Category: Union Territory

PTI

Leh: Fourteen more people tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the union territory to 1,142, officials said.

However, the number of active cases in the union territory dropped to 177 after 18 more patients recovered, they said.

All the fresh cases were detected in Leh, raising the number of active cases in the district to 148, the officials said. The remaining 29 active coronavirus cases are in Kargil.

The condition of all the 177 patients undergoing treatment in the twin districts is stable, the officials said.

Of the 18 patients who were discharged on Wednesday, 17 were in home isolation at Leh and one patient was admitted to the COVID Care Centre in Kargil, they said.

So far, 964 of the infected have been recovered. The union territory has recorded one COVID-related death.

PTI

Jammu and Kashmir HC asks Amarnath Shrine Board to take urgent decision on holding annual pilgrimage in view of COVID-19 pandemic

Hospital Admin contests, says ‘Don’t presume things at your level’

Srinagar: A gross negligence has been reported in SKIMS where hospital administration had kept dozens of Covid-19 positive patients and suspects with general patients and their attendants in its Emergency unit for 24 hours.

According to reports reaching to Kashmir News Service (KNS), dozens of Covid-19 positive patients and other suspects had been kept in Emergency unit of SKIMS Soura for intervening night of July 14 and 15. Sources said, “At least 8 positive patients and 24 suspects were brought here and admitted in Emergency Unit of SKIMS Soura who stayed with other general patients and their attendants”.

They said authorities on one hand imposing lockdown, asking people to maintain social distance; wear masks and strictly adhere upon advisories however the other facet narrates agonized ordeal which has put lives of hundreds into risk.

“The diseases has already created havoc in Valley and forced authorities to re-impose lockdown restrictions but SKIMS authorities seems senseless which admitted Covid-19 positive patients and other suspects in Emergency Unit which often remain packed”, an official said.

He said, “During last twenty-four hours Emergency Unit of SKIMS was packed with patients and attendants, so one can understand how much virus could have spread”.

“In general cases, attendants get also infected from their near ones infection and when dozens of Covid-19 positive cases were staying under one roof, the spread could be unimaginable”, official said.

However when KNS tried to get the fresh status of infected patients, it was found that 8 positive cases were shifted to other wards on Wednesday 04:00 pm while 24 Covid-19 suspects are still lying there with other general patients.

Pertinently District Magistrate Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Chowdhar, IAS on Wednesday ordered all Medical Superintendents, Deputy MS, BMO, ZMOs and Medical Officers to impose fine of Rs 1000/- on persons without masks within the premises of their respective hospitals, zones and health centers.

However when KNS contacted Director SKIMS, A G Ahangar, he initially contested the reports and later on said that the issue has not come into his notice.

When asked why hospital resorted to such a grave negligence and put hundreds of lives into risk, he got furious and said I am not a spokesperson of SKIMS, let me to do my job.

“Instead of interpreting the data and presume things at your level, leave it to doctors and let them do their job”, Dir SKIMS said. (KNS)

Srinagar: It is a ‘myth’ that health professionals are taking care of Covid-19 patients in Kashmir Valley. The reality according to Covid infected patients is that they have been left on the mercy of God.

A Covid-19 infected patient died in Ward 3 of SMHS Hospital of Srinagar in absence of doctors today. When other Covid-19 positive patients raised hue and cry and sought help from the doctors to save the dying patient, nobody came forward till he breathed his last.

Eyewitnesses told news agency KNT that not a single doctor or nurse dares to visit them in their wards. “It is totally wrong to say that health professional are taking care of Covid-19 patients. I am a Covid patient and haven’t seen any doctor visiting the ward. We have been left on the mercy of God,” he said.

He added that: “Family members and relatives of a deceased patient created ruckus in the ward 3 after no doctor arrived in the ward to treat the dying patient. After his death, family members took his body, bundled into vehicle and left from Baramulla amid sloganeering,” he said.

Eyewitnesses said that after the death of the patient, a man in civvies accompanied by some doctors started shooting a video of the relatives, who were protesting against doctors. The agitated relatives thrashed that man and broke his cell phone.

“There is complete chaos in the hospital. Nobody dares to take care of Covid-19 patients. We get an untouchable treatment. Somebody please remind these doctors of their duties who are being painted as ‘messiahs’ by media,” the Covid-19 patient said.

Medical Superintendent SMHS Hospital, Dr Nazir Chowdary told KNT the body has been brought back and will be buried as per Covid-19 protocol. When asked why doctors didn’t attend the dying patient, Dr Chowdary said that attendants can say anything. He refuted allegations leveled by family members of the deceased. (KNT)

PTI

Srinagar: A BJP worker was allegedly kidnapped by unknown persons in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said here.

Mehrajuddin Malla, who is also the vice chairman of Municipal Committee Watergam, was allegedly kidnapped at Marazigund in Rafiabad area of the district while he was on his way to Sopore town, they said.

The officials said police has taken cognisance of the matter and launched operations to rescue the BJP worker.

The incident comes less than a week after BJP leader Sheikh Waseem Bari, his brother and father were shot dead by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

PTI

Leh: Ladakh Lt Governor R K Mathur on Wednesday said a National Skill Training Institute extension centre is set to come up here.

Making the announcement on World Youth Skills Day, Mathur said the NSTI extension centre would impart quality training to the youths of Ladakh, thus empowering and equipping them with industry relevant skills to earn their livelihood.

An initiative of the Directorate General of Training, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the extension centre aims at capacity-building of the polytechnics and industrial training institutes by providing training to the trainers, an official spokesperson said.

The NSTI centre would also introduce programmes such as refresher training, re-skilling or up skilling courses, craftsmen training schemes, instructor training schemes, apprenticeship training schemes and national skills qualification frameworks, he said.

The initiative is vital for introducing the trainers to the latest technological developments in the industries and therefore adapt to the changing space of training in the country, Mathur said here.

PTI

Jammu: A 28-year-old Pakistani man was arrested on Wednesday after he crossed into this side from across the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said.

Abdul Rehman, a resident of Nakyal village of Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PaK), was apprehended by police in Balakote sector soon after he crossed into thej country, Poonch’s Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Angral told PTI.

The man is being subjected to COVID-19 test before a detailed questioning, he added.

Police sources said some villagers grazing cattle near the LoC noticed him moving towards Bharoti village and informed the local police which rushed to the spot and arrested him.

He was taken to police post Balakote for questioning, they said, adding nothing incriminating was recovered from his possession.

“The official count of Covid-19 deaths in the valley is an underestimate and only provides a snapshot of the true death toll virus has taken”

Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday said the actual number of Covid-19 deaths in Kashmir valley is higher than what is reported.

“Many Covid-19 deaths go unreported in Kashmir,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

“The official count of Covid-19 deaths in the valley is an underestimate and only provides a snapshot of the true death toll virus has taken,” he said.

Dr Nisar said many people with Covid symptoms don’t get tested for the virus because of the fear of stigma and quarantine of family members.
“Social stigma makes people hide their illness and keep them away from seeking health care,” he said.

Dr Nisar said people fear that if they die of Covid-19, they will not get the decent burial and few will come to their funeral.

“As a result, people are choosing to die at home, unrecorded,” he said.

“Another apparent deterrent to testing is widespread conspiracy theories about the virus. People believe that Covid is a hoax and the virus is fabricated,” he added.

Dr Nisar said while elderly people have the highest rates for hospitalization and death, many are not tested for Covid in hospitals.

“Older people don’t develop typical Covid symptoms. In them, feeling weak or confused may be the only sign of having the infection,” he said.

“When patients lack classic signs, health professionals are less likely to think of the diagnosis. This means many patients die undiagnosed,” he added.

Dr Nisar said many Covid deaths are hidden among other diseases.

“Many patients with heart or lung disease die of Covid, but their death is attributed to their underlying condition,” he said.

Dr Nisar said more than 30 percent of the positive cases may be missed by the RT-PCR test which is used to identify people infected with Covid infection.

“Inappropriate sample collection, taking the sample too early or too late during infection and late processing of the sample can give rise to false negative results,” he said.

As many as 48 inmates at a jail in Kashmir — most of them political prisoners — have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, according to sources.  

A key health official in charge of anti-pandemic measures told that after a pro-freedom activist was diagnosed with the virus a couple of days ago, all prisoners at Anantnag District Jail were tested for infection.

“Yesterday, four tested positive. Today’s results showed 44 others positive,” the official said.

Most of the positive cases are other pro-freedom prisoners who had come in contact with the activist, he added.

A government spokesman later said on Twitter that 290 people had tested positive in the Kashmir Valley on Wednesday. Their identities were not revealed for fear of stigma. Also, seven more deaths Wednesday took the toll in the restive region to 195.

Among those who tested positive at Anantnag District Jail were a preacher and several people held on charges of providing logistical support to militants, the father of one of the infected prisoners told.

On Sunday, the local government announced a fresh lockdown in parts of the capital Srinagar, attributing the measure to a spike in the number of positive cases.

According to the Indian Home Ministry, more than 7,300 Kashmiris were arrested—most of them released later—before and after Aug. 5, when the Indian government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomous status. But hundreds are still lodged in jails in Kashmir and elsewhere. In April, human rights organization Amnesty International urged India to set “arbitrarily detained Kashmiri prisoners” free.

Last month, Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Prisons VK Singh told the media that every new prisoner is “properly screened” for COVID-19 before being shifted to any jail in the region.

– AA News

I choose not to place ‘DIS’, in my ability: Robert M. Hensel

By: Shah Hussain

All of us have our own share of troubles throughout our lives, but then even the thought of losing one’s eye-sight would leave one horrified on any given day. However there still are some truly amazing people in the world who despite going through this awful experience have achieved equally amazing heights that a person with normal vision can only dream off. This story of Sami-ul-Haq Wani concurs with the list of those amazing souls who despite battling rare vision impairment has went on to set a glorious example of how to live life to the fullest. This ‘disability’ has not stopped Wani from leading life the way he has ever wanted to. Sami-ul-Haq Wani commonly known in the social circles as Sameer Wani is presently a Government Teacher, a Resource Coordinator, Trainer, Speaker with a kaleidoscope of talents.

It was on January 9, 1981when a middle class (farming) family of Drugmulla – a famous village in the northern frontier District Kupwara – was blessed with a gifted baby boy on an equally blessed Friday. However ten years down the lane, Wani was diagnosed with severe vision impairment and from there on a story unfolded, story which will imbibe in you a sense of hope and courage!

Starting his journey as a student from Government Boys Middle School Drugmulla, Sameer very soon caught the attention of his teachers and peers for his exceptional grasp over studies. The journey went as such till 1992, however soon after Sameer started complaining of less sight to his family. A major setback took Sameer off his feet when doctors diagnosed him with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) – a rare, inherited degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment- A genetic disorder that involves a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina (RP leads to the gradual loss of sight). The family of Sameer was equally shattered and the hunt for cure begun with his elder brother, Nasrullah Wani, leaving no stone unturned to arrange their meetings with as many ophthalmologists as they possibly could.

Narrating the ordeal, Wani remarks “We ran from post to pillar and went on meeting almost every ophthalmologist in Kashmir and a few in Delhi, Amritsar and Bengaluru with almost negligible fruitful results.After extensive case study, the doctors said that it was genetic disorder and thus cannot be cured.”

Caught in a double whammy as to continue his studies or leave in between, Sameer somehow took a giant leap of faith and went on with his studies to exhibit his brighter, colorful and cheerful side to the world. Wani went to pass his matriculation and 12th examinations, with flying colors from Government Higher Secondary School, Drugmulla. Having a keen interest in English language, he happened to be the only student in Kashmir province, who secured 98 marks out of 100 in English, in his then matriculation examination. During his higher secondary school days, doctors advised Sameer to quit studies however defying all the odds, Sameer sailed against the tides and graduated from Government Degree College, Handwara, in Arts. The journey was full of rough roads though.

During the college vision kept on decreasing over a period of time, thus adding to the woes of Sameer. While his eyes continued losing sight, the urge to continue his education kept on mushrooming, and the inner urge to conquer the world defeated the barricades within and outside. With a great hold on English language, mastering fluency, gifted with a clear, lucid, audible voice, having a lively accent, Sameer brought laurels to his college, by not only participating but securing positions in various debates, symposiums, seminars, eloquence competitions also. During the course of time however it became a necessity for Sameer to be accompanied by escort students, as he struggled to walk alone, with his diminishing sight. “For all the students, it was a Herculean task to speak on the podium while for me, it was a challenge to reach the podium”, Sameer, while recalling his old days, said in a compelling tone.

In the year 2005, Sameer was appointed as an Rehber-e-Taleem (ReT) Teacher in the department of education. This major breakthrough proved a “Morale booster” for him. According to Sameer, his young shoulders were trusted to work as a Nation Builder. Working with zeal and zest, despite facing myriad challenges, Sameer was elevated to the position of resource coordinator/Teacher trainer in 2012. Not resting on his laurels, Sameer pursued his post graduation in Political Science, through University of Kashmir’s distance mode and a BED also. He is presently pursuing Masters in Public Administration through distance mode.

With dwindling eyesight, every passing day, the colorful world was replaced by a one permanent color, Black! What’s more inspiring is Sameer’s perseverance and strong mental health.

Sameer tied the knot in 2012 and is blessed with a daughter. On being asked about his wife’s role in his life, Sameer emphasized that marrying him was her wife’s first and the biggest sacrifice. Irrespective of the fact that he has a visual impairment, his wife chose to marry him. Sameer cannot read books now. His sight doesn’t allow him to write anymore. His wife always holds his hand to take him out, reads for him, and lends him a shoulder for all his needs.

Sameer is a technocrat and shows a palpable presence on Social networking sites. He with the help of various smart-phone features keeps himself busy in accumulating knowledge. Sameer has a galaxy of friends, whose contribution towards him cannot be sidelined. Usually in the evening, after attending mosque, Sameer along with his friends go out to enjoy the bytes of life.

The turning point, according to Sameer in his life, was the interaction with Syed Humayun Qaiser, a radio wizard, on the popular show, “Meet a friend” on August 14 2014, aired on Radio Kashmir Srinagar. Sameer shared his journey on the show and gained wide popularity across the horizons in and outside Valley. During the show, Qaiser was full of praises for Sameer’s struggle and complimented him by appreciating Sameer’s communication skills.

That was the motivational moment which accelerated the gears of my life, Sameer remarks. Since then, Sameer has participated in various shows on Radio and TV, sharing his inspirational journey. He speaks on various socio-cultural and educational issues.

A cricket enthusiast by heart, Sameer has grown up commentating on cricket fields. A great fan of Waqar Younus, he is very much in awe for the English commentators, Nasser Hussain, Michael Holding and Tony Greg. Sameer loves the poetry since his childhood. Ahmad Faraz is his favorite poet. Sameer’s articulation of poetry has won many hearts, particularly those of his colleagues and friends. Sameer’s love for Ghazals and classical, Bollywood, romantic songs never fades. Mehdi Hassan, Kishore Kumar, Noor Jahan are in his favorite Singers’ list.

Presently Sameer provides training to the teachers, with an attempt to impart various technical and non technical teaching skills in teachers. He also deals with stress management, new learning techniques and communication skills. Adding a new feather to his cap, in this global pandemic lockdown, when students have been forced to study from home, Sameer Wani has been roped in by the DESK Srinagar to deliver English classes on All India Radio, Srinagar. What is more astonishing is that he happens to be the only physically disabled teacher in the valley to deliver the classes of such kind!

When asked about his future aspirations, Sameer aims to write a book to encompass his journey of life, “How he defeated his disability to inspire those who are either physically disabled or down in the dumps due to depression.”

Sameer believes that there is no difference between a so-called normal person and the one who is physically disabled. Once asked by a pellet victim, how to survive with the blind eyes, Sameer inspired him by calling black as the only permanent color, and that they should take the disability as a strength to compete with the rest of the world. What’s worrisome is the lack of appreciation and recognition from the top administration in the education sector. Despite possessing a bagful of talents and doing immense work for the department, the top officials and administration of the department has failed to applaud the efforts of this talented visually impaired teacher. Sameer wants to excel in the department, aims to train teachers in new and advanced ways, motivate students and above all, become a productive member of the society.

The author can be reached on: [email protected]

With inputs from Kashmir Glory