Srinagar, Mar 18 (KNS): Incarcerated PDP chief’s daughter Iltija Mufti on Wednesday stated that PDP chief’s release may get prolonged as party’s stand over Article 370 is “unflinching”. She said Government of India cannot suppress aspirations of people of J&K by coercive methods. Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Iltija Mufti said that Mehbooba’s release may take further time due to her party’s stand over Article 370.
“Mehbooba Ji’s detention may get prolonged due to PDP’s unwavering stand over Article 370”, said Iltija. She said Government of India cannot suppress people’s aspirations by coercive measures and imposing curbs and restrictions.
She reiterated that the abrogation of Article 370 on August last year was “illegal”, “unconstitutional” and “undemocratic” step by Modi led BJP government.
She also said though some PDP leaders and activists got released by authorities but they are unable to carryout political activities as authorities have imposed curbs over their movement and have taken them into house arrest.
According to Iltija, Government of India has considered people of J&K as “bugs” and “beggars” and it knows only muscle power to deal with the opponents.
She indirectly hinted out at some political figures and said New Delhi is fetching timely interest from some “blue-eyed” politicians who have been allowed to carry out political activities freely amid chocked situation.
When asked about visit of Dr Farooq Abdullah, She said the visit was purely humane and far from politics. Iltija said, NC president while visiting our residence, expressed sympathy with me and my grandmother. “At the occasion, Dr Abdullah exhorted upon joint effort and unity among regional parties to deal with the current political situation”, Iltija added. (KNS).
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
MHA Says Taking All Preventive Measures, 4040 Drug-Related Arrests Made In Last 3 Years
Aqib Ahmad
Srinagar, March 18 (GNS): Is government aware that a large number of youths addicted to drugs have reached at near “death condition” and some of them have died in Jammu and Kashmir?
This was among four questions posed to the government in parliament on alarming use of drug addiction amongst youths in Jammu and Kashmir.
The other questions by Congress parliamentarian and former Madhya Pradesh minister Motilal Vora includes whether Government was aware that the business of drugs is spreading quickly in Jammu and Kashmir and a large number of youths have fallen to this menace. Besides, he had sought details of measures taken against it.
Responding to these questions, Minister of State G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said 2855 drug seizures cases were registered and 4040 drug-related arrested made under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in last three years.
Quoting Narcotics Control Bureau, the minister said that last year 975 drug seizure cases were registered and 1425 drug-related arrests made. Both seizure as well as arrests was higher than last two years. In 2017, he said, there were 960 seizure cases and 1330 persons arrested. In 2018, 910 seizure cases were registered and 1330 persons arrested.
He said the Government of India and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir are taking all preventive and enforcement measures to curb drug addiction.
“The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), Government of India is implementing a National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025,” he said, according to GNS. The Plan, he said, aims at reduction of adverse consequences of drug abuse through a multipronged strategy.
“The activities under the NAPDDR, inter-alia, include awareness generation programmes in schools, colleges, universities, workshops, seminars , with parents, community based intervention programmes for vulnerable adolescent and youth in the community, provision of treatment facilities and capacity building of service providers.”
Under the scheme of ‘Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drugs) Abuse’, MoSJE is also providing central assistance for one de-addiction centre in Jammu & Kashmir namely, ‘Society for the Promotion of Youth and Masses’.
“With financial assistance from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi has started mentoring and supporting the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar in providing drug addiction treatment services as part of the Drug Treatment Clinic (DTC) scheme,” he said.
Further, he said, as per the Jammu and Kashmir Drug De-addiction Policy (11 January 2019), many steps have been taken to address the menace of drugs.
Amongst other things, he said, de-addiction centers have been established in existing facilities.
“The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has five full-fledged de-addiction centers running in five medical colleges, which provide both outpatient and inpatient de-addiction services. These de-addiction centers are located in Government Medical Colleges (GMC) Srinagar, Jammu, Baramulla, Anantnag and Kathua.”
Besides, he said, 10 Police Drug de-addiction centers are also functional in Jammu and Kashmir, where a large number of drug addicted patients are being treated.
In order to train, sensitize and raise awareness, the minister said, the Department of Health and Medical Education of Jammu & Kashmir also conducts several programmes for youths. (GNS)
Tourism and aviation are vital to Dubai’s economy, which does not have the vast oil wealth of some of its neighbours
Middle East airline Qatar Airways laid off about 200 Filipino staff in Doha this week and rival Emirates asked pilots to take unpaid leave as the coronavirus outbreak hammers demand for travel. The state-owned airlines have had to slash dozens of flights, which are crucial for their Gulf hubs that millions of passengers pass through each year. Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello told Reuters on Wednesday that the government was trying to ascertain the “real cause” behind the unexpected decision to lay off the workers. Qatar Airways did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The layoffs were reported earlier by ABS-CBN. It said the Filipino employees, including engineers and maintenance staff, were laid off on Tuesday and others had also lost their jobs.
State-owned Qatar Airways had warned it would report its third consecutive loss this financial year, which ends this month, before the outbreak battered global travel demand.
Dubai’s Emirates has joined other airlines around world in asking pilots to take unpaid leave.
“You are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave,” the airline said in an internal email to pilots seen by Reuters.
Emirates, one of the world’s biggest international airlines, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Tourism and aviation are vital to Dubai’s economy, which does not have the vast oil wealth of some of its neighbours.
Emirates Group, which employed over 100,000 people, including about 4,000 pilots as of March 2019, asked staff to take unpaid leave earlier this month, although pilots were not included in the request then.
Emirates has told staff the coronavirus epidemic could be the biggest challenge it has faced in many years.
The airline has frozen recruitment and continues to cut flights as the situation worsens globally.
In response to a Reuters query as to whether the Dubai government would provide support to its state aviation entities, the state media office sent a statement from the emirate’s airport operator.
Dubai Airports said it was working with business partners to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus but could not comment further as commercial arrangements were confidential.
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways on Wednesday announced another raft of flight cancellations, including to India and Egypt.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Srinagar, Mar 18: As many as five restaurants were sealed by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday after being found violating the orders issued in wake of the deadly coronavirus epidemic.
According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Deputy Mayor SMC, Parvez Qadri said that five restaurants were sealed today after a drive was launched today in Srinagar.
He added that most of the restaurants had followed the orders, adding that some among them who were found violating the norms were sealed.
Qadri further stated that an order for the restaurants was already made public, adding that this all is being done to ensure safety of people – (KNO)
Srinagar: Despite ban on foreign tourists from entering Kashmir, the Government Wednesday allowed the entry of at least four foreign tourists including a couple from Italy into Kashmir Valley.
The entry of foreign tourists has been banned in Jammu and Kashmir as a precautionary measure to slow the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The order to ban the entry of foreign tourists was recently issued by Baseer Khan, the Adviser to the Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chanra Marmu.
Highly placed sources told Kashmir News Trust that four tourists landed at Srinagar Airport on Wednesday. Among those who arrived in Srinagar were a couple from Italy, a citizen from United States and one from Russia. Ironically, the authorities didn’t deport these tourists and allowed them to enter into Kashmir Valley.
Sources added that all the four tourists hired a cab outside Srinagar Airport and are staying somewhere in a house boat (name withheld) near Nehru Park.
COVID-19 has been declared an epidemic in Jammu and Kashmir, and surveillance personnel have been authorized to enter any premises to look for suspects infected with the Coronovirus.
District Development Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Chowdary said that all these tourists will be sent back from tomorrow. “There is nothing to worry. The advisory we issued last night but these tourists were already present in India and they have toured to Rajsthan and other areas. We have done proper screening but they will be sent back tomorrow,” District Development Commissioner told KNT.
‘Authorities asked to educate people on hygiene standards’
Srinagar, Mar 18: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan Wednesday said that Regular hand washing with soap is vital to fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. He said that it has been agreed by all, that personal hygiene is most reliable way to prevent the deadly Coronavirus. In a brief chat with Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) the health minister said, “People must use hand wash or soap to clean hands. They should clean hands multiple times a day if they are outside, at work or are involved in physical activity,” he said. He said that directions have been issued to all the states including the authorities in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to educate people on hygiene standards. The minister who is also a physician by profession said that it is advisable to all those who have low immunity, coughing and sneezing problems should cover their mouth with a mask and keep a distance with other people so that their mouth droplets do not infect other people. “People should not panic. Simple hand hygiene by cleaning hands multiple times can work to curtail the spread of the disease.” the minister said. It is to mention here that Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan also took to micro-blogging platform Twitter to encourage people to wash their hands as frequently as they possibly can throughout the day. He wrote “I request all citizens to take the safe hands challenge. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water kills# Coronavirus” Meanwhile the doctors across the India are of the opinion that that sanitizers and handwashes have similar properties to kill the germs. “The difference is only that hand sanitizers contain alcohol and do not require water while soaps and handwash have ingredients like hard chemicals that kill germs and require water,” one of the doctors told KINS.(KINS)
SRINAGAR, March 18: Around two years after being sacked for a controversial remark, former Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu prefers to remain silent over the Kashmir politics. Drabu was sacked in 2018 over a controversial comment that Kashmir is “not a political issue”. Around two years down the line, Drabu said he wanted to remain silent over the Kashmir politics. “I have left Kashmir in July. I don’t want to talk on Kashmir politics. I prefer to remain silent,” Drabu told Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) over phone from Mumbai,when asked about the developments that took place post August 5 in Jammu and Kashmir. Drabu, an economist, is known to have been pivotal in the crafting of a common agenda for the PDP-BJP alliance in the erstwhile state. Drabu was sacked from the then Mehbooba Mufti-led cabinet when he said, “Those who see Jammu and Kashmir as a conflict state, as a political issue …it’s a society which has social issues right now…It’s not a political issue as far as I can see, I think we are barking at the wrong tree for the last 57 years by talking about the politics of it, that the political situation has never improved. We seriously need to look at in terms of how it is a society that is in search for itself.” Subsequently, he left the PDP. Months later BJP also withdrew support from the Mehbooba Mufti-led government.(KINS)
“The picture that is being presented of this place (Jammu and Kashmir) is different from ground reality…
National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi on Wednesday said the picture that was being presented of Jammu and Kashmir was quite different from the ground reality and made a plea to the government that the situation in the union territory should be examined afresh.
“The picture that is being presented of this place (Jammu and Kashmir) is different from ground reality…I request that that situation there should be examined afresh,” he said during a discussion on the budget for Jammu and Kashmir in Lok Sabha.
Stating that tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir was suffering the most due to the internet blockade, he said that there was no arrangement for rehabilitation.
“They (BJP) say that the employment of around 70 per cent of the people in Jammu and Kashmir was dependent on agriculture. What is the kind of treatment which is being given to agriculture,” the MP questioned.
The handicraft industry, he said, was also affected. There should be dialogue with the stakeholders, he said.
Masoodi was of the view that the discussion of the budget for Jammu and Kashmir “should have been discussed in the state assembly”.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Air Vistara Spokesperson: We are temporarily suspending our international operations from March 20 to March 31. We have also temporarily adjusted domestic capacity for March & April in view of reduced demand. Customers booked on the affected flights will be fully refunded. ANI
DUBAI: As the fear of coronavirus spreads faster than the disease, raising more questions than answers globally, astrologers with their star perspectives are in the spotlight, with even the most die-hard sceptics giving them a listen-in.
Nothing can perhaps illustrate this better than one of the umpteen comments on a YouTube video on coronavirus by Indian astrologer Ashish Mehta that has gone viral.
“I always take astrology with a pinch of salt but this time, I really, really want it to be true,” says one sceptic after listening to the video.
The reason? As Mehta, who is highly sought after for his predictions, explains in the video, things will begin to look up from March 24, thanks to planetary movements, the result of which will begin to be felt by March 30. The advent of summer on April 13, he said, will only help matters, with a cure for coronavirus being approved and the world slowly, but surely, coming back to normalcy thereafter.
“A lot of people ask about the coronavirus these days. Out of curiosity or out of fear, everyone’s question remains, now what next?” says Mehta. “Any virus is born from the conjunctions of Rahu or Ketu (the invisible planets that denote the points of intersection of the paths of the sun and moon). Due to the combination of Guru (Jupiter) and Ketu, it intensifies.”
Mehta points to the planetary positions for the spread of coronavirus from China to the rest of the world. “But fortunately, on March 30, Guru is leaving Ketu’s alliance and entering Capricorn. That means after March 30, we will all be free from the effects of the coronavirus. This will start from 2.58pm on March 24 itself.”
Psyched out
The explanation is music to the ears as it spells early hopes for hundreds and thousands of residents, who like the rest of the world, have been psyched out by the novel coronavirus and its meteoric rise across the planet over the last few weeks.
“March 30? That’s not too bad, we all just need to hang in there,” says Leela Raman, a Dubai-based housewife.
“Let’s hope he is right,” says Ian Hammonds, a software engineer, also based in Dubai.
Transitions behind the upheaval According to some astrologers in the UAE, however, the wait for full relief may get a bit longer.
Dubai-based Acharya Sandeep Bhargava, astrologer and life coach, is looking at May 11 for the world to be at peace again.
Acharya Sandeep Bhargava
He attributes what is happening around us to the transitions of Saturn (on September 18 last year and January 24 this year) and Jupiter on November 5.
“These transitions collectively explain the upheaval around us. Also Mars was placed in its own house Scorpio which governs physical and mental health. All these together spell calamities, whether natural or man-made,” he says.
Another astrologer and Hindu priest in Dubai, Upendra Shastri, said, “Ketu is the main factor behind the creation of coronavirus. The astrological impact of the virus outbreak is said to have actually begun on November 5, 2019, when the planet Jupiter entered the house of Sagittarius.
Upendra Shastri
He said the combination of Ketu, Jupiter and Sagittarius has triggered the virus outbreak. “From December 14, 2019 to January 15, 2020, Jupiter remained in abeyance due to which the virus did not spread so much. But it is when Jupiter began to rise after January 15, the world began to see the impact of the virus.”
Cure for the virus
Shastri says Jupiter will be in Capricorn from March 30 until June 30. “When this happens, Jupiter becomes weak and the coronavirus is likely to become weak and we will see a cure for the virus during this period. Also the negative impact of the virus will be lowered during this period. Things are going to take a positive turn from May onwards.”
Fellow Hindu priest and astrologer Acharya Umesh, also based in Dubai, agrees that May is the time when there will be relief from coronavirus.
Acharya Umesh
“Rahu is passing through its own constellation. Rahu’s variance in the constellation is spreading poison all over the world. The spread of any type of virus is due to this. Rahu will depart from here on May 20. After this, the global situation will come under control.”
Staying positive
A fifth astrologer Raju Pandit says, “The important thing is to stay positive during a time like this. Things can only get better after something as trying as this.”
He says salutations to the sun are important as the new year with the summer months begins in mid-April.
“Let us pray and stay positive, the worst will soon be behind us,” he adds.
(Except headlines, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
