Monday, October 31 2005 14:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Twenty stranded passengers from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, who came to Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus before October 8 earthquake, would be leaving for Wagah border tomorrow (Nov 01, 2005) en route to their homes.

Altogether 33 passengers from PoK are still in Jammu and Kashmir. However, only 20 of them have so far contacted the authorities and expressed their willingness to go home via Wagah international border, official sources said here today (Oct 31, 2005).

Some of the remaining passengers have expressed their desire to stay back and wanted to go home only through the Kaarvan-e-Aman when the bus service between the two sides of Kashmir became operational after construction of a bridge on the LoC, they said.

Aman Setu, the bridge connecting PoK with Jammu and Kashmir on the LoC, was damaged and the road leading to it slipped away at many places due to the devastating earthquake that struck on October 8.

According to Border Road Organisation officials, which maintain the Srinagar-Kaman post road, it will take at least one more month to make the road motorable from this side. On October 9, eight passengers from PoK were repatriated to their homeland via Wagah border.