An area in Gurez struck by an avalanche. Tribune file photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 9

While the Army is examining whether enough precautions were taken to avoid casualties due to the recent snow avalanches in Kashmir, the initial findings have revealed that there was already “a medium danger avalanche warning” for the Gurez sector but it was generic and covered a distance of about 40 km.As the snow broke the decades-old record this year, avalanches left 26 persons, including 20 soldiers, dead.A total of 15 soldiers, including an officer, were killed in avalanches along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Gurez sector of north Kashmir and Sonamarg in central Kashmir on January 25. Five soldiers were killed after a snow track caved in at Machil in Kupwara district.Sources said the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), the premier institution for avalanche studies in the country, had issued a medium range avalanche warning for 24 hours for the Gurez sector from 5 pm on January 24.Both avalanches in remote Gurez sector — one on an Army post and another at a patrol party — hit around 5 pm on January 25.In the first incident, three soldiers were killed when their post along the LoC near the Mahazgund Gurez valley was struck by an avalanche. Six soldiers were rescued by the Army and locals at the post. In another incident, a patrol of one Junior Commissioned Officer and 10 other ranks were caught in a massive avalanche near Niru in Gurez in which all 11 soldiers were killed.“The medium danger warning was issued by SASE for the eastern Gurez valley, covering a distance of about 40 km. In such warnings, the Army movement is permitted with precautions. Besides, there had been no avalanches on the Army post near Niru, which was buried under snow, in the last more than a decade,” said a senior Army officer.“While acknowledging the stellar efforts of SASE, we must also realise that their warnings are generic covering vast valleys. SASE says that it cannot predict when and where exactly an avalanche may strike, but it is able to predict areas and the likelihood of their occurrence.”The officer said that though the loss of lives was sad, the Army troops stayed in the rugged mountains near the border for the security of the nation.“These are high-risk areas during heavy snowfall and they (Army men) work there as part of their duty. They do take precautions, but at times Mother Nature gets the better of them,” the officer said.

2,000 CRPF jawans stuck in Jammu

• New Delhi: About 2,000 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans are stuck in Jammu for the past three days due to poor weather. The CRPF has sought the help of the Indian Air Force to airlift jawans, who had gathered in Jammu after completing their leave and other deployments. They were waiting to report back to their respective units in the Valley. There are around 45 units of the CRPF deployed in Kashmir on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. — ANI