514 stranded passengers airlifted by IAF from various parts of J&K

As many as 514 stranded passengers were on Wednesday airlifted in separate sorties by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said. "As many as 105 passengers were airlifted in two sorties from Srinagar to Kargil, 41 passengers from Kargil to Srinagar, 62 passengers from Jammu to Kargil and eight from Kargil to Jammu," State Coordinator, Kargil Courier Service, Aamir Ali said.

"Besides 298 passengers, including children and infants were airlifted from Udhampur to Leh," he added. Due to the closure of the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road, the stranded passengers of Kargil at Jammu and Srinagar were provided the facility of AN-32 aircraft, which had not operated for the last few days due to bad weather, he said.

The passengers expressed their gratitude to the Chairman of Legislative Council Haji Anayat Ali and Chief Executive Counsellor LAHDC Kargil Feroz Khan for facilitating the sorties. The passengers were assisted by Liaison Officers Mohammed Yusuf at Jammu, Assad Ali at Srinagar and Anwar Hussain at Kargil, along with their team of Assistant Liaison Officers.

One sortie of IL-76 has been arranged from Srinagar to Leh on March 7. The passengers who have already purchased the tickets have been advised to contact the concerned Liaison Officer Kargil Courier Service at Kargil House Bemina, Srinagar, Ali said.

(With inputs from agencies.)