J&K gears up to meet any eventuality due to floods
Srinagar, June 30 : Timely action by the authorities on Saturday saved south Kashmir's Pampore town from being inundated as the flood situation continued to remain grim in the Kashmir Valley.
Police, roads and buildings department and the border roads organisation personnel plugged a breach in the embankment of River Jhelum in Pampore area saving the town.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N.Vohra chaired a meeting of senior officials here to discuss the relief measures and the situation that has arisen due to the swelling water level in River Jhelum and its tributaries.
The flood control department has already declared an emergency in the Valley as the water level in the river crossed the danger mark at Sangam (Anantnag), Ram Munshibagh (Srinagar) and Asham (Bandipora) areas.
Authorities closed all schools and colleges in the Valley on Saturday.
Flood control rooms and helplines have been set up in all districts of the Valley where the concerned district magistrates are personally supervising the relief and rescue preparedness.
People living in low lying areas and along mountain streams have been advised to remain alert and not to venture near the swollen water bodies.
Volunteers of disaster management and state police are continuously monitoring the situation along the embankments of River Jhelum to ensure that any breach in the embankment is plugged in time.
Many low lying areas in Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and other places are facing problems of water logging and accumulation of rain water in congested residential areas.
The Amarnath Yatra remained suspended for the second consecutive day as authorities did not allow any pilgrim to move from Jammu towards the valley on Saturday.
Pilgrims are safely lodged at the two base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam where authorities have made adequate arrangements for them.
Meanwhile, Sonam Lotus, director of the MET department told IANS that there had been relatively lesser rainfall in the Kashmir Valley during the last 12 hours as compared to the previous corresponding period.
"There would be light rainfall in the state during the next 24 hours (till Sunday) and there is no likelihood of any major flood in the valley.
"At the same time, the possibility of low lying areas getting inundated cannot be ruled out.
"People need not panic, but remain alert," Lotus said.
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IAF to hold 2-day wargame along frontier with Pakistan: NOTAM issued
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): The Indian Air Force will carry out a two-day mega military exercise along the border with Pakistan from Wednesday that will involve all the frontline fighter jets including Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar aircraft, sources in the defence establishment said on Tuesday.
The exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
India's civil aviation authorities have already issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the major air exercise that will largely take place along the southern and western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.
India's frontline fighter jets including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft are set to feature in the exercise, the sources said.
In the course of the exercise, the IAF will simulate enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision, they said.
The militaries of both India and Pakistan are on a high alert following rising tensions between the two nations.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India, citing "cross-border linkages" to the strike, promised severe punishment to those involved in it.
In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass on April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Modi on Sunday and the Chief of Air Staff briefed him about the IAF's operational readiness.
On Saturday, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi apprised the prime minister on the overall situation in the critical sea lanes in the Arabian Sea.
