Stranded Passengers Raise Pro-Freedom Slogans, FIRs Filed 

JAMMU — A scuffle broke out between a group of students and some stranded Kashmir-bound passengers outside the Gandhi Memorial Science College here on Monday but timely intervention by police brought the situation under control, officials said.

The clash took place when the students came out of the college to protest alleged chanting of “objectionable slogans” by some of the stranded passengers while protesting the alleged failure of the administration to help them in the hour of crisis, the officials said.

They said police immediately swung into action and resorted to mild baton charge to disperse the clashing parties and to bring the situation under control.

Thousands of Kashmir-bound passengers, including students, are stranded in Jammu following the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway over the past six days owing to heavy snowfall and rains which triggered multiple landslides.

A large group of the stranded passengers, including students, had come for their registration at a hostel for their subsequent airlifting by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to the valley but blocked the Canal Road outside the college to protest the delay in their airlifting and lack of facilities.

In the meantime, a group of students came out from the college and accused them of raising “pro-Pakistan” and “anti-India” slogans, leading to a brief clash, the officials said.

Senior superintendent of police, Jammu, Tejinder Singh, when contacted, said police acted immediately and segregated the clashing groups and made additional deployments to maintain law and order.

He said police had taken cognisance of the incident and assured action if anyone was found involved in raising “anti-national” slogans.

Meanwhile, police filed two separate cases into the raising of anti-national flags, and scuffle between stranded Kashmiri passengers and students of Science College Jammu.

Police have filed two separate cases under FIR numbers 14/2019 under sections 147, 148, 336, 427, 124, 341 (against those who raised anti-national slogans and indulged in violence) and 15 /2019 under section 336 (scuffle between the students and the Kashmiris which led to disturbance), a police officer of police station Nowabad, Jammu told GNS.

SSP Jammu, Tejinder Singh said two separate cases were registered and investigations have been taken up.

 “We have taken cognizance and those raising anti-national slogans are being segregated,” SSP said.

At Least Provide Relief, Help To Stranded: Mirwaiz, Criticizes Govt  

Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Monday criticized the state authorities for what he said failing to provide relief and help to the people stranded due to closure of Srinagar-Jammu highly from past six days.

Taking to Twitter, Mirwaiz said: “It is incumbent upon those who have blocked our natural routes to outside world and made us solely dependent on this artificial route (Jammu Srinagar highway) mostly closed in winter due to weather vagaries, to take responsibility of the dire consequences that people of Kashmir have to face and at least provide them with relief and help till they reach home”.

Mirwaiz said that there is no support in place for the people who are stranded on the highway and have been left to fend for themselves.

“Tens of thousands of Kashmiris are stranded in Jammu for past one week as the Srinagar-Jammu highway is closed and few flights are operating on this sector. People are facing tremendous hardship as their recourses to support themselves are drying up and they are stranded,” he tweeted. 

He said that it is incumbent upon the state administration to take responsibility of the “dire consequences” that people of Kashmir have to face and at least provide them with relief and help till they reach home.

He also criticised the state administration for failing to provide accommodation and food to the stranded passengers.

700 Stranded Passengers Airlifted: IAF  

The Indian Air Force airlifted over 700 stranded passengers, including students, from Jammu to Srinagar on Monday, a defence spokesperson said.

With this, the IAF has airlifted 1,431 people in the past four days, a defence spokesman said.

For the first time, two C-17 Aircraft airlifted 707 passengers simultaneously from the Jammu Air Force Station, the spokesman said.

Thousands of people were left stranded in Jammu following the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, in the wake of heavy snowfall on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the relief effort has been undertaken jointly by the IAF and civil administration.

“In first sortie, a total of 301 and in the second sortie 406 passengers, including students, were airlifted,” he said.

He said Jammu Air Commodore S K Mishra personally supervised the entire operation at Jammu Airbase.

“All the passengers were also provided with food packets by the Jammu-based Tiger Division. The passengers were extremely thankful to the civil administration and armed forces for a great humanitarian relief in the time of dire necessity,” the spokesperson said.

As many as 538 persons, including 319 GATE aspirants, were airlifted in separate sorties by the IAF between the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, a defence spokesman had said on Saturday.

The IAF launched special sorties of C17 Globemaster, airlifting a total of 538 persons, including 319 Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) aspirants, between the twin capitals on Friday and Saturday.

Another group of 186 passengers, mostly the GATE aspirants, were airlifted by the IAF on Sunday.

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