Jammu, February 25 (Scoop News) – 225 stranded passengers of Kargil region were airlifted from Air Force base Jammu by an IL-76 cargo aircraft of the Indian Air Force, today. A special Indian Air Force (IAF) sortie was arranged by the Jammu and Kashmir government from Jammu to Leh town of Ladakh region.
The state government had earlier announced that special IAF sorties would be arranged for stranded passengers of Kargil town which remains cut off due to heavy snowfall on the Zojilla Pass that connects the cold desert Ladakh region of the state with the Valley.
The entire airlift operation was supervised by Divisional Commissioner of Jammu Dr. Pawan Kotwal and Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station Jammu.
Because of continued blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu highway due to heavy snowfall last month, the authorities had arranged special IAF sorties between Jammu and Srinagar for people stranded in either cities.
Besides, patients and stranded passengers are also being airlifted by the state government with help of Jammu based 130 Helicopter Units and Udhampur based Chetak-Cheetah unitfrom snowbound areas of Gurez, Tangdhar and Doda, Kishtawar, Reasi region during the winter months when the road connectivity of these areas usually gets snapped.