Kashmir.Watch

Category: Union Territory

  • Farooq Abdullah Tests Covid-19 Positive, 4 Weeks After Vaccine Jab

    Srinagar, March 30: Four weeks after getting covid-19 vaccine jab, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, who is Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, tested positive for the virus, his son Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.

    “My father has tested positive for COVID-19 & is showing some symptoms. I will be self-isolating along with other family members until we get ourselves tested. I request anyone who has come in to contact with us over the last few days to take all the mandated precautions,” Omar, National Conference vice president and former Chief Minister of J&K, said in a tweet as per GNS.

    Abdullah, 85, was given the first dose of the vaccine at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura on March 2.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while replying to his tweet, wished Farooq Abdullah, a speedy recovery.

    “Praying for the good health and speedy recovery of Dr. Farooq Abdullah Ji. Also praying for your and the entire family’s good health @OmarAbdullah,” he tweeted.

    Omar promptly replied to him, saying, “My father and the rest of the family join me in thanking you for your wishes and prayers @narendramodi ji.”

    Former chief ministers N Chandrababu Naidu and Mehbooba Mufti, among others, also wished for Farooq Abdullah’s speedy recovery.

    Mehbooba replying to Omar Abdullah’s tweet said, “Very sorry to hear that. Hope he (Farooq Abdullah) recovers soon.”

    “Saddened to learn about Farooq Abdullah Ji testing positive for COVID-19. I wish him speedy recovery and the best of health,” Naidu said.

    People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone wished a speedy recovery for Farooq Abdullah. “Wishing Dr Farooq Sahib a speedy recovery in his fight against COVID,” he tweeted.

  • Unregistered vehicles were used in Militant attacks, drug transportation: IGP Kashmir

    Srinagar, Mar 30: Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Vijay Kumar on Tuesday associated the move of registration of outside vehicles in the backdrop of recent militant attacks and drug transportation in the valley which he said such vehicles were used.

    IGP Kumar, while addressing the media on the sidelines of the wreath laying ceremony at STC Humhama of a CRPF trooper killed in the recent militant attack in Lawaypora on Srinagar outskirts said crackdown was started in the backdrop of the vehicles being used in militant attacks.

    “Whether it is about Parimpora or Lawaypora incidents (attacks), or drug cases, it is these unregistered vehicles (used in the attacks), so we are seizing them. That’s why RTO Kashmir had to issue a circular.”

    He added, ” vehicles were supposed to register within six months window period. But many of them didn’t not complete the process for over a year now. vehicle owners should cooperate.”

    The chaos and panic has gripped motorists after the latest police crackdown on non-J&K registered vehicles in Kashmir,

    According to reports Police has seized more than 150 vehicles in the valley after the issuance of a notification by RTO Kashmir directing the owners to register the unregistered vehicles forthwith to avoid seizure.

    As per the the notification a 15-days’ window was provided to the owners for registering the vehicles with the local authorities, however seizure of the vehicles by the police has panicked the car owners.

    The motorists have appealed the authorities to provide them some more time period to get their vehicles registered.(KNS)

  • IGP admits Security flaw in Sopore attack, says had PSOs retaliated millitants wouldn’t have succeeded efforts

    Srinagar 30 March: Inspector General of Police,kashmir zone,vijay kumar on Tuesday said that there has been security flaw in Sopore attack and added that if PSO would have retailiated, the millitants would not have succeeded.

    Talking to reporters at wreath laying ceremony of CRPF personnel,who was injured in Lawaypora attack and later succumbed to injuries, kumar said that the four PSOs have been put under suspension while as one OGW has been arrested who while interrogation has revealed that the attack was carried by one local and foreign millitant affiliated with millitant outfit Lashkar e toiba.

    He also said that the police was not informed about this meeting of councilors however four PSOs were enough to retailiate back to suffocate this millitant effort.

    The police chief also said that anti millitancy operations will be intensified and the millitants involved in Sopore attack will be arrested or killed.

    On being asked whether vehicles with registrations of other states,UTs are being used in carrying these millitants attacks,he said that some vehicles were seized recently used by millitants including one used in Lawaypora attack that is why the order has been issued by RTO for vehicles with outside registeration to register them within few days.

    “The fresh course will be conducted for SPOs and the security gaps will be fixed days ahead”,he added. (KNS)

  • Kashmiri cyclist Adil creates History

    Covers 3,600 Kms Kashmir-Kanyakumari distance in 8 days recorded time

    SRINAGAR, MARCH 30: Adil Teli, a professional Kashmiri cyclist today created a history covering the 3600 kilometers distance between Kashmir to Kanyakumari within eight days, one hour and 37 minutes time duration.

    Braving all odds including rough terrains, harsh climatic conditions, traffic snarls and other difficulties, Adil kept on riding with full energy to break the Guinness Book of World Record set by Om Mahajan, who covered the same distance within eight days, seven hours and 38 minutes last year.

    Adil, a young cyclist from Narbal area of Budgam district started his journey on March-22 morning after flagged off by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole from Lal Chowk area of Srinagar.

    Passionate about cycling, Adil had already set a record in his name by covering 440 Kilometres distance from Srinagar to Leh in just 26 hrs, 30 min.

    Abraq Agro which supported and sponsored Adil on the cycling expedition has lauded Adil on this great achievement. Abraq Agro also expressed its gratitude to the Divisional Administration Kashmir for its support throughout the Adil’s journey in setting the new record.

    For Adil, Srinagar – Leh Cycling expedition turned a turning point boosting him to go for more and set eyes on breaking the World Record; however, it was not easy and needed dedication, passion, stamina and proper guidance and training.

    To chase his dream of setting the world record, Adil went to Amritsar where he went under rigorous training for 4-5 months.

    Adil, a fastest rider from Srinagar to Leh, did his training for cycling, at Gurunanak Dev University at Amritsar under coach Rajesh – H.O.D cycling Department.

    He was trained at different levels, while in JNDU (University) trained for 10,000 kms of endurance and 20,000 kms. This training helped him to take up Kashmir to Kanyakumari Challenge. He was amongst the top 10 in the National Championship in the fixed Spring finish. In the beginning of the pandemic, it was very difficult to arrange bicycle parts and due to the ban on imported parts but with the support of sponsors everything was managed.

    Staring his journey from Srinagar, Adil pedalled through many states including cities which included Sanant Nagar NH44, Qazigund, New Tunnel Banihal, Nashri Tunnel, Lakhanpur, Pathankot, Jalandar, Ludhiana, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Gutti, Banglore, Madurai and finally Kanyakumari.

  • 70% population need to be vaccinated to end pandemic

    Only 1% population in JK vaccinated against Covid-19 so far: DAK

    Srinagar, Mar 30: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said only one percent of the population in Jammu and Kashmir (JK) has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 so far.

    “That means most of the people are still susceptible to Covid-19 infection,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

    “As per the vaccination data from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, JK has administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine to 6,34,953 people as on March 30, 2021. The figure represents 5 percent of JK’s 1.25 crore population. Full vaccination (both doses) has been given to 1, 42,895 people which represent 1 percent of the population.”

    “We need to vaccinate around 70 percent of the population to bring an end to the ongoing public health crisis,” DAK President said.

    “When enough people are vaccinated, virus can’t find any host to survive, replicate and move on.”

    “This is how pandemic will subside,” he said.

    “But with current vaccination rate, it will take years to a decade to reach the goal.”

    “Vaccine hesitancy is a cause of major concern,” Dr Nisar said.

    “People are not coming forward for the vaccine. Misinformation and wrong perceptions about the vaccine are keeping people away from the vaccine.”

    “Another reason why the goal can’t be achieved is because children who constitute a huge proportion of the population are not vaccinated,” he said.

    “There are around 4.8 million children in JK who cannot be vaccinated.”

    “Vaccine is the only way to stop the pandemic,” Dr Nisar said.

    “In order to get back to normal, we need enough people to get vaccinated.”

    “The sooner we get more people vaccinated, the sooner we start reliving our lives,” he said.

    “The best way to circumvent Covid-19 variants is to continue to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.”

    “If we leave a large number of the population unimmunized, we will not be able to break the chain of infection and pandemic will linger on. And, we will continue to have fresh waves of Covid-19 infection,” said Dr Nisar.

  • J&K Reports Highest Single-Day Covid-19 Tally With 359 Cases

    Srinagar, March 30: Jammu and Kashmir reported 359 fresh covid-19 cases, the most in a day so far this year, to take the overall tally of the infections to 130587, officials said on Tuesday. Also, one death due to the virus was reported in the last 24 hours, taking the J&K’s fatality count to 1990—735 in Jammu and 1255 in Kashmir.

    This is for the second time that single day cases breached 300-mark in Jammu and Kashmir. Also, it was for the fifteenth consecutive day that more than 100 cases were reported on a single day in J&K. In all, nearly 2900 cases were added to the tally in the last fortnight, they said.

    Among the fresh cases, they said, 93 were from Jammu Division and 266 from Kashmir Valley.

    Giving the district wise details, they said, Srinagar reported 150 cases, Baramulla 46, Budgam 19, Pulwama 12, Kupwara 5, Anantnag 10, Bandipora 3, Ganderbal 5, Kulgam 14, Shopian 2, Jammu 59, Udhampur 7, Rajouri 2, Doda 0, Kathua 19, Samba 1, Kishtwar 0, Poonch 3, Ramban 2, and Reasi 0.

    Moreover, they said, 175 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals—20 from Jammu Division and 155 from Kashmir Division. There are 2293 covid-19 active cases—615 in Jammu and 1678 in Kashmir. (GNS)

  • Engagement with central leadership the only way to bring back Pre-August 5,2019 position to JK : Sajad Lone

    Srinagar March 29: Peoples’ Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Monday said that the only way to bring back Pre-August 5,2019 position to Jammu & Kashmir lies in engagement with the central leadership of both the ruling and opposition parties. He was replying to questions from reporters after welcoming Syed Basharat Bukhari, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain and Khursheed Aalam the three political functionaries of different parties into the party fold after their announcement to join the party at the press conference.

    Addressing the press conference that was called on the joining of a former minister Syed Basharat Bukhari, a former MLA Peerzada Mansoor Hussain and a former MLC Khursheed Aalam the Peoples’ Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone said that he stand for what he said after release from the detention over the current political scenario and status of Jammu & Kashmir.

    Replying to volley of questions from the reporters Sajad Lone said the legal course which his party has already taken in the Supreme Court and the political initiative which lies in engagement with the central leadership of both the ruling in the opposition parties are the only two options for getting back pre-August 5,2019 position to Jammu & Kashmir.

    Stating that the legal course would be long drawn battle for people of Jammu & Kashmir bring back August 5,2019 position to Jammu & Kashmir Lone said ” there is no alternative to reach out to the top leadership of both the ruling party and as well as the opposition parties particularly the Congress party for getting back the Pre-August 5,2019 position in Jammu & Kashmir.

    Speaking on the occasion Syed Basharat Bukhari said that there is nothing wrong in it if political leaders change parties for growth with sincerity and commitment to public services. Making his point at the press conference Peerzada Mansoor Hussain said ” we only raised slogans during last seventy years but did not get whatever we demand. All that was with us was taken away from us. Now there has to be a beginning for getting what we lost”. He claimed to have found sincerity and commitment in Sajad Lone during his detention with him after August 5,2019″(KNS)

  • WHO report says animals likely source of COVID

    Beijing: A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is extremely unlikely , according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press.

    The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.

    The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China.

    A World Health Organisation official said late last week that he expected it would be ready for release in the next few days .

    The AP received what appeared to be a near-final version on Monday from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country. It wasn’t clear whether the report might still be changed prior to its release. The diplomat did not want to be identified because they were not authorised to release it ahead of publication.

    The researchers listed four scenarios in order of likelihood. They concluded that transmission through a second animal was likely to very likely. They evaluated direct spread from bats to humans as likely, and said that spread through cold-chain food products was possible but not likely.

    The closest relative of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in bats, which are known to carry coronaviruses. However, the report says that the evolutionary distance between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a missing link.

    It said that highly similar viruses have been found in pangolins, but also noted that mink and cats are susceptible to the COVID virus, which suggests they could be carriers.

    The report is based largely on a visit by a WHO team of international experts to Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected, from mid-January to mid-February.

    Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who led the Wuhan mission, said Friday that the report had been finalized and was being fact-checked and translated.

    I expect that in the next few days, that whole process will be completed and we will be able to release it publicly, he said. (AP)

  • Selection done purely on merit: J&K Bank

    Srinagar: Reacting to the allegations of favouritism in recently declared selection results, J&K Bank today said that selection has been done purely on merit.

    “The public should be aware of the transparent selection process conducted by IBPS which conducts the recruitment exams of all the banks including SBI, PNB and all other nationalised banks and the selection process is purely merit based irrespective of religion or region,.” a senior J&K Bank Official told to KNS.

    A senior J&K Bank Official suggested the aggrieved candidate to contact the IBPS authorities to clarify the doubts.

    “I don’t think Bank has anything to do with the selection process.”(KNS)

  • No Shab-e-Baraat congregation At Jamia Masjid Srinagar

    Srinagar, Mar 27: The Shab-e-Baraat congregation, scheduled to be held at the historic Jama Masjid Srinagar on March 29, the night of the 15 Sha’ban-ul-Muazzam after Isha prayers, has been cancelled in view of the fresh wave of Covid-19, the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid Srinagar announced on Saturday . Besides due to Mirwaiz e Kashmir’s continued house detention, since August 2019, Majlis waz o tableeg led by him cannot take place

    Anjuman in a statement said that the Shab-e-Baraat congregation, stands cancelled in view of the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and medical experts in wake of the resurgence of Covid-19 cases .

    Anjuman has appealed to people to religiously follow the Covid-19 guidelines and pray at their individual level for refuge from the deadly virus.

    Anjuman said it will soon announce a decision regarding the Taraweeh prayers in Jama Masjid in the coming month of Ramadan.