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May 2004 Army choppers drop food supplies to marooned people in Kashmir Pir
Panja Range: Hundreds of people stranded due to heavy unseasonal
snowfall in the upper reaches of the Pir Panjal mountain range in Kashmir,
received food packets dropped by army helicopters on May 8. The region
had been cut off from the rest of the Kashmir Valley due to the intense
snowfall during the last few days. Major General MS Dadwal who supervised
the relief operations, said that the choppers were successful in reaching
relief to the worst-hit areas. "We knew precisely which areas they were
in and therefore our patrol could focus on those areas," said Dadwal.
The nomadic "Gujjar Bakarwal" tribesmen of northern Kashmir, who migrate
to lower and warmer climes of the state during summers, have been the
worst hit due to the heavy snowfall. Unrelenting snowfall has not only
claimed the lives of several heads of cattle, but has also stranded
over 10,000 tribesmen to safer places. Residents said that the region
was witnessing snowfall during April-May after 35 years. The fresh snow
and hailstorm in northern India has been attributed to western disturbances
over Pakistan. Four tiger cubs born in Nandankanan zoo (Go to Top) Bhubaneswar: Authorities at the Nandankanan zoo are jubilant as their most prized possession - a tigress has given birth to four healthy tiger cubs. One of them is white. The cubs are the second instance of successful breeding in captivity within five years for the zoo in Orissa, which boasts of 26 tigers, including Ashok, the white tiger who fathered the cubs. The stork came calling to their oldest feline, Tanuja, as the tigress is lovingly called, last week and since then almost the entire zoo has been busy ensuring the wellbeing of the newborns. The little ones along with their mother have been put up in a special enclosure.
The entire family is on regular vaccines and a high-protein milk diet
with some extra beef dishes thrown in for the nursing mummy. Subhal
Dahar, Tanuja's caretaker, overjoyed at the new arrivals said it was
as if a new member had been added to his family. "I was worried initially
after I got to know of the pregnancy. I had to be very careful of Tanuja's
health. I put in a lot of effort for her care and finally the day came
and the four cubs were born. I was so happy that I went to every official
in the zoo and gave this message, it was as if a new member had come
into my family," Dahar said. The tiger family, however, still has a
long way to go as the risk period for cubs is at least one year when
they are susceptible to infection and could also face rejection by the
mother. Senior Director at the Zoo Manoj Mahopatra, however, that said
Tanuja, who has already had one litter before, has proved to be a good
mother. "She (The Tigress) has proved to be a good mother so we did
not have any problems. The only thing we have to monitor is that the
mother takes good care of the cubs, and her feed is good and the cubs
are fed well," Mahopatra said. India is home to less than 3000 tigers,
which accounts for 60 percent of the global population of the animal.
Conservationists have been repeatedly saying that not enough is being
done to protect the animal, which is facing increasing threats of extinction
due to poaching and depletion of its natural habitat. Landslide disrupts pilgrims in Uttaranchal (Go to Top) Deoprayag
(Uttaranchal): A massive landslide from mountains overlooking the
hilly route to the twin Hindu holy pilgrimages of Badrinath and Kedarnath
in Uttaranchal, has left hundreds of pilgrims stranded. Though no casualties
have been reported, state authorities have halted traffic along the
hilly route as rocks and boulders continued to fall. Brought about by
unexpected rains, the landslide has caused extensive damage to the roads
in the hilly state. The massive landslide blocked the strategic highway
between Kaudiyala and Deoprayag as authorities wait for earth to stabilize
before attempting to clear the rubble. Devotees who have been forced
to take shelter in makeshift accommodations blame state authorities
for not intimating them about the road blockade. "Nobody told us that
the road was blocked ahead. Had they told us earlier, we would not have
had so much trouble. We have not eaten anything since morning. There
is no way we can go," said JR Handa, a devotee from Delhi. "Roads are
blocked but the administration are clearing the debris. There are many
people stranded here. It has been four hours. We had to go to Badrinath.
We are finding it very difficult here," said Nageshwar Singh, a devotee
from Hyderabad. Badrinath shrine is considered as one of the most sacred
centres of Hindu pilgrimage, situated in the lofty Himalayas at a height
of 10,248 feet above sea level. The route to Badrinath is one of the
most arduous due to the lofty hilly terrain, curves and cliffs amidst
the most beautiful place on the earth. Kedarnath is another holy Hindu
pilgrimage. It is set amidst the stunning mountainscape of the Garhwal
Himalayas at the head of the river Ganges. With most of its terrain
hilly, Uttaranchal is a highly earthquake and landslide prone state.
Snowfall disrupts life in northern Kashmir (Go to Top) Pir
Panjal (Jammu and Kashmir): Unseasonal snowfall has spelt trouble
for people residing in the higher reaches of the Pir Panjal mountain
range in Kashmir. The nomadic tribes of northern Kashmir who migrate
to lower and warmer climes of the state during summers have been the
worst hit due to the heavy snowfall. Unrelenting snowfall has not only
claimed the lives of several heads of cattle, but has also restricted
the movement of over 10,000 tribesmen to safer places, many of who demanded
help from the state government. "We have lost everything in the untimely
snowfall. Nearly 350-400 goats have been lost in snowfall. We do not
have any alternative arrangements. We will be thankful if the government
does something for us, our animals. We are ready to do Jehad (holy war)
if they do not help us," said Abdul Aziz, a resident of a village in
the Pir Panjal area. "We have been trapped here for the past one week
and this snowfall is continuing. We have lost 30 percent of our cattle
in this snowfall. Horses have also died due to the snowfall. Those cattle
that are alive are suffering from various diseases," said Mohammed Ishaq,
another resident. Residents said the region was witnessing snowfall
during April-May after 24 years. The heavy snowfall has also resulted
in the closure of the 300-kilometre highway linking Srinagar with Jammu
for the past week. The rivers of the state, including the Jhelum are
all flowing above the danger mark, forcing the authorities to evacuate
the people to safer havens. A Jain glass temple draws visitors to Wankaner (Go to Top) Wankaner (Gujarat): A unique Jain temple in Wankaner town of Gujarat has been drawing crowds from all over the world. The temple, with a glass sanctum sanctorum, was built by the followers of Kanji Swami of Digambar Jain for conducting religious sermons. Though the construction of the temple has not been completed, it attracts a large number of people from various religious groups. The man behind the idea said he wanted the community to have a place in history. "I wanted to do something unique for Wankaner. I thought people should come to Wankaner, my city and my people and Jains, should be famous in the world. So I constructed this temple in glass," said Jeetendra Shah, vice- president of Digambar Jain Sangh, Rajkot. Estimated to cost around Rs 500,000, the trustees believe that the beauty that glass can offer is not found in marbles or wood. Another feature of the temple is the light and sound show, which is used to spread the message of Lord Mahavir, the founder of the religion. The colourful show has attracted many youngsters to the religion. "Though I have been to many religious places and attended discourses they failed to hold my attention. Here it is different. The unique combination of sight and sound helps us understand things better," Chetan Sheth, a visitor said. The "Samvasaran" or sanctum sanctorum is divided into eight circles.
Jainism was founded around 500 BC by a group of sholars, who drifted
away from Hindu teachings and scriptures and withdrew themselves from
worldly pleasures to attain salvation. By the first century AD, the
Jain community was divided into two sects: the Digambara (sky clad)
monks who wear no clothes, own nothing and live on donated food and
Svetambara (white-clad) monks, who wear white clothes and carry bowls
to take donated food. There are around seven million Jains in India,
who mostly live in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. 27 killed as bus plunges into gorge (Go to Top) Bachelikhal:
A bus carrying pilgrims skidded into a deep gorge killing 27 people
and injuring eight others, late on Friday. The mishap occurred at Bachelikal
village near the holy town of Dev Prayag, 300 km north of New Delhi.
"We have recovered 27 bodies from the site of the accident and yesterday,
three people had died on their way to the hospital. So in total, 27
have died," Amit Sinha, superintendent of police, Tehri-Garhwal, said
on Saturday. The route is travelled by thousands of pilgrims in summers
each year as it connects three major Hindu temple towns in the Himalayas.
Narrow and poorly maintained, it is prone to accidents. Eyewitneses
said the driver of the minibus was negotiation a bend when he lost control
sending the bus into a 60 meter-deep gorge. Senior officials rushed
to the site to oversee rescue operations. "A magisterial investigation
has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," Puneet Kansal,
the district magistrate said. Untimely rains: Six killed in UP (Go to Top) Lucknow:
As man as six members of a family were killed when a huge tree fell
on their house in Usri village under Maigalganj police circle of Lakhimpur
Kheri district last night. According to the police, an old Neem tree
uprooted following a heavy thunderstorm and fell on the house of Baburam
killing the six family members instantly while they were asleep. The
deceased have been identified as Tijara Devi (70), Ramchandri Devi (52),
Simli Devi (40), Jay Karan (35), Manoj (13) and Saroj (9). Reports of
thunderstorm accompanied with rains last night were also pouring in
from several parts of the state. Snowfall, rain, flood in Kashmir (Go to Top) Srinagar:
The Kashmir valley on Friday experienced unexpected snowfall following
heavy rainfall in the last few days in the region. It has been raining
for the last three-four days disrupting life in the valley. Residents
are worried that the rain and snowfall may affect the crops. "We are
feeling very nice as there is no snowfall in this season. But I think
the crops will be damaged," said Sohail, a resident of Srinagar, the
summer capital of the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. Others welcomed
the sudden change in the climate. "I am feeling very nice. We know that
it never snows at this time, it looks as though it is January-February
month," said Amir, another resident. Paramjit Singh, a local, said that
this was after a long time there has been snowfall in the valley in
the month of April-May. "This is for the first time we have seen snowfall
during this month. There has been snowfall in this month after 10-15
years. It is almost May month and this is the last day of April," he
said. The locals say that the region was witnessing snowfall during
this time of the year after a period of 24 years. The 300- kilometre
highway linking Srinagar with the state's winter capital Jammu, has
been closed following flash floods causing landslides and road breaches.
All the major rivers in the state including the Jhelum have been flowing
above the danger mark. People living in the valleys near the rivers
have been evacuated to safer places. |
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