Kashmir.Watch

Author: hamid

  • 10 year old Sgr COVID-19 patient “Doing Well”

    Srinagar, Apr 01: The 10-year-old boy who was tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday, is reportedly “doing well”, while as his family members have been tested negative at SKIMS, family informed to KINS.

    However the report of the father was yet to come when this report was filed.

    The family members of 10 year Covid- victim of Srinagar were quarantined yesterday and they have been tested negative.

    Authorities had quarantined the father, mother, sister of the Covid-19 patient shortly after he was tested positive.

    His father told KINS over phone “My son is doing well. We are hopeful that he will get well soon. Today everyone was relieved when my other family members’ test reports came back and they have all tested negative.” he said but added that his reports was yet to come.

    Medical Superintendent SKIMS Soura Dr Farooq Ahmad Jan also confirmed to Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that the reports of the family members were tested negative.

    However sources in the SKIMS said that all the family members were taken for mandatory quarantine.

    According to the father of the boy, his son had hugged a Tableegi Jamaat member in Srinagar on March 21 and for at least a week he showed no symptoms. Suddenly, the boy complained of high fever on March 28. On the same day the doctors had advised him for 2 week home quarantine.

    However after KINS exclusively reported the ordeal of father and his son on March 29, a medical team reached his residence with an ambulance on March 30 and admitted him in SKIMS, Soura where his tests were done which came positive on March 31. (KINS)

  • Coronavirus India lockdown day 8 updates | U.P. reports two deaths, all-India death toll breaches 50

    COVID-19 has claimed 49 lives in India as of March 31, according to data from the Health Ministry and State governments. As many as 1547 people have tested positive for the coronavirus.

    PTI

    Here are the latest updates:

    Jaipur

    89 cases in Rajasthan so far
    Jaipur has reported 13 more COVID-19 positive cases today. All of them are contacts of the first person who was found infected in Ramganj locality.

    The number of positive cases in Rajasthan has soared to 89. This is without taking into account Iran evacuees lodged in Army facilities – Mohammed Iqbal

    Guwahati

    Fresh cases in Assam
    Assam has reported four new cases. All of them have attended the Nizamuddin congregation, according to State Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

    Lucknow

    Second death in UP due to COVID-19. A 72-year-old patient in Meerut has passed away, confirms R. C. Gupta, Principal, Meerut medical college.

    The deceased,tested positive in March 29, was the father-in-law of an earlier positive case. The victim was also suffering from chronic pulmonary disease and was a diabetic, says Dr. Gupta. – Omar Rashid

    Chennai

    TN CM requests Delhi meeting participants to come forward
    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday requested those who participated in the religious conference at Nizamuddin West in Delhi to voluntarily come forward, so that they can be tested and treated for COVID-19 if necessary. Mr. Palaniswami, responding to a question, also said if there were symptoms among any participants at the Isha Foundation event held recently, they would also be subjected to testing.

    Kolkata

    Two more deaths in West Bengal
    Two more deaths were reported from Coronavrius in West Bengal on Wednesday taking the number of deaths due to contagious viral infection in the State to six.

    While one patient who was admitted to NRS Medical College and Hospital passed late on Tuesday evening another person died in at a private health facility in Belghoria in the northern parts of the city on Wednesday.

    The State has reported 27 cases, out of which three have been discharged. – Shiv Sahay Singh

    Patna

    The COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar has gone up to 23, confirmed state principal health secretary Sanjay Kumar. The latest two positive cases have come Nalanda and Begusarai districts and have travel history. – Amarnath Tewary

    Agartala

    Tripura to provide free ration to 6.19 lakh poor families for one month
    Tripura government on Wednesday announced that 6.19 lakh poor families in the state would get free ration for one month in view of the COVID-19 situation and the 21-day lockdown.

    As per the Public Distribution System (PDS) records, Tripura has 5.79 lakh ‘poor’ families including 1.09 lakh Antodaya Annapurna Yojana (AAY) families, 4.70 lakh priority
    group or BPL families.

    Vijaywada

    COVID-19 tally doubles in Andhra Pradesh with 43 new cases
    Due to a major overnight spike, the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the State doubled making the total count to 87 on Wednesday. As many as 43 new cases from eight districts were reported.

    As many as 373 samples were tested overnight and 330 turned negative while 43 came as positive. Kadapa and West Godavari districts which did not have a single positive case until yesterday now reported 15 and 13 positive cases respectively. Chittoor reported five new cases and it is followed by Prakasam with four new cases, Nellore and East Godavari two each cases and Visakhapatnam and Krishna one each case. – Tharun Boda

    Lucknow

    First death in UP
    A 25-year-old man from Basti district in Uttar Pradesh died at the BRD hospital in Gorakhpur on Monday. His sample has tested positive, as per a doctor in district hospital Basti but still waiting for official confirmation from the King George’s Medical University in Lucknow where the sample was sent. This would be the first death due to COVID in the State.

    The patient didn’t reveal travel history to Mumbai and was admitted to the COPD after complaining of breathing issues, says the doctor in-charge of Basti hospital. – Omar Rashid

    Bhopal

    Another death in Madhya Pradesh
    A 65-year-old man from Khargone, who had died on March 29 at a hospital in Indore, tests positive for COVID-19, says Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Indore. The toll owing to the illness climbs to six in Madhya Pradesh. – Sidharth Yadav

    New Delhi

    Scene at Nizamuddin cordoned off by the agencies as sanitizing is underway on Wednesday.

    The Nizamuddin Tablighi centre building was evacuated after a 36 hour-long operation. A total of 2,361 people were evacuated and 617 of them were sent to hospitals and 1,744 were sent to quarantine facilities, says Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

    Delhi state cancer institute which was closed after a doctor was found to be affected by COVID-19 in Dilshad Garden on Wednesday.

    Delhi State Cancer Institute has been shut and is being sanitized after a doctor at the hospital tested positive for COVID-19, says Delhi government spokesperson. – Nikhil M. Rao

    Ahmedabad

    Eight new Coronavirus positive cases found in Ahmedabad. Gujarat’s total no of cases jump to 82. – Mahesh Langa

    Bhopal

    20 new COVID-19 cases in MP
    Twenty more people tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, taking the total number of such cases in the state to 86.

    Among the new cases, 19 were reported from Indore and one from the neighbouring Khargone district.

    Among the new cases, nine patients live at the same postal address in Tanzim Nagar in Indore. They include six women aged 45,21,30,36,23,30, two female toddlers aged three and five and a boy aged eight. A man aged 39 and woman 66 also live at the same address at another location in Indore, so do two men aged 24 and 74.

    Puducherry

    Two who attended Nizamuddin event test positive in Puducherry
    Two persons, who had attended a religious congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, tested positive for coronavirus in Puducherry on Wednesday.

    Director of Health and Family Welfare Mohan Kumar said the two had returned from Delhi after attending the congregation and were admitted to the State Government hospital.

    Pune

    Over 100 from Pune attended Tablighi event.

    At 182 persons in Pune division including more than 130 in Pune district had attended the fortnight-long conclave hosted by the Tablighi Jamaat, a global Islamic organisation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West area earlier this month, said authorities on Wednesday.

    Divisional Commissioner Dr. Deepak Mhaisekar said that the divisional authorities had requisite information regarding their whereabouts and that they were tracking down the concerned persons who had participated in the conclave, some of whom were foreign nationals. – Shoumojit Banerjee

    Bengaluru

    Yediyurappa to donate one year’s salary to fight COVID-19
    Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced he will donate his one year’s salary to the Chief Minister Relief Fund COVID-19.

    He has appealed to Ministers, legislators, Members of Parliament, officials and citizens to also do their bit and contribute in whatever capacity possible to help the state in fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

    Srinagar

    Srinagar Mayor’s escort ‘isolated’
    The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday quarantined the entire escort of Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu after the brother of a police personnel tested positive for COVID-19. In a separate action, seven people associated with Tablighi Jamaat were booked for hiding travel history.

  • Encounter breaks out along LoC in Kupwara

    Srinagar, April 1: A gunfight broke out between militants and army in woods along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday.

    Reports reaching GNS said that the soldiers manning the fence near “Teen Behak” in the Jumgund area of the LoC at around 1:00 p.m. intercepted the movement of a group of militants believed to be 5 to 6 in number.

    The militants while trying to infiltrate in this side were challenged by the army, triggering off a brief exchange of gunfire, they said.

    Meanwhile, additional reinforcement of the forces was rushed to the spot. They said due to inclement weather the operation may get prolonged even as all the exit points have been sealed. Army sources also confirmed the operation in the area. “When reports last came in, the operation was going on,” they said. (GNS)

  • Afghanistan: Taliban team in Kabul for prisoner exchange process

    Exchange likely to kick-start talks between the group and Afghan government negotiators as envisaged in US-Taliban deal.

    Aljazeera

    A three-member Taliban team has arrived in Kabul to begin a prisoner exchange process, which is likely to kick-start talks between the group and negotiators named by the Afghan government to end the country’s 18-year war.

    The peace talks, known as the intra-Afghan dialogue, were envisaged in an agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban in Doha, which also stipulated an exchange of 6,000 prisoners held by the Afghan government and the group.

    “Our three-member technical team will help the process of prisoners’ release by identification of the prisoners, (and) their transportation,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters News Agency on Tuesday.

    The prisoner release had been a sticking point in the starting of peace talks, with the Taliban and Afghan government differing over the process and timing of the exchange.

    Afghanistan: Concern about COVID-19 as refugees return home (1:55)
    However, after weeks of back and forth, the process is set to begin with the arrival of the Taliban team, which will set up camp at a luxury hotel in Kabul.

    “In this regard, they will do a kind of deal with the opposite side (Afghan government),” Mujahid said. “Their practical work would start in coming days.”

    The Taliban had previously refused to speak to the US-backed Afghan government directly.

    The Taliban team had planned to send a larger, 10-member delegation, Mujahid said, but the size was reduced due to the coronavirus fallout in Afghanistan.

    The talks also received a boost after a government-named negotiating team was endorsed by Abdullah Abdullah, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s main political rival.

    “The formation of an inclusive negotiation team is an important step towards facilitating intra-Afghan negotiations,” Abdullah Abdullah said on Twitter.

    ‘Good news’

    Differences between Ghani and Abdullah over the result of the 2019 presidential elections threatened to derail the peace process with the Taliban – a fear voiced by major capitals around the world, particularly Washington.

    US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also termed Tuesday’s developments “good news”, saying the team of negotiators announced by the government appeared inclusive.

    Pompeo last week flew to Kabul and the Qatari capital Doha, where the Taliban have an office, to urge all sides to move forward with the process, which at that point was deadlocked.

    “We’ve seen a [negotiating] team identified. Looks like it’s pretty inclusive, pretty broad. We’re happy about that,” Pompeo said at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday.

    “We’ve begun to see some work done on prisoner releases, as well, all elements that have to come together so we can get to the inter Afghan negotiations, which ultimately will prove to be the only mechanism that has any hope of delivering peace and reconciliation to the people,” he added.

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • Two Indias — one at home doing yoga, other fighting for survival: Sibal

    Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday took a dig at the government, saying there were two Indias with one at home doing yoga, watching Ramayan and playing antakshari, and the other trying to reach home and fighting for survival.

    PTI

    A large number of migrant labourers have been leaving their work places in parts of the country and walking down to their native places, hundreds of kilometres away, due to the lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

    Photo Credits: Sandeep Saxena

    “Two India’s. One (at home) doing yoga, watching Ramayana, playing Antakshari. The other (trying to reach home). Fighting for survival without food, without shelter, without support,” Mr. Sibal said in a tweet.

    Mr. Sibal’s attack was in reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharing a video of a yoga asan which he practices, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announcing the rerun of Ramayan and Mahabharat recently and Union minister Smriti Irani playing ‘Twitter Antakshari’ during the ‘Janata Curfew

  • JKPC Reaction on J&K Domicile Gazette Notification by Chief Spokesperson, Junaid Azim Mattu

    “The presidential order defining the domicile law issued at the depth of night while the world is under the grip of a deadly pandemic falls way short of expectations even for those who expected some relief some reconciliation process. The new definition of ‘domicile’ is humiliating and insulting. Adds insult to injury. Doing away with district and divisional recruitment is an affront to the concept of affirmative action. We had no expectations but this particular order has made the disappointment even more intense. The government of the day has embarked on an erroneous path and seems to be in no mood to rectify wrongs and instead is content to be deluded in the world of “we know the best” for J&K and its people.

    The lowest rung in jobs has been reserved for locals – not even non-gazetted but Class IV jobs. There seems to be a clear intent of conveying yet another serving of humiliation and insult to the people of J&K after what transpired in August 5th. What is ironically historical though is that in the middle of one of the worst medical disasters facing the world, the Govt of the day has the time and patience to script a disaster of its own. During the #COVID19 battle, the people of J&K didn’t deserve more humiliation.”

  • Lockdown impact: Maruti Suzuki sales fall 47.4% in March

    The company, however, said that the sales during March 2020 are not comparable with sales in March 2019 “due to the suspension of operations with effect from March 22, 2020, in line with national policy”.

    Amid the nationwide lockdown, market leader Maruti Suzuki on Wednesday posted a 47.4% decline in sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market to 76,240 units. The company has sold over 1.45 lakh passenger vehicles in March 2019.

    The company, however, said that the sales during March 2020 are not comparable with sales in March 2019 “due to the suspension of operations with effect from March 22, 2020, in line with national policy”.

    As per the data shared by the company, sales of mini segment vehicles — Alto, S-Presso2, were down 5% to 15,988 units as against 16,826 units in the year-ago month, while sales of compact segment vehicles — WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire, Tour S, fell nearly 51% to 40,519 units from 82,532 units in March 2019. Sales of mid-size Ciaz was down 49.3% to 1,863 units as against 3,672 units in the year-ago month.

    Sales of Utility vehicles — Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross, Vitara Brezza, XL6, was also hit during the month, falling 53.4% to 11,904 units as compared to 25,563 units in March 2019, while sales of Vans — Omni, Eeco, was down 63.7% to 5,966 units from 16,438 units in the year-ago month.

    The company sold 736 units of its Light Commercial Vehicle Super Carry during the month, down 71.5% from 2,582 units. With this total domestic vehicle sales for Maruti Suzuki stood at 76,976 units during March 2020, as against over 1.47 lakh units in March 2019, a decline of 47.9%.

    The exports during the month also fell 55% to 4,712 units as against 10,463 units in March 2019.

    For the full financial year (2019-20), the company’s domestic vehicles sales stood at over 14.36 lakh units compared to sales of over 17.53 lakh units in the previous year, a decline of about 18%.

    “Maruti Suzuki remains committed to the safety and well-being of its employees, business partners and customers. The Company will continue to support Government at the Centre and State levels and follow all advisories in combating COVID-19,” the company added.

  • Two arrested in Baramulla for over pricing

    Baramulla: The Jammu and Kashmir police in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district arrested a Wholesaler and a shopkeeper for overpricing and registered cases under relevant provisions against them.

    Reports said that two shopkeepers working within the main town of Baramulla were arrested on Tuesday for overcharging the masses availing the stock from them.

    Concerned Station House Officer (SHO) Baramulla, Syed Gazanfur, on being contacted said, ” Two have been arrested for resorting to price hike despite clear directions and rate list from concerned department”.

    He said some complaints were received about the extra changing by two shopkeepers including a wholesaler and the other a retailer within town.

    On reaching the scene and gathering the spot details both the persons were arrested for overcharging amid the COVID-19 outbreak when people hardly manage their expenses, he said.

    He said both the accused were were arrested an lodged in police station Baramulla under FIR Number 31/2020 under section 3/8 EC.

    He identified both of them as Nisar Dhobi a resident of Suhai Colony (Wholesale) and the other as Mehraj Ud Din a resident of Kanispora.

  • COVID-19: Bangladesh extends shutdown until April 11

    2 new coronavirus cases take country’s tally past 50, premier says essential operations will continue

    Agencies

    DHAKA: Bangladesh on Tuesday extended a nationwide shutdown until April 11 to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the shutdown, announced on March 26 and due to end on April 4, was being extended for five more days, the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency reported.

    The shutdown, which the government continues to refer to as a “general holiday”, will officially end on Friday, April 9, but the next two days are the regular weekend.

    The decision came as two more COVID-19 cases took Bangladesh’s tally to 51 on Tuesday. The country of around 165 million people has so far reported five deaths due to the coronavirus.

    “We earlier announced a 10-day general holiday from March 26 and it is now extended for five days until April 9,” Hasina said in a video conference with civil administration officials of the country’s 64 districts.

    She said the full shutdown will be eased on “a limited scale” to cater to the country’s essential needs.

    “Everything cannot be stopped. The essential things will remain in operation, but all educational institutions will remain closed,” said the premier, adding that the situation will be reviewed on April 4.

    She said industries must remain operational but with all precautionary measures. “We have to keep industries open for production of many essential goods. We must also ensure that nobody is allowed to hike up prices of daily commodities. We must behave humanely during this time of crisis,” Hasina stressed.

    The premier also warned of an impending global financial crisis due to the disruption of economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “To overcome that crisis, we have to pay attention to our agriculture sector. We have enough fertile land and sufficient manpower, but we must ensure that no piece of land anywhere in the country is left uncultivated,” she said.

    She directed the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate farmers and to provide them all necessary materials to ensure optimum output.

  • Investors tell Indian startups to ‘prepare for the worst’ as Covid-19 uncertainty continues

    Just three months after capping what was the best year for Indian startups, having raised a record $14.5 billion in 2019, they are beginning to struggle to raise new capital as prominent investors urge them to “prepare for the worst”, cut spending and warn that it could be challenging to secure additional money for the next few months.

    Manish Singh | TechCrunch

    In an open letter to startup founders in India, ten global and local private equity and venture capitalist firms including Accel, Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital, and Matrix Partners cautioned that the current changes to the macro environment could make it difficult for a startup to close their next fundraising deal.

    The firms, which included Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners, and Nexus Venture Partners — some of the prominent names in India to back early-stage startups — asked founders to be prepared to not see their startups’ jump in the coming rounds and have a 12-18 month runway with what they raise.

    “Assumptions from bull market financings or even from a few weeks ago do not apply. Many investors will move away from thinking about ‘growth at all costs’ to ‘reasonable growth with a path to profitability.’ Adjust your business plan and messaging accordingly,” they added.

    Signs are beginning to emerge that investors are losing appetite to invest in the current scenario.

    Indian startups participated in 79 deals to raise $496 million in March, down from $2.86 billion that they raised across 104 deals in February and $1.24 billion they raised from 93 deals in January this year, research firm Tracxn told TechCrunch. In March last year, Indian startups had raised $2.1 billion across 153 deals, the firm said.

    New Delhi ordered a complete nation-wide lockdown for its 1.3 billion people for three weeks earlier this month in a bid to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

    The lockdown, as you can imagine, has severely disrupted businesses of many startups, several founders told TechCrunch.

    Vivekananda Hallekere, co-founder and chief executive of mobility firm Bounce, said he is prepared for a 90-day slowdown in the business.

    Founder of a Bangalore-based startup, which was in advanced stages to raise more than $100 million, said investors have called off the deal for now. He requested anonymity.

    Food delivery firm Zomato, which raised $150 million in January, said it would secure an additional $450 million by the end of the month. Two months later, that money is yet to arrive.

    Many startups are already beginning to cut salaries of their employees and let go of some people to survive an environment that aforementioned VC firms have described as “uncharted territory.”

    Travel and hotel booking service Ixigo said it had cut the pay of its top management team by 60% and rest of the employees by up to 30%. MakeMyTrip, the giant in this category, also cut salaries of its top management team.

    Beauty products and cosmetics retailer Nykaa on Tuesday suspended operations and informed its partners that it would not be able to pay their dues on time.

    Investors cautioned startup founders to not take a “wait and watch” approach and assume that there will be a delay in their “receivables,” customers would likely ask for price cuts for services, and contracts would not close at the last minute.

    “Through the lockdown most businesses could see revenues going down to almost zero and even post that the recovery curve may be a ‘U’ shaped one vs a ‘V’ shaped one,” they said.

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)