NEW DELHI, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- India's armed forces have mounted a massive relief operation in quake-hit Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, setting up camps for the homeless and airlifting hundreds of tons of relief supplies to affected areas, Indo-Asian News Service reported .

    The Indian Army has arranged 20 tons of medical supplies, 200 tons of rations and 1,000 tents to distribute among people in Uri and Tangdhar, two villages along the border with Pakistan that were hit hardest by Saturday's quake.

    The army has also sent mobile medical teams to remote areas along the Line of Control (LoC), which were devastated by the temblor measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale that killed nearly 600 people in Jammu and Kashmir.

    The army and paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) lost some50 personnel, with many soldiers dying along the LoC when their bunkers collapsed.

    The spokesman said over 500 civilians were given medical aid inmakeshift camps established by the army at Uri and Tangdhar. The armed forces have distributed 5,000 food packets and made provisions to provide blankets and winter clothing to people staying in temporary camps.

    Under the army operation, codenamed Operation Imdad, the force also pressed into service bulldozers for clearing roads and tracks leading to villages that are littered with debris.

    Nearly 200 injured civilians and army personnel were evacuated to Srinagar by helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army Aviation Corps till Sunday afternoon. The injured are being treated at the army's base hospital at Badamibagh cantonment in Srinagar.

    The IAF has provided An-32 and Il-76 transport aircraft to shiftcasualties to Delhi and army hospitals across the country.

    After the quake disrupted telecommunications, including mobile phone services, at Baramula, Uri, Trehgam and Tangdhar, mobile communication detachments from the army's Corps of Signals restored essential communication services at Uri and Tangdhar.

    Six telephone lines were established at Uri and free STD facilities provided to the civilian population. The army is also helping BSNL restore the Uri telephone exchange.

    In the Poonch-Rajouri sector, three army medical teams are working with civilian authorities.

    A total of 580 people are living in camps set up by the army while patrols have been sent to remote areas of Poonch and Rajourito assess damage and organize relief operations.

    In the midst of the relief operations, the soldiers also seizeda truck containing 100 kg of RDX explosives near Batote on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. The truck was carrying livestock and the explosives were hidden in ghee tins. Enditem