Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, February 16

Class VII student Amandeep Kaur (14), who managed to rescue seven children from a burning school van, is still in shock. The screams of four children engulfed in flames are still haunting her.

For close to two minutes, she battled the flames, broke open a window and saved her schoolmates. At her home in Longowal’s Pindi Amar Singh Wala, she is finding it difficult regain her composure.

Her family says she did not sleep all night and kept crying.

“When we sat inside the van, I sensed something was wrong. I could smell petrol. Maybe it was leaking. I informed (van driver) Dalbir sir, but he did not pay heed. When the van came out of school premises and reached the main road, it started making a wired noise. Dalbir sir stopped the van and alighted from it, asking us to remain seated,” Amandeep says, tears welling up in her eyes.

As Dalbir got off, the bus caught fire. “I first tried to open the widows, but when could not, I started searching for something with which I could break the windows. Luckily, I found an iron object. On breaking a window, I jumped off and then pulled out four children. With the help of some passersby, we rescued three more children,” Amandeep says.

Somehow, the windows got jammed and they could not rescue Aradhya (5), Simranjit Singh (5) and his cousins Kamalpreet Kaur (5) and Navjot Kaur (4).

“They were screaming for help, but in spite of our best efforts, we could not save them. Whenever I close my eyes, the scene of the burning van comes in front of me. I still hear their screams,” she says.

Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said he had written to the CMand recommended Amandeep’s name for a bravery award.

CM commends her

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday commended Amandeep for rescuing children from the burning school van in Longowal. “I salute the extraordinary bravery and valour of Amandeep Kaur who risked her life to put out the fire and rescued four children from the burning van. I am so proud of you. I am looking forward to meeting you,” he said.

New Delhi, February 16

The strategic Zojila tunnel for all-year connectivity between Leh and Srinagar may undergo some design changes to prevent cost escalation as the government plans to complete the project at the earlier estimated cost of about Rs 6,800 crore, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said.

The tunnel project, stalled for about six years, holds strategic significance as Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National highway and remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall, cutting off Ladakh region from Kashmir.

“We are planning to make some design changes that may include doing away with escape tunnel and instead (have) alternative tunnels to cross from one side to the other as it will be my endeavour to prevent cost escalation and build it at the previous estimated cost of Rs 6,800 crore,” Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari told PTI.

Though the revised project cost estimate of a little over Rs 8,000 crore has been sent to the Cabinet, “we are deliberating on minor design changes to prevent cost escalation,” the minister said.

“Besides the escape tunnel, we can do away with vertical shafts not compromising with safety,” he said, adding that rebidding for the project was expected in a month or two.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in May 2018 laid the foundation stone for the Rs 6,800 crore project, billed as the Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel, in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, barely months after the foundation, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) on January 15, 2019 terminated the contract awarded to troubled IL&FS group company IL&FS Transportation after it abandoned the project citing financial problems.

“The project which was earlier constructed on hybrid annuity mode will now be converted into EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) mode,” Gadkari said.

The cancellation of the award in January last year was the second time NHIDCL had scrapped the contract for the 14.15-km tunnel project which would cut down the 3.5-hour long drive through the mountainous Zojila Pass to just 15 minutes.

The corporation had earlier cancelled the bid of IRB Infrastructure. IL&FS Transportation in 2017 emerged as the lowest bidder in the rebidding process.

Unveiling a plaque for commencement of work for the tunnel, Modi had said, “Zojila tunnel is not a mere tunnel but a modern day marvel.”

The Cabinet on January 3, 2018 had approved the Zojila tunnel project with Parallel Escape (Egress) tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg on the Srinagar-Leh section of NH-1A at a total cost of Rs 6,800 crore.

The project was expected to be completed in seven years.

On March 1, 2016, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had ordered “re-bidding” for the project, which had been awarded to IRB Infrastructure.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Gadkari, after Congress leader Digvijay Singh had alleged that guidelines were violated while awarding the contract.

The original plans of the tunnel included fully transverse ventilation system, uninterrupted power supply (UPS), tunnel emergency lighting, CCTV monitoring, variable message signs (VMS), traffic logging equipment, overheight vehicle detection and tunnel radio system.

Besides, it included pedestrian cross passages at every 250 metres and motorable cross passages and lay-bys at every 750 metres, as well as emergency telephones and fire-fighting cabinets at every 125 metres. —PTI

Gurbachan Jagat

During my posting as Director General of Police in Jammu and Kashmir from 1997 to the end of 2000, militants were still very active in the state and there was a strong foreign hand in the form of infiltration from across the border. One of the most affected districts was Doda, which is bigger in size than the entire Kashmir valley. There were hardly any roads and the terrain was mountainous and forested. Militants crossing over from Pakistan regularly used one of the routes passing through Doda into the Valley.

It was a difficult area to secure, but the population there was supportive; and we had recruited a large number of special police officers (SPOs) from there to assist the security forces. These SPOs were substantially useful for gathering intelligence inputs.

However, because of lack of roads and a suitable transport system, sometimes it took a couple of days before the information regarding an incident was reported to the police.

I remember one such incident when information was received that about 21 persons had been massacred by militants in a village in Doda. By the time the information was conveyed to me at night, two days had already passed. The then Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, was camping at Patnitop, and in the morning I took the state helicopter and stopped at Patnitop to inform him about the incident. He insisted on accompanying me and we took off in a short while.

Although we had been given rough coordinates of the village, we were unable to locate it. In the meantime, a police team headed by a DIG (Rajendra Kumar, who became the DGP later) was proceeding on foot to the village.

While flying over the area, we noticed a farmer ploughing his land. Chief Minister Abdullah insisted that we land and ask for proper directions. The pilot expressed his hesitation because one could not rule out the farmer being a militant sympathiser. The presence or absence of militants in the area was also not known to us. However, we did land.

While he could not give us clear directions, Dr Abdullah asked him to accompany us in the helicopter. Much against our wishes, we managed to squeeze him in and took off. After sometime, he pointed out the place to us and we landed. Villages in these areas were not a compact group of houses; these were spread over several adjoining hills.

At the site of the crime, there was no presence of any living human being — only an abandoned dog was sitting there. We entered a mud house and found bodies of men and women strewn all over and the smell of death and putrefaction hanging over the place. It was a macabre scene.

Meanwhile, we enquired about the DIG’s location because further action could be taken only upon his team’s arrival. We proceeded towards the DIG’s location, which was at quite a distance, and found him and his team coming up through a dry mountainous stream. We landed there again and discussed the incident with the DIG, who was walking with a bandaged foot due to an injury sustained by him. He was/is a courageous person. We realised it would take another two days for them to reach the spot.

After some discussions and on the insistence of Dr Abdullah, we decided that the police party would be split into groups of four-five persons each and airlifted to the site. It was a hazardous task to fly to the same spot, land and then come back for the next group, specially because we were unaware of militants’ absence or presence near the site or near the place where we had landed. Finally, the last group also left by helicopter, leaving behind only the two of us — the then Chief Minister and myself. Both of us were unarmed and standing at an unknown and isolated location. We looked at each other, smiled and must have prayed. However, even in the midst of that lurking danger, Dr Abdullah continued with his unending flow of jokes and short stories. He did not mention the situation even once and kept on narrating stories from his vast repertoire.

Finally, the helicopter came back and we took off for Patnitop.

Through this unconventional decision, the DIG and his team reached the crime scene early and coordinated with other security forces. This was a display of courageous and astute leadership, coupled with a concern for the welfare of the police personnel. I am sure the lesson must have gone home to the police officers and policemen who took part in that operation. I had already discussed the issue with the DIG and left for Jammu to prepare for whatever the next day would bring in — never a dull moment!

— The writer is former chairman of UPSC and former Governor of Manipur