Kashmir.Watch

Author: hamid

  • COVID19 | Greater Kashmir, Srinagar Times and Daily Aftab may stop distribution of Newspapers

    Srinagar, Mar 31: Amid Covid-19 scare, majority of the Newspaper distributors may stop to distribute Newspapers from tomorrow.

    Already, 52 patients have been tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir. There is a surge in the confirmed cases across Valley that has panicked the people.

    Main distributors including Fayaz Trali, Mudasir Ahmed and Irshand Ahmed with whom over 200 hawkers are associated may not distribute the newspapers from tomorrow.

    Irhad Ahmed, one among the three distributors told Kashmir News Trust that “Except Greater Kashmir, Srinagar Times and Daily Aftab, distribution of all other newspapers already hit the stands.”

    “We are not willing to distribute the newspapers from tomorrow as our hawkers are scared of touching the newspapers and roaming place to place,” he added.

  • Salman Khan’s Heartbreaking Post On Death of Nephew Abdullah

    “Will Always Love You”
    Salman’s close friends and co-stars also paid tribute to Abdullah Khan on Instagram

    Salman Khan, on Monday night, announced the death of his nephew Abdullah Khan, in an Instagram post.

    The 54-year-old actor shared a grey scale throwback picture with Abdullah and he wrote: “Will always love you.”

    Abdullah Khan, who was frequently spotted with Salman, often did fitness training with the actor. He was reportedly admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Hospital and the cause of death has not been revealed as of now. Besides Salman Khan, Abdullah was remembered by Salman’s close friends Iulia Vantur, Daisy Shah, Zareen Khan and Bina Kak

  • 6 new positive cases confirmed in Kashmir Division.

    All contacts of previous positive cases.

    Tweets Rohit Kansal:

  • Father-son duo, 10 year old boy test positive Eidgah area to be sterilized completely: Commissioner SMC

    Srinagar, Mar 31: One more Covid-19 suspect has been tested positive and this time he is 10 years old boy. Reports said that besides the boy, two more patients have been tested positive on Tuesday.

    The number of Covid-19 cases has jumped to 52 in Kashmir Valley.
    Reports said that the 10 year old boy (name withheld) from Eidgah Srinagar had come into contact with a person affiliated with Tableegi Jamat who was suffering from Coronavirus when he visited a mosque in the area.

    A family member of the confirmed case that the boy had shook hands with a religious preacher in Eidgah mosque and after that he developed symptoms. “We took him to JLNM Hospital Rainawari where from he was referred to SKIMS Soura. A day after, he was admitted in the hospital, his samples were taken and today he was declared positive,” he told KNT.
    Nodal Officer for Coronavirus at SKIMS Soura, Dr Ghulam Hasan Itoo said that report about the patient has been sent to the Government and they have to declare about it.

    Reports said that a father-son due part of Tableegi Jamat who hail from Bemina have also been tested positive.

    A Government official said that Eidgah area will be completely sterilized as there are reports that some of Covid-19 patients who were part of the Tableegi Jamat stayed in different mosques in the area.
    Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Commissioner, Ghazanfar Ali told KNT that whole Eidgah area will be sanitized and sterilized.

    “Locals informed us that some of the Covid-19 infected persons who were part of the Tableegi Jamat stayed in different mosques in the area and a large number of people have come into contact with them. Our teams will sterilize the area completely,” he said. (KNT)

  • Congress questions setting up of PM CARES Fund to deal with coronavirus

    Why this new fund when the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund is already in existence: Party leaders

    Special Correspondent

    Congress leaders on Monday questioned the setting up of PM CARES Fund to deal with the coronavirus pandemic by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) is already in existence.

    Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on Twitter, commenting on another tweet about PM CARES, asked: “Why not simply rename PMNRF as PM-CARES, given the PM’s penchant for catchy acronyms, instead of creating a separate Public Charitable Trust whose rules & expenditure are totally opaque?”

    “@PMOIndia you owe the country an explanation for this highly unusual step,” Mr. Tharoor added.

    On March 28, the government had set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund) to deal with the unprecedented situation arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak where citizens can make voluntary contributions.

    However, some critics including Congress leaders pointed out that money was lying ‘unspent’ in the PMNRF.

    “The PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) has an unspent balance of ₹3,800 crore [as of December 16, 2019]. Why couldn’t #COVID19 donations go to PMNRF? Why was PM CARE created? Why are PM & 3 ministers members of this trust without any opposition or civil society leaders?”asked Congress spokesperson Salman Soz.

    “The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established in January 1948 after PM Jawaharlal Nehru made an appeal to assist displaced persons from Pakistan. PMNRF belongs to the people of India. Who does PM CARES Fund belong to?” Mr. Soz added.

    Noted historian Ram Chandra Guha too targeted the government over PM CARES Fund.

    “This is a very important thread. Why a new fund when a Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund already exists? And why the self-aggrandizing name, PM-CARES? Must a colossal national tragedy also be (mis)used to enhance the cult of personality?” asked Mr. Guha.

  • Coronavirus | 200 people in Nizamuddin develop symptoms; area cordoned off

    Cases have surfaced, in several States, of people who attended a religious conference at the area

    Saurabh Trivedi

    Around 150 people were evacuated by district authorities from the Nizamuddin area in New Delhi to various hospitals after they developed symptoms of COVID-19, a police officer said on Monday. On Sunday 34 persons from the same area had been moved to hospitals.

    Delhi Police have cordoned off the area around the Markaz Masjid located around 100 metres from the Nizamuddin dargah. Drones have been deployed in the area to ensure strict implementation of lockdown orders, the police officer said.

    Around 8,000 people from across the country as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia attended a gathering at Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid, the headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat in the Nizamuddin area of South Delhi earlier this month. While many returned home, others stayed back at the mosque. The persons evacuated were staying in the Markaz, the police officer said.

    Speaking to the media Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said, “In all such cases a set protocol is put in place where our team goes in to collect samples, trace contacts and recommend quarantine and basic precautions. The same has been done for this areas.”

    Cases of COVID-19 have surfaced in several States in persons linked to the Nizamuddin gathering. On Friday, six persons, who had attended the Delhi meet, tested positive in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

    They had returned to Port Blair via Kolkata on Tuesday, said a senior officer. A 65-year-old man, who died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Srinagar on Thursday, had also attended the Nizamuddin congregation and returned to Kashmir by train. In another case, a 52-year-old man tested positive after his return to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. Entry to the Markaz Masjid has been banned till further orders.

    A medical camp has been functional in the area for the last one week, collecting samples from people. A World Health Organisation (WHO) team also visited the Markaz.

    “We are coordinating with other authorities to track down people who went back to their towns after attending the congregation,” said the officer.

    “As per the recommendations of medical team, more people have been shifted to quarantine or hospitals. We are cooperating with authorities and people have been shifted from Markaz,” said Dr. Mohammad Shoiab, spokesperson of the Markaz.

    In a report from the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Lajpat Nagar), a Tableegh Jamat was held at the Tabligh Markaz and it was attended by many people including foreign nationals. The attendees of the Jamat were already in the mosque when the March 24 21-day lockdown was announced and no fresh participants were allowed to enter as the Markaz gates and doors were closed immediately after the lockdown orders. In fact an effort on March 23 to decongest and vacate the Markaz premises had to be stopped midway due to extended lockdown.

    The officer added that the report had been sent to MHA. DCP (South East) R.P. Meena, said the police had served notices for holding a religious gathering during the lockdown.

    Preachers blacklisted

    Union Home Ministry will blacklist around 800 preachers from Indonesia who came on a tourist visa and participated in a three-day religious conference in Delhi this month. India and Indonesia have a liberal visa arrangement and allow tourist visa on arrivals for the citizens.

    “They came here on a tourist visa but were participating in religious conferences. This is violation of visa rules. We are going to blacklist around 800 Indonesian preachers so that in future they are not able to enter the country,” said the official.

    The official added that the preachers had moved in batches to Telengana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and conducted group meetings in mosques and elsewhere.

    “Around 50% of Covid positive cases in Telengana are linked to the meetings organized by the preachers. Around 350 people from Telangana had also attended the conference in Delhi,” said the official. When asked whether the preachers were not screened at the airport for any COVID symptoms, the official said, “they entered India before the red alert was sounded.”

    (With inputs from Vijaita Singh)

  • Nizamuddin markaz had sought help from authorities for vacating premises

    Agencies

    Contents of letter written by maulana to police have been revealed

    The maulana of a markaz in west Nizamuddin in Delhi, from where 24 Covid-19 positive cases have been reported in Delhi alone, wrote to the police on March 25 stating that they had vacated 1,500 people and 1,000 people were still on the premises.

    “We still have more than 1000 people of different states in the markaz. As per your direction we contacted respected SDM for vehicle pass so that we can send the remaining people to their respective places. SDM office has given time for meeting at 11 am on 25/3/2020,” the letter said.

    “You are therefore requested to kindly approach the SDM for early action. We are ready to compliance all your directions [sic],” it added.

    In the March 25 letter, the maulana informed the area station house officer (SHO) that they were trying to shut down the markaz as directed by the SHO on March 24.

    In another letter to the police on March 29, they informed that further efforts to vacate the premises of the markaz were stopped midway due to the lockdown announced by the Prime Minister.

    On March 28, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Lajpat Nagar) Atul Kumar, wrote to the markaz authorities informing that despite the lockdown, “many persons had gathered at the markaz Nizamuddin” and warned of legal action.

    On Monday night, the Delhi government said that it will ask the Delhi Police to register an FIR against the maulana.

    “Now it has come to our knowledge that the administrators (of the markaz) violated these conditions and several cases of coronavirus positive patients have been found here. Strong action would be taken against those in charge of this establishment. By this gross act of negligence, many lives have been endangered,” the Delhi government said in a statement on Monday.

  • Kanwal Spicies group distributed food items among needy people.

    Kanwal spicies group in presence of DC anantnag Bashir ahmad dar and MC president Hilal ahmad shah distribute food packets and other eatable items among people of anantnag town.

    Manager Kanwal spicies farooq ahmad told that we take initiative to help people in wake of lockdown due to spread of pandemic disease nationwide.

    District Adminstration hailed this initiative taken by Kanwal group to help needy people in difficult situation and thanked Kanwal group.

  • Saudi-led coalition air strikes hit rebel-held Yemen capital Sanaa

    The military operation targeted the “storage, assembly and installation sites” of ballistic missiles and drones across territory held by the Huthi rebels, the coalition said.

    The Huthi-run Al-Masirah television reported at least 19 air strikes on a number of targets in Sanaa, including military bases and a military academy.

    AFP

    The Saudi-led military coalition on Monday carried out multiple air strikes on Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa in retaliation for missile strikes on Riyadh. Residents in Sanaa reported multiple explosions after the bombing raids began, in a new escalation despite UN calls for a ceasefire to protect Yemeni civilians from the coronavirus pandemic.

    The military operation targeted the “storage, assembly and installation sites” of ballistic missiles and drones across territory held by the Huthi rebels, the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. The Huthi-run Al-Masirah television reported at least 19 air strikes on a number of targets in Sanaa, including military bases and a military academy.

    Global ceasefire

    The operation comes after Saudi air defences intercepted Huthi ballistic missiles over Riyadh and the border city of Jizan late Saturday. The attacks left two civilians wounded in Riyadh, which is under a 15-hour per day curfew to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to Saudi State media. It was the first major assault on Saudi Arabia since the Huthi rebels offered last September to halt attacks on the kingdom after devastating twin strikes on Saudi oil installations.

    Fighting has also escalated between the Huthis and Riyadh-backed Yemeni troops around the strategic northern districts of Al-Jawf and Marib. The rebels stormed a key governmental military camp in Al-Jawf after heavy clashes on Monday, according to Yemeni military sources. The escalation comes despite a show of support on Thursday by all of Yemen’s warring parties for a UN call for a ceasefire as the Arab world’s poorest country remains vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government and the Huthi rebels had all welcomed an appeal from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for an “immediate global ceasefire” to help avert disaster for vulnerable people in conflict zones.

    Broken healthcare system

    On Sunday, UN special envoy Martin Griffiths reiterated the call for an immediate cessation of hostilities to help avert the “potentially disastrous consequences” of the coronavirus outbreak. Yemen’s broken healthcare system has so far recorded no case of the COVID-19 illness, but aid groups have warned that when it does hit, the impact will be catastrophic.

    The country is already gripped by what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia is also scrambling to limit the spread of the disease at home. The kingdom’s health ministry has reported 1,453 coronavirus infections and eight deaths from the illness so far.

  • Coronavirus | Five members of U.S. Congress test positive

    An estimated 230 House members returned to Washington to pass the $2.2 trillion Economic Relief Bill despite the health risks of travelling and gathering at the Capitol.

    Reuters

    Six members of the U.S. Congress have announced that they have contracted the novel coronavirus, and more than 30 others are or were self-quarantining in hopes of limiting the spread of the pandemic.

    Now that Congress has passed a $2.2 trillion Economic Relief Bill, and President Donald Trump has signed it into law, neither the House of Representatives nor Senate is now due back in Washington before April 20 at the earliest. An estimated 230 House members returned to Washington to pass the relief package on Friday, despite the health risks of travelling and gathering at the Capitol, after Republican Representative Thomas Massie said he would block an effort to pass it without at least half of the House’s 430 members present.

    Who has the virus?


    Representative Mike Kelly, a Republican from Pennsylvania, said on Friday he had tested positive for the coronavirus at a drive-through testing site. Mr. Kelly said in a statement he had started experiencing mild flu-like symptoms, and his doctor ordered the coronavirus test. Representative Joe Cunningham, a Democrat from South Carolina, said on Friday he had tested positive for the coronavirus, although his symptoms had already begun to improve. Mr. Cunningham had been in self-quarantine since March 19 after learning he had been in contact with another member of Congress who had tested positive.

    Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, said on March 22 that he had tested positive and was in quarantine. He said he was asymptomatic and feeling fine and was tested out of an abundance of caution. He had been in the Senate and using the gym there in the days before he received his positive result.

    Republican Representative from Florida Mario Diaz-Balart said on March 18 that he tested positive after developing symptoms on March 14. That was less than 24 hours after he and more than 400 other members of the House of Representatives crowded into the chamber to pass an earlier coronavirus aid package. Utah Democrat Ben McAdams said on March 18 that he had the virus, also having developed symptoms on March 14. In a statement March 24, Mr. McAdams said he had been in the hospital and doctors were monitoring his occasional need for oxygen. He has since been released from the hospital.

    Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York, announced in a statement on Monday that she had been diagnosed with a presumed case of coronavirus, although she had not been tested, after developing symptoms of the ailment on Sunday. Ms. Velazquez was among the House members who returned to the Capitol on Friday.

    Who is self-quarantined?


    At least six of the 100 senators have self-quarantined because of exposure to Mr. Paul or others who tested positive for coronavirus. They are Republicans Cory Gardner, Lindsey Graham, Rick Scott and Ted Cruz. All have returned to public life. Over two dozen House members have self-quarantined, some after exposure to Diaz-Balart or McAdams, and others after contacts with constituents or staffers who tested positive. Not all are still in isolation.

    The Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Thune, missed the March 25 Senate vote on the $2.2 trillion coronavirus bill after feeling ill and flying home to South Dakota. He later announced that a coronavirus test had come back negative.