Ircon withdraws its engineers

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">JAMMU: Work on the Qazigund-Baramulla rail project was suspended on Saturday with Ircon withdrawing its engineers and employees going on a day''s strike to protest against the killings of company''s engineer and his brother by terrorists.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">They also demonstrated on streets.Ircon withdrew thousands of its engineers and employees from the construction sites for the first time since the work on the prestigious Rs 5,500 crore Jammu-Baramulla rail line project began in the Kashmir Valley.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Ircon engineer Sudhir Kumar Pundir and his brother Sandeep were killed by their abductors after holding them in captivity for two days. Their bodies were recovered on Friday at Shopian in Pulwama district.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Their bodies were on Saturday flown to Uttar Pradesh in a special Indian Air Force plane. The wife and mother of the engineer accompanied the bodies on the plane that left here for Sarsawa in Saharanpur, the sources said.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">He said Ircon employees were not satisfied with their security arrangements. Ankush Krishna, director, Ircon said the withdrawal of engineers was a precautionary measure and the work would resume only after the security arrangements were strengthened.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">He, however, clarified the project would not stop. "We are committed to this dream project that will connect Kashmir with India," he asserted. Both Krishna and Chopra asked the state government to provide adequate security to the Ircon employees.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-family:="" arial="" font-size:="">Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and DGP Gopal Sharma have assured Ircon that the security would be beefed up. IG Kashmir K Rajindera told reporters the police were trying to trace the killers of the Ircon engineer.</span></div> </div>