SRINAGAR: A 32-year-old man was killed and three persons were injured when a vehicle they were travelling in met with an accident in Kralpora area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Monday, officials said.
A vehicle bearing registration number JK01V 9561 while on way to Kupwara fell into a deep gorge in Upper Nachaya area of Kralpora on November 1,2021.
Quoting officials news agency GNS reported that the car (JK01V/9561) while on way to Kupwara fell into a deep gorge in Upper Nachaya area.
@Four persons onboard it were injured and immediately rushed to Sub-District Hospital Tangdhar. However one of them, Nissar Ahmad Khan (32) son of Ghulam Hussan Khan of Karlpora died before he could be admitted there, they said.
The injured have been identified as Iqbal Ahmad Awan (24) son of Abdul Rasheed of Karlpora, Altaf Ahmad Awan (33) son of Abdul Rasheed Awan, Ashiq Hussain Bhat (33) son of Abdullah Bhat of Lone Hari Kralpora.
Police has registered and further investigations are underway.
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New Delhi: India registered 12,514 new Covid-19 cases and 251 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.
The new fatalities increased the country’s overall death toll to 4,58,437.
The recovery of 12,718 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,36,68,560. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.20 per cent.
The active caseload stood at 1,58,817, the lowest in 248 days.
Active cases presently constitute 0.46 per cent of the country’s total positive cases, the lowest since March 2020.
Also in the same period, a total of 8,81,379 tests were conducted across the country.
India has so far conducted over 60.92 crore cumulative tests.
Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate at 1.17 per cent has remained less than 2 per cent for the last 38 days now.
The daily positivity rate stands at 1.42 per cent, which has also remained below 2 per cent for last 28 days and less than 3 per cent for 63 consecutive days now.
With the administration of 12,77,542 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid inoculation coverage has reached 106.31 crore as of Monday morning,
This has been achieved through 1,06,32,634 sessions. (IANS)
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SRINAGAR: The Government of Jammu and Kashmir declared the spell of heavy rainfall/ snowfall/ hailstorm on October 23-24, 2021 as ‘State Specific Natural Disaster’ under SDRF norms.
The order issued by Secretary to Govt, Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation Reconstruction, Nazim Zai Khan reads that “sanction is accorded to the declaration of the spell of heavy rainfall/snowfall during the period of October 23 and 24, 2021 as ‘State Specific Calamity’ in terms of Para 3 (ii) of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines issued by the MHA (GOI), for the purpose of providing relief to the effected families and departments from SDRF.
The districts covered for the purpose have been identified as Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian of Kashmir Division and Jammu, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Reasi, Samba and Kathua in Jammu Division.
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SRINAGAR: Federal investigator, National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a total of 25 persons in a case that it registered in early October. Two of the 25 persons were arrested on Saturday.
The NIA, according to its statement made public on Sunday, registered the case RC-29/2021/NIA/DLI on October 10, 2021.
“The case relates to conspiracy for undertaking violent terrorist acts in J&K and other major cities by cadres of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al Badr and their affiliates such as The Resistance Front (TRF) and People Against Fascist Forces (PAFF),” the statement said. “Preliminary investigation has revealed that arrested accused persons are terror associates/OGWs of various outfits and have been providing logistical and material support to terrorists.”
The statement said the agency has so far arrested 25 accused persons in the case. These included Ishfaq Ahmed Wani of Srinagar and Umar Bhat of Sopore, who were arrested on October 30.
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Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha chairs the Administrative Council meeting at Srinagar on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
In a departure from the policy in vogue, the Jammu and Kashmir administration sacked eight employees including four JKAS officers and a Block Medical Officer (BMO). This is the first time that gazetted officers were sent home. Those sacked under Article 226 (2) of the Jammu Kashmir Civil Service Regulations include Ravinder Kumar Bhat, Mohammad Qasim Wani, Noor Alam, Mohammad Mujib-ur-Rehman Ghassi, Dr Fayaz Ahmad Banday, Ghulam Mohiuddin, Rakesh Kumar Pargal, and Parshotam Kumar. This rule permits the employer to prematurely retire an employee if he has completed 22 years of qualifying service or attained 48 years of age. This rule was earlier invoked by erstwhile elected governments also.
In Doda, the Jammu and Kashmir’s road accident capital, 12 persons were killed and 14 survived injured when an overloaded mini-bus JK17-4021 rolled down into the gorge at Sui Gawari on Batote-Kishtwar Highway.
DUBAI
Three Kashmiri students booked under sedition charges for ‘celebrating’ Pak’s win over India in T20 Match
Cricket has emerged as a new crisis for Kashmir as cheering for a team was linked to patriotism and eventually to the security of the state. For the first time in history, an employee was dismissed for her WhatsApp status over the match praising Pakistan after India’s defeat in the ICC’s ongoing T20 World Cup. Safiya Majeed was an Operation Theatre technician with the GMC Rajouri. In the dismissal order issued by GMC Principal, Dr Brij Mohan said her WhatsApp status ‘seems to be disloyalty towards nation’.
That is just a fraction of the crisis. In Srinagar, the video clips of students in GMC, Srinagar and SKIMS Srinagar, dancing over Pakistan’s win over India, went viral and quickly led to the registration of a case under UAPA. In the quick fallout, Jammu saw the rise of stars in their two medical school students who quickly jumped into the newsroom for their courage to counter these celebrations. They alleged that they were threatened for doing what they believed in.
But the more serious situation was reported from Agra where the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath ruled that celebrating Pakistan’s win in cricket would be seen as seditious. The announcement came after three Kashmir students – Showkat Ganai (Bandipore, Arshad Yusuf and Inayat Altaf (Budgam), enrolled with Agra’s RBS College of Engineering, were booked under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups) and 505 (creating or publishing content to promote enmity). Section 124A (sedition) by police at the Jagdishpura police station for celebrating India’s loss in the pitch. Later, police have added IPC Section 124-A also.
India captain Virat Kohli hugs Pakistan opener Rizwan after Pakistan beats India by 10 wickets in T20 World Cup at Sharjah on October 24, 2021. Pic: Twitter
The trio, two of them aged 20 and one 21, were also remanded in 14-day judicial custody by an Agra court, where a video shows they were being hackled while being transported after the presentation before the court. In Srinagar, the families of the trio want authorities to forgive the youngsters. All the three were studying with the government support under PMSSS.
The family of Showkat Ahmad Ganai, who is in the fourth year of his B Tech, said they are so poor that they can not afford to go to fight his case in UP. Arshad Yusuf was raised by his mother in abject poverty with the help of local charities. Their college has rusticated the trio and is now seeking action against the outsiders who had forced their way into the campus. UP is slated to go for polls soon.
The RBS Educational Group was started by Raja Balwant Singh, the King of Awagarh in Etah, in 1885 as a school, and has since grown. RBS runs seven colleges in UP, looked after by Singh’s family members.
The political class in Kashmir resorted to making noises over the incidents but continues to be on the margins of the governance. The police said they are investigating the case against the hostel wardens and unknown students and have made a couple of visits to gather more information.
CRPF got 524 kanals and 11 marlas of land for establishing battalion camping sites at Brah (Shangus), Jummo (Pahalgam), Subhanpahari (Bijbehara), Allowpora Sheikhpora (Keegam), Zawoora Baderhama (Shopian), Oukhoo (Kakapora), Kadlabal (Pampore) and Koil (Pulwama).
RAJOURI
A herd of sheep being grazed in the periphery
In a shocking development, the sheep wool rates have nosedived to the 1980s’ thus triggering a serious crisis for the Jammu and Kashmir herders. With almost 80 lakh kilograms of wool being produced in Jammu and Kashmir, the territory is India’s No 2 wool producer. Right now, the wool rates have fallen to Rs 30-35, a kilogram, a rate that was prevalent in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1980s. This has created a situation that the herders are offering the fleece to the shearers instead of money. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir had an impressive system to manage these tensions. The government would procure wool at support price, retain it till the market would improve. Now that infrastructure ceases to exist. Interestingly, Jammu and Kashmir lacks the capacity to process even five per cent of its wool production. Officials said the crisis is the outcome of the swelled inventory with the weaving sector as a result of Covid19 and the market situation will improve soon.
SRINAGAR
Lt Governor attends commemoration of the 75th year of Air Induction of Indian Army In Kashmir. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
On this Infantry Day – October 27, the government planned an event at the Old Airport in Budgam in which the scene of the first war over Kashmir were enacted. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha presided over the function. He said the perception that tribals raided Kashmir in October 1947 is wrong as it was the Pakistan army attempting to wrest Kashmir. He said the stories of the war must be told to the new generation. On the occasion, paratroopers demonstrated a skydiving display and a drama performance depicting the events of invasion, the resilience of Kashmiri people, the role of Maqbool Sherwani and Kashmiri women militia were showcased. However, the news was grabbed by the statement of Air Marshal Amit Dev who said in the years to come, the other Kashmir will be part of India fully. “We don’t have a plan as of now but it will happen one day as the people of Kashmir from other side of the border are not being treated fairly”, the Air Officer Commanding in Chief said.
KASHMIR
Representational image
For the last week, the federal investigator, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) continued raiding across Kashmir, mostly the residences of outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) workers. The focus, according to details being revealed in the media, is to investigate the financial issues. At various places, the NIA questioned various people as well. All these raids were carried out in a case registered on February 5, 2021. These raids were the follow up to 61 raids carried out by NIA in August.
SRINAGAR
A group of non-local workers waiting for vehicles to reach home. The intense cold and a series of killings were key to their early return on October 18, 2021. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has extended the benefits of SRO-43 to the families whose members are killed in Jammu and Kashmir. It was done in the cases of the persons who were recently gunned down in targeted attacks. The SRO-43 is a provision that gives the next of the kin a right to get a job, usually a class-IV job, in case the police certify that they were innocents. The other option is to get a one-time relief of around Rs 5 lakh. The provision was started by the then Divisional Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah after the Mashali Mohalla massacre during the early 1990s. Most probably, the SRO 43 was invoked by the administration to offer financial help to the families of the workers who were recently killed in a series of attacks.
SRINAGAR
Jammu and Kashmir Cements Ltd Factory at Khrew Pampore. KL Image
The crisis-ridden Jammu and Kashmir Cements is ceasing to exist. The Administrative Council (AC) – the defector cabinet of the Lt Governor’s administration, has approved the proposal of the Industries and Commerce Department regarding the complete sale of the fully-owned PSU through ascending e-auction from qualified bidders. The decision was taken in view of a sharp decline in production and revenues from 2012-13 of the PSU in red. Winding up of the loss-incurring PSU will open up 240 kanals of land in Khrew, which can be utilized as an industrial estate by J&K SIDCO.
ZAINPORA
Shahid Aijaz from Anantnag was killed in Zainapora on Sunday, October 24,2021. Pic: Facebook
With the debate shifting from civilians’ killings to the cricket craze, the murder of a young labourer, Shahid Aijaz has seemingly been consigned to history. On October 24, Shahid, 18, was coming home along with two of his relatives, after spending five days apple picking in Babpora orchards. The police claimed he was caught in the crossfire during which a weapon snatching incident took place, a claim rejected by the family. He lived in the Nowpora area of Arwani. Interestingly, reports said, Shahid’s younger relatives – one aged 13, another 15, who accompanied him, have allegedly been put in custody since his killing, the relatives said.
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SRINAGAR: The Bathinda based Baba Farid Group of Institutions has shunted out four students from its hostels for trying to assault Kashmiri students after India lost the T20 match with Pakistan last week, The Indian Express reported.
Baba Farid Group of Institutions, Bathinda Punjab
“Orders to vacate the four from the hostel were issued on Saturday itself by hostel warden Lakhbir Singh,” the newspaper reported. “The students have been identified as Kumar Kartikey Ojha, a seventh semester BSc Hons Agriculture student, two first semester BCA students, and Aayush Kumar Jaiswal, a third semester BCA student.”
The decision came after an inquiry found that, the four students from Bihar tried to harass Kashmiri students. The investigators from the institution saw the CCTV footage to ascertain the facts, the report said.
“The two groups were reportedly at loggerheads with each other since the India-Pakistan cricket match on October 24. Nothing untoward happened after that match, but the simmering tensions flared up after Pakistan’s match with Afghanistan,” the newspaper said. “Despite being removed from the hostel, the four students and their supporters have launched a social media campaign tagging the Prime Minister’s Office, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh and Giriraj Singh, among others.”
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SRINAGAR: Two former National Conference legislators among dozen workers joined the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in Jammu on Sunday.
According to reports BJP national general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Tarun Chugh and JK President BJP Ravinder Raina welcomed the new entrants into the party.
Earlier provincial president National Conference Davinder Singh Rana along with senior party colleague and former minister Slathia had joined the BJP in Delhi.
Reports said that most of those who joined the BJP, including both the former legislators Prem Sagar Aziz and Kamal Arora, are considered close to Rana.
“Aziz, former deputy mayor Dharamvir Singh Jamwal, provincial secretary Choudhary Arshid, Samba district president Mohinder Gupta, corporator Ashok Manhas and senior workers Som Nath Khajura and Sardar Succha Singh recently resigned from the National Conference in Rana’s support,” said the reports.
Kamal Arora, who had won assembly elections on the National Conference ticket in the 2014 polls, had joined Apni Party in March last year. He along with district president of Apni Party Rinku Bhardwaj joined the BJP.
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SRINAGAR: The Government on Sunday informed that 95 new positive cases of novel Corona virus (COVID-19), 06 from Jammu division and 89 from Kashmir division, have been reported today, thus taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 332249.
Moreover, 79 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from various hospitals including 08 from Jammu Division and 71 from Kashmir Division.
The Bulletin informs that no new case of Mucormycosis has been reported today.
On COVID vaccination, the bulletin informs that 48,087 doses of COVID vaccine have been administered in the last 24 hours bringing the cumulative number of doses administered across J&K to 1,46,39,890.
According to the daily Media Bulletin on novel Corona virus (Covid-19), out of 332249 positive cases, 902 are Active Positive (101 in Jammu Division and 801 in Kashmir Division), 326915 have recovered and 4432 have died; 2176 in Jammu division and 2256 in Kashmir division.
The Bulletin further said that out of 16202346 test results available, 332249 samples have tested positive and 15870097 samples have been tested as negative till date. Besides, 38915 COVID tests have been conducted in last 24 hours.
Till date 3848890 persons have been enlisted for observation which included 6238 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 902 in isolation and 448741 in home surveillance. Besides, 3388577 persons have completed their surveillance period.
Providing district-wise breakup for positive cases reported today, the Bulletin said that Srinagar reported 49 cases, Baramulla reported 10 cases, Budgam reported 10 cases, Pulwama reported 04 cases, Kupwara reported 05cases, Anantnag reported 02 cases, Bandipora reported 01case, Ganderbal reported 07 cases, Kulgam reported 01 case while Shopian reported no fresh cases for today.
Similarly, Jammu reported 03cases, Doda reported 02cases, Ramban reported 01 case while Udhampur, Rajouri, Kathua, Samba, Kishtwar, Poonch and Reasi reported no fresh cases.
The bulletin further informs the general public that they can contact helpline numbers 0191-2520982/2674444/2674115/2674908/2549676 in Jammu Division and 0194-2440283/2430581/2452052/2457313/2457312 in Kashmir Division for any kind of guidance and assistance.
In case of emergency, people can avail free ambulance services 24×7 by calling toll free number 108 while as pregnant women and sick infants can avail free services by dialling toll free number 102, the bulletin reads.
It also informs that the public can reach national helpline by dialling 1075.
Further the bulletin also informs the public that for any kind of COVID-19 query, logon to https://ift.tt/2XYaXJZ
The readers can also reach us on the official Twitter account of DIPR-J&K @diprjk; website: http://www.jkdirinf.in; Webportal: jkinfonews.com and Facebook: @JKInformationOfficial.
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SRINAGAR: Students from Sher E Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, one of the two institutions under fire for purportedly cheering Pakistan victory against India last Sunday were not part of jubilations, nor was its premises used, a fact-finding panel constituted by SKIMS has revealed in its report.
Captain of India’s cricket team, Virat Kohli hugs Pakistan opener Rizwan after Pakistan beats India by 10 tickets in T20 World Cup at Sharjah on October 24, 2021. Pic: Twitter
The report is based on a detailed study and analysis of the video that surfaced on social media platforms soon after Pakistan won the T-20 match against India in the ongoing championship in Dubai. It concluded that neither its premises was used nor students of the institute had participated in the celebrations.
The SKIMS director Dr A G Ahangar had constituted a five-member team, drawn from senior faculty, to investigate if students had actually cheered for Pakistan. The probe panel was mandated to check the veracity of the video and whether the SKIMS was linked to the controversy.
“Yes, we have launched a probe and the committee will give its report within 48 hours to the government, ” Ahangar had told News 18 on Tuesday.
Police on Monday had registered two separate cases under anti-terrorism charges against the staff and students of SKIMS and Government Medical College, Srinagar after two different videos surfaced on social media where students were seen cheering Pakistan win against the Indian cricket team.
Many localities in Srinagar had burst crackers and fireworks to celebrate Pakistan’s victory over India. Police had registered FIR under section 13 ULPA, 105 A, and 505 IPC for the purported video attributed to SKIMS in the Soura police station.
Another video where some girls students were seen “crying and raising slogans in favour of Pakistan” is allegedly being linked to Government Medical College, Srinagar. A separate FIR under section 13 ULPA has been registered in Karan Nagar police station.
In its report, the SKIMS fact-finding team has argued that the central hall or the recreation mess in the unmarried hostel as shown in the viral video do not resemble “even by a distance” the ones at SKIMS premises.
The team while analysing the video points out there is no central pillar in the hall of SKIMS hostel as against the one shown in the video. Similarly, the colour of the wall in the hall at SKIMS is green as compared to the white that is seen in the video.
The report concluded that the appearance of none of the students in the video resembled the ones studying in SKIMS. “The difference of location in the video with the spot analysis of the hostel made us conclude that no such celebrations had taken place in SKIMS,” sources told News18.
Mufti Islah
The fact-finding team completed the probe within the stipulated time and handed it over to the director who in turn has forwarded it to the LG administration. Neither Ahangar nor any panel member was available for comment. One official at SKIMS refused to divulge details saying the report has been submitted to higher-ups.
While the probe is expected to ease pressure on SKIMS, it is not clear whether police will include the probe report into its investigations. As far as the GMC case is concerned, the police are investigating it separately as per the FIR registered in Karan Nagar police station.
(Mufti Islah heads the TV News18 Bureau in Srinagar. This report first appeared here)
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SRINAGAR: What is a record in itself and a source of inspiration for young engineering aspirants from Kashmir, 10 students from a single institute, RiSE, in Srinagar secured admissions this year to prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
A RiSE Record: 10 Students Bag IIT Seats
More than 16 RiSE students have qualified the JEE Advanced entrance examination and out of them 10 got admission in IITs. The remaining six made it to IIITs and NITs. Adnan Iqbal, Shah Emaad, Kaisar Imtiyaz, Syed Zeeshan and Sayed Shoaib secured seats at the prestigious IIT Kharagpur. Umar Iqbal and Shah Abrar are going to IIT Bombay. Syed Wasiq and Salman Gulzar will be pursuing engineering at IIT BHU and IIT Dhanbad, respectively and Musaib Gani got an admission at his dream college, IIT Delhi.
“Despite the challenging last three years, our students have delivered unprecedented results. This is a testament to their hard work, discipline and the support of their mentors and parents,” Salman Shahid, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus and a RiSE faculty member, said.
“We are hopeful that their juniors will take inspiration from them and scale even bigger heights. Ten students from a single institute is a very significant event.”
“We started training Kashmiri kids for IITs in 2012 with the aim to increase the representation of Kashmiri students at premier institutes in IITs. Back then hardly one or two students qualified every 2-3 years and preparing for IITs from class 10th/11th was an alien concept. Now 10-15 students from Kashmir qualify every year. It took us 9 years to get here. In next five years we will have 100+ students qualifying for IITs from the valley,” another faculty member, Mubeen Masudi, an IIT Bombay alumnus, said. “We wish these students all the best for their future endeavours, at IITs they will get exposed to a diverse and rich set of opportunities.”
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SRINAGAR: PC President Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday said that the PC was committed to promote active participation of youth at every level in the party groom the youngsters to play a pivotal role and contribute to the politics and welfare of J&K in the coming decades.
Former JKPM Provincial President & Executive Member Adv Azad Parvaz joins PC
While welcoming former JKPM Provincial President Kashmir & Executive Member Adv. Azad Parvaz along with his associates into the Peoples Conference., PC President Sajad Gani Lone emphasized on active and meaningful participation of the youth to address the challenges that have an impact on them and their future.
“I wholeheartedly welcome Adv Azad Parvaz along with his associates joined the Peoples Conference. Today is a happy occasion for me personally because our relations with the Parvaz family goes back a long way. His father Parvaz sahib, who is a renowned professor at the Aligarh University, was a close companion of Lone sahib. They have struggled together while establishing the Peoples Conference in its early years. We want to groom the youngsters to play a pivotal role and contribute to the politics and welfare of J&K in the coming decades. I am certain that Azad sahib will play a critical role in the party, especially the youth wing in the times to come”, he said.
Speaking on the occasion Adv Azad Parvaz said that the leadership capacity and vision of PC President Sajad Gani Lone inspired him to join the Peoples Conference.
“We have a relationship with this family and party for a very long time now. This is the party of our forefathers, who passionately struggled and worked tirelessly to establish it 43 years ago. However, today I have decided to formally join the Peoples Conference because I genuinely believe that Sajad sahib is the only leader who has the capability to take us out of the current impasse. Leadership in today’s context is all about navigating the people of Kashmir through these challenging times. I am convinced that Sajad sahib has the leadership capacity to steer J&K and its people out of these troubled waters,” he added.
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SRINAGAR: Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came out of one of his meetings with protesting farmers as the audience sought his stand on Article 370 that was read down by BJP in August 2019. Accompanied by his party leader from Punjab, the ‘face off’ was reported in a meeting in Khaila Malikpur village of Mansa district, The Wire reported.
An Uneasy Calm: A shot from the main gate of the official residence of Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal. His party alleged that their Chief Minister was kept under house arrest for supporting the farmer agitation. The photograph is of December 8, 2020
As the “political questions” were repeatedly asked, Kejriwal left the meeting “in a huff”. Though the new age politician left the meeting, the video of the interaction has gone viral.
“In the video, Gurjant Singh Mansa, the district vice-president of the Punjab Kisan Union, is seen asking Kejriwal whether he thinks that the reading down of Article 370 is right or wrong,” the portal reported from Jullunder. To this Kejriwal asked back: “How come this is a farmer’s issue?” The farmer leader responded: “It is an issue of the rights of farmers and the state. Those who make such rules for us are the same people who made these three farm laws.”
Though Kejriwal tried to respond offer his pro-farmer stand, the audience continued asking questions around Article 370. This eventually led him to leave the meeting.
Part of the follow-up splashed the social media later. A senior Congress MP from Punjab, Jasbir Singh Dimpa took a dig at Kejriwal for “running away” from the farmers’ meeting, alleging that AAP was the “B-team of BJP.”
“Whether it was the reading down of Article 370 in J&K or the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, Kejriwal was the first one to support BJP on these laws,” Dimpa was quoted saying. “He has been toeing the line of the BJP and contests elections only to help the saffron party. If BJP has not supported farmers, how can AAP support them? Farmers are aware of their rights and instead of running away, Kejriwal should have answered their queries.”
“We had prepared a list of eight to ten questions to be asked to all politicians. As Kejriwal came, we wanted to know his stand on article 370, which was scrapped in J&K. We wanted to know whether he was in favour of Article 370 or against it,” Gurjant Mansa was quoted saying in The Wire report. “When I first asked him this question, he said that he never supported Article 370 but when we told him that we have his videos expressing support to the central government, and asked the query again, he stood up and ran away.”
Mansa added that a party whose leader “supported the reading down of Article 370 cannot be the votary of more rights to states and farmers”.
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SRINAGAR: The lawyers’ associations in Agra have decided not to provide legal assistance to the three Kashmiri students who were charged with sedition after they allegedly cheered Pakistan’s win against India in a T-20 World Cup match.
Families of the students are now approaching lawyers in other cities.
Advocate Madhuvan Dutt Chaturvedi of Mathura has agreed to defend the students after one of the families contacted him.
Chaturvedi said, “We will move a bail application for the students in the Agra court soon,” he said.
Chaturvedi is fighting the case of 26-year-old Ph.D scholar Atiq-ur Rehman, Masood Ahmad and Mohammad Alam, who were booked for sedition and under UAPA along with journalist Siddique Kappan while going to meet the family of the Hathras victim.
Lawyers, meanwhile, issued a statement that no help will be provided to ‘those who go against the country’.
“These students got admission under the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) in India to build their careers and they were cheering for the neighbouring country against their nation,” said Nitin Verma, president of Youth Lawyers’ Association (Agra division).
President of Agra Advocate Association, Sunil Sharma, said students should have focused on their studies instead of ‘indulging in anti-national activities’.
It may be recalled that on Thursday, the students of RBS Engineering Technical Institute had been heckled by BJP youth wing members while they were being taken to the district jail after being produced in court. A few lawyers had also attempted to punch them.
The students were booked on Wednesday for “promoting enmity, committing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, making statements conducting public mischief” and for cyber terrorism, an offence that could lead to a life sentence.
Charges of sedition were added a day later.
Meanwhile, the Jammu & Kashmir Students’ Association has prepared a list of colleges across the country where Kashmiri students are ‘unnecessarily being harassed’ and urged the respective state governments to blacklist them.
Spokesperson of the association, Nasir Khuehami, said in a statement, “We are coordinating with the state governments in Punjab, Karnataka, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where Kashmiri students are presently studying. We have prepared a list of such colleges and the same will be forwarded to the respective state governments for action against those who fail to give the protection and ensure safety of their students.” (IANS)
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SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Saturday arrested two more accused persons involved in militant acts in the erstwhile state.
According to the news agency KNO, the two people arrested include Ishfaq Ahmed Wani, resident of Srinagar and Umar Bhat resident of Sopore.
“The case relates to conspiracy for undertaking violent militant acts in J&K and other major cities by cadres of Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al Badr and their affiliates such as the Resistance Front (TRF), and People Against Fascist Forces (PAFF),” an official statement of NIA reads.
NIA had registered the case as RC 29/2021/NIA/DLI) dated 10 October 2021 and initiated the investigation.
“Till now 25 accused persons have been arrested in this case by NIA.,” it said.
NIA said that the preliminary investigation has revealed that arrested accused persons are militant associates/OGWs of various proscribed terrorist organisations and have been providing logistical and material support to the ultras.
“Further Investigation in the case continues,” it said.
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SRINAGAR: A 50-year-old man was crushed to death by a moving train in Manchowa insha central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Sunday morning, officials said.
Quoting officials news agency GNS reported that one Yaseen Ahmad Wani, 50, from Baghi Mehtab in Srinagar was busy on his mobile phone when a moving train bearing registration number number 04614 on way from Budgam to Srinagar hit and crushed him to death.
The mortal remains of deceased were later on handed over to the family for last rites, they further said.
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SRINAGAR: Ichpal Singh, the Joint Director of Prosecution has superannuated. On the weekend, the prosecutors organised a function at Srinagar to bid adieu to the office after his retirement.
Kashmir prosecutors in a group photograph on the occasion of the retirement of Joint Director Ichpal Singh on October 30, 2021
Nisar Hussain Drabu, the Director of Prosecution Kashmir, according to a statement issued by the department, recalled the services of Singh and praised his dedication throughout his career.
The Prosecutors congratulated him for having a successful career and wished him health and blissful post-retirement life.
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SRINAGAR: In a clear departure from earlier records, the Jammu region is witnessing a huge load of Dengue fever cases. So far 836 cases have been recorded mark the Jammu city topping the list.
So far four people with dengue fever have died. The disease is like Covid19 as far as the treatment goes. There is no formal medication for fever management.
Reports appearing in the media said that 505 cases were reported from Jammu city alone followed by 123 cases from Kathua and 60 cases from Samba.
Reports said the fever is spreading within the families in many congested localities.
The dengue crisis comes on the heels of the slow recovery from Covid19. Jammu region witnessed a case load of 124323 cases of Covid19 across 10 districts of whom 2176 died. Jammu city lost 1124 people to Covid, the highest in 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is the second instance in recent years when dengue fever has returned to Jammu. The last time, it was in 2014 when hoards of people with high fever were reported to the hospitals.
Authorities are on tenterhooks to manage the outbreak of the mosquito-borne infection. All hospitals in the Ramnagar, Chenani and Udhampur are taking the fever infected patients as the SMGS hospital in Jammu continues to admit the maximum load. All these hospitals have set up separate wards to manage the infection.
The arrival of the dengue after the devastating Covid19 infections has triggered panic. The disease has appeared in most of the localities where the stagnant waters are around.
Now municipal and health officials are requesting people to keep the surroundings clean and cover all utensils carrying water. They are being told to properly wear the clothes as the dengue virus-carrying mosquitoes bite only during the day.
There is no specific medicine for dengue treatment other than Paracetamol. The symptoms of the infection include sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, skin rash and mild bleeding through the nose and gums.
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SRINAGAR: A man was injured while his wife escaped unhurt after a vehicle they were travelling in met with an accident in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said.
Quoting officials news agency GNS reported that a Baleno vehicle (JK05J-3523) skidded off the road and rolled down into gorge on Srinagar-Muzafferabad road at Tyre Mode Uri, resulting in injuries to Tosief Ahmad Quraishi son of Mohammad Saleem Quraishi, a resident of Kalgi Uri. His wife travelling in the vehicle escaped unhurt, they said.
A police team rushed to the spot and took the injured to SDH Uri. Later the injured was shifted to GMC Baramulla wherefrom he was shifted to Soura Srinagar in critical condition.
More details are awaited.
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SRINAGAR: Minimum temperatures dropped across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Sunday, and the Drass town in the Ladakh region froze at minus 13.4 degrees Celsius.
Weather office said minimum temperatures dropped across J&K and Ladakh UTs as a weak Western Disturbance (WD) was likely to affect the two UTs from Sunday afternoon till November 2.
“We are expecting a further drop in minimum temperatures in the coming days.”
“A weak WD is going to affect J&K and Ladakh from today afternoon till November 2. Another WD is likely to affect the two regions on November 4,” said the official.
“There is a likelihood of an overall drop in temperatures during the coming days”, an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar had 2.6, Pahalgam minus 3.2 and Gulmarg zero as the minimum temperature.
Leh in Ladakh region had minus 5.2 and Kargil minus 4.4 as the minimum temperature.
Jammu had 13.1, Katra 12.6, Batote 8.1, Banihal 8.0 and Bhaderwah 4.3 as the night’s lowest temperature.
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New Delhi: In the last 24 hours, India registered 12,830 new Covid-19 cases and 446 deaths, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.
The new fatalities increased the nationwide death toll to 4,58,186, according to the Ministry.
The recovery of 14,667 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,36,55,842. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.20 per cent.
The active caseload stands at 1,59, 272 which is lowest in the last 247 days.
Active cases presently constitute 0.46 per cent of the country’s total positive cases, the lowest since March 2020.
Also in the same period, a total of 11,35,142 tests were conducted across the country.
India has so far conducted over 60.83 crore cumulative tests.
Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate at 1.18 per cent has remained less than 2 per cent for the last 37 days now.
The daily positivity rate stands at 1.13 per cent, which has also remained below 2 per cent for last 27 days and less than 3 per cent for 62 consecutive days now.
With the administration of 68,04,806 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid inoculation coverage has reached 106.14 crore as of Sunday morning,
This has been achieved through 1,06,01,975 sessions.
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SRINAGAR: Authorities on Sunday allowed traffic after 20 days on Bhimber- Jaranwali Gali on Poonch highway, the thoroughfare overlooking the forest area where one of the longest anti-militancy operations in the recent past is ongoing.
Quoting SDPO Mendhar Z A Jaffri news agency GNS reported that besides allowing traffic through the highway, the farmers have also been allowed to carry their routines. “In case the farmers found any suspicious movement, they can inform the police,” he said.
The thoroughfare, referred to as National Highway 144-A, was closed between Bhimber Gali and Jarran Wali Gali stretch and the entire traffic was diverted through single lane road via Mendhar.
Officials had said that this step was taken as the encounter site was hardly a few hundred meters from the highway.
The operation at Bhatti Durian in Mendhar, along with Surankote forest in Poonch and Thanamandi in Rajouri continued entered 20th day. On October 11 and 14, militants attacked army, killing nine soldiers including two Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs). One militant, taken out from jail and taken to the place of encounter site was also killed.
The army and police had asked locals not to venture out into jungle area. Last Tuesday, Army Chief General M M Naravane also visited forward areas along the Line of Control to review the ground situation and ongoing counter-infiltration operations in Poonch.
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SRINAGAR: In the latest election of the Institution of Engineers in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Roof Ahmad Khan has been elected as the Chairman. He is presently the principal Government College of Engineering Safapora.
Institution of Engineers after electing its new team on October 30, 2021
Er Firdous Ahad Bhat, currently working as AEE was elected as the new Secretary of the institution. The new executive committee has engineers Mohammad Ashraf Faizlli, Iftikhar Ahmed Kakroo, Iftikhar Ahmed Hakeem, Tanveer Rasool, Ajaz Ahamed Mir, Saqlain, Imran as members.
The Saturday function was attended by past chairman, Amir Ali and past honorary secretary, Auqiba Sultana Dewa and other executive members.
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SRINAGAR: The BSF jawan accused of working for Pakistan was dismissed from service by the paramilitary forces, reports appearing in the media said.
Identified as Mohammed Sajjad, he was a resident of Rajouri.
The dismissal came days after Sajjad was arrested by ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad), Ahmedabad on October 25, 2021, on the charges of spying for Pakistan.
“An inquiry was done in which he was found to have indulged in espionage activities,” a statement issued by BSF in Gujarat said, according to The Indian Express. “As per BSF Act and Rules, on the grounds of his involvement, his act was detrimental to the safety and security of the nation and hence, was dismissed from service today on October 30, 2021.”
Sajjad’s dismissal followed protracted surveillance followed by his arrest by ATS. He was posted at Gandhidham in Kutch.
The ATS has accused him of exchanging vital information with Pakistan through WhatsApp in exchange for money. Serving BSF since 2012, the newspaper said Sajjad had travelled to Pakistan in 2011 and stayed there for 46 days.
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SRINAGAR: National Conference On Friday expressed dismay over the sacking of an operation theatre technician in Rajouri who had allegedly shared a whatsapp status regarding Indo-Pak cricket match in the ongoing T20 World Cup tournament.
Taking strong exception to the measure, Party’s state Women’s wing President Advocate Shameema Firdous called the sacking preposterous and unjustified. “Such unjustified measures mark the gradual shrinking of the democratic footprints across Jammu & Kashmir. Since India has always been a melting pot of ideas and discourse, the decline of democratic space is serious. It is yet another incident of exceptional treatment being meted out to our people. In the process, it is the people who they are losing. Such measures are unheard of in the emancipated world. It is not just the lady itself who is at the receiving end, her dependents too will bear the brunt of this just measure,” she said.
“The measure reeks of the epochal transformation now, the country continues to witness under the BJP government. By disrupting all fundamental traits of democracy, the present government has created a political subculture of repression, fear and silence in Kashmir,” she said adding, “Such actions increase the vulnerability of government employees who work with utmost zeal and enthusiasm.”
She demanded immediate revoking of her termination order.
Alluding to transfer of land for various purposes including 65.5 acres of land transferred in favour of the CRPF, Shameema said, “Being an interim arrangement the LG administration should desist from taking such measures which have far reaching consequences. Besides, the move will impact the availability of land for productive measures like tourism, industries, special economic zones and industrial estate. How can the administration reconcile to the needs of every growing populace, when such huge tracts of land are thoughtlessly doled out to forces for use? There will be long-term consequences both developmental as well as psychological, therefore the order should be annulled forthwith.”
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SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders and activists on Saturday staged a protest in Srinagar and demanded release of Kashmiri students, who were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly celebrating Pakistan cricket team’s victory in T20 World Cup 2021.
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday October 30,2021 stopped Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) workers from taking out a march here in protest against the arrest of three Kashmiri students in Agra. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
Quoting PDP youth Coordinator Najumu Saqib news agency KNO reported that, “Jammu and Kashmir is under a threatening environment. The youth who are going out of State to study are being detained for celebrations.”
“The government’s claims about the peace in Jammu and Kashmir fall flat on the ground as the civilians are being killed, soldiers are being killed. Is this a peaceful atmosphere,” he said.
“We demand urgent release of Kashmiri students detained in UP and a legal enquiry against the people who beat the Valley students in Punjab,” they said.
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SRINAGAR: A 25-year old shepherd was injured on Saturday evening after he was attacked by a wild bear in Dedrambagh Ganderbal area of Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
Quoting an official the news agency KNO reported that a 25-year-old man identified as Bashir Ahmed Sheikh, son of Gh Nabi Sheikh of Dedrambagh Ganderbal was attacked by a wild bear this evening.
The incident took place when the shepherd took his cattle out in the fields for grazing.
Reports said the injured was rushed to District Hospital Ganderbal wherefrom he was referred to SKIMS Soura for advanced treatment.
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SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta and noted Bollywood actor and chairman, National School of Drama, Paresh Rawal jointly inaugurated a Theatre in Education Centre (TIE), of the NSD here on Saturday.
National School of Drama opens TIE Centre in Srinagar on Friday October 30,2021.
The centre was inaugurated during a function held at Tagore Hall under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.
Among others, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Niteshwar Kumar, Secretary Culture , Sarmad Hafeez and Secretary JKAACL, Rahul Pandey were present on the occasion.
As part of the event , an MoU was signed and exchanged between Secretary Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL), and NSD Acting Director, Dinesh Khanna.
The TIE centre will engage in promoting theatre activities among children in Kashmir and will be developed for offering one year diploma courses shortly.
In terms of the MoU, NSD will hold all theatre activities in Kashmir in collaboration and consultation with JKAACL.
Coinciding with the event, NSD theatre artists performed a “Puppet show” at the Tagore Hall.
After inaugurating the centre, Chairman, NSD Paresh Rawal said that it was a privilege for the NSD to open such a centre in Kashmir for promoting theatre talent in the valley.
Earlier, while welcoming the audience, NSD Acting Director, Dinesh Khanna termed the opening ceremony of the centre as a “welcome development”.
Concluding the proceedings of the event, Secretary JKAACL presented vote of thanks.
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BARAMULLA: With an objective to make people aware of their legal entitlements in accordance to the constitutional mandate of access to justice for all, Union Minister for Law and Justice, Kiran Rijiju on Friday inaugurated a Mega Legal Awareness and Services Camp at ITI Pattan. The camp was organized by District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Baramulla under the aegis of JK Legal Services Authority with an active collaboration of District Administration.
Union Minister for Law and Justice visits Baramulla, Inaugurates Mega Legal Services Camp at ITI Pattan
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, Executive Chairman J&K Legal Services Authority and Justice Vinod Chatterjee Koul, Judge of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh were present on the occasion.
At the outset, the minister inspected various stalls installed by different departments disseminating necessary information besides services rendered to the concerned stakeholders. The Minister urged all the public authorities and semi-govt registered institutions to connect with the marginalized and targeted sections of the society living below the line of poverty with different social welfare and poverty alleviation schemes being provided by the central and UT Government.
The Union Minister on the occasion handed over Golden Cards under Ayushman Bharat scheme, Job Cards, Registration Certificates, School bags and books to the beneficiaries.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister complimented the efforts of UT Administration and District Legal Services Authority for providing hassle free services to the people and added that the Union Government and the UT administration is duty bound to provide justice to various sections of the society.
Rijiju stressed for making every endeavor and effort to make availability of ‘Justice for all’ a reality as per the mandate of the constitution. The minister said that access to justice is important for ensuring the protection of rights of the citizens under various enactments and Social welfare schemes.
He further said that the government is regularly monitoring the implementation of the social services and welfare Schemes being provided to the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the ground level. He further said that Jammu and Kashmir is progressing tremendously in every field and the need of the hour is to provide social services besides justice at doorstep to every citizen of the society.
Moreover, the minister also praised the efforts of district administration Baramulla and health department for achieving a milestone in Ayushmann Bharat Scheme with 82% of achievement so far in issuing Golden Cards.
On the occasion, Executive Chairman Jammu & Kashmir Legal Services Authority, Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said that the main objective of organizing such camps was to make people in general and poor and weaker sections of the society in particular aware of their entitlements under various enactments and welfare Schemes being provided to them. He further stressed that earlier we were focusing on creating awareness and now there is a paradigm shift from awareness to empowerment. Every effort is being made to ensure access to justice is ensured, he added.
Law Secretary J&K, Achal Sethi, Member Secretary J&K Legal Service Authority, M.K. Sharma, Principal District and Sessions Judge Baramulla (Chairman DLSA), Mohammad Yousaf Wani, District Development Commissioner Baramulla, Bhupinder Kumar, SSP Rayees Mohammad Bhat, CJM Sopore Faizan-Ul-Haque Iqbal, and Secretary DLSA Sayeem Qayoom besides district and sectoral officers were present on the occasion.
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SRINAGAR: Two soldiers, one of them lieutenant ranked, succumbed to critical injuries in a mysterious explosion along Line of Control in Rajouri district on Saturday afternoon, official sources said.
Quoting sources news agency GNS reported that during a routine patrolling near forward location in Lam sector of Noweshra in Rajouri district a mysterious explosion took place which left two soldiers including the lieutenant, grievously injured. Both the injured were evacuated to hospital in a critical condition, they further said.
However both of them succumbed to the injuries.
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SRINAGAR: With Diwali festival, the festival of lights, approaching fast, Kashmir potters have gone busy in making the traditional lamps. Every year in anticipation of the festival, Kashmiri potters get orders from local temples and, in certain cases, from Jammu also about the traditional lamps that are used during Diwali festivities.
A potter making earthen Kashmir potters surrounded by his manufacture – the traditional earthen lamps and the Hukka. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
The vintage lamps consume the cooking oil and offer dazzling lights. In certain cases, these lamps are innovated to consume kerosene oil also.
A potter busy making traditional earthen lamps ahead of Diwali festival in Srinagar on Saturday 30 October 2021. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
Kashmir pottery has remained traditional and not much of innovation has taken place over the years. The only intervention has been the electric wheel that is also not available to most of them. The pottery is restricted to the creation of kundals that are required for Kangri, the traditional earthen pot used during winters.
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SRINAGAR: The Government on Friday informed that 101 new positive cases of novel Corona virus (COVID-19), 11 from Jammu division and 90 from Kashmir division, have been reported today, thus taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 332154.
Moreover, 87 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from various hospitals including 16 from Jammu Division and 71 from Kashmir Division.
The Bulletin informs that no new case of Mucormycosis has been reported today.
On COVID vaccination, the bulletin informs that 63,155 doses of COVID vaccine have been administered in the last 24 hours bringing the cumulative number of doses administered across J&K to 14,590,656.
According to the daily Media Bulletin on novel Corona virus (Covid-19), out of 332154 positive cases, 886 are Active Positive (103 in Jammu Division and 783 in Kashmir Division), 326836 have recovered and 4432 have died; 2176 in Jammu division and 2256 in Kashmir division.
The Bulletin further said that out of 16163431 test results available, 332154 samples have tested positive and 15831277 samples have been tested as negative till date. Besides, 39,002 COVID tests have been conducted in last 24 hours.
Till date 3825024 persons have been enlisted for observation which included 6267 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 886 in isolation and 448797 in home surveillance. Besides, 3364642 persons have completed their surveillance period.
Providing district-wise breakup for positive cases reported today, the Bulletin said that Srinagar reported 42 cases, Baramulla reported 25 cases, Budgam reported 08 cases, Pulwama reported no cases, Kupwara reported 06cases, Anantnag reported 01case,Bandipora reported 02 cases, Ganderbal reported 06 cases while Kulgam and Shopian reported no fresh cases for today.
The bulletin further informs the general public that they can contact helpline numbers 0191-2520982/2674444/2674115/2674908/2549676 in Jammu Division and 0194-2440283/2430581/2452052/2457313/2457312 in Kashmir Division for any kind of guidance and assistance.
In case of emergency, people can avail free ambulance services 24×7 by calling toll free number 108 while as pregnant women and sick infants can avail free services by dialling toll free number 102, the bulletin reads.
It also informs that the public can reach national helpline by dialling 1075.
Further the bulletin also informs the public that for any kind of COVID-19 query, logon to https://ift.tt/2XYaXJZ
The readers can also reach us on the official Twitter account of DIPR-J&K @diprjk; website: http://www.jkdirinf.in; Webportal: jkinfonews.com and Facebook: @JKInformationOfficial.
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In spite of being at the wrong level of social stratification, Kashmir’s traditional baking has always remained a roaring business.Sarmad Devvisits a village, deep north that owes its prosperity to the sleeplessness and hard work of its youth in Srinagar’s Kanderwans
A baker in his Srinagar shop. KL Image: Hilal Shah
Regardless of what the world has in breakfast, in Kashmir, it is the Kander Tchout, the traditional baker’s bread (Kashmiri baker is called Kandur). For ages, the bakery-abundant Kashmir is breaking the fast in the morning with Lavassa, tortilla-like bread, or Girda made in clay tandoors.
Early risers, these bakers start working well before the Mouazin calls for Fajr prayers and by the time the prayers are over, people crowd outside their shops to take the freshly-baked Tchout home. Every locality has a local baker and no baker caters to the requirements of less than 200-300 households. A smart estimation suggests that when Kashmir breaks the morning bread, it generates a turnover of no fewer Rs 70 lakhs.
Over the years, however, Kashmir’s obsessive compulsion of taking the job route to define its social stratification has pushed the crucial Kandur, like the handicrafts artisans and peasants, to a lower social order. Quite a few traditional bakers have stuck to the age-old job and migrated to the Western bakery or other professions leaving a vacuum, now being filled by the professionals moving in from Kashmir periphery.
For countless villages, which had adopted traditional bakery as their main profession, it is a huge change-maker on the upward mobility curve. A sunrise sector, it does matter in peripheral social divisions, which are natural and uncomplicatedly fluid.
A Dusky Village
Dangerpora is one such village. Located almost 65 km, north of Srinagar, deep into the lush green Sangrama belt, this visibly prosperous village is one of the major bulk suppliers of the bakers to Srinagar city.
The Dangerpora village down north that runs a chain of around 500 baker shops in Srinagar city. KL Image: Hilal Shah
Residents said the village is home to about 1700 people in 350 households and about 97 per cent of people have moved out to Srinagar to run their baking shops. This village has less than 10 individuals working for the government. Quite a few people work in fields. This is the tradition of the village for around 60 years now.
As the car moves on a pot-holed feeding road from the impressive highway, Dangerpora literally emerges out of nowhere as a beautiful settlement with a concrete house and not so unclean alleys. Apparently, every household owns some transport as non-locals workers are busy in the local mosque construction.
Residents rue the absence of the hospital and other public utilities. For some of them, who frequently visit and live in Srinagar, the lack of facilities is felt deeply. “Our road gets worse when it snows and no vehicles can get in or out of this place which makes the living conditions very hard here, especially for the old and the patients,” one elderly resident said.
Baking Prosperity
Residents admit that their well-being does not owe anything to their location in the middle of lush green mountains. This is because of Srinagar where they run bakery chains and “without it, poverty would have struck them”.
Warm and well-cultured, the residents talk their hearts out to the Kashmir Life reporting team; invite them to lunch, offer apples or walnuts as presents.
Elders in the village, who now stay home and rest as the new generation takes care of their business, said the village got into Kanderkar, the baking work, somewhere after the 1960s. The specific reason why the village picked baking unlike other jobs was that it is cheap to set up a Kanderwan, the baking shop, and the materials required is easily available – the firewood, the earthen oven and the flour.
“We were poor and mostly landless so we picked up this business and went to different districts to learn this profession,” Ghulam Nabi Bhat, the village Sarpanch, who also worked as a baker once, said. “It was easier and cheaper than other labour intensive work. I, myself used to work as a baker at Eidgah till 2000 and returned home only after my father died.”
“By and large, it is a compulsion,” explains Ajaiz Ahmad Lone, a sociology masters student. “We have a lot of youth who are well educated and still in this business because of unemployment.” He admits that they are being looked down by society but this job is the only way out for dignified survival.
Muhammad Yasin Bhat, 55, worked as a Kandur in Srinagar’s Malbagh for 25 years. Self-retired, his shop is now run by his two sons, both having passed the tenth standard. Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Yasin’s neighbour said, all his seven sons are currently in Kanderkar and they send home no less than one lakh rupees, a month.
The lucrative nature of this profession has encouraged even the next generation of the peasantry to get into baking. Muhammad Sultan Bhat, 70, said he has worked in his small fields throughout his life. “I have never made one loaf of bread in my life,” he said. “When I saw my people earning well, I sent my kids to Srinagar and for the last 15 years, they have been there. They work all year barring a few months when they visit home by turns.”
Kashmir bakers busy in preparing the breakfast bread in Srinagar. KL Image: Hilal Shah
Burden On Women
With the main workforce out and away, the management of the small lands, orchards and the vegetable garden falls on women. They are supposed to take care of the children, their education and other issues that need quick decision-making.
Residents said that it was a severe crisis for most of the time but the arrival of the cell phone has eased part of it. “Now we call them and they give their views and in most of the cases, they remain in touch round the clock,” one lady, who is managing the affairs of the home in her husband’s absence. In certain cases, some of the migrant bakers have taken their children along for better education in Srinagar.
In most of the cases, however, the husbands have taken their immediate families along. Some of them have gradually acquired the small houses in Srinagar and are now the proud owners of two places of residence.
In Srinagar
While in their Kanderwans, these people have neither forgotten their roots nor the sweating they had to make in changing the economic profiles of their families. Some of them are very well qualified but the absence of opportunities has retained them in the jobs their parents were doing.
Muhammad Asif, operates from his Batamaloo shop. “I have been in this business for about 15-20 years and I serve about 150 households every day,” Asif said, insisting that he is the first generation Kandur as father has never been in this business. “My only regret is that people hardly respect us, do not give us the due for being what we are – the craftsmen. Sometimes, I wonder, what would happen to the culture if we weren’t here?”
Mohammad Amin Bhat operates from Lal Bazaar since 1990, where he caters to the needs of almost 120 houses every morning. “I entered this field because I wanted to get out of the poverty but my children have chosen their own paths, which is good,” he said.
“We cater to around 1500 people every morning,” Imtiyaz Wani, 24, who operates from Soura, said. “We wake up at 3 am and we run this shop with three people – one is the bread maker, one handles the tandoor and one extracts the baked bread and sells it,” Wani said. “I started this work mainly because of not having any other avenue of dignified earning and my brother was my inspiration.”
In most of cases, these people encourage their children to study and shift to other jobs. A section, however, inherits the baking from one generation to another.
Plenty of Work
Bread in Kashmir is a huge sector because people never take tea without bread. The diversity of the products is so huge that it changes from place to place within Kashmir. The people take bread for breakfast and in the afternoon tea break. Every time, it requires a different kind of bread.
In the morning, the normal is lavasa or girda. In the forenoon, a special girda is baked that has ghee in it. It is hugely popular with the working class and the migrant seasonal workforce. In the afternoon, the main bread that goes with the tea is talevour. Some people, however, bakirkhawni or katlum, known in Persian as nan-e-khushik (dry bread). Kashmir’s entire bread basket is rooted in central Asia. In between, there are countless bread baked for seasonal or specific occasions involving births, deaths and celebrations.
Kashmiris weakness for its food is so disarming that when Kashmiri Pandits migrated out of Kashmir in 1990, only two professionals were welcome – the pouj (butchers) and the Kandur. Kashmri Pandits are seen as India’s only Halal-mutton consuming Hindus.
Part of this market is with housewives who make chapattis at home thus easing the burden on the traditional bakers. The western bakery is a separate and huge sector that has evolved over the centuries after the British took bakers from Srinagar and sent them trained in the English bakery. That, however, is a different subject. In a number of cases, traditional Kandur sees getting into the bakery as positive growth in status and earning.
Challenging Jobs
The job, however, remains a challenging one. Most of them have sleep deficits as they have to get up too early. They also work in an environment where they have to manage extreme heat and smoke. This is leading to certain health issues as a result of which a person retires from baking much earlier.
There has not been any major intervention in this sector to upgrade the facilities and innovate. Earlier, there were efforts to have exhaust chimneys to manage the smoke but those were too complicated to manage the quantum of smoke generated by the Kanderwan. At one point in time, even the tandoor was created that would heat up with either LPG or electricity. That also could not take off so well to the satisfaction of the trade.
Off late, however, the district administration in Srinagar has initiated a modernization process involving a select group on a pilot basis. It remains to be seen if this process takes shape and makes some changes. Abdul Majid Pampori, the President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Local Bakers and Kashmir Bread Makers Association said they are around 800 bakers in Srinagar alone as their number crosses eight thousand across Kashmir.
At the same time, there is a requirement of improving the hygiene of the Kanderwan.
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So far four people with dengue fever have died. The disease is like Covid19 as far as the treatment goes. There is no formal medication for fever management.
