CLOUDBURST 2LST

Satellite telecom equipment is being flown here to
restore the mobile and telephone connectivity in the city and
adjoining areas, where communication services have snapped.
"The Tri-service Disaster Management Coordination Group
today decided to send special service aircraft to carry 19
VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals) and other equipment of
BSNL to Leh so that mobile and telecom connectivity could be
restored there," a Defence Ministry official said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had Friday visited the
affected areas and made an on-the-spot assessment of the
situation.
Army spokesman Colonel J S Brar told PTI that rescue
operations which had slowed down due to heavy rains have
picked up again.
"Among the injured, 300 have been treated...The other
injured are treated in army hospital. The 31 Army jawans
missing haven't still been located. We found a body," he said.
Labourers from central state Chhatisgarh working
mainly in projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and
various other infrastructure development programmes are among
the survivors.
"Of the over 400 injured survivors admitted to the
Army General Hospital here for treatment, around 70 are from
Chhattisgarh," Army officials said.
Three JCOs and 30 other ranks of the 15th Battalion of
the Bihar Regiment are also still missing and operations were
on to trace them.
The defence spokesman said adequate number of aircraft
and helicopters were available at Kargil, Chandigarh and
Udhampur to move to Leh.
Air Force has opened a disaster management cell at
Chandigarh, comprising three senior officers including
medical officers.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
scientist and Disaster response team member W Selvamurthy
said, "After the cloudburst last night, there were heavy rains
and water in large quantities flooded low-lying areas of the
city. On our way to the DRDO lab in the area, we could see the
devastation.
"This is a very unusual phenomenon in this area
because Ladakh is a barren desert. It hardly rains here and
five years ago, there was a similar incident on a very small
scale," he said.
"The number of natural disasters have increased in the
recent past and this could also be attributed to global
warming and climate change. One of the DRDO labs is studying
the impact of global warming on high altitude areas," he
added.
Two teams from Health and Family Welfare Ministry
comprising specialist doctors and surgeons from Delhi also
flew in here.
IAF has agreed to carry bodies of foreign tourists and
non-locals to Delhi by air.
The Chief Controller (Research and Development) DRDO,
W Selvamurthy, along with a team of experts also arrived here.
Air Force has opened a disaster management cell at
Chandigarh, consisting of three senior officers including
medical officers. PTi