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Says only 20 % beds out of 11, 000 available are occupied in Valley hospitals

Srinagar: Amid rise in the number COVID-19 cases in Jammu & Kashmir, the government on Monday said that sufficient arrangements have been made to deal with the growing cases in the Valley.

Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr. Samir Mattoo said sufficient arrangements have been made in the Valley to tackle the mounting number of COVID cases in Kashmir.

“The department has made 11,000 beds available to tackle these cases,” he said.

Dr. Mattoo further stated that at present, only 20 per cent beds are occupied in the Valley hospitals.

He told KNO that there was no need to increase the number of COVID dedicated hospitals in the Valley at present as the department has got enough facilities.

Pertinently, the Kashmir Valley is witnessing a surge in the number of cases with the Director Health Services Kashmir informing that nearly 6,000 cases out of 8429 detected till Sunday evening belong to Kashmir division only.

The number of cases started increasing soon after the authorities ordered relaxation in the three-month-long lockdown. The lockdown was announced in the month of March with an aim to prevent the deadly Coronavirus from spreading—(KNO)

Baramulla: An Army man allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself dead with his service rifle in Boniyar area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday evening.

Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO that an Army man identified as S. Srinivas of Telangana shot himself while he was on duty at 226 Field Unit in Boniyar area of Baramulla.

Soon after the incident, his colleagues rushed to the spot and found him lying in a pool of blood, they said.

A police officer also confirmed the incident to KNO and said that a case has been registered in this regard while further investigation has been taken up—(KNO)

S: Amid surge in the coronavirus cases, people in Kashmir are not following COVID-19 guidelines.

Hundreds of people could be seen on the streets or on Boulevard along the banks of Dal Lake without wearing masks or maintaining social distance.

This is despite authorities having announced that wearing masks was mandatory in all public places.

However, rarely anyone could be seen wearing masks. “Looks hundreds of vendors are selling barbecues and fried fish on the banks of Dal Lake. Neither these sellers nor customers are wearing masks. I do wear a mask to protect myself but it won’t make any difference as less than 10 percent of people are wearing masks,” Imran Ahmad, a resident of Nishat told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

He said the government should take strict measures to ensure people wear masks. “If wearing a mask has been made mandatory they are why law enforcing agencies are not implementing these guidelines. Why don’t they fine those who are not following COVID guidelines,” he asked.

A spokesperson of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), in a statement on Monday, said that due to the onset of summer, there was a visible reduction in the wearing of masks in public places and also negligence in maintaining safe social distances.

“People had started thronging public parks and picnic spots which was a matter of grave concern and alarm. The situation gets worse on weekends and holidays,” the spokesperson said.

He said it was important to underline the importance of strictly following the COVID protocols as in many cases youth who themselves possess strong immune systems tend to infect other vulnerable sections of the society with weaker immune systems like the elderly or those with medical conditions.

The Chamber appealed to the members of the business community to renew the focus on strict adherence to regular sanitization and maintaining safe distances in their business establishments and markets.

“The Government had relaxed the guidelines to accommodate the genuine concerns of the business community but the responsibility of keeping the markets safe is to be equally shared by the respective business community as well,” he said.

KCC&I added that it needed to be noted that ignoring the threat of COVID could prove disastrous for the whole society.

“In addition, measures like keeping a safe distance of 2 metres, frequent washing of hands, proper wearing of N95 Masks, avoiding touching of eyes, nose and mouth, avoiding touching unsafe surfaces had proven to greatly reduce the chances of getting infected. Please take them seriously as mistakes can be dangerous and inflict heavy costs for the whole community,” it said.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole said it was mandatory to wear masks. “People should not come out of their homes without wearing masks. They should properly cover their mouth and nose. If people don’t wear masks, they will infect others. We are also raising awareness to ensure people wear masks,” Divisional Commissioner Kashmir told KINS. (KINS)

Uttar Pradesh: A coronavirus patient admitted in a government hospital here fled after giving a slip to the hospital staff, police said on Monday.

The patient, a resident of Revti area of Ballia, was admitted at the L 1 COVID hospital in Basantpur on July 2.

A COVID-19 patient fled from L 1 COVID hospital in Basantpur on Sunday, Virendra Yadav, SHO, Sukhpura said.

He said efforts are on to trace the patient.

Srinagar: A paramilitary BSF trooper died of covid-19 here on Monday, taking the fatality count due to the deadly virus in Jammu and Kashmir to 137.

The trooper from 33 Battalion died at BSF Sector Headquarters in Panthachowk , official sources said.

Previously, three persons including a 55-year-old woman from Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district died here.

Professor Farooq Jan, Medical Superintendent SKIMS Soura, told GNS the woman from Boniyar Uri passed away at 8 a.m. today.

“She was case of Rheumatic Heart Disease Associated with Congestive Cardiac Failure and Respiratory Tract Infection,” Professor Jan said. The quinquagenarian, he said, was in “IDB on high flow oxygen and was very sick.”

Earlier in the day two patients—56-year-old from Budgam and 90-year-old from Baramulla district, died here.

Regarding the 56-year-old man from Budgam district, Professor Jan said that he was suffering “HTN, CKD and bilateral Community acquired pneumonia.”

“The patient was also on dialysis as well. He expired today early morning at 4 am,” he said.

As regards the nonagenarian, a resident of Tangmarg area of Baramulla, Medical Superintendent CD hospital, Dr. Saleem Tak, said that he was admitted on June 26 and died at 2:00 a.m. today.

“He was suffering from hypertension, cardiac ailments and bilateral pneumonia,” he told GNS.

With the deaths, 137 people have succumbed to the virus in J&K— 123 from the Valley and 14 from Jammu division.

Srinagar district with 33 deaths has the highest fatalities followed by Baramulla (25), Kulgam (16), Shopian (13), Anantnag (11), Budgam (10), Jammu(8), Kupwara (7), Pulwama (four), Bandipora (three), Doda (2) while one death each has been reported from Ganderbal, Poonch, Udhampur, Rajouri and Kathua. (GNS)

Kulgam: A young girl in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district has alleged that she was raped by three government teachers.

Sources told news agency KNT that a young girl (name withheld) daughter of Muhammad Ayoub of Kulgam approached police station with a written complaint in which she alleged that three government teachers yesterday evening took her to orchards and raped her.

The girl has identified the accused teachers as Hilal Ahmed Dar S/o: Abdul Rahid of Chachmulla village, Nazir Ahmed Shah S/o: Mohiuddin Shah and Amir Farooq Wani both from Gandwani village.

Sources told KNT that all the accused are posted at Government Middle School

Shortly after receiving the complaint police registered an FIR vide number 109/2020 under section 366, 376 and arrested one of the accused. A police official said that one of the accused Hilal Dar has been arrested while efforts are on to nab the remaining two.

Meanwhile, locals staged a strong protest demanding stringent punishment to the culprits. They demand arrest of those two accused who are still at large. (KNT)

PTI

New Delhi: In the first sign of de-escalation of tension in eastern Ladakh, the Chinese Army has removed tents and started to withdraw its troops from Galwan Valley as decided during high-level talks between the two militaries, government sources said on Monday

Galwan Valley was the site of a violent hand-to-hand clash between the two militaries on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead

China’s People’s Liberation Army was seen removing tents and structures at patrolling point 14, the sources said, adding rearward movement of vehicles of Chinese troops was seen in the general area of Galwan and Gogra Hot Springs

They said disengagement of Chinese troops in the area has begun as per decisions arrived at during the Corps Commander-level talks

The sources said there was clear sign of withdrawal of structures and troops from the patrolling point 14 in Galwan Valley and that they are likely to move back more than a kilometre in the area

The sources said it would not be possible to know immediately how much distance the Chinese troops are going back and that there will be clarity only after a proper verification process is conducted

The clashes in Galwan Valley took place after Indian troops strongly opposed the erection of a surveillance post by the Chinese side near patrolling point 14

It is not immediately known whether the de-escalation initiative has also been started in the Pangong Tso area where the Chinese side has significantly enhanced its presence, particularly in areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8

On June 30, the Indian and Chinese armies held the third round of Lt General-level talks during which both sides agreed on an “expeditious, phased and step wise” de-escalation as a “priority” to end the standoff

The first round of the Lt General talks were held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley

However, the situation deteriorated following the Galwan Valley clashes as the two sides significantly bolstered their deployments in most areas along the LAC

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Ladakh during which he said the era of expansionism is over and that the history is proof that “expansionists” have either lost or perished, in comments which were seen as a clear message to China that India is not going to backoff and would deal with the situation with a firm hand

The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last seven weeks

The tension escalated manifold after killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details

Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in the last few weeks to ease tension

Following the Galwan Valley clashes, the Army has sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border besides moving in heavy weapons