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Srinagar: Army on Sunday said that five security men including a colonel and a major besides a police officer were killed after they “successfully extricated civilians held hostage by militants” in Chanjimullah Rajwar area of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

“Based on the intelligence input that militants were taking the civilian inmates of a house in Changimul, Handwara of Kupwara district hostage, a joint operation was launched by Army and JK Police on 02 May 2020,” army’s Srinagar based spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia in a statement issued here said.

A team comprising of five Army and JK Police personnel entered the target area occupied by the militants to evacuate the civilians, the spokesman said.

“The team of Army and JK Police entered the target area, and successfully extricated the civilians. However, during the process, the team was subjected to heavy volume of fire by the militants,” the spokesman said.

In the ensuing fire fight, two militants were eliminated and the team of five Security Forces Personnel comprising of two Army officers, two Army soldiers and one JK Police Sub Inspector attained martyrdom in the service to the Nation,” the spokesman added.

Srinagar: A woman from red zone area who delivered baby at Lal Ded (LD) hospital in Srinagar on Friday night has been tested positive for Novel Coronavirus on Saturday.

A senior health official at LD hospital told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that two doctors and eight nurses have been put under quarantine after the lady was tested positive for COVID-19.

He said that a pregnant lady from Achabal area was taken to a local hospital in Achabal wherefrom she was shifted to Maternity and Child Care hospital Anantnag. The authorities there too referred her to JVC Bemina following which she visited LD hospital on Friday.

She was shifted from all hospitals for the reason that she belonged to red zone area. However at LD hospital, she concealed her red zone history with a reason if she will disclose her history, doctors won’t treat her, he said, adding that she was treated as normal patient.

He said she should have been treated locally and then shifted to JVC Bemina but shifting her to LD hospital without informing about her history has put whole LD at risk. He said her sample was taken at Achabal on 30th March and today she has been tested positive for Novel COVID-19. She has now been shifted to JVC Bemina, he said.

Sources said after soon after reports came that she has been tested positive for civid-19, panic gripped LD hospital and many of her close contacts were put under quarantine, their samples were taken whose reports are yet to come –(KNO)

Langate: Panic has gripped the residents of Gonipora area of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district after a barber tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Sources told, that the barber who tested positive on Friday was regularly attending the customers and would visit different places to make hair and beard of people.

“He had come in contact with number of people including his family members, customers and other people,” sources said.

Official sources disclosed that the family members of barber have been to various places during last few days and his wife and sister were also allowed to move out of red zone area.

“The contacts of barber are uncountable and the real challenge now is to track all of them and may have contracted the deadly virus after meeting the barber,” officials said.

Sources also said that the barber a few days ago has made the hair and beard of health worker who was tested positive on April 25 last month.

A top health official told that it’s the failure of those who were assigned to look after the red zone and not to allow the people come out of the containment zone. “The barber was allowed to work for days without any precautions.”

He said the containment zone should be sealed completely, there should be no movement or activity to ensure zero transmission but the failure is to the extent that even barber’s close contacts have visited several places leaving all in distress.

Block Medical Officer, Zachaldara, Dr. Tahir Sajad told that so far only 8 contacts of barber have been traced but they are working on it as local rapid response team (RRT) is on it.

He said the barber is contact of the health worker but he belongs to Gonipora block and they are also communicating with the teams there to track the possible contacts.

Meanwhile, deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Anshul Garg informed that samples of 44 suspects were collected today based on contact tracing in red zone ITI Handwara and process shall continue to break the chain.

He said that 2 more patients have recovered in Kupwara today thus reducing the total number of active cases to 32. Pertinently, 55 people have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Kupwara district of which 23 have recovered with no fatality. (KNO)

Market checking suqads nowhere in-sight

Srinagar: The consumers here said that vendors resort to “open loot” leaving the people fuming.

People here in the Srinagar city alleged that vegetable sellers, fruit and street vendors resort to open black-marketing by selling fruits, vegetables at the prices of their choice even as many mutton and poultry sellers were also found selling mutton and poultry at much higher rates than the one fixed by the government.

“I went to buy some vegetables and found that tomatoes were sold at Rs 40 per kg, cabbage and Raddish each 40, Saag 50. Isn’t this an open loot,” said Habib-ullah, a resident of Bemina Chowk, Srinagar.

Many people echoed similar views and stated that there is no check by the government as the street vendors and vegetable sellers are selling things at their own choice.

“Look at the mutton dealers; they are selling meat at the rate of Rs 600 per kg while as government rate is Rs 450 only. One dozen bananas are sold at Rs 100 and watermelon at Rs 40 per Kg,” said Gulshan Ara, a customer, who had reached Batamaloo to buy fruit for her children.

The black-marketing has peaked in Kashmir at a time when people are in tight grip of panic and fear due to the pandemic Covid-19 that has left the entire world by a storm.

Ghulam Muhammad Khan, an elderly street vendor said that he has a family to feed and the lockdown will leave him and his family starved. “I have kept less profit for fruit and vegetables while others are selling the same items at much higher rates. God is watching everything, if we won’t change ourselves at this time of crisis, we will never change then,” said white-bearded Khan with wrinkles on his face visible.

He said there should have been special teams to check how vendors are fleecing people but none is visible on ground.(KINS)

Div com appeals people to cooperate, ‘lockdown is for your safety not to prevent any law & order issue’

Srinagar: As the deadly coronavirus is spreading fast in Kashmir valley, the Divisional commissioner P. K Pole Saturday made a fervent appeal to the people to follow the lockdown orders of the government to save themselves.

“We are trying our level best to prevent spread of Covid-19 in the valley. People must understand that this lockdown is not for preventing any law and order issue, but it is to save lives,” Divisional commissioner told news agency KINS.

He said that many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. “Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request you to follow all the directions,” he said.

Sources said that at several places people were seen roaming and gathering, as a consequence of which directions have been passed to police and district administration to act tough which may include lodging FIRs against erring citizens.

The Divisional commissioner said that the administration was taking all the possible steps to keep the people safe and that people need to cooperate.

“There will be strict restrictions in the areas declared red zones and the people will stay in their homes to ensure complete lockdown. Strict action will be taken against those who violate the prohibitory orders,” he said.

According to officials, people are thronging markets particularly after the deployment is lifted which is clear violation of lockdown as it is meant for 24 hours.

Authorities have booked dozens of people for violating government orders aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Reliable sources in the administration revealed that whosoever trespasses the lockdown will face a huge fine or a jail term of at least six months.

Official sources privy to the administration’s decision said that if people do not abide by the lockdown orders which have been imposed across Jammu and Kashmir in view of the rising coronavirus cases in the valley, the violators will face huge fine and even could be lodged to jail.

“Whosoever irrespective of his/her official position/status will face the huge fine or a jail term upto six months,” an official, privy to the decision revealed. “There is no room for any exemption. Everybody has to obey and fully abide the government’s orders and decisions as they are aimed at the security of people.”

It is to mention here that the administration Saturday said that the entire Valley will be treated as red zone and no relaxation except those permissible in such cases will be allowed. The decision comes in the wake of the two-week-long extension in the national lockdown beginning on Monday.

Divisional commissioner has said that there is very little difference between the red and the orange zones given the type of restrictions to be imposed and the level of caution to be exercised.

“We cannot afford to lower the guard at this time. All the ten districts of the Valley will be treated as the red zone till further orders,” he had said.

Interestingly no district in the Jammu division has been classified as the red zone as all the ten districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur, Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda and Kishtwar have been classified as orange zone. (KINS)

Join hands to help poor, downtrodden in society

Srinagar: As the novel coronavirus, the harbinger of panic in the valley Imran’s fervent appeal to people of the valley is to stay at homes.

Imran said that staying at home is the best act of patriotism one can practice at this point when the Covid-19 cases are spiralling every day in Kashmir.”When the timely extension of lockdown was announced by the centre , Imran in his statement said, ‘Stay wherever you are’. If we don’t follow this during the lockdown, it will not be successful exercise, and we will fail in the fight against this virus,”.

In his statement, Imran said that ‘Disturbance and lockdown due to Covid-19 have affected the lives of daily wagers and other poor people. It is our moral and social responsibility to help needy people at the moment by providing them with necessities of life’.

Imran has urged the general public to support the affected families morally and financially. He said ‘It is the time for all of us to show respect, generosity, humanity and to help on a voluntary basis so that it will reach to every needy family.

We should join hands and pool our resources to help the economically unstable section of society’.

He lastly said that ’The only way to defeat coronavirus by the people is to show patience by staying at home and that persistence will wipe off this virus very soon inshallah’.