Kashmir.Watch

Author: hamid

  • National Conference is representative of JK’s cultural, linguistic, religious diversity: Dr. Farooq Abdullah

    Srinagar: National Conference has long been synonymous with the aspirations of the people of J&K and that it exhibits the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity of J&K, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah Tuesday said.


    In a statement National Conference said that scores of delegations from across Kashmir called on party president Dr Farooq Abdullah at his residence to greet him on his release. “The delegations comprising of workers, party functionaries, delegates and civil society groups who called on party president had come from Qazigund, Amirakadal, Soura, Shahar e Khas, Ganderbal,” NC said.
    Addressing the visiting delegations NC president thanked all those who had thronged his residence.


    NC said that Dr Abdullah extolled the enthusiasm of party functionaries, workers and others.


    “NC is a symbolic of J&K’s personality; it mirrors the cultural diversity of J&K. It is the unflinching faith of people in us that keeps us going for decades. The way our workers, functionaries have been upholding the party flag high in the most trying times is commendable. We have been lending voice to people irrespective of their religion, region and creed. Our idea of politics is participatory, it puts people first,” NC quoted Farooq Abdullah as saying.


    “I am overwhelmed to see the enthusiasm of our workers. Our unity unnerves our opponents,” Abdullah said.


    Expressing gratitude to the visiting delegations, NC president said that he is appreciative of the love and affection that he has received from people. “I express my gratitude to all who prayed for me.

    I am overwhelmed with the support we have received from the people. The enthusiasm of workers and delegates is indeed elevating,” he said.
    Among others who were present on the occasion include Muhammad Maqbool Bhat, Syed Tauqeer, M Y Taing, Pirzada Firoz Ahmad Shah, Qaisar Jalali, and Dr Syed, NC said.

  • Amit Shah assures all possible help to revive Kashmir economy

    Kashmir traders’ delegation calls on Home Minister, Finance Minister

    Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday assured “all possible” help to revive Kashmir economy which has been battered post-abrogation of Article 370 last year.

    Shah along with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman held a meeting with members of Kashmir Inc. which represented over 50 trade associations of Kashmir.

    Sources informed that the Union Home Minister had invited the Kashmir Inc. representatives to the meeting to know their grievances.

    Chief spokesperson Kashmir Inc, Sheikh Ashiq, told Greater Kashmir over phone,

    “The Home Minister, the Finance Minister and MoS in PM Office, Jitendra Singh, held a marathon meeting with representatives of Kashmir Inc.”

    “During the meeting we presented our point of view viz-a-viz losses incurred by Kashmir economy post August 5, 2019.

    “The ministers gave us a patient hearing and after listening to our grievances,

    the Home Minister assured of all possible help to revive Kashmir’s economy.

    “Our meeting was apolitical, as we are representing traders’ bodies. We discussed with the Home Minister the issues of all segments of Kashmir trade and informed him how our economy is badly suffering.

    “They (the Ministers) stated they are aware of the problems confronting trade in J&K,” he said.

    The meeting of Kashmir Inc with Union Ministers lasted for over one and a half hour from 5.30 to 7 pm.

    “We stressed the dire need for hand-holding Kashmir’s business community as we have been at the receiving end for over three-decades. To it the Home Minister told us that Modi-led government is committed to give fillip to Kashmir economy,” said Farhan Kitab, who was part of the delegation.

    “Home Minister’s response was positive; he assured of doing needful to help Kashmir economy,” he said.

    The Kashmir Inc also gave detailed presentation of “Rs 18,000 crore losses pegged by Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries”. The chamber had compiled preliminary loss report for four months post August 5 when the centre stripped J&K of special status and bifurcated it into two union territories.

    The Kashmir Inc has been reporting losses as the business sentiment continues to be weak in the Valley.

    Earlier this month, a delegation of Kashmir Inc had met Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh, prior to which, they had met Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu to seek their intervention in order to revive fortunes of beleaguered Kashmir economy.

  • Saudi Arabia suspended prayers inside Mosques

    Saudi Arabia suspended prayers inside all but the holiest two mosques in Islam as the kingdom steps up efforts to contain the new coronavirus, state media reported

  • Coronavirus: Entry of foreign tourists banned in Valley

    Srinagar,  Mar 17 (KNO): In wake of the deadly coronavirus epidemic,  the government on Tuesday evening decided to ban the entry of foreign tourists in Kashmir.

    According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), District Magistrate, Srinagar, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said that the foreign tourists will not be allowed to enter in Kashmir.

    The decision has been taken as precautionary measure. “Entry of all foreign tourists in Kashmir has been banned as a precautionary measure,” DM Srinagar said –(KNO)

  • High Speed Internet Curbs Extended Till March 26

    Srinagar, March 17: The ban on high-speed 3G, 4G Internet services has been extended by nine days in Jammu and Kashmir, while 2G Internet services will remain working, the J&K government said on Tuesday.

    As per an order issued here, the Jammu and Kashmir administration extended the 2G mobile data service till March 26.

    “The directions/restrictions contained in order no.17(TSTS) of the 2020 dated 04-03-2020 shall continue to remain operative till March 26, 2020 unless modified earlier,” reads an order issued by principal secretary Home Shaleen Kabra. The order, the officer, according to GNS, said was issued “on consideration of the overall security scenario and the reports of the law enforcement agencies inter-alia bringing out the necessity of speed related restrictions on mobile data services, and upon assessment of the available alternatives.”

    The inspector generals of police, Kashmir and Jammu, have been asked to ensure immediate compliance of these directions. (GNS)

  • How China is using technology to fight coronavirus

    Geospatial Media & Communications

    By: Aditya Chaturvedi

    The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has become a global calamity, leaving thousands dead, millions vulnerable, supply lines collapsed, economies derailed, factories shunted and cities under lockdown. It is an unanticipated disaster of epic proportions that has exposed human fragility in an interconnected world. China, from where the novel virus originated, has been the worst hit. By mustering resources at its disposal and deploying the latest technology, the country has mitigated the spread to a significant extent and profiled people at risk. During the time of the SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2002, it took scientists more than a year to decode the genome of the virus, whereas thanks to tech advancements, the Covind-19 or the coronavirus genome was identified in a month’s time. These are the various ways through which China is waging war against this deadly strain.

    Color Coding

    Image Courtesy: NYT

    Utilizing its sophisticated and expansive surveillance network for the public good, Chinese government joined hands with tech giants Alibaba and Tencent to develop a color-coded health rating system that is tracking millions of people daily. The smartphone app was first deployed in Hangzhou with collaboration from Alibaba. It assigns three colors to people — green, yellow or red — on the basis of their travel and medical histories. In the industrial hub Shenzhen, similar software was created by Tencent.

    Whether a person should be quarantined or allowed in public spaces is decided based on the color code. Citizens have to mandatorily log in to the app using pay wallet services like Alibaba’s Alipay, Ant’s wallet etc. Only those people who have been given a green color code are allowed in public spheres after using the designated QR code at metro stations, offices, stations. There are checkpoints at most public places where the code and person’s body temperature is checked. More than 200 Chinese cities are using this system, and soon it will be extended nationwide.

    Robotics

    Little Peanut

    From preparing meals at hospitals, doubling up as waiters in restaurants, spraying disinfectants and cleaning, to vending rice and dispensing hand sanitizers, robots are on the frontlines everywhere to prevent the spread of coronavirus. In many hospitals, robots are also performing diagnosis and conducting thermal imaging. Shenzhen based company Multicopter is using robots to transport medical samples.

    As per a Reuters report, a small robot called Little Peanut is delivering food to Passengers who were on a flight from Singapore to Hangzhou, China, and are currently being quarantined in a hotel.

    Drones

    Image Courtesy: Global Times

    In some of the severely affected areas, drones have come to the rescue by transporting both medical equipment and patient samples. This is saving time, enhancing the speed of delivery and preventing the risk of samples being contaminated. Drones are also flying with QR code placards that can be scanned to register health information. There are also agricultural drones that are spraying disinfectants in the countryside. Drones, powered with facial recognition, are also being used to broadcast warnings to the citizens to not step out of their homes and chide them for not wearing facemasks.

    Big Data and Facial recognition

    Image Courtesy: SCMP

    Access to public information has led to the creation of dashboards that are continuously monitoring the virus. A lot of organizations are developing dashboards using Big Data. Face recognition and infrared temperature detection techniques have been installed in all leading cities. Chinese AI companies like SenseTime and Hanwang Technology have claimed to come up with a special facial recognition technology that can accurately recognise people even if they are masked. Smartphone apps are also being used to keep a tab on people’s movements and ascertain whether or not they have been in contact with an infected person. Al Jazeera reported that the telecom company China Mobile sent text messages to state media agencies, informing them about the people who have been infected. The messages included all the details about the persons travel history. CCTV cameras have also been installed at most locations to ensure that those who are quarantined don’t step out.

    Artificial Intelligence

    AI is playing a leading role in healthcare these days. With the help of data analytics and predictive models, medical professionals are able to understand more about a lot of diseases.

    Baidu, the Chinese internet giant, has made its Lineatrfold algorithm available to teams that are fighting the outbreak, as per the MIT Technological Review. Unlike Ebola, HIV and Influenza, Covind-19 has only a single strand RNA, so it is able to rapidly mutate. The algorithm is a lot faster than other algorithms that help predict the structure of a virus.

    Baidu has also made tools to build effectively screen large populations. It has also built Ai-powered infrared system that can detect a change in a person’s body temperature. It is currently being used in Beijing’s Qinghe Railway Station to identify passengers who are potentially infected where it can examine up to 200 people in one minute without disrupting passenger flow, says the MIT Review.

    Autonomous Vehicles

    Image Courtesy: MIT Technology Review

    At a time of severe crunch of healthcare professionals and the risk that people-to-people contact holds, autonomous vehicles are proving to be of great utility in delivering essential goods like medicines and foodstuffs. Apollo, which is Baidu’s autonomous vehicle platform, has joined hands with self-driving startup  Neolix to deliver supplies and food to a big hospital in Beijing. Baidu Apollo has also made its micro-car kits and autonomous driving cloud services available for free to companies fighting the virus.

    Idriverplus, a Chinese self-driving company that operates electric street cleaning vehicles, is also a part of the mission. The company’s flagship vehicles are being used to disinfect hospitals.

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

  • 50000 jobs to be filled in next fiscal; Rs 2000 Cr allocated for filling vacancies

    Srinagar, Mar 17: In a major announcement, the Government of India on Tuesday announced that it proposes to fill up 50000 vacancies in government sector in the Union Territory of J&K in 2020-21.

    “The Government proposes to fill up 50000 vacancies in Government sector,” Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman said, adding that Rs 2000 crore have been earmarked for filling up of 50000 vacant posts.

    She said self- employment will receive due attention and priority sector lending in 2020-21 shall be increased upwards of Rs 27,000 crore

    The Finance Minister said the government intends to cover any unemployed youth who wishes to set up his/her own business under various schemes.

    “The UT has already launched a campaign for financial inclusion and we intend to impart further impetus to this. Skill enhancement shall be accorded due attention,” she said in her budget speech as per wire service–Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

    She also announced that government proposes to provide employment opportunities to about 7000 un- employed educated youth under J&K Rural Employment Generation Programmed (JKREGP) at an estimated budgetary provision of Rs 25.00 crore through Khadi & Village Industries Board.

    The Finance Minister announced that 64899 unemployed youth shall be provided skill training in next fiscal. “Rs 31.42 crore is being provided as revolving fund to bring 209500 women under the fold of 20950 Self Help Groups. Rs 103.35 crore shall be provided as community investment fund for self-help groups which have shown due progress,” she said.

    The Finance Minister also announced that government proposes to provide employment opportunities to about 7000 un- employed educated youth under J&K Rural Employment Generation Programmed (JKREGP) at an estimated budgetary provision of Rs 25.00 crore through Khadi & Village Industries Board.

    She also announced that Rs 50 crore is being earmarked for Mission Youth – the Union Territory Government’s major initiative for engagement of youth for their upliftment/employment. “Rs 7.50 crore is being provisioned for skill up-gradation of 5000 craftsmen and for capacity building of craft instructors under handicrafts sector,” she said—(KNO)

  • China approves coronavirus vaccine for clinical trials – state media

    Russian scientists have also begun to test vaccine prototypes for the new coronavirus

    Gulf News

    BEIJING: China has authorised clinical trials on its first vaccine developed to combat the new coronavirus, according to a report in the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily.

    The researchers are led by Chen Wei, of China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences, it said.

    Russia begins testing potential coronavirus vaccine


    Russian scientists have begun to test vaccine prototypes for the new coronavirus, and plan to present the most effective one by June, a laboratory chief at a state biotech institute said.

    Russia has reported 93 cases of infection but no deaths, according to official numbers published Tuesday.

    “The prototypes have been created. We are starting laboratory testing on animals, to ensure effectiveness and safety,” Ilnaz Imatdinov of the Vector Institute in Siberia told the Vesti Novosibirsk television channel on Monday.

    “In June we will present one or two showing the best results.”

    Vector Institute is a state virology and biotechnology centre in Novosibirsk, which previously worked on vaccines for the Ebola virus.

    According to the state health watchdog, which oversees the institute, Russia has tested about 116,000 people for the coronavirus since March 16.

    plasma-derived therapy against coronavirus currently in development has the potential to be among the first approved treatments for the deadly pathogen.

    The Japanese pharmaceutical company could have an edge because the treatment involves a process that already has approval from regulators. The key point in negotiations with regulators for approval is whether it has the necessary concentration of the antibody, or titer, needed to fight the Covid-19 disease, said Julie Kim, Zurich-based president of Takeda’s plasma-derived therapies unit.

    The process to manufacture the therapy, using antibodies from recovered patients, is the same as Takeda’s other immunoglobulin products, which have approval from regulatory bodies around the world including the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Kim said.

    “We don’t have to demonstrate safety, we just have to agree with the regulatory agencies on how to demonstrate that the titer of antibody present in the final product is sufficient to be effective against the disease,” Kim told Bloomberg in a phone interview. She said the response from the FDA and European Medicines Agency would be key to the timing for approval, which could be as early as in nine months.

    Takeda shares rose as much as 1.3% in afternoon trading in Tokyo, erasing an earlier drop of as much as 4.6% amid a broader market rebound.

    Takeda is one of many pharmaceutical companies racing to find a treatment for the coronavirus that has swept across the globe, killing more than 7,000. The U.S. has been granting fast-track approvals for drugmakers developing therapies, and Gilead Sciences Inc. and AbbVie Inc. have emerged as front-runners for potential treatments.

    A roundtable of pharmaceutical executives told U.S. President Donald Trump this month that antiviral medications could be available for patients in a matter of months. Vaccines, which would prevent healthy people from contracting the disease, are further from reaching doctors’ offices and pharmacy shelves.

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

  • Centre unveils Rs 1, 01, 428 Cr budget for J&K

    In maiden UT budget Rs 38764 Cr allocated for development, Rs 62,664 for revenue expenditure, Union FM talks about economic resilience of J&K

    Srinagar, Mar 17: The Centre on Tuesday presented Rs 1,01,428 crore budget for Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Parliament which is empowered to approved budgetary allocations for the union territories with legislatures when they are without elected governments.

    According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), unveiling the maiden budget for Jammu and Kashmir UT in the Lok Sabha, Sabha, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said the budget for 2020-21 for J&K shall cross one lakh crore mark for the first time in history.

    “This is the highest ever budget envisaged for Jammu and Kashmir,” she said, adding that this is an indicator of BJP-led Central government’s commitment to make J&K a model of development.

    Budget estimates

    The total budget estimates for the next fiscal is Rs1,01,428 crores. Of this Rs 38,764 crore have been earmarked for infrastructure development, which shows an increase of 27% in development expenditure.

    “The capital component of the budget has increased substantially. We hope to achieve GSDP growth of 11 per cent making the UT one of the fastest growing UTs/States,” reads the budget speech. The remaining Rs 62,664 crore would be utilized on salaries, pension, seventh pay commission and Leave Travel Concession commitments and other components of revenue expenditure. In her budget speech, the Finance Minister said creation of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir on 31st of October, 2019 has created a lot of hope amongst the people of J&K. “There is a need to fast-track development to meet the aspirations of the people. The Government is committed to peace, progress and prosperity of the people of J&K. We have already taken path-breaking steps after imposition of Governor’s/President’s rule in the J&K,” she said.

    She said improving governance has been one of the first tasks. “Some of the key reforms that have already taken roots in the UT are significantly improved financial discipline, such as mandatory e-tendering, compliance with pre-requisites such as administrative approval and technical sanctions etc. before commencement of execution of works, implementation of Budget Estimation, Allocation and Monitoring System (BEAMS), e-Kuber for integration of treasuries with RBI, online payment system (PAYSYS) etc. besides 100% physical verification and timely payments from government treasuries,” she said.

    As per KNO, the Finance Minister said “while on one hand reforms are being implemented, there is equal focus on completion of projects. “The number of projects completed in State Sector is 2800, 1165 in District sector, 1930 under “Back to Village’’ Programme and 483 languishing projects under Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation. This bears a healthy comparison to the number of projects completed during last year,” she said.

    She said the Government has also taken measures to avoid parking of funds and over ` 1,000 crore has been ploughed back in the Consolidated Fund of the Union Territory of J&K. “Some other major reforms undertaken in J&K is implementation of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, constitution of District Planning and Development Boards, and unbundling of Power Sector. Abolition of Toll Tax has been one of the major reforms that have helped in creation of one nation, one market. Besides all the central laws as provided under Re-organisation Act, 2019 have been implemented across the Union Territory of the Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.

    She said the Government of India hopes to strengthen institutional mechanisms further for streamlining expenditure and make the UT a model of development.

    “Notwithstanding some of the problems, the pace of development has shown a remarkable resilience both in terms of revenue and development expenditure. The overall expenditure has gone up by ` 5,600 crore by end of January, 2020 compared to last year. GST growth at end of February, 2020 was 13%. Significantly, growth of GST cash for December, 2019 was 40% and GST growth for February, 2020 (cash and credit) was 31%, making J&K one of the better performers on this parameter,” she said.

    The Finance Minister said economic resilience is also indicated by growth of over 60 % in stamp duty collections, 7.5 % growth in excise collections, and growth of 1.7% in toll tax at end of December, 2019.

    “Apple exports have been at par with last year, and export of handicrafts, crewel, shawls etc have been greater than last year. The ATM and Bank transactions have also shown positive trend as compared to last year. The macro-economic parameters show that J&K economy has risen up to the challenges of transition and continues to do so well,” reads the speech—(KNO)

  • Coronavirus scare: Srinagar turns ghost city

    Srinagar, March 17: Amid coronavirus scare, Srinagar city on Tuesday turned into a ghost city with empty walkways, streets, and very little transport and other business establishments.

    There is growing scare after several cases were detected positive in Jammu and Ladakh.

    In Kashmir, government Tuesday also ordered closure of restaurants.

    Amid fear of coronavirus in the capital city, Srinagar on Tuesday wore a deserted look with less number of people were seen standing in the busiest markets of Srinagar.

    Reports said all the main routes in the capital city were devoid of traffic, with very less number of vehicles were seen plying on Tuesday people wearing masks were seen almost at every place in the city.

    Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattoo last week ordered the closure of the Sunday market as a precautionary measure because of COVID-19.

    In view of the COVID-19 threat, the government had ordered the closure of all educational institution including colleges, universities across Jammu’ and Kashmir, besides control rooms and surveillance teams have been constituted in all the districts of Union Territory besides two coronavirus lab testing facilities had already been made functional in SKIMS, Srinagar and GMC Jammu.

    Govt also had urged citizens especially those with travel history to affected countries such as China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, etc to self-declare immediately and to report to the nearest government health facility If any symptoms are found.

    Pertinent to mention here an official of SKIMS told Kashmir Indepth News Service, no patient has tested positive of coronavirus in Kashmir so far. (KINS)