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Srinagar, Aug 25 (KNO): Influenza expert and Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) President, Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan on Tuesday tested negative for COVID-19.

DAK President, who is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at GMC Srinagar, had tested positive for the virus on August 12 after showing symptoms of the disease.

“Today, I tested negative for the virus. It is a big relief,” said DAK President Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan in a communiqué issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

“2 weeks back while I was attending COVID-19 patients at SMHS hospital, I developed unusual symptoms – crazy fatigue, body aches and terrible headache. My test result came positive and I immediately quarantined myself. Next day, I was hit by nasal congestion, sore throat and joint pains. On the third day, I had profuse sweating, chills and an increase in heart rate. I was completely exhausted with no energy and was feeling sleepy all the time. The symptoms lasted for nine days,” he said.

“On day 10, I had a sense of well being when my appetite came and I regained my sense of smell and taste which had gone,” Dr Nisar said.

“But, all along my blood oxygen levels remained in the normal range,” he added.

Dr Nisar said it was a stressful period. “When you are a doctor, you know about the disease, you know about the complications and you know about the unpredictability of the virus. And when you have seen how patients deteriorate and die. All this was going in my mind and I was under a constant state of fear,” he said.

“What got me out of illness were the prayers from people of Kashmir valley. That gave me the strength to fight the disease. I am thankful and grateful to the people for their blessings and good wishes,” he said.

“I urge people to take the virus seriously as anyone, anytime can get it. With no specific treatment and no vaccine yet, the only tool to prevent the contraction of the virus is to take precautions and follow the health guidelines,” said Dr Nisar—(KNO)

PTI

Jammu: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet on Tuesday in a special court here against 19 people including Masood Azhar, the chief of banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, for planning and carrying out a deadly suicide attack on a CRPF convoy that left 40 personnel dead in Pulwama, South Kashmir, in 2019.

The “blind case” was solved by the NIA after piecing together the electronic evidence and statements of terrorists and their sympathisers arrested in different cases, officials said.

The 13,500-page chargesheet names people who were arrested from Pulwama for providing shelter and shooting the last video of Adil Dar, the suicide bomber who used around 200 kgs of explosives in the vehicle that rammed into the CRPF convoy on February 14 last year killing 40 personnel near Lethpora in South Kashmir.

This case, whose probe was led by NIA Joint Director Anil Shukla, also brings to light the use of e-commerce platforms by the planners in the terror module for purchase of high-end batteries, phones and some chemicals.

As many as seven people have been arrested so far by the NIA in this case, the officials said.

Besides Azhar, those charge sheeted include seven terrorists who were killed in various encounters and four absconders, two of whom are still hiding in Jammu and Kashmir one of them a local and the other a Pakistani national.

Two relatives of Masood Azhar — Abdula Rauf and Ammar Alvi — have been named in the chargesheet as the main conspirators behind the case. The dead include a nephew of JeM terrorist Mohammed Umar Farooq who had entered India through natural caves at the international border in Sambha in late 2018.

PTI

Srinagar/Jammu: With 701 new cases, the COVID-19 tally in Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 33,776, while 14 more fatalities were reported, officials said on Tuesday.

Officials said 11 deaths were reported from Kashmir and three persons died in Jammu region in the past 24 hours till 5 PM on Tuesday

The death toll in the union territory has now reached 638.

They said 701 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from the union territory, taking the total number of infected persons to 33,776.

There are 7,544 active cases of the coronavirus, while 25,594 patients have recovered so far, they said.

Among the new cases, 139 were from the Jammu region, while 562 were from Kashmir, they said.

Srinagar district reported the highest number of 208 new cases, followed by 76 in Jammu district, the officials said.

This was for the fourth time in past five days that the number of fresh COVID cases in Srinagar district was more than 200.

In the Jammu division, three more patients including a woman died of coronavirus, taking the death toll due to the infection to 50, officials said.

The Poonch Deputy Commissioners office was closed for visitors after three employees tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, and the public has been asked to contact the officials over the phone in case of any urgent issue. The three employees, including an operator of the deputy commissioner, were among the 139 fresh cases detected across 10 districts of the Jammu region, the officials said.

They said two residents, aged 53 and 63, died at Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital over the past 24 hours, while a 43-year-old woman died at GMC Kathua on Tuesday. The three were suffering from various ailments and tested positive last week, the officials said. Jammu division has so far recorded a total of 7,413 cases, of whom 5,776 have already been cured and discharged from the hospitals, the officials said adding there are only 1,587 active cases in the division.

Srinagar: Police on Tuesday took a strong cognizance of violating burial protocol of one namely Mohammad Afzal Sheikh of Batapora Handwara and registered a case against the relatives of deceased who died of Covid-19 a day ago.

According to police spokesperson, on 24.08.2020 one Mohammad Afzal Sheikh son of Ghulam Ahmad Sheikh resident of Batpora was admitted in SMHS Hospital Srinagar on 23.08.2020 who died on 24.08.2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic. The dead body of the deceased was brought to his home in an Ambulance by the health authorities for burial purposes as per the guidelines laid down with the regard to Covid-19 pandemic by the Government.

“However the relatives of the deceased gathered in a large number and did not adhere to the guidelines laid down by the Government from time to time. Besides the violators also threw some stones upon the Ambulance and Sumo deputed with the dead body, resulting damage to both the vehicle.

This act of the public gathered at the funeral resulted in great threat to the public health”, police said.

In this regard, acting strictly against the violators a case FIR No 79/2020 U/Sec 147, 188, 427 IPC has been registered in Police Station Kralpora and investigation was set into motion.

Police reiterated its appeal and advised general public to adhere strictly upon the guidelines laid down by the Government with regard to Covid-19 pandemic otherwise there will be a wide spread cases of Covid-19 in the UT and it will be an uphill task for the administration to control the pandemic. (KNS)

PTI

Banihal: Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended early Tuesday after heavy rains triggered a massive landslide in Ramban district, blocking the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, officials said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic (National Highway), Ajay Anand said the landslide struck the highway at Dalwas around 5 am, also damaging a portion of the road.

The agencies concerned have started the road clearance operation to restore the highway, he said adding the restoration work would take time given the damage to the road.

Traffic was stopped at Qazigund in south Kashmir following the landslide, the officials said.

The traffic on the highway plies from Jammu and Srinagar alternatively in view of the ongoing work on the four-laning project.

Light motor vehicles from both sides were also stopped at various places due to the closure of the highway, the officials said, adding the stranded vehicles would be given priority once the highway is restored.

PTI

Jammu: Three members of a family were among four killed in separate incidents of landslides following heavy rains in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Tuesday.

Khalil Ahmad (30), his wife Raksana Begum (25) and their relative Mohammad Aslam were killed after a landslide in upper reaches of Khour in Mahore area on Monday night, a police official said.

He said the three had gone to the area for cattle grazing and had set up their shelter near the mouth of a natural cave. Several of their animals were also killed in the incident.

The bodies of the deceased were recovered this morning and are being handed over to their families after completion of legal formalities, the official said.

In another incident, the official said 40-year-old Wali Mohammad was killed in a landslide in Khandi Gali Dhok on Monday.

The deceased was grazing his cattle when the landslide occurred, he said, adding five buffaloes were also killed in the incident.