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Youth stage protest in Srinagar, appeals Govt to revoke ban

Srinagar: Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory has probably become the first place to witness protests over the ban on popular online mobile game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) by the government.

Days after the centre banned PUBG in India, the youth from Kashmir staged a peaceful protest in Srinagar, demanding the government to revoke the order immediately.

A couple of PUBG enthusiasts, carrying placards in their hands which read “revoke PUBG ban, we cannot live without PUBG” according to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) appeared at Press Enclave to protest government’s decision to ban PUBG in India in the wake of mounted tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

The protesting youth appealed to the centre to revoke the ban on online mobile games considering its popularity and ‘addiction’ among youth in Kashmir Valley and elsewhere in India.

They said the government instead of resorting to digital strike against ‘Dragon’ should settle down the differences through dialogue. They also said the center’s decision to ban PUBG has left youth in virtual shock who find it hard to live without it.

The BJP led centre has mounted a fresh strike on Chinese apps, banning as many as 118 new apps including PUBG for engaging in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order.

This was the first of its kind protest when players hit streets against the center’s decision to ban online mobile game PUBG following protracted standoff between two neighboring countries.

“We are also PUBG players and we play it more often. We were shocked the moment we came across the shocking news that the government has banned PUBG in India. We had gathered to appeal to the government to revoke the ban on PUBG immediately,” one of the protesting PUBG player’s told KNO.

He also said the differences are removed through meaningful dialogue and not by resorting to digital strikes in this jet era—(KNO)

Srinagar: National Conference Member Parliament for South Kashmir Justice Hasnain Masoodi today said developmental report card exposes dismissal development on the ground after the abrogation of Article 370.

He made these remarks with reporters after chairing a meeting of sectorial officers in Dak Bungalow Anantnag.

“5th august decision of last year should be revoked. Assurances have not been fulfilled. There is no development on the ground,” he said, “Development is not possible unless there is peace, 10 thousand rooms are lying vacant and there is no tourist because of conflict.”

They have not able to restore normalcy here as they have promised.

Replying to a question, the NC leader said that a good number of intellectual class in India is supporting people of J&K in their fight against the revocation of special status of J&K.

According to KNS correspondent, Justice Masoodi said that he had called the meeting to review the progress of healthcare, road and drinking water infra sector grievances had become a norm in south Kashmir.

“We are hopeful that the grievances of the public which came into my notice from Kapran to Shopian are resolved,” he said.

I also took the review of the various equipment’s like ventilators, PPE kits and masks for front line workers procured from the MP fund, NC leader told KNS correspondent

He expressed satisfaction over the efforts of the administration in containing COVID pandemic.

Justice Masoodi also said that there is a poor performance of the administration in affordable housing scheme besides transparency issues in its allotment

He also expressed dismay over the poor health infrastructure in Shangus and Kokernag area of Anantnag and demanded deployment of machines and healthcare personnel in health centres.

He also demanded the release of all Political prisoners at earliest.(KNS)

Meet Salman Charoo, 25, whose debut book on Urdu poetry Alfaaz-E-Nafz was launched last year. This multi-talented guy from Sopore has many feathers in his cap.

He completed his Engineering in 2018 and thereafter was teaching in Lovely Professional University in the Department of Languages & Training as an Assistant Professor. However his academic pursuits never stopped him from following his passions. He writes poetry whenever he has time for himself.

He is also a motivational speaker from Kashmir delivering lectures online and has also worked as a trainer for IELTS English learning courses.

His book which was published last year and released a day before the restrictions were imposed amid the change in constitutional status of J&K, could not receive the appreciation it merited due to internet shutdown and remained unknown for quiet a long time, however through print media the book received great commendation from various literary circles.

Being a man of wisdom who likes to try new things, this time he took up another challenge amid Covid-19 lockdown across the country with the internet being restricted to 2G services in J&K. Salman has now come up with an online platform “Kashmiri Wear”, a store for ladies’ apparels, especially suits and a wide variety of Shawls which come from registered dealers and artisans across Kashmir.

Salman delivers the products both across J&K as well as outside UT of J&K. “Living outside J&K always made me miss home and anything connected to it, I always wanted Kashmir to be everywhere, in whatever sense it could be. Besides during the Covid lockdown I realized that ladies of our household could not go out for shopping, so the idea of starting an online platform came to my mind.

I want to make “Kashmiri Wear” global. Kashmir has immense talent. I am planning to include designer wear which will be local in its origin thus giving a boost to local latent who are so creative, I am sure our local designer wear will one day become a global fashion storm. I have full faith in myself and the talent of our youth, says Salman. Salman currently operates “Kashmiri Wear” as a sole proprietorship through Instagram and Facebook under the name and style of “Kashmiri Wear”.

Amid restrictions on high speed internet, Kashmiri Wear has received a great response from various places. So far Kashmiri wear has delivered to places like Poonch, Rajauri, Jammu and even Punjab.

With restriction on the internet being lifted , there is a hope that online business platforms like Salman’s will receive a boost. Besides Kashmiri Wear, Salman is also working on his second book. Salman’s example is an inspiration for our youth who want to create a place for themselves and contribute to the society in the best possible manner despite existing hardships.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday reported 1251 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day count so far, taking its tally to 42241.
This is for the third day in a row that Jammu and Kashmir recorded cases in excess of one thousand.

With 86 travelers among the cases, official sources told GNS that 739 of them were reported from Jammu Division and 512 from Kashmir Valley

Giving district-wise break, they said, Srinagar reported 181, Baramulla 51, Pulwama 40, Budgam 69, Anantnag 35, Bandipora 12, Kupwara 54, Kulgam 3, Shopian 4, Ganderbal 63, Jammu 520, Rajouri 22, Kathua 27, Udhampur 72, Samba 23, Ramban 19, Doda 27, Poonch 11, Reasi 2and Kishtwar 16.

Moreover, they said, 489 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and discharged from various hospitals 123 from Jammu Division and 366 from Kashmir Valley. (GNS)

They were set up when top hospitals started running out of beds due to the unprecedented flow of critical patients

Over 330 doctors from Kashmir valley turned WhatsApp groups into COVID-19 clinics and managed around 10,000 affected patients and their families by turning hundreds of valley houses into mini-hospitals, eventually helping in flattening the curve.

These online clinics were set up in the last week of July, when the Valley’s three top hospitals, the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), the Chest Disease Hospital and the Sher-i-Kashmir Medical Institute, started running out of beds due to the unprecedented flow of critical patients, mainly complaining of bilateral pneumonia.

Data bank of patients and line of treatment

“The first aim of these WhatsApp COVID clinics was to create a data bank of patients and their line of treatment. We were all blank initially about what works because it was a novel virus. The data about patients across the length and breadth of the Valley did help us to identify drugs and conditions where patients were responding well,” Dr. Nasir Shams, a physician at the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial (JLNM) Hospital in Srinagar, told The Hindu.

Dr. Shams was one of the admins of two such WhatsApp clinics. “The government decision to allow mild COVID patients to be treated at home provided a rare opportunity to decrease footfall at the hospitals. Each doctor decided to handle four to five families, 25 persons on an average, beyond their duties. It was voluntary and free. It did yield results,” Dr. Shams said.

Around 330 doctors joined to run two such WhatsApp groups and started grading critical patients who required hospitalisation and those who need at-home monitoring. “It was not possible unless a housemate would not volunteer as a nurse. In many cases these ‘nurses’ also got affected but their tending did help patients recover faster because of the emotional support,” Dr. Shams said.

Oximeters and oxygen concentrators

Hundreds of houses in Srinagar functioned like mini-hospitals, maintaining the pandemic protocols. A cluster of houses in Lal Bazaar saw four families contracting COVID-19 and affecting around 21 inmates in the last week of July. “All were managed at home with multiple lines of medicine. Oximeters and oxygen concentrators were kept available to ensure patients are shifted before any complication,” said another doctor.

Two NGOs, the Athrout Kashmir and the Social Reforms Organisation, helped with oxygen concentrators donated by philanthropists in the Valley. “We have received six consignments of oxygen concentrators so far. It did help in reaching out to the needy. We were receiving around 100 distress calls a day,” said a volunteer of the Athrout Kashmir.

The effort was backed by info videos online and Zoom meetings arranged where doctors and the affected population posed queries. Dr. Masood Rashid, also part of the effort, was handed over a certificate of appreciation by J&K Health and Medical Education Department Commissioner Atal Dulloo recently for his “courage and strength as a COVID warrior”.

According to official figures, the footfall of patients in the JLNM hospital has come down by 40%. Similarly, the bed occupancy at the SMHS and the CD Hospital has improved significantly, according to officials.

Witnessing a decline

Kashmir valley, which saw over 700 patients a day, is slowly witnessing a decline with 554, 457, 376 cases reported in the past three days, official figures suggest. “We are still still on a flat plateau but hopeful to see a further decline in coming weeks,” Dr. Shams said.

With inputs from The Hindu

(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

PTI

Srinagar: Security forces on Friday busted three militant hideouts in the forest area of Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

“Based on specific information regarding the presence of militants of proscribed militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Buchoo – Kamla forests of Tral area, police along with Army launched a search operation in the area,” a police spokesman said.

He said during the operation, three hideouts of proscribed militant outfit JeM were busted and subsequently destroyed.

“The joint team was able to recover incriminating material including IED material from the hideouts. The incriminating material has been taken into police custody for the purpose of investigation, the spokesman said.

We want Assembly polls, Panchayat elections on vacant seats to be held soon

Srinagar: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Friday said it is ready for any democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir and that the party wants Assembly polls and Panchayat elections on vacant seats in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to be held soon.
“As far as the BJP is concerned, we are ready for the polls any time, whether it is today or a few months later. But yes the Assembly elections along with the polls on Vacant panchayat seats should be held soon,” BJP senior leader and former Deputy Chief minister Dr Nirmal Singh told news agency Kashmir indepth News Service (KINS).
The BJP is the only party in the state that backs elections at this time.The other major parties, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party had opposed holding the polls in the New Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Nirmal Singh further said that BJP is always ready for any democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir. “We will support any process that strengthens the democratic process at the grassroots level. As far as our cadre is concerned, we are always ready to help people and pave the way towards development and normalcy,” he said.
The BJP leader however said that as far as the timing of the assembly elections is concerned, the decision and discretion of that is absolutely with the Election Commission of India.
The Election Commission on several occasions had said it would announce elections in the state after it received a green signal from both the Centre and the state government on the law and order situation.
Jammu and Kashmir has not had an elected government since the PDP-BJP coalition government fell apart in June 2018.
Meanwhile Nirmal Singh is confident that the party will form the next government in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“BJP will register a “splendid victory” in the elections and “write a new chapter” by forming its own government in Jammu and Kashmir,”he said.
He further said that the political atmosphere in the Union territory is “now more favourable for the BJP” as the people have themselves seen the “real faces” of the regional parties.
“They always betrayed the people by playing emotional cards but now none of them would succeed in their game plans,” he said.
“While the BJP has always been sincere about flourishing democracy, others were opportunists, who did not contribute in strengthening democracy at the grassroots level and went for boycotting the ULB and panchayat elections,” the BJP leader said.
It is to mention here that soon after assuming charge, BJP working president J.P Nadda had said that the party is ready to face the Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir anytime the poll panel decides.
The national General Secretary Ram Madhav in his recent visit to the Union territory had also told the Jammu and Kashmir core group of the party to start preparing for the panchayat and Assembly election in Union territory.(KINS)

Srinagar: The administration of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory is set to sort out all pending issues relating to service matters of police officers, sources disclosed.

Highly placed sources told news agency- Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Home department has proposed release of selection grade in favour of all eligible officers of SP and DySP rank.

“The proposal has been sent for approval. Once it is approved, the grade would be released in favour of the eligible officers,” they said.

According to sources, the government is also mulling to regularise all superintendents of police and deputy superintendents of police who were working in officiating capacity.

“The Home department has also finalized seniority of police officers. It would be notified once the administrative council approves it,” they said, adding that these proposals would be notified after getting a nod from administrative council and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

According to sources, Home secretary Shaleen Kabra and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam have played a crucial role in sorting out these matters.

As already reported by KNO, the Jammu & Kashmir government submitted a proposal earlier this year to the Union Public Service Commission and Ministry of Home Affairs for filling 28 vacancies in promotion quota of the prestigious Indian Police Service. The proposal was submitted after MHA determined 28 vacancies for these years- 08 for 2010, three vacancies for 2011, 08 vacancies for 2012 and 09 vacancies for 2013—(KNO)