Amid inclement weather in Jammu and Kashmir, 230 stranded passengers were airlifted to and fro Gurez valley in Bandipora on Saturday, a major airlifting drive. The airlifting drive was conducted by Bandipora District Administration in coordination with the Indian Army and other authorities, as per news agency ANI report.
Among the passengers, there were 84 candidates who were expected to appear in the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) examination on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora Owais Ahmad said that with improvement in the weather on Saturday MI-17 and Aryan Private Helicopter were put into service to airlift the stranded passengers. He said more than 230 passengers were airlifted in 17 air sorties.
"114 passengers were airlifted from Dawar, Kanzalwan, Neeru and Baduaab areas of Gurez Valley to Bandipora while 103 adults and 13 infants were airlifted from Bandipora to Dawar, Kanzalwan and Baduaab areas of Gurez Valley," he added.
Owais said the passengers including JKSSB aspirants were stranded and due to bad weather no flight could be operated till Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Chinar Corps unit of the Indian Army on Saturday informed that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a record footfall of tourists this year, adding that there has been a significant reduction in incidents of stone-pelting, protests or bandhs in the UT.
Haling the progress of development in the Union Territory, Chinar Corps' Lieutenant General DP Pandey said today, "A record number of tourists came here last year. There has been a reduction in stone-pelting, protests or bandhs. Terrorist recruitment has come down. Youth have realised that they make them fools by providing them guns."
Previously, on December 30, 2021, Pandey said that the infiltration attempts from the other side of the border into Jammu and Kashmir have gone down this year, adding that terror groups are trying to recruit young children aged 15-16 years.
(With inputs from agencies)
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
MoreLess