Srinagar: Two troopers suffered splinter injuries after suspected militants lobbed a grenade towards an army patrolling party near Ahagam area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
SSP Shopian, Shailendra Mishra told GNS that militants attacked army party with a grenade followed by firing at Ahagam resulting in injuries to two army men. “Both the soldiers were hospitalised”.
The searches were launched in the area to nab the attackers. (GNS)
Srinagar: Militants and government forces exchanged fire in the forest area of Kachama in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district last night.
Official sources told GNS that a group of militants and army’s search party had a stand-off late last night at the upper belt of Kachama forests known as Tunga Top.
The exchange of firing continued intermittently till pre-dawn hours today, they said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kupwara Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar also confirmed the stand-off and said that the firing has stopped as of now.
“The search operation has been launched in the area to find out anybody or to trace out the militant group,” he said. (GNS)
SRINAGAR: The Pratap Park in city center Lal chowk has turned into hangout spot for scores of students studying in different educational institutions in the vicinity who are seen bunking classes under the very nose of school authorities.
Passer byres and eyewitness working at different shops around the park said that the students studying at women’s college, SP Higher Secondary School, SP College, Girls Higher Secondary School Kotibagh, Girls Higher Secondary School Amirakadil could be seen skipping classes, roaming around, sitting in groups and having fun in Pratap Park for whole day.
The boys and girls seen inside Partap Park in schools uniforms are hardly checked by the concern officials, especially school authorities, if they are really bunking the classes and wondering around for hangout. Many pedestrians told PTK that the administration is paying no heed to curb this practice by the young student. Adding that this has led to immoral activates in the area too.
When asked, a group of students from SP higher secondary told PTK, “In the month of March we have attended only 3 classes and in April not a single class so far, because we attend classes in tuition centers so why we need to attend school”. Ironically they added that they don’t need to attend school.
One of the teachers while talking to Press Trust of Kashmir said that the students should follow the rules and regulation of an institution. He added that tuition centers are the main reason that students take classes in school easy. (PTK)
Srinagar:
Srinagar: Kashmir is likely to receive downpour over the next few days with the state weather department predicting heavy rainfall at isolated places in the region.
A spell of rain is expected to begin tonight or tomorrow and will intensify across many parts of the Valley from Thursday, the Srinagar Meteorological Centre said in its forecast bulletin on Tuesday.
The Centre’s forecast said fairly widespread rainfall was likely across the Kashmir valley between Thursday and Saturday, while rainfall at scattered locations was expected tomorrow. It also warned that heavy rainfall was expected at places in the Valley and Jammu division during this period.
In Srinagar city, where the day temperature had remained lower than the average high over the past week, wet weather is expected in the next five days with the possibility of rain, thundershower or dust storm in the next three days.
In Gulmarg and Pahalgam, two picturesque tourist attractions, the forecast suggested rain and thunderstorm over the next four to six days. Kashmir has received below normal precipitation in the last eight months with fewer spells of rain and snowfall during the core winter core period.
Srinagar, June 26: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said private hospitals in Kashmir valley are being run by government doctors.
“Doctors take salary from public hospitals and surprisingly work in private hospitals,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a communiqué.
“It is ironical that full-time government doctors are allowed to run private hospitals depriving poor and underprivileged of essential health care,” he said.
Dr Nisar said doctors concentrate their attention and work effort on private practice at the expense of public hospitals.
They use public hospitals as recruiting grounds for their private practice and orchestrate scenarios to generate business for their clinics.
“The dual practice creates a pervasive incentive for doctors to increase waiting times at government hospitals so that patients are forced to go to private clinics,” he said.
Dr Nisar said patients in government hospitals are left to the mercy of trainees who find it difficult to handle complicated cases.
“Patients die of misdiagnosis or delayed intervention due of non-availability of senior doctors who most of the times are in their clinics,” he added.
Dr Nisar said allowing private practice is against the regulations of MCI that are mandatory by virtue of law adding that various committees from time to time have called for ban on private practice of doctors.
“Even the courts have observed that the academic character of health institutions gets damaged and the profession of health care gets affected by dual practice of doctors,” he said.
Dr Nisar said the previous attempts to ban private practice of doctors have been stalled by a strong lobby and they have misled regimens on the issue.
“The rulers of health care should draw a line between private and public health sector and doctors should choose one sector as they cannot work on both sides of the divide,” he said.
SRINAGAR, JUNE 25: Shehla Rashid Student leader and former vice-president of the students union Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) is likely to join National conference (NC).
Sources told Press Trust of Kashmir that Shehla Rashid is likely to join NC in the near future adding that things are being worked out to give her suitable position.
Sources in the party added that she is in touch with us. “Things are being discussed at the moment. We will take a call soon on her joining”.
They said that she may contest elections from Srinagar city.
Shehla Rashid Shora was born in the old city of Srinagar in the Habba Kadal locality. Shehla is one of the few Kashmiri women who are vocal about the human rights situation in Kashmir, particularly for ensuring justice to minor undertrials and has been active since 2010 when she was part of organising a youth leadership programme in Kashmir.
Shora unsuccessfully contested the election for the Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment in 2014. In September 2015, she contested the election for vice-present of the JNU student union, as the nominee of the Left-backed All India Students Association, and won it, beating the ABVP’s candidate Valentina Brahma by over 200 votes. She was the first Kashmiri girl to win a student union election at the JNU and the highest polled candidate of that year. (PTK)
Srinagar: Government forces on Saturday launched a cordon-and-Search operation (CASO) in Hajin town of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
Reports said that the army, Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid a siege to Towheed -Abad and Parray mohalla of Hajin town.
They said that massive deployment of forces has been made in the town.
An official said that the CASO was launched following “specific” inputs about the presence of some militants in the area.
SRINAGAR: Drug abuse, known to be widespread among youth in Kashmir Valley, is now showing a new trend whereby teenage girls are increasingly turning into addicts.
College-going girls and boys are abusing substances, especially toluene, a common thinner, is testified to by officials at the de-addiction centre in Srinagar.
Sources told Press Trust of Kashmir that students abuse or ‘glue sniffing’ has become widespread because the chemical is readily found in narcotics, brown sugar, Naas, alcohol, cannabis (charas), opiates (like codeine, heroin, morphine), benzodiazepines (sleeping pills, like alprax, valium), Inhalants (like Fevicol SR, glue, paint thinner, petrol, shoe polish etc.) and so on are frequently used by most of the young youths of Kashmir valley at an alarming rate. The abuse of toluene is getting very common in Kashmir because it is easily available.
According to a survey conducted by United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), there are seventy thousand drug addicts in Kashmir division alone including four thousand girls. In this Jannat (paradise), the survey also revealed that 65% to 70% students, both male and female, are drug addicts. As per the government psychiatric disease hospital statistics , 90% abusers belong to the age group of 16 to 27 years with a lifetime prevalence of drug addiction. So the situation is worrying and alarming
Sources further said that getting other drugs is a bit more difficult for girls than buying ink remover or polish.
When Press Trust of Kashmir talks with doctors they said that the major causes for drug addiction among girls are study pressure, stress, family disputes, failure in life, examination stress, love affairs.
Sources further said that due to lack of facilities, social stigma restricts women from seeking rehabilitation or treatment.
While talking to PTK some girl students said that it’s important to keep it in view that the social stigma which female drug addicts face, it is important to set up a de-addiction centre for girl students.
One of the girl (name changed) Asma while taking to Press Trust of Kashmir said that she began with glue sniffing “for fun” during her school days and then moved on to opiates. Fear of social stigma and lack of facilities in Kashmir Asma’s parents to take her outside Kashmir for treatment. She said that “now I am fine after the treatment of 11 months I am okay”.
Sources said that the health department does not maintain data on the status of drug addiction in Kashmir.
Uzma one of the medical students said that youth on drugs may physically live in the same house with their families, but live alone emotionally.
She added that they do not care about what happens to their near ones and these insensitivities extend towards society.
Sources confirmed that no survey has since been undertaken in the health department.
Sources further added that in 2003 health department decided to look into this matter and take a survey but they failed to do that and so far no survey has since undertaken by department. (PTK)
Srinagar, June 20: Three cops were injured after militants attacked a police vehicle near Galander Bypass on Srinagar-Jammu highway area of Pampore in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday.
Official sources told GNS that militants fired upon a police vehicle (Tata 407 of IR 17th battalion) at Kandizal near Galander Bypass.
In the attack, three policemen sustained bullet wounds and were taken to nearby hospital for treatment where from they were shifted to army’s 92 base hospital Badamibagh, Srinagar.
The injured have been identified as Tanveer Ahmad (critical bullet injury in the head) and Mudasir Ahmad splinter injury in leg.
Deputy Inspector General of Police South Kashmir Range, Amit Kumar, confirmed the attack and said that three policemen suffered injuries.
He said that the area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the assailants. (GNS)