The Comptroller and Auditor General has slammed the railways for the long delay and cost escalation in the strategically important Kashmir rail link.

Already way behind schedule, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla-Rail Link (USBRL), aimed at connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country with an all-weather route, is likely to run into further complexities and higher cost overruns, says the Comptroller and Auditor General.

In its performance audit, the CAG observed that the national project, scheduled to be completed in 2007 at an estimated cost of Rs. 3,077 crore, was now expected to be completed only in 2017-18 at a cost of Rs. 19,565 crore.

At least 22 people were trapped in flash floods in Jammu, prompting the authorities to sound an alert in the region. “A flash flood alert has been sounded in Jammu.

Several houses, acres of agricultural land inundated

Twenty-four persons trapped in flash floods were rescued on Sunday by the police, the Army and the locals in Samba, Kathua and Jammu districts, where dozens of houses and several acres of agricultural land are still inundated. “Twenty-four people and cattle were rescued from Ujhm Basantar and Tawi rivers in Samba, Jammu and Kathua,” officials said.

JAMMU: Admitting that unscrupulous elements have been making attempts to encroach upon land in and around major cities of the State, Government today said that about 19 lakh kanal State, Forest and Kahcharai land is under encroachment across the State.

In response to a question of CPM MLA, Mohd Yousaf Tarigami, Minister for Revenue, Raman Bhalla, admitted in the Lower House that unscrupulous elements have been making attempts to encroach upon the State/Kahcharai/ Forest land in and around major cities of the State.

Udhampur: An international symposium on biotechnological advances in cancer biology was held today at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, and was organised jointly by its School of Bi

The Udhampur-Katra rail section will get operational by the year-end, providing a direct link to the pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine to the Katra base camp.

Estimates revised as delay, complications lead to cost escalation

Udhampur: The work on construction of a new 10-kilometre Lambi Zai-Jora Road in Bhadarwah area of Doda district which touches Souti Changa, the native village of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi A

Jammu: Nearly 17,000 households have been covered under Remote Electrification Programme (RVE) against the target of 25000 households so far in the State, revealed Minister for Science and Informat