Kashmir.Watch

Category: Union Territory

  • 4 J&K Ex-Chief Ministers Lose Special Security Cover

    The SSG is a specialised security unit in Jammu and Kashmir created to protect chief ministers and former chief ministers in the former state.

    Srinagar: The Centre has decided to withdraw the special security group (SSG) protection of four former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir.

    The decision to withdraw their SSG protection of National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, his son and party vice president Omar Abdullah, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was taken after a security review meeting by the government, official sources said.

    The SSG is a specialised security unit in Jammu and Kashmir created to protect chief ministers and former chief ministers in the former state.

    “The decision is clearly political and a response to our increased political activities,” said Omar Abdullah, adding that he was not informed about the development.

    “But none of this will silence us. The timing is important. All ex-CMs have become more vocal and taking on government,” he said.

    “No one had the courtesy to inform us about it,” Mr Abdullah said.

    Mehbooba Mufti also said she was not informed about the withdrawal of security.

    “I have not been informed about it formally. I can’t say why they are doing it,” the PDP leader said.

    “You know the kind of situation we are living in. Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade was stopped in Punjab and how it was projected. Here in Kashmir they are withdrawing our security,” she said.

    All the four former chief ministers will now be protected by security wing of J&K police based on their security categorisation and threat assessment.

    “The Committee decided that the Ex-CMs of J&K shall be provided the security by the security wing as per their present categorization i.e., Z+ by name, with additional escorts/measures as per necessity and assessment of the Security wing,” reads an official communique.

    Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad are also protected by National Security Guards (NSG), the protection provided by the central government based on threat assessment of two former chief ministers.

  • Govt declares 1358 Kanals in Gulmarg, Sonamarg as ‘strategic areas’ for armed forces

    Srinagar, Jan 05: The Jammu & Kashmir government has declared 1358 kanals and 6 marlas of land as “strategic areas” for training and operational requirements of the armed forces in Gulmarg and Sonamarg tourist resorts in Kashmir Valley.

    A copy of notification issued by the J&K’s Tourism Department reveals that 1034 kanals and six marlas of land at Gulmarg and 354 Kanals at Sonamarg have been notified as strategic areas by the authorities while exercising powers under the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act.

    The notification, a copy of which is in possession of news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), reveals that the land has been declared as a strategic area on the request of Army’s corps commander.

    According to the notification, the corps commander shall ensure strict adherence to the environment laws to prevent any environmental hazard. “Corps commander shall ensure that no other applicable law in force in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is observed in breach,” reads the order.

    As per the notification, the corps commander shall ensure that the order(s), if any, passed by any court or tribunal is strictly adhered to.

    This is the first notification issued by the J&K government to declare any area as strategic area for armed forces after the Ministry of Home Affairs amended The Jammu and Kashmir Development Act-1970 in October 2020 through an executive order under the Reorganization Act.

    On June 17, 2020, the J&K administrative council headed by then Lt Governor G.C. Murmu cleared the proposal to amend the J&K Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 and the J&K Development Act, 1970 for notifying “strategic areas” for use by the armed forces and regulating construction through a “special dispensation”.

    Subsequently, the MHA amended these laws on October 26, 2020 to provide that  the Government may on the written request of an Army officer not below the rank of corp commander, declare an area as strategic area within a local area, only for direct operational and training requirements of armed forces, which may be excluded from the operation of this Act and rules/regulations made there under in the manner and to the extent specified in the declaration and the government may satisfy itself about the reasons cited for declaring the area as strategic area and will have such area notified accordingly with such conditions as may be required—(KNO)

  • COVID-19: After six months, J&K records sudden spike of over 400 positive cases

    Srinagar reports 52 cases, case tally at 342,419, death toll reaches to 4,530, active cases reaches to 1,819, recovery rate at 98.14 percent

    Srinagar, Jan 05: In a sudden spike, first time after over six months, Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday reported 418 fresh positive cases of COVID-19, thus taking the number of total active cases in the Union Territory to 1,819 while no death was reported in last 24 hours.

    As per the data available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), J&K has witnessed highest positivity rate of 0.7 percent first time after June last year.

    Positivity rate on Wednesday is 0.7 percent as 418 cases are found positive from 59,716 tests conducted in last 24 hours while as on 30th June last year 364 cases were found positive from 53,662 with 0.67 positivity rate besides that previous highest positive cases in over last six months was 415 on 27 June last year.

    With no more deaths, the death toll in J&K stands at 4,530 and 418 fresh positive cases reported on Wednesday have pushed the tally of positive cases to 342,419.

    Of the exact number of 342,419 cases, 215,574 are from Kashmir division and 126,845 from Jammu division.

    Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that among 418 new cases, 107 belong to Kashmir division while as 311 are from Jammu division, adding that the total number of positive cases in Kashmir division have reached to 215,574 including 212,318 recoveries and 2,331 deaths while as total number of positive cases in Jammu division have reached to 126,845 including 123,752 recoveries and 2,199 deaths.

    The officials said that the total number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir are 1,819 including 925 from Kashmir division and 894 from Jammu division.

    With 140 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 336,070 which is 98.14 percent of the total cases.

    “Cases tested positive in J&K include 52 from Srinagar, 13 from Baramulla, 16 from Budgam, 08 from Pulwama, 09 from Kupwara, 00 from Anantnag, 03 from Bandipora, 04 from Ganderbal, 01 each from Kulgam and 01 Shopian in Kashmir division while as 311 from Jammu division include 109 from Jammu division, 15 from Udhampur, 05 from Rajouri, 03 from Doda, 10 from Kathua, 03 from Samba, 03 from Kishtwar, 06 from Poonch, 01 from Ramban and 156 from Reasi,” officials disclosed.

    Meanwhile, authorities said that no fresh cases of Mucormycosis popularly known as black fungus was reported in the UT and the tally stands at 51.

    As per officials figures, 79,048 positive cases including 883 deaths and 77,687 recoveries are from Srinagar, 26,050 including 291 deaths and 25,628 recoveries are from Baramulla, 24,557 including 24,276 recoveries and 217 deaths are from Budgam, 15,759 including 15,512 recoveries and 195 deaths are from Pulwama, 15,003 including 167 deaths and 14,783 recoveries are from Kupwara, 16,749 including 16,517 recoveries and 208 deaths are from Anantnag, 10,185 cases including 10,051 and 111 deaths are from Bandipora, 11,041 including 10,878 recoveries and 82 deaths are from Ganderbal, 11,562 including 11,428 recoveries and 118 deaths are from Kulgam and 5,620 including 5,558 recoveries and 59 deaths are from Shopian.

    In Jammu division, 54,484 including 52,841 recoveries and 1,157 deaths are from Jammu district, 11,509 including 11,335 recoveries and 139 deaths are from Udhampur, 11,395 including 11,135 recoveries and 239 deaths are from Rajouri, 8,083 including 7,891 recoveries and 137 deaths are from Doda, 9,415 including 9,232 recoveries and 153 deaths are from Kathua, 7,192 including 7,053 recoveries and 120 deaths are from Samba, 4,859 including 4,809 recoveries and 44 deaths are from Kishtwar, 6,632 including 6,497 recoveries and 100 deaths are from Poonch, 6,086 including 6,006 recoveries and 67 deaths are from Ramban and 7,190 including 6,953 recoveries and 43

  • COVID-19: SoPs go for a toss in Kashmir

    Restrictions on entry of cabs into city cause overcrowding in buses, no room for social distancing in passenger vehicles, say commuters

    Srinagar, Jan 05: With the government efforts trying to contain the spread of new Covid-19 variant Omicron, on the contrary the SOPs issued by the authorities go for the toss.

    The commuters says that the authorities in the Srinagar city has turned a blind eye into the traffic overcrowding, leading to threat of mass spread of the virus.

    Commuters allege that restriction on cabs to enter in the city has led to overcrowding of local buses, where maintaining social distancing is difficult.

    Top officials of the Srinagar traffic department told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that they are following were following the orders issued by the High Court.

    “We don’t know anything about the violation of Covid-19 SOPs. We are following the court directions,” the official said.

    He said that the new order is issued to de-congest Srinagar from unnecessary traffic mess so that smooth commute is possible. Whereas Covid-19 is considered, it is everywhere.

    “Be it a small cab or big bus, we are in the grip of the virus. Rather, in buses social distancing is somehow possible than in small cabs,” he said.

    The official further said that the directions of restricting cabs in the city were issued after a well thought process by the High Court to de-congest Srinagar.

    “We will look into the requirement of transport at different places and take the necessary action as required and redresses the issues of the general public,” he said.

    The official of the Srinagar traffic department added that prior to this order, all cab drivers used to park their vehicles anywhere on the road, thus violating their contract carriage permit.

    “They have to pick up the passengers from their point of origin to the destination. They are not supposed to stop at multiple stops. It had a negative impact on our local transportation. The order was not followed as it should have been. The new order will soon bear its fruits,” the official said—(KNO)

  • Road Closure Forces Hilan Boniyar Residents to Ferry Pregnant Woman On Cot

    Uri, Jan 5: Villagers in Boniyar in frontier north Kashmir’s Baramulla district were forced to ferry an expecting woman on a cot due to closure of roads for vehicular traffic amid prevailing inclement weather conditions.

    The woman, a resident of Hillan Phalipora was carried by several men of her neighbourhood on a cot, after she complained of labour pain.

    Husband of the expecting woman Mohammad Saleem Khattana told GNS that they informed PHC Boniyar to send a vehicle to carry her however due to closure of link road they (hospital staff) could not reach to fetch her to the health facility.

    Sensing the exigency, I along with several of my neighbourhood people carried her on a cot upto five kilometres from where we boarded the hospital vehicle, he said.

    Urging the authorities to clear the snow clogged roads, Khattana seconded by several others asked for restoration of roads to avoid any difficulty to the patients and commoners alike.

    Meanwhile BMO Boniyar Dr. Pervaiz Masoodi told GNS that directions have been already passed to all officials concerned to evacuate all the women expecting deliveries’ in coming days to avert any emergency.

    Regarding the particular incident, the Medical Officer said that they even had asked (this) woman to get herself admitted, but she didn’t. (GNS)

  • Doctors Body Kashmir Says Booster dose from different vaccine offers better protection

    Srinagar, Jan 05: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said booster dose from a Covid-19 vaccine that is different from the one used for initial vaccination offers better protection.

    “Booster shots from a different vaccine are highly effective in preventing Covid-19 infection,” said DAK President and Influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

    Quoting Cov-Boost study from UK, Dr Hassan said the immune response increases significantly if Novavax is used as a booster after two doses of AstraZeneca (known as Covishield in India) and a further increase is seen with the inclusion of mRNA vaccine.

    “The study showed that the booster dose of Covishied increased the antibody levels by 3.25, while a booster shot of Covavax increased the same by eight times and mRNA vaccine boosted the titers by 24 times,” he said.

    Novavax, a US-based protein vaccine which is manufactured in India under the brand name Covavax was recently approved by central drug authority, CDSCO.

    The DAK President said mixing different vaccines is called heterologous prime-boost and it trains the body’s immune system to recognize the virus in more than one way.

    “Interchangeability of vaccines could make the fight against Covid-19 stronger and help prevent and control the spread of Covid-19 in communities,” he added.

    “Of the approved vaccines, we have data for Covavax as a better booster,” said Dr Nisar.

    “So it is reasonable to change booster to Covavax to those who have received two doses of Covishield than another dose of the same vaccine,” he said.

    General Secretary DAK Dr Arshsad Ali said booster shot is the third or the additional dose of Covid-19 vaccine given to ensure the protection is maintained against the new variants.

    “While two doses of Covid-19 vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease, the immunity begins to wane after a period of 6 months,” he said.

    Spokesperson DAK Dr Riyaz Ahmad Dagga said with the emergence of new omicron variant, booster shot becomes crucial.

    “Booster doses have been found to offer protection against the highly transmissible omicron variant,” he said.

    “While India will start administering booster shots from January 10, the government is yet to take a call on whether it will allow switching of vaccine or the third dose will continue to be the same as the primary vaccine,” he added.

  • MeT issues orange alert, predicts heavy snowfall on Jan 07, 08

    Srinagar, Jan 05: Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only road link connecting Valley with the rest of the world, has been closed for traffic while nine flights have also got cancelled due to the inclement weather conditions in Jammu and Kashmir as snowfall and rains continued for the second straight day on Wednesday.

    As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), officials said that the Srinagar-Jammu highway has been thrown closed for vehicular movement as a precautionary measure after shooting stones and mudslides were reported at Karol-Jammu-Srinagar highway.

    They said that the road will be cleared once the weather condition improves.

    Moreover, nine flights have so far for cancelled at Srinagar International airport for the second straight day due to poor visibility.

    Officials informed that Indigo 137 to Delhi, Indigo 6738 to Jammu, Indigo 2015 to Delhi, Indigo 2364 to Delhi, GoFirst 358 to Delhi, Gofirst 193 to Delhi, GoFirst 267 to Delhi and Vistara 611 to Jammu got cancelled.

    In the meantime, Director Srinagar Airport, Kuldeep Singh informed KNO that two flights from Delhi and Jammu to Srinagar were operated following the improvement in visibility.

    Nonetheless, Kashmir parts continued to receive fresh snowfall and rains since January 03 evening, bringing down the temperature further across the Valley.

    A local Meteorological department here has predicted more rains and snow across Kashmir till January 09, saying that heavy snowfall in expected in Kashmir on January 07 and 08.

    Earlier, MeT has said that two successive Western Disturbances would affect J&K from January 03-January 09—(KNO)

  • Saffron blooms in Rajouri district as cultivation trial bears fruits

    Giving details, officials said that the district administration desired the project to be taken upon an experimental basis by the agriculture department in the Darhal Subdivision as the terrain and climatic conditions of that area are almost akin to that of Kishtwar.

    Jammu: The Rajouri district came upon the saffron map of Jammu and Kashmir, when a farmer Vishal Chander Sharma successfully undertook saffron cultivation in his fields in this border district, surprising people with the purple-orange flower bloom in their neighborhood.
    Influenced by the cultivation of saffron in the Kishtwar area of the Jammu region, the Rajouri administration picked up the idea of Saffron cultivation in the district.
    Apart from Kashmir valley’s Pampore belt, saffron is cultivated only in the Kishtwar district outside the valley.
    “It is a dream cum true. I never thought saffron could be cultivated here (Rajouri). But we were successful in bringing in new areas of J&K on the saffron map of the UT,” farmer Vishal Chander Sharma said.

    Sharma is highly thankful to the district administration of Rajouri and the department of agriculture for motivating him to cultivate saffron in this area.
    He was previously dependent on subsistence agriculture and was cultivating wheat and maize but now he is keen to cultivate saffron crops in his fields to earn more income and to improve his socio-economic status, officials of the agriculture department said.
    Giving details, officials said that the district administration desired the project to be taken upon an experimental basis by the agriculture department in the Darhal Subdivision as the terrain and climatic conditions of that area are almost akin to that of Kishtwar.
    “The Department selected one farmer Vishal Chander Sharma of panchayat Kot Dhara, block Dhangri, zone Fatehpur. The farmer possesses only 15 Kanal un-irrigated land in which he has been growing wheat and maize crops,” a senior official said

  • Three JeM militants killed in Pulwama Gunfight

    Srinagar, January 05:Three militants belonging to Jash-e-Mohammad outfit were killed after an encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Changam of area of Pulwama on Wednesday.

    A senior police officer while confirming to GNS that the three JeM militants were killed in a gunfight. However their identity has not been yet ascertained.

    Earlier, a joint team of Police and army launched a cordon and search operation in Chandgam on a specific input generated by police.

    As the joint team of forces intensified searches towards the targeted spot, the hiding militants fired upon the search party triggering of an encounter.

    Pertinently on Tuesday two local TRF militants were killed in Kulgam Gunfight.(GNS)

  • Rain/Snow set to make a comeback tonight: Weather forecaster Faizan Arif

    Says, light to heavy rain/ snow expected across J&K from tonight, with main activity tomorrow

    Srinagar, Jan 04: Jammu and Kashmir is all set to get another round of rain and snow from tonight, however with stronger intensity this time.

    Faizan Arif, an independent weather forecaster while taking to KB — Kashmir Bulletin said that, “Widespread light to heavy rain and snowfall is expected across Jammu and Kashmir from tonight onwards.”

    “Higher reaches along with plains of Kashmir are likely to witness light to heavy snowfall. Most activity of the weather system will be during tomorrow.
    Some places in higher reaches can get more than 2 feet of snow. In plains, it can vary between 1 inch and 8 inches,” he said.

    He added, “Day temperature at most places tomorrow in the Valley will stay below 3.5°C.”

    “Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected in Jammu region along with snowfall in higher reaches. This may affect surface traffic movement on national highway,” the forecaster further added.

    Meanwhile, Srinagar today recorded a maximum temperature of 4.3°C.

    Qazigund, Pahalgam and Kokernag recorded high temperatures of 2.6°C, 1.6°C and 2.4°C respectively.

    Kupwara and Gulmarg, in north Kashmir, recorded maximum temperatures of 3.8°C and minus 0.4°C respectively. (KB)