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Govt decides to order testing of edible oils over cancer link

Srinagar: With the reports that edible oils consumed in Jammu and Kashmir, contain cancer links, the government has decided to order state-wide testing of edible oils
One of the senior officials of the State Drug and Food Control Organization told KNS, that raids will be held in all major outlets of edible oils in the state with the aim to identify and punish distributers and manufacturers producing adulterated cooking oil refined from low quality and discarded rapeseeds.
“I want to inform you that concrete steps have already been taken in this regard. We have taken open samples for lab testing from top brands. We will send the samples to referral laboratories in Kolkata and Ghaziabad for precise testing. If any of the brands are found adulterated with harmful and substandard oil, their outlets and industrial units will be immediately sealed,” said the official.
Sources said that most of the top oil brands available in the market are under scrutiny.
It is to mention here that in the recent past ,edible oils in Jammu and Kashmir were found containing recycled oils and oils extracted from discarded rapeseeds, which contain highly toxic carcinogenic substance including ‘dropsin’ and ‘aflatoxin.’
Sources said that apart from edible oils markets are flooded with the milk and milk products containing chemicals such as detergents—the trend that experts say is creating a health catastrophe.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in one of its reports, said detergents are a cause of food poisoning and gastro-intestinal complications. Other common additives to milk impair the functioning of various organs of the body, cause heart problems and cancer, it said.
It is to mention here that Jammu and Kashmir High Court had directed the Government to provide full particulars of outside companies supplying food items to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Commissioner Food Safety shall provide full information and particulars of those food manufacturers, suppliers, persons, companies who originate from outside the state and supply food items to Jammu and Kashmir,” a division bench of Justices Muzaffar Hussain Attar had said in its order.
The court had expressed displeasure over non implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act. “Money power has taken control of everything now. Few people have made empire out of food adulteration, they want quick buck and for it they can go (stoop) to any extent,” the court had observed. (KNS)

Srinagar: Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan has summoned BSNL General Manager Saleem Beg and Deputy General Manager Mufti Musharib Gul directing them to explain within a week’s time why the subscribers have been put to inconvenience.
Khan has directed the officials to file response within week’s time in his office.
Taking cognizance of a senior accredited journalist’s complaint, addressed to union Minister of Telecommunications Ravi Shankar Prasad with copies to DGP J&K and Divisional Commissioner Kashmir.
The complaint is about “unnecessary delay” in Operationalisation of Broadband services to subscriber.
The respondents have been directed to produce records of all Broadband activations of the year 2016 on November 21, this year.
The subscriber has complained that the BSNL Kashmir officers have taken undue benefit of the suspension of internet on mobile phones in the last four months of the Burhan turmoil and fleeced the subscribers.
It has been alleged that Broadband service is activated on the phones of only those subscribers who grease the palms of the BSNL officers.
The complainant has pointed out that the Broadband service was not activated on his landline phone even 16 days after the security key was allotted to him and his modem was configured.
He has complained that being in nexus with two private service providers, the BSNL officers force the applicants to approach the private operators whose business has multiplied manifold in the last four months.
When the applicants approach the BSNL officers for redressal of their grievances, they refuse to meet them and also do not respond to phone calls or text messages. Their juniors say that we are not working under the State government. (KNS)

Srinagar: Hurriyat (M) Saturday strongly condemned the ruling regime and its police force for their inhuman and vengeful attitude towards the youth and children arrested arbitrarily during the current agitation and lodged in various jails across the valley.
“A Legal team of the amalgam headed by Advocate Ajaz Dar including Aamir Masoodi, Showkat Dar and Mudasir Dar who have been visiting various jails across the valley said that government has deliberately put prisoners belonging to one district in jails in another district in order to harass them and their families and inconvenience travel and meeting them as much as possible. During their visit to sub jail Baramulla where many inmates were on a hunger strike after they were attacked and ruthless beating by the police inside the prison some days back, for demanding medical help for a seriously ill prisoner,” said spokesperson in a statement to Kashmir Today.
“The prisoners accused that in their rage the police personnel burnt and destroyed their belonging clothes bedding shoes etc and were punishing them further by refusing to provide any heating arrangement against the biting cold in prison. The team said that inmates in all jails they visited accused the authorities of persecuting them in every way possible and refusing to provide basic facilities like heating, blankets and adequate bedding to them,” they added.
He said that while Kashmiris know that that the ruling regime treats them as an enemy for demanding their political right and “illegally and arbitrarily detains them in jails and detention centres but as per human and legal norms it is mandatory upon the government to provide these political prisoners basic human facilities and not mistreat abuse and punish them in prisons.”
He said that however much the ruling regime and their masters might try to inflict pain and suffering upon the people of Kashmir, let them be clear that people of Kashmir are determined and adamant on achieving their right to decide their destiny and be their own masters.”
The spokesperson denounced the ruling regime for the continuous house arrest of its Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq ,Hurriyat leader, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and Hurriyat (M) Media Adviser, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam who was hospitalised as his health has deteriorated considerably due to his continued house arrest and the failure of authorities in providing him medical treatment, which the conglomerate said was nothing but political vendetta.
“For sabotaging the programmes of unified resistance leaders, the ruling class was using brutal and oppressive tactics and had unleashed a reign of terror on peaceful protestors in Sopore, Zaingeer, Gulshan Chowk, Papachan and Aloosa Bandipora, which was the worst example of state terrorism,” he added. 

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said the “emerging scenario” in the state can be addressed best by following the vision of late CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, asserting that her party’s agenda has always been dialogue and discourse and not “warmongering”. 

“My party’s agenda has always been dialogue and discourse and not warmongering. The emerging scenario in Jammu & Kashmir and the subcontinent can be addressed best by executing and following the vision of late Mufti sahib,” she said.

Addressing a meeting of party’s district and zonal presidents of Jammu province here yesterday,she said the situation of past few months in the state and the consequent acrimonious relations between India and Pakistan could be resolved by implementing the political philosophy of ex-J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. 

‘Mehbooba is working on series of reformative measures to empower people’

Srinagar: Invoking the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s “vision and commitment” to address the impending issues of governance, economic stability and political resolution of Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and Education Minister, Naeem Akhtar Saturday said the recent “unfortunate” events in the region have reinvigorated the debate over the ideas put forth by the late leader.

“Mufti Saheb always believed that for permanent and lasting peace to be established in the South Asian region reconciliation and dialogue is imperative. The unfolding of recent events on borders or within the Valley has once again demonstrated that any sort of violence and escalation is counterproductive and dangerous,” he said while addressing a workers convention in Ganderbal, a PDP statement said.

Appealing for broader consensus and shunning of rhetoric, Akhtar said the roadmap for peace has already been laid out and envisaged by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and hoped that voices of reason and sanity are heard so as to prevent further loss of human lives and economic destabilisation.

He said during the last fourth months, the people of Kashmir have suffered immensely as a consequence of plots of nefarious elements.

“And now it is high time to introspect and analyse that how violence has and will serve the purpose of resolution and addressing the day-to-day issues of the people.”

Akhtar said the PDP has from the very onset stood against any sort and form of violence and this is the fundamental objective of the idea propagated by Mufti Saheb.

“Nothing can be achieved by working against the cause of peace as has been established by the past series of events,” he added.

He said while the state of Jammu and Kashmir is faced with many challenges the government headed by Ms Mehbooba Mufti is working on series of reformative measures to empower the people of the state, and assured that the agenda of development and good governance will be implemented as soon as the situation gets normalised completely.

Lauding the efforts of the party workers for braving all odds and staying firmly with the idea and principles of the PDP, he said that our collective efforts have succeeded in stabilising the situation, and there is a lot that needs to be done to restore the dignity and livelihood of the common man.

Srinagar: To safeguard the interests of students, Private Schools Association of Kashmir (PSAK) Saturday decided to provide provisional promotion to all classes except class 10th and 12th with immediate effect.

In a joint meeting of Executive Members of PSAK and Coaching Centres Association (CCA) of Kashmir held under the chairmanship of G N Var, a number of other decisions were also taken to save the precious time of students.

“As of now, we have decided to give provisional promotion to all classes up to Class 9th and class 11th till a final decision is taken,” said Var in a statement issued this afternoon. “This will give an immediate relief to lakhs of students and their parents who are living in a state of dilemma due to the turmoil.”

The Association said that students are living under severe stress and the provisional promotion will provide them a direction to move forward. “Now the new syllabus and books will be issued and students will prepare for new session” said Var.

It was also decided in the meeting that Schools will open during deal period to start new admissions and issue assignments and do other academic work. “Our schools will work overtime during the deal period to help, counsel and guide the students,” said Var.

Regarding Coaching Centres it was also decided to provide helping hand to affected students. “All coaching centres have decided to help the needy students particularly those affected during the turmoil. Any affected student should contact the CCA and we will waive off his fee. In addition to it we will also provide free coaching to such students,” said Var.

Both PSAK and CCA called on the government to immediately release all the arrested students so that their life and career is not ruined. (CNS)

‘We believe in religious ethos, we are not hypocrites like Indian rulers’

Srinagar: The Joint resistance leadership led by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, in response to the request of Sikh community, has postponed the “Lal Chowk Chaloo” program on Monday the 14th of November 2016.

In a statement issued here, the Hurriyat leaders said that they believe in the golden ethos of religious freedom and tranquility.

They said that age old strong social and communal fabric stands testimony to their rich and glorious past.

Giving details, the pro-freedom leaders said that on 14 November 2016 only “Lal Chowk Chalo” program has been postponed rest of the day’s activities remain unchanged.

“We don’t believe in hypocrisy and dualism like the puppets of Indian rulers, who lockdown the Mosques here but participate in the religious activities of others, proving the intimacy and familiarity to their coalition partners,” they said.

The leaders appealed to the people to follow the programs and courageously defeat the nefarious designs of those who want to sabotage it for their own interests. (PTK)

Srinagar: J&K and Himachal Pradesh are all set to witness season’s first spell of rains and thundershowers, reports quoting Skymet Weather said on Saturday.

All thanks to the fresh Western Disturbance which is now affecting the Western Himalayas.

Moving eastwards, the system is presently marked over North Pakistan and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir. It is likely to give scattered snowfall and rain over the higher reaches of both the states, while middle and lower region would see light rains.

Though, the region has been witnessing on and off Western Disturbances but so far, no system has been active enough to give any weather activity.

Not only this, maximum temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh will now drop significantly but minimums will increase marginally due to increased levels of humidity.

At present, both the states have been witnessing cloudy sky conditions. This will also mark the onset of winters over North India.

According to the weathermen at Skymet Weather, Western Disturbances between November to February tend to affect the lower latitudes. Further with the frequency increasing, we can now expect these systems to start affect the weather over the hilly region of North India.

Meteorologists predict season’s first widespread snow by the end of November or early December.