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Srinagar: The Kashmir valley witnessed moderate-intensity rainfall today even as the weather department issued a forecast that more downpour was likely in the region during the next two days.The rainfall began in the morning across all parts of the Kashmir valley. It continued intermittently throughout the day.All districts of the Kashmir valley received the downpour with reports of snowfall in the higher mountainous reaches, an official of the state meteorological department said.The downpour significantly brought down the mercury and the day’s temperature took a drastic plunge causing wintry cold in the region.The meteorological department in its forecast bulletin said the rainfall would continue for at least two more days on Wednesday and Thursday. The department said the downpour over the next two days would be widespread following which the intensity would decrease during the two subsequent days on Friday and Saturday.The department also issued a warning saying heavy rain and thundershowers were likely at isolated places in the Kashmir valley and Jammu division during the next two days. (TNS)

Srinagar: A video of a cricket match held at a local ground in the Kashmir valley has gone viral on social media in which players of one team are seen wearing Pakistan team’s uniform and singing the country’s anthem.The match was reportedly played at a ground in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, which along with two other districts goes to the polls later this week. The video of the match shows a speaker making an announcement that Pakistan’s national anthem will be played ahead of the start of the match, following which the two teams stand upright and listen to the anthem. While players of one team were wearing a white uniform, the other team members were wearing the green Pakistani uniform. The match was played on Sunday this week when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state to inaugurate a tunnel. — TNS

There is a well-oiled nexus between private hospitals and doctors that is pushing patients into cesareans they don’t need.

Srinagar: Raising concern over unnecessary cesarean deliveries that have reached epidemic proportions in Kashmir, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today said that majority of these surgeries are done for financial gains.
Terming this practice as unethical, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said that doctors are motivated by money to perform needless surgical deliveries.
There is a well-oiled nexus between private hospitals and doctors that is pushing patients into cesareans they don’t need.
A perception has been generated that cesareans are better than normal deliveries.
In order to convince perfectly healthy women to opt for elective cesarean section before their due date, doctors tell them about so called benefits of the surgery.
First time mothers are especially targeted because if a woman has a C-section once, she would need surgeries for subsequent pregnancies.
Doctors are paid much more money for a surgical procedure than a normal delivery and hospitals rake in money for patients’ longer stay and other related services.
Birth has become a lucrative business and private hospitals earn up to Rs 50,000 on a cesarean package.
A cesarean is less time consuming and more profitable.
A doctor would do 12 cesareans in the time it takes to attend one normal delivery.
In government hospitals also, surgical births have increased dramatically.
To learn the technique, postgraduate students perform cesareans when they are not required.
According to “WHO”, C-sections should only be performed if either the baby’s or mother’s life is in mortal peril.
While WHO states that cesarean delivery rates should be no higher than 10%, but the rates at Kashmir hospitals are as high as 80%.
Research suggests that unnecessary cesareans are risky for both mother and child.
Studies indicate that the chance of maternal mortality is 4-5 times more after an elective cesarean than a normal delivery.
In a study published in “BMJ”, Researchers found that cesarean babies were up to 4 times more likely to have respiratory problems.
“The natural birth is the ideal way and if it was better to deliver through the stomach, nature would have surely made it so”.

 

Srinagar: The University of Kashmir has figured among top 100 universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2017) released by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development on Monday.

The NIRF outlines a methodology to rank academic, technology and research institutions across the country on the basis of standard parameters.

The University of Kashmir has figured at Rank No. 73 (Point Score: 36.32) in the ranking system, where about 3000 institutions of higher education participated.

The parameters on which the University, like other institutions across the country, has been evaluated include Teaching, Learning & Resources; Research and Professional Practice; Graduation Outcomes; Outreach and Inclusivity and Peer Perception.

This marks a significant progress by the University of Kashmir in the last three years in the standard parameters used for the ranking.

The NIRF was approved by the MHRD and launched on 29th of September 2015.

The progress made by the University of Kashmir owes to a series of reforms put in place over the past few years, especially in teaching and research.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi expressed satisfaction over the progress made by the University and congratulated one and all, including the team of Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance (DIQA) for the achievement. He emphasized that the University shall continue to strive to improve its credentials in teaching and research in tune with the globally-set benchmarks.

If tunnels and roads would have been a substitute to freedom and dignity, then British should have never left India as it had developed Indian infrastructure enormously.

Those who ‘sided with British’ can never understand the ethos of freedom struggle

Srinagar: Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Muhammad Yasin Malik on Sunday said roads and tunnels cannot make a nation change its track. 

“If tunnels and roads would have been a substitute to freedom and dignity, then British should have never left India as it had developed Indian infrastructure enormously. People who sided with British during Indian freedom struggle can never understand the ethos of freedom struggle and psyche of freedom lovers,” Malik, according to party statement, said reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertions at Udhampur today. 

“The statement of Indian Prime Minister that ‘Kashmiris should choose between terrorism and tourism and that youth striving for freedom are misguided’ is absurd. British ruled India for more than 200 years and during that period they developed Indian infrastructure enormously. It was British who developed Indian railway system and irrigation canals that are until now benefitting whole subcontinent and if the standards of Modi Ji were to be applied then British should never have left Indian neither should have Gandhi, Nehru, Subash Chander Bose, Baghat Singh and Moulana Azad strived for the freedom of India,” Malik said.  

“Our reply to Modi Ji is the same that was given by Gandhi ji to a British envoy who had posed same type of question to him that how can poor Indian survive independently, Gandhi had replied that he would prefer a non-competent poor independent rule over a competent and wealthy forcibly controlled nation,” he said.  

“Modi Ji should understand that roads and tunnels cannot make a nation change its track neither can intimidations and oppressions deter a nation that has resolved to end forcible control from perusing its righteous path. Kashmiri youth are most learned and competent enough to compete with the rest of the world but Indian oppression unleashed against them has deprived them a chance to excel,” Malik added.

Srinagar: Sameer Kaul, former spokesman of the PDP, who yesterday joined the National Conference (NC), today accused his former party of not fulfilling its promise to resettle Kashmiri Pandits and said they had been left at the mercy of the Centre.Kaul made an emotional address before the media in the city here as he tried to galvanise support for the NC ahead of the upcoming bypoll for two parliamentary constituencies in Kashmir. He lashed out at the PDP, which he had previously represented as its national spokesman, and accused it of not doing anything in the interest of Kashmiri Pandits.He described the NC as a “movement” and said his joining the region’s oldest political party was his “homecoming”.“The National Conference still has relevance even though it has made mistakes in the past. It is relevant because it has been a movement which represented the aspirations of the underdeveloped and poor in Kashmir,” he said.Kaul had joined the PDP in 2011. He was subsequently assigned the task of the party’s national spokesman. He resigned from the PDP in 2015, immediately after it formed a coalition government with the BJP. Kaul also accused the PDP of “stealing from the plate” of separatists by hijacking their agenda. — OC

Srinagar: The separatist group led by Syed Ali Geelani today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act as a statesman and take brave steps that would pave the way for the “overall development of India and peace in the subcontinent”.The statement issued by the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference also termed Kashmir as a “serious and sensitive political issue”.“The construction of roads or inaugurations of tunnels are of lesser importance. However, it is hard to come up to the expectations and accept hard realities,” the Hurriyat said, referring to the PM’s inauguration of the Chenani-Nashri tunnel today. The party said the tunnel “is a good step, however, it won’t help or serve any substitute for the aspirations of youth”.The separatist faction said the shutdown, called jointly by three separatist groups, including the faction led by Geelani, was an “eye-opener and serves as a message that the Kashmir issue can’t be solved or shelved through the cosmetic approach.”In a rare reconciliatory message, however, the separatist group asked the PM “to take brave steps and act as statesman”. “This will pave the way for the overall development in India and peace in the subcontinent. It will prove helpful for South Asia and India too will get rid of many complex problems being faced at home,” it said.“Mr Modi has two options, either follow his predecessors with closed eyes or act as a statesman and make history by taking bold steps,” it said. “There is nothing extraordinary in opening roads. Anybody can throw open these tracks and tunnels. However, realising realities and using wisdom for resolution needs extraordinary willpower and determination,” it said.