Category: Union Territory

Srinagar April 8: Authorities have put 20-30 non-local labourers in each room in various educational institutions of Kashmir, who fear they may get infected.

There are at least 20,000 non-local labourers stranded in Kashmir. However, these have been craving for basic facilities.

“There are no arrangements for us. Over 20 people are lodged in each room. We fear we may get infected,” a migrant worker from Bihar told Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS). “I am a mason and had earned less than Rs 2000 since I came to came in first week of March. All the money has exhausted. We are running short of the money,” he added.

Another labourer from West Bengal, who is lodged in a government building in Pulwama told KINS that nobody was concerned about them.
“If anyone gets infected, he can disseminate it to others. We (labourers) are prone to get infected as we don’t sanitize ourselves. How can we avoid any possible transmission of the virus when we are not able to maintain any distance,” he asked.

The non-local labourers come Kashmir to do works like cooking food, construction works, cutting hair in saloons, farming, selling food and other items on footpaths, and other labouring works. They had left Kashmir last year in August and starting coming back in March.
Meanwhile, Labour Commissioner, J&K, Abdul Rashid Var said several initiatives are being taken by the administration to ensure good mental health of migrant labourers for which several counselling sessions are being organised.

“The counsellors have visited 142 camps and shelter homes across J&K where they have provided counselling to 5761 floating population of migrant labourers stuck in different parts of J&K,” he said.

Besides, the Labour Commissioner said 143866 Board and Other Construction Workers have been handed out Rs 1000 each amounting to Rs 14.36 crore. “We are leaving no stone unturned in reaching out to these workers who constitute the poor section of the society,” he said.
He said in Anantnag district the disbursement of Rs 1000 was made to 11463 workers, in Budgam to 8263 workers, in Bandipora to 9269, in Baramulla to 17566, in Doda to 4481, in Ganderbal to 5570, in Jammu to 12677, in Kargil to 3084, in Kishtwar to 4320, in Kathua to 3359, in Kulgam to 8479, in Kupwara to 12977, in Leh to 3090, in Poonch to 4529, in Pulwama to 6123, in Rajouri to 2053, in Ramban to 6781, in Reasi to 580, in Samba to 2446, in Shopian to 2433, in Srinagar to 10379, and in Udhampur the amount was disbursed in favor of 3944 workers.

He said the Labour Department has provided ration to 95,511 labourers in Jammu division and 27,491 in Kashmir Division. (KINS)

Kashmiri merchant dies in Kokatta, buried there against the wishes of family

Kolkatta, April 8, KNT: Authorities in West Bengal’s Kolkatta city Wednesday refused to hand over the body of a Kashmiri merchant to his family due to Covid-19 scare.

The family in Kashmir are wandering from pillar to post to take the possession of the body but has failed so for while their pleas and requests have gone to deaf ears.

A Kashmir Shawl Trader Ghulam Rasool Reshi son of Abdul Rehman Reshi, resident of Dara, Saidapora, Harwan area of Srinagar suffered heart-attack in Kolkatta on Wednesday morning. He was shifted to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

His relatives told KNT that instead of handing over the body to his family back home in Kashmir, authorities buried it near a mosque in Howrah Bridge area. “We have been requesting authorities and even contacted district administration but nobody listen to us,” they said.

They said authorities in Kolkatta cite lockdown as the reason and they say due to Covid-19 scare they are unable to send the body to Kashmir. The family members appealed authorities to handover the body to them on humanitarian grounds.

The deceased is survived by his parents, wife and little daughter. (KNT)

SRINAGAR APRIL 8 (PTK): District administration Srinagar on Wednesday said that no extra need to be paid for groceries which are being delivered at home as per the orders of government.

People have been complaining that stores owners have been asking them to pay 20 to 30 percent more than MRP for home delivery.

Authorities have said that anyone who is asking to pay extra, file complaint against them and action will be taken aganist them.

“No extra is required to be paid. We need specific complaint to initiate action under The DM Act which includes upto 2 years imprisonment and/or fine. Shall be waiting for details of bill/payment/name of store or shop for initiating action”, district administration Srinagar said(PTK)

Srinagar, April 8 (GNS): Test reports of at least 33 more persons returned positive for coronavirus disease on Wednesday, taking the number of COVID-19 patients in Jammu and Kashmir to 158.

Among the fresh cases include 11 from SKIMS Soura, 19 from Chest Disease hospital and three from Jammu, sources said.

A doctor told GNS that reports of 100 samples received from JLNM hospital Rainwari, District Hospital Pulwama and GMC Anantnag were tested at CD lab and their reports were received today.

“19 of them came out to be positive,” the doctor said.

Among these 19, the doctor said is cases from Chattbal, Eidgah areas of Srinagar besides Pulwama and Kulgam districts.

Those who tested positive at SKIMS are said to be residents of Srinagar (5), Baramulla (1), Bandipora (4) and Kupwara (1).

Regarding four patients from Bandipora, they said have a history of contact with previous patients and are aged 16, 38, 30 and 36 years old respectively.

Five patients from Srinagar are said to have travel history to Nigeria and they are aged 33, 35, 31, 41 and 46 years old respectively.

One patient is from Tangmarg and he is said to be around 70 years and contact of the previous COVID-19 patient.

The other patient is said to 16-year-old from Kupwara who had returned from Nizamuddin New Delhi.

With these fresh cases, the number of COVID-19 patients in J&K has gone up 158. Among them, 152 are active cases—124 in Kashmir and 27 In Jammu. While four patients in J&K—one in Kashmir and 3 in Jammu—have been discharged, three patients, all from Valley have died of the disease. (GNS)

‘Search operation going on to sanitize the area’

Srinagar, April 8 (GNS): A JeM militant was killed in a gunfight with government forces in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Wednesday.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar (IPS) told GNS that while militant was killed, searches are still underway at encounter site.

He identified the slain militant has as Sajad Ahmad Dar resident of Saidapora, Sopore. The top police officer of the Kashmir said that the slain militant was active from 2018 and a number of cases were registered against him for “subversive activities.”

“The slain militant was involved in recruiting youth for joining militancy in north Kashmir,” IGP said.

Searches in progress to clear the area and to ensure all explosives are cleared at the encounter site, he said.

A joint team of army’s 22 RR, 179 battalion CRPF and SOG had cordoned off Gulabad area of Arampora Sopore on Tuesday evening following inputs about the presence of militants in the area.

Following 14-hours long siege, the gunfight broke out after the government forces approached the target spot where the militants were hiding.

Last evening, the forces had also installed lights so as to prevent the escape of militant owing to darkness, they said.

A police officer said the cordon-and-search operation was launched in the area following specific information about the presence of some militants.(GNS)

Srinagar, April 8: Test reports of at least 14 more persons returned positive for coronavirus disease on Wednesday, taking the number of COVID-19 patients in Jammu and Kashmir to 139.

Among the fresh cases include 11 from SKIMS Soura and three from Jammu, sources said.

The persons who tested positive in Kashmir Valley are residents of Srinagar, Baramulla and Bandipora districts respectively, they said. The total number of cases was likely to bigger as details regarding test result of samples collected in other labs including Jammu were yet to receive.

They said four patients are from Bandipora with history of contact with previous patients and are aged 16, 38, 30 and 36 years old respectively.

Five patients are from Srinagar with travel history to Nigeria and they are aged 33, 35, 31, 41 and 46 years old respectively.

One patient is from Tangmarg and he is said to around 70 years and a contact of previous COVID-19 patient.

The other patient is said to be 16-year-old from Kupwara who had returned from Nizamudin New Delhi.

With these fresh cases, the number of COVID-19 patients in J&K has gone up 139. Among them, 132 are active cases—105 in Kashmir and 27 In Jammu. While four patients in J&K—one in Kashmir and 3 in Jammu—have been discharged, three patients, all from Valley have died of the disease. (GNS)

Anantnag, April 8, KNT: Unidentified miscreants broke open the treasuries of Markazi Jamia Masjid and Ziyarat Malik Dawood (RA) of Hakura area of Achabal Anantnag and looted the cash inside them.

Sources told Kashmir News Trust that some miscreants looted cash from the donation boxes after breaking open the lock of the mosque and shrine late yesterday night.

The matter came to light few villagers learned about the loot and called up police.

On being informed, police reached the spot and started an investigation into the matter.

Locals said that there was unaccounted cash into the Mosque’s and Shrine’s treasuries and all the cash has been looted. The alleged alleged that this is the sixth such loot in the district and police have not arrested any accused in this connection so far. (KNT)

2 residents of Beersheba assisted living facility among fatalities, raising number of virus deaths there to 10; 3rd death at Yavne’el nursing home; number of cases rises to 9,404

TOI

Israel reported six new deaths from the coronavirus Wednesday morning, bringing the number of fatalities in the country from COVID-19 to 71.

At Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, a 97-year-old man and a 96-year-old man died.

According to Hebrew media reports, the two were residents of the Mishan assisted living facility in the southern city, raising the number of people from there who died of the virus to 10.

Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced the death of two men, a 77 and 75-year-old.

Another victim, a 67-year-old woman, had numerous preexisting conditions, according to Rambam Medical Center. Her husband was also sick and hospitalized elsewhere, though it was unclear from reports whether he also was infected with the virus.

The other fatality was a 85-year-old man being treated at HaEmek Medical Center in the northern city of Afula.

The man, who suffered from preexisting diseases, was a resident of the Yokra assisted living facility in the northern town of Yavne’el.

He was the third resident of the facility to die, the Ynet news site reported.

The announcement of the deaths came as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel rose to 9,404, an increase of 306 in the past 24 hours.

The Health Ministry said 147 people are in serious condition, 122 of whom are on ventilators.

Another 199 were in moderate condition, with the rest having mild symptoms.

So far, 801 Israelis have recovered from the virus.

On Tuesday, a 37-year-old man died from the virus, the youngest fatality in Israel.

Almost all of those who have died from COVID-19 in Israel have been elderly and suffered from preexisting conditions, according to hospital officials.

While the death toll has continued to steadily climb, experts have pointed to the relatively slow rise in the number of patients on ventilators as a source of potential encouragement.

Putting a dent in the optimism, health officials are projecting that Israel will fall short of testing 10,000 people a day for the novel coronavirus in the immediate term because of a shortage of a key reagent. On Tuesday, the number of tests conducted, according to Channel 12, was under 2,000.

It was announced Wednesday that a shipment of tens of thousands of virus tests was arriving from South Korea. However, those supplies would last for only a few days at the rate of testing required.

A national lockdown barring intercity travel came into effect Tuesday ahead of the Passover holiday. A full closure will be in effect over the first night of the holiday on Wednesday, to prevent further spread of the virus.

Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, director-general of the Health Ministry, said Tuesday that if the coming weeks bring a drop in cases from hundreds to dozens a day, the government will be able to move forward with plans to gradually ease the restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the virus.

The 20-year-old woman worked with a lab technician who was tested positive in Delhi, officials said

Special Correspondent

A Delhi nurse working with a private hospital in Noida’s Sector 62 tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday evening. The 20-year-old woman worked with a lab technician who was tested positive in Delhi, officials said.

A health department official said the girl was staying at a paying guest facility in Noida’s Sector 62 after the lockdown. Noida authorities have not added her to the list of infected persons in the district. In an official communication released on Tuesday night, the number of infected persons in Gautam Buddh Nagar stayed at 58.

She has been admitted to the Child PGI hospital in Sector 30. The premises of the rented accommodation and the area around it has been sealed and was sanitised. Also, the wing of the hospital where she worked has been sealed and sanitisation of the hospital premises was carried out.

In a related incident, Noida’s district administration quarantined 200 people living in a slum area of Noida’s Sector 8 on Tuesday night. District officials said they lived close to JJ Colony cluster where three people were tested positive on April 4.

Dispelling rumours, district magistrate Suhas L.Y. described it as a cluster containment exercise. “No new case has been found in Sector 8. This is only an exercise of cluster containment as surveillance teams have traced possible contacts of JJ cluster where COVID-19 infected persons were found. Families are being only quarantined and kept under observation for their welfare and that of their surroundings,” he said.

The total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir has gone up to 125, while three patients have died.

PTI

Strict restrictions on the movement of people in Kashmir to contain the spread of coronavirus were in force for the 21st consecutive day on Wednesday, even as authorities in the city banned religious congregations on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat.

Officials said tight curbs were in place across the valley in view of the surge in the number of positive cases in Kashmir.

In view of the prevailing health situation, District Magistrate Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary has issued an order prohibiting all sorts of religious congregations and public movement on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat in Srinagar.

Shab-e-Barat, also known as the night of forgiveness, will be observed on April 8-9. Members of the Muslim community visit graveyards and offer prayers in memory of their loved ones.

The order issued under Section 144 of CrPC states that the decision to prohibit religious gatherings during the occasion has been taken based on recommendations of authorities and reports from the field besides taking into account the current precarious health situation due to COVID-19 pandemic.

It states that these restrictions will remain enforced through the intervening night of April 8 and 9, adding that violations will attract strict action under Section 188 of the IPC and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act.

Security forces have sealed off the main roads in the valley and erected barriers at several places to check the unwanted movement of the people and to enforce the lockdown, the officials said.

The markets across the valley were shut and public transport was off the roads with only pharmacies and groceries allowed to open, they added.

Educational institutions across Kashmir have been closed, while all public places including gymnasiums, parks, clubs and restaurants have been shut down more than a week before the nationwide lockdown announced by the Prime Minister.

While Narendra Modi announced the country-wide lockdown on the evening of March 24, the Union Territory administration here had on March 22 announced a lockdown across Jammu and Kashmir till March 31 as part of its efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The administration said essential services including healthcare personnel have been exempted from the restrictions.

Restrictions were first imposed in many parts of the valley on March 19 to contain the spread of the virus infection. The measures were taken after a 67-year-old woman from Khanyar area of the city, who had returned on March 16 from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, tested positive for COVID-19 infection.

The authorities have started an aggressive contact tracing campaign across the union territory to contain the spread of the infection.

The total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir has gone up to 125, while three patients have died.