Category: Union Territory

Jammu: While Jammu battles Coronavirus, Flesh Trade continues to flourish in the City as Police today arrested some Women allegedly involved in flesh trade near Jewel Chowk in Jammu City.

The racket came to light after locals complained of suspected immoral activity going on in the area during Night which is unusual especially during Corona Pandemic.

All those arrested are being questioned and a case has been registered under immoral trafficking Act.

It is pertinent to mention that Police has raided the same area several times in the past but despite that the immoral business is thriving in the area.

PTI

Jammu: Two persons died when lightning struck a high-altitude meadow land in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Tuesday, officials said.

Lightning struck the Dhok Gumsar area in Surankote tehsil early Tuesday resulting in the death of two person, they said.

This report was conveyed to authorities by the Chokidar of Mohra Bachai as the area is far-off and remote, the officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Mohmmad Ishaq and Zareena Akhtar, they said.

Sheikh Danish

Srinagar, July 21: Srinagar the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir reports fresh COVID19 related death, with this fresh death, the fatalities touched 261 in the union territory.

Official told Asiannewshub, that a man from Parraypora baghat barzulla area of Srinagar became the fresh victim of COVID19.

Official at SMHS Hospital told Asiannewshub that the patient was admitted on 18 July and was suffering from Community-Acquired Pneumonia and had tested positive for COVID19 yesterday on 20 July.

With this fresh death, fatalities in Jammu and Kashmir climb to 261.(ANH)

Srinagar: At least 26 employees from Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura here in Kashmir capital Srinagar are admitted in the hospital. All these employees have been tested positive for Covid-19 infection.

Hospital sources told news agency KNT that some staff nurses, couple of doctors, a driver and some lab assistants have been infected and are presently undergoing treatment at SKIMS.

Sources added that a top doctor is also showing Covid symptoms but is not undergoing Covid-19 test.

“The situation is really grim here. Those who were taking care of Covid suspects are themselves infected and admitted in the hospital,” said an insider.

Insiders added that no samples were collected from some staffers even when they started showing Covid symptoms. These employees were asked to continue with their duties till they show some symptoms.

They said there are still various employees who are asymptomatic but carrying on with their duties. “We can’t overrule the directions that flow from the top. We are very concerned about the situation but still performing the duties,” said an employee who claims that majority of the staff at SKIMS are Covid infected, but are asymptomatic. (KNT)

KARACHI: A meeting of the central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will take place in Karachi today to sight the Zilhajj moon.

The meeting will be held with Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman in the chair, with the meetings of the zonal committees taking place at the provincial headquarters.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had said that Eid ul Adha would be celebrated on July 31 in Pakistan “as per calendar of the Ministry of Science and Technology”.

Taking to Twitter, Chaudhry had said that the moon for the month of Zilhajj would be seen in Karachi and its surrounding areas on July 21. He had added that the moon could be sighted with the help of binoculars and in some areas, with the naked eye as well.

Saudi Arabia to celebrate Eid ul Adha on July 31

On Monday Saudi Arabia announced it would celebrate Eid ul Adha on Friday, July 31,

The Kingdom’s Supreme Court said that Tuesday would mark the 30th of Ziqad, and Wednesday, July 22, would be the first day of Zil Hajj, according to Gulf News.

According to these calculations, July 31, will mark the first day of Eid ul Adha.

“This means that Wednesday, July 22, will be the first of Zil Hajj that marks the start of this year’s Hajj season, which will be limited to only 10,000 pilgrims from within the Kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic,” the publication reported.

With inputs from Geo News

New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has revised a chapter in the Class 12 Political Science textbook, to replace content on separatist politics in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with electoral politics and scrapping of its special status.

The change in J&K’s status from a state to Union territory has been introduced in the chapter titled ‘Regional Aspirations’ in the textbook ‘Politics in India since Independence’.

On August 5, 2019, Parliament had approved a resolution abrogating special status to J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution. The state was also bifurcated into two Union territories — Ladakh with no Legislative Assembly and Jammu and Kashmir with one.

The Indian Express compared the old and new versions of the textbook to find that the topic ‘Separatism and Beyond’, which elaborated on “different forms” of separatist politics in J&K, has been deleted.

“Separatist politics which surfaced in Kashmir from 1989 has taken different forms and is made up of various strands. There is one strand of separatists who want a separate Kashmiri nation, independent of India and Pakistan. Then there are groups that want Kashmir to merge with Pakistan. Besides these, there is a third strand which wants greater autonomy for the people of the State within the Indian union. The idea of autonomy attracts the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions in a different way. They often complain of neglect and backwardness.

Therefore, the demand for intra-State autonomy is as strong as the demand for the State autonomy,” the deleted portion read.

Under ‘Separatism and Beyond’, the old version of the textbook further stated that the initial period of “popular support to militancy has now given way to the urge for peace” and that the Centre has started negotiations with various separatist groups.

The above head has now been replaced with the new topic ‘2002 and Beyond’ that talks about democratically elected coalition governments of PDP and Congress in 2002, NC and Congress in 2009, and the PDP-BJP in 2014.

The scrapping of J&K’s special status under Article 370 is then introduced, saying, “During the tenure of Mahbooba Mufti, major acts of militancy, mounting external and internal tensions were witnessed. The President’s rule was imposed in June 2018 after BJP withdrew its support to the Mufti government. On August 5 2019, Article 370 was abolished by the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 and the state was constituted into two Union Territories, viz., Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.”

Another new paragraph introduced earlier in the chapter says that despite the special status under Article 370, J&K “experienced violence, cross border terrorism and political instability with internal and external ramifications”. “It also resulted in the loss of many lives, including that of innocent civilians, security personnel and militants. Besides, there was also a large scale displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley,” it states.

The chapter now carries details on the United Nation’s 1948 resolution that recommended a free and fair plebiscite in J&K.

That apart, the NCERT has also deleted one political cartoon on peace in Kashmir that depicts a dove riddled with bullets. A quote by former J&K governor B K Nehru on the dismissal of Farooq Abdullah’s government (“The Kashmiris were convinced now at the second dethronement of their elected leader [in 1984] that India would never permit them to rule themselves”) is also no longer there in the chapter.

NCERT textbooks are used by all schools affiliated to the CBSE. About 19 school systems (boards and SCERTs) from 14 states have adopted or adapted these books. (Indian Express)

The General Administration Department (GAD) of J&K transferred 108 officials on Monday to the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh, which is facing an acute shortage of staff since its creation on August 5 last year.

“In the interest of administration and as a provisional measure, the services of the following (108) officials of different departments are hereby placed at the disposal of Union Territory of Ladakh, on deputation basis, with immediate effect,” reads the GAD order. The deputation, according to the GAD order, shall be for a period of two years or till the final allocation is made in terms of Section 89(2) of J&K Re-organization Act, 2019.

The officials included senior officials of the Kashmir Administrative cadre and medical officers.

The officials have been transferred from J&K’s Revenue Department, Disaster Management and Relief-Rehabilitation, Home Department, Civil Secretariat, Floriculture department, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Animal and Sheep Husbandry department, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, and Industries and Commerce Department, among others.

The shifting of employees from the UT of J&K to Ladakh comes days after Umang Narula, advisor to the Lt. Governor of Ladakh, in a letter flagged the issue of staff shortage.

“The UT of Ladakh is facing serious constraints of manpower at various levels. Some directorates and heads of departments are headless, which is adversely affecting the delivery of public services [in Ladakh],” reads the letter.

With inputs from The Hindu

Party issues resolution calling for a dialogue.
With its president behind bars, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday passed a resolution in Jammu, the first since the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decision to revoke J&K’s special status, and “pledged to fight for the restoration of special constitutional and legal status of the erstwhile State.”

“J&K should be made a bridge of peace and friendship instead of a battleground between neighbouring countries. There is no alternative to the roadmap and the vision of [PDP patron] late Mufti Muhammad Sayed, who advocated dialogue and reconciliation between communities, within regions, between the State and the rest of the country, and even across the Line of Control,” said former MLC Surinder Choudhary, who chaired the meeting in Jammu.

Former MLC Firdous Tak said all the legislations in the last one year clearly indicated that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was on a mission to grab land, instead of working for the welfare of the masses in J&K. “Our party is committed to the Gupkar Declaration, where regional parties in J&K have unanimously resolved to fight abrogation of the constitutional provisions that guarantee its special status,” Mr. Tak said.

The PDP resolution described August 5, 2019 order as “the darkest chapter in the history of J&K.”

“The manner in which the Parliament of India was misused to betray the people of this erstwhile State by abrogating Article 370 and 35A and downgrading the State into Union Territory shall always be a blot on the highest democratic institution,” the resolution said.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has been behind bars since August 5 last year. The resolution assumes significance as the revocation of J&K’s special status is set to complete one year on August 5.

With inputs from The Hindu

In an interview published on The Hindu website, the Chattisgarh CM drew a connection between Rajasthan political events with Omar’s release

National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s comments in an interview published on The Hindu website drawing a connection between the political events in Rajasthan with his release from detention as “downright malicious and false”.

Speaking on former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot’s rebellion, Mr. Baghel told The Hindu, “And as far as Sachin Pilot is concerned, not that I have been tracking the Rajasthan events so closely, but it does make one curious why Omar Abdullah was released? He and Mehbooba Mufti ji were booked under the same sections of the law, while she is still languishing, he is out. Is it because Mr. Abdullah is brother-in-law of Sachin Pilot?”

The National Conference has issued a statement on the subject, and Mr. Abdullah said in a tweet, “I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my father’s release from detention earlier this year. Enough is enough. Mr @bhupeshbaghel will be hearing from my lawyers.”

Mr. Pilot is married to Mr. Abdullah’s sister Sarah Pilot.

The National Conference said in its statement that Mr. Baghel’s comment, apart from being false and scurrilous, was defamatory to the reputation of Mr. Abdullah. “It is within the province of public knowledge that the release of Mr. Omar Abdullah happened after judicial intervention was sought from the Supreme Court and illegal order of detention of Mr. Abdullah was challenged,” it said.

Mr. Abdullah’s ‘illegal’ detention order was revoked by the government during the course of the proceedings before the Supreme Court, it stated.

The two sparred over Twitter following Mr. Abdullah’s threat to take legal action. “Please do not try to turn this tragic demise of democracy into an opportune moment @OmarAbdullah ji. The ‘allegation’ was only a question asked, and we will keep asking it, as will the country,” Mr. Baghel said.

In a counter to this, Mr. Abdullah said the Congress did not know friends from foe. “You can send your answer to my lawyers. This is what is wrong with the @INCIndia today, you don’t know your friends from your opponents. This is why you people are in the mess you are in. Your “question” was malicious & will not go uncontested,” he said.

With inputs from The Hindu

Srinagar: The deadly Coronavirus on Monday claimed ten more lives in Kashmir division of the J&K UT, taking the total number of people who died of the pandemic to 256. All ten deaths were reported from Kashmir.

Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that six patients who died include a 65-year-old woman from Pulwama, a 45-year-old man from Nehama Pulwama, a 65-year-old man from Patosa Rafiabad Baramulla, a 69 year old man from Tankipora Srinagar, a 72 year old male from Zonimar Srinagar, a 67-year old male from Zakoora Srinagar, a male patient from from Habbakadal Srinagar, 73 year old man from Kupwara, a woman from Shadipora Kupwara and a man from Anantnag.

An official from SMHS told KNO that a 65-year-old woman from Pulwama who was admitted on 10 July and was suffering from bilateral Pneumonia, died at SMHS last night.

He said that a 60-year old male from Tankipora Srinagar who was admitted on 14 July with community acquired pneumonia died at SMHS on Monday.

He further added that a 72 year old man from Zonimar Srinagar, who was admitted on 19 July died at SMHS on Monday and was tested positive after his death.

He said that a patient from Zakoora who was admitted on 16 July and was suffering from Puneumonia and other ailments died on Monday afternoon

A male patient from Habbakadal who was admitted on 14 July died at SMHS on Monday evening, he said adding that patient was suffering from hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and bilateral pneumonia.

An official from SKIMS Soura said that a 45-year-old man from Nehama Pulwama, who was admitted on 12 July, died at SKIMS on Monday. He said that a 65-year-old man from Rafiabad Baramulla, who was admitted on 17 July also died on Monday morning.  Both the patients were suffering from Pneumonia and other ailments, he said.

An Official from Kupwara told KNO that a 73-year-old man from Nagri Malipora Kupwara who died on Friday was tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

He said that another male patient who was tested positive and was undergoing treatment at JVC died on Monday. An official from Anantnag said that a man from Anantnag who was undergoing treatment at SKIMS died at SKIMS on Monday evening

With ten more fresh deaths, the death toll due to deadly Coronavirus has mounted to 256 in J&K including 236 from Kashmir division and 20 from Jammu division—(KNO)