters for the trip from June 28 till August 10 on the Neelgrath-Panjtarni sector, a PHHL statement said.
The fare for a round trip would be Rs 3,900, while a one- way ticket would cost Rs 1,950, it said, adding that children below 13 years, elders above 75 years and women pregnant for more than six weeks would not be allowed to fly.
Tickets would be on sale on PHHL website, it added. (AGENCIES)

SRINAGAR : The Centre today said the situation in Iraq was a matter of concern and hoped that the turmoil in the Gulf country will not affect the oil supplies to India.
“The new issue of concern is Iraq. Our oil pipeline comes from Southern Iraq. So far the terrorist have not targeted this pipeline but the government is keeping a close watch on the issue,” Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh told reporters here.
“We are hopeful that the situation in Iraq improves and our oil supplies are not affected,” Singh, who laid a wreath the War Memorial at Badamibagh Cantonment here, said.
Replying to a question, the Minister said talks with Pakistan for resolving bilateral issues can progress if Islamabad fulfills its commitment of not allowing its territory to be used against India by the terrorists.
“The basic issue with Pakistan is that they should not allow their territory to be used for terrorist activities against India. If they can make sure of this, then the atmosphere becomes conducive for talks,” he said.
Sing said talks cannot be held when guns roaring. “We are hopeful that the peaceful environment continues and the issues are resolved”.
He said situation in Kashmir was not only under control but had improved over the years.
“I think it is only because of the efforts of the Armed forces that they have not allowed the situation to go out of hand,” he added.
Asked if India still perceived China as a threat, the Minister said New Delhi will have to remain cautious about all the countries with which it had had issues in the past.
“We cannot choose our neighbours and kind of security environment we desire is not probably there. Any country with which we have had disputes in the past, we have to be careful. We are being cautious about China also,” he said. (AGENCIES)

JAMMU : Office of the Naib Tehsildar was today blown off in an explosion which took place along the Line of Control in Mendhar Tehsil of Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir.
“A blast took place inside the complex of the Naib Tehsildar’s office in Dargaloon village at 0115 hrs,” a senior police official here said.
He said the office was completely blown off while two other rooms were partially damaged.
“We are assessing the situation and trying to ascertain the reason for the blast,” he added.
(AGENCIES)_

PESHAWAR : A major catastrophe was narrowly averted when shots fired by unknown gunmen on a Pakistani passenger plane as it was landing at the airport here failed to cause damage to the aircraft but killed a woman passenger and injured two crew members, officials said today.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK756, carrying 178 passengers from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to Peshawar, was fired upon for two minutes before landing at the Bacha Khan International airport last night.
A woman passenger was killed and two flight stewards- Wajid and Ijaz- were injured.
A police official said the shots could have been fired from a nearby residential area which is close to the airport. Authorities were scouring the area to find the attacker.
Wajid, who sustained bullet injuries in his leg, said the Boeing plane was at an altitude of 250 to 300 feet height when gunshots hit the aircraft at the back side.
Luckily Captain Tariq Chaudhry safely landed the plane at the airport and averted a catastrophe. The fire shots came from the adjacent Tehkal area side, he said.
His colleague flight steward Ijaz received three bullet wounds and shifted to CMH Peshawar and was being operated upon, Wajid said.
“When the plane was about to land, we heard shots and suddenly there was chaos in the flight,” a passenger was quoted as saying by Dunya TV.
Senior Superintendent of Police Najeeb ur Rehman Bhagvi said the plane was about 300 feet off the ground when someone opened fire on it with a sub-machine gun or an AK-47.
“Credit goes to the pilot that he managed to land safely,” he said.
Muhammad Faisal, a senior police official in Peshawar, said the forensic report found that eight AK-47 bullets were fired on the plane, hitting it in the tail section.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Taliban militants have in the past targeted the airports.
On July 8, around 10 terrorists stormed the old Karachi airport terminal building in which 29 people were killed and security forces also gunned down all the terrorists.
There has been a high security alert at all airports around the country since the military started an offensive against foreign and local terrorists in North Waziristan.
Flight operations at Peshawar airport resumed today after being temporarily suspended following last night’s terrorist attack on the plane, the Civil Aviation Authority said. (AGENCIES)

CHHAPRA : Four people were killed and eight others injured when Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani express derailed between Chhapra and Goldenganj stations under Sonepur division of East Central Railway in wee hours today. General Manager of East Central Railway Madhuresh Kumar said here that 12236 Delhi- Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express derailed near Kachahri station located between Chhapra and Goldenganj stations of East Central Railway. Engine and eleven bogies of the Rajdhani Express jumped off the track at around 02,15 hrs.
“Three passengers died on the spot, while one other succumbed to injuries during treatment in hospital” Mr Kumar said, adding that some injured had been admitted to local hospitals, while those who sustained serious injuries were sent to Patna Medical College Hospital for better treatment.
Relief and rescue operation were underway in full swing, Mr Kumar said and added that passengers of Rajdhani express had been brought to Hajipur safely from where they would sent to Dibrugarh.
East Central Railway Chief Public Relation Officer Arvind Kumar Rajak said Maoists had given bandh call in North Bihar on June 24 and 25, so possibility of involvement of Maoists could not be ruled out, he said, adding that anything concrete could be ascertained only after proper investigation.
Mr Rajak said in a separate incident, 19 bogies of a goods train got derailed between Chakia and Mahisi station on Muzaffarpur-Motihari section of East Central railway. No casualties were reported from the spot in the incident, he added.
The Chief Public Relation Officer said involvement of Maoists was suspected in the incident and train services on the route remained disrupted following the accident. Meanwhile, District Magistrate of Saran Kundan Kumar and Police Superintendent Sudhir Kumar Singh made it clear that strict vigil was being maintained by police on tracks in view of bandh call given by Maoists. No evidence of sabotage by Maoists in the incident had been found so far, they added.

(AGENCIES)

Srinagar : Three people, including two women and a child, were killed and 20 others injured in a road accident on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, official sources said here today.
They said a vehicle, on way to Jammu from Srinagar, skidded off the road and fell into a nallah at Sangam in south Kashmir district of Pulwama last night, resulting in death of two women and a child.
The deceased were identified as Nayeema, Shamima and Irfan. The injured were hospitalised, the sources added. UNI BAS SV PM1015

(Agencies)