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10 villages still out of reach in quake-hit Kashmir
by Bilal Butt

      Srinagar: At least 10 villages in the Uri sector of quake-hit Jammu and Kashmir continue to remain out of reach, even as rescue and relief operations are being carried out on a war footing. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohamamd Sayeed said a short while ago that death toll in the state is being pegged at 1195 at present, adding that 10 villages are out of bounds because of difficult terrain compounded by landslides. Sayeed said that they had made efforts to reach hitherto inaccessible villages, 'almost all villages have been brought on communication link and relief material is being supplied to these areas." He said that the government had acquired whatever tents were available in the state, Punjab, Haryana and with the army but "we are still short of the requirement".

    Meanwhile, nearly 40 people from the Pakistan side of Kashmir will be returning to their homes via the Wagah land border without visas. They had come on the last bus service from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar, and are presently staying in Jammu before leaving for Wagah on Thursday. Worried about the fate of their kin back home, 27 persons, including women and children from five families, left on Wednesday morning in a special bus for Jammu enroute Wagah border, official sources said adding that 13 more persons from Pakistan Kashmir would join them in Jammu. The step has been taken in view of indefinite postponement of the Srinagar-Muzzaffarabad bus service due to blockade of the road at many places.

     Help in cash and kind has been pouring in from all over the country as the snowfall in the upper reaches proved unbearable for many a survivor. A defence spokesman of the Northern Command said in Jammu that the army had dispatched 400 tons of ration. He added that the rehabilitation efforts were being intensified in view of snowfall, which was making it difficult for the survivors who had little with them to cope with the harsh weather. About 100 tonnes of ration have been dispatched to North Kashmir on Tuesday and another with 400 tents and 2,000 blankets was on its way, he said.