CLOUDBURST-PM 2LST

A Defence Ministry spokesperson said the prime
minister has asked the ministry to ensure prompt assistance to
the Leh cloudburst victims.
Defence Minister A K Antony is personally monitoring
the operations, he said.
The Defence Ministry was also coordinating with the
Home Ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir government to provide
targeted assistance to the civil administration in the relief
and rescue efforts, he said, adding the Army, Air Force and
DRDO establishments in Leh were actively involved in the
process.
A tri-service crisis management group meeting has also
been scheduled later Friday to work out the detailed
assistance package to the victims, the spokesperson said,
noting that Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar spoke to the Jammu
and Kashmir Chief Secretary and assured him of all help.
The Air Force, on its part, was working to make the
Leh runway, which is covered with six inches of slush
following the cloudburst, operational by the evening.
Air Force aircraft were on the standby at Chandigarh,
Thoise and Udhampur to fly into Leh after clearance of the
runway, he said. PTI