Ganderbal, July 28: At least 32 Amaranth pilgrims were injured after a bus skidded off the road near S-Mode Hariganiwan along the Srinagar-Leh highway in the Kangan area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Tuesday.

Officials told Greater Kashmir that the bus bearing registration No. AR11D/5655 on way from Baltal to Jammu went off the road at the treacherous S-Mode stretch in Hariganiwan area of Gund early Tuesday morning.

A swift rescue operation was launched by Police team from police station Gund, troops of CRPF 118 Battalion, ITBP personnel, health employees and locals. 

According to officials, 32 injured pilgrims have been referred from SDH Kangan to SKIMS for advanced treatment.

The driver of the bus is said to have received serious injuries and was referred to SKIMS Soura. The rescue operation is still going on and senior police officials have reached the spot.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Sopore S.A. Raina on Monday inspected flood-prone areas in Warpora and adjoining villages to review the condition of flood protection embankments along the Jhelum River and Wular Lake ahead of the monsoon.

Accompanied by officials from various departments, Raina visited vulnerable locations and assessed the condition of the embankments built to protect residential areas and agricultural land from flooding.

During the visit, he reviewed ongoing maintenance and repair works with officials from the Irrigation Department and sought updates on measures being taken to strengthen flood protection at critical locations.

The ADC directed the Executive Engineer and Assistant Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department to ensure all embankments are repaired, strengthened and maintained before any rise in water levels.

He said strong flood protection infrastructure is essential to reduce the risk of inundation in vulnerable areas during heavy rainfall.

Raina also stressed the need for close coordination among the Irrigation, Revenue and Disaster Management departments and the district administration to ensure timely completion of flood preparedness works.

He instructed officials to remain on alert, monitor vulnerable spots continuously and respond promptly to any emerging situation to safeguard lives and property.

Reiterating the administration’s commitment to disaster preparedness, the ADC called for regular inspections of flood control structures and urged officials to adopt a proactive approach to minimise flood risks across the sub-division.

Srinagar, Jul 27: For seven days, Wasim Hassan Rather climbed across the ridgelines of Harmukh, one of Kashmir’s most mountainous massifs, moving from one unnamed or little-documented summit to another. When he descended, he believed he had become the first person to complete a traverse of four subsidiary peaks in a single expedition.

There was no official ceremony waiting at the base, no international expedition sponsor, and no satellite broadcast marking the achievement. Instead, the significance of the climb spread quietly through Kashmir’s close-knit mountaineering community, where veteran climbers began comparing routes, maps and memories to determine whether anyone had done it before.

For Hassan, a ski guide from north Kashmir who has spent more than a decade working in the mountains, the expedition represents something larger than a personal milestone.

“People see Kashmir for its meadows and lakes,” he said. “Very few know what lies higher up.”

For decades, Kashmir’s mountains attracted European explorers and surveyors. Later, years of conflict shifted attention away from adventure sports. Today, a new generation of local climbers is returning to peaks that have received little modern attention, often funding expeditions from their own savings.

Hassan’s journey into mountaineering began with weekend hikes before formal training in alpine techniques. Since then, he has completed more than 20 expeditions, including several climbs above 6,000 meters.

The expedition also revealed how little is settled about some of Kashmir’s mountains. One summit long described as standing at 5,142 meters now appears in newer mapping at roughly 5,120 meters, reflecting updated surveying rather than a shrinking mountain.

Adventure tourism has become an increasingly important part of Kashmir’s economy, but mountaineers say technical climbing remains overshadowed by trekking and skiing.

“There is enormous potential here,” Hassan said. “But people need training before they think about climbing these mountains.”

Whether his Harmukh traverse is ultimately recognised as a first ascent will depend on documentation and scrutiny by the climbing community. Even so, mountaineers say the expedition signals something more enduring, that Kashmir’s highest mountains, long overshadowed by politics and tourism, are once again becoming places of exploration.