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Srinagar: A 76-year-old man from Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, who had tested positive for coronavirus, died at a hospital here, taking the number of virus-related fatalities in the union territory to 94, officials said on Sunday.

The patient from Kulgam died at the Chest Diseases hospital here late on Saturday evening, the officials said.

They said the patient tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday at the SMHS hospital and was shifted to the CD hospital later in the evening.

The patient had multiple underlying conditions and died soon after being admitted at the CD hospital, they added.

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Jammu: Two people were killed while four more were critically injured on Sunday in a car accident in the outskirts of the city here, police said.

The speeding car was carrying some local labourers for work in the fields when its driver lost control of the vehicle at Gondla village in R S Pura area around 8.15 am, a police official said.

The car rolled over several times after skidding off the road and rammed into some trees, he said, quoting eye-witnesses.

One of the deceased was identified as 48-year-old Gurdass Chand, a local resident, the official said, adding the injured were admitted to hospital.

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Leh: Fourteen more people tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh, taking the total number of cases in the union territory to 960 on Saturday, while the number of active cases dropped to 405, with 87 more COVID-19 patients getting discharged after recovery, health department officials said.

Of the fresh virus cases, nine were reported in Kargil district and five in Leh district, they said.

With this, the total number of cases in Ladakh — 701 in Kargil and 259 in Leh — has increased to 960, the officials said.

One person from Leh had died of the disease, they added.

Seventy patients were discharged after recovery in Kargil, while 17 patients recovered in Leh district, the officials said.

So far, 554 patients have recovered from the infection in both the districts, including 400 in Kargil, the officials said.

The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Ladakh has dropped to 405 — 104 in Leh and 301 in Kargil — and the condition of all of them is stable, they said.

China has said it is moving 20 martial art trainers to the Tibetan plateau to train its forces.

No official reason for the decision has been given, but it comes after at least 20 Indian troops were killed in clashes with Chinese border forces.

Under an agreement dating back to 1996, neither side carries guns or explosives in the area.

China has not released any information about its casualties, while India says 76 of its soldiers were injured.

News of the army’s new martial arts trainers was reported by official Chinese news outlets on 20 June, according to Hong Kong media.

State broadcaster CCTV said 20 fighters from the Enbo Fight Club would be based in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, although Chinese media had not confirmed they would be training troops on the border with India.

China and India – both nuclear powers – have exchanged blame over responsibility for the fighting in the Galwan river valley in Ladakhon on 15 June.

The area, with its harsh climate and high-altitude terrain, is close to Aksai Chin, a disputed area claimed by India but controlled by China.

The deaths during the fighting were the first fatalities in clashes between the two sides in almost half a century.

However, long-standing tensions between India and China over the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the poorly demarcated border between the two nuclear-armed powers, had risen again in the weeks leading up to the incident.

With inputs from BBC World News

The families of the two soldiers said they were told that the two men were part of a team involved in “constructing a bridge” in the area.

Two soldiers, Naik Sachin Vikram More (37) from Malegaon and Lance Naik Saleem Khan (23) from Patiala, died after drowning in a river in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley area. Their last rites were held on Saturday.

While there was no official statement from the Army, sources said “these are accidents and not connected to the current situation in the region”.

The families of the two soldiers said they were told that the two men were part of a team involved in “constructing a bridge” in the area. While defence sources said More’s death was “reported on Thursday”, Khan’s family said they were informed that he died on Friday.

Army convoy moves on the Srinagar- Ladakh highway at Ganderbal district | Photo Credit: Shuaib Masoodi

“We have been told that a bridge was being constructed, and Saleem was part of that team,” said Khan’s uncle, Budhdin Khan. “He was in a boat which overturned, and he died,” he said.

More’s family said they were told that he dived into the river to rescue two other soldiers. While he managed to rescue them, More was seriously injured when he hit his head on a submerged rock. He is survived by his parents, wife and three children, including an infant.

His father, Vikram More, said he last spoke to him 10 days ago. “Sachin had told me that the situation in the Galwan Valley was serious. He assured me he was fine and said I shouldn’t worry,” he said.

Khan’s mother, Nasima Bagum, said she last spoke to him two days back. “He said he would come home soon. He never gave details of the situation there… He said there may be a problem with phone connectivity, and I shouldn’t worry if he didn’t call. I have lost everything. He was our only support,” she said.

Khan, who joined the Army in 2014, is survived by his mother and two siblings.

With inputs from The Indian Express

PTI

Jammu: Authorities in Jammu on Saturday denotified all 12 containment or red zones in the district after no fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from the areas in the last 30 days.

While 259 people have been cured of COVID-19 in these areas, seven died, according to officials.

Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sushma Chauhan denotified all containment or red zones in the district as per the guidelines issued by the state executive committee, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Department, an official spokesperson said.

The denotified containment or red zones are Janipur, Bhawani Nagar, Gujjar Najar, Kalka Colony in Gorkha Nagar, Gurah Bakshi Nagar, Digiana, Raipur Satwari, Simbal, Kharian, Kalyanpur, Channi Mawalian and municipal ward number 48 of Gurkha Nagar, he said.

The spokesperson said intensive testing was carried out in these areas. No fresh COVID-19 case has been reported in these areas for the last 30 days.

So far, the Jammu district has recorded a total of 325 COVID-19 cases. Of these, seven patients have died, while 259 have been cured and subsequently discharged from hospitals. The remaining 59 patients are undergoing treatment.

New Delhi: After China increased air activity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India deployed its advanced very quick-reaction surface-to-air missile defence systems in the Eastern Ladakh sector.

This comes after Chinese fighter aircraft and helicopter activities increased along the LAC.
The air defence systems of both Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been deployed in the sector to prevent any misadventure by the Chinese Air Force fighter jets or the People’s Liberation Army choppers there, government sources said.

China has brought in Sukhoi-30 and its Xian H-6 strategic bombers to the rear locations and which have been detected flying near the Indian territory maintaining the 10 km plus distance from the boundary.

India will also be getting the Russian S-400 missile defence systems shortly and defence minister Rajnath Singh, during his Moscow visit, had said that the Russian leadership assured him that all ongoing military contracts will be completed on time despite COVID-19 pandemic.
Chinese sources also said that PLAAF choppers have been flying very close to the Indian LAC in all the troubled sectors including the Daulat Beg Oldie sector, Galwan valley near Patrolling Point 14, Patrolling Point 15, Patrolling Point 17 and Hot Springs area along with the Pangong Tso and Finger area.

The fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force is also very active in the eastern Ladakh area and all the surveillance gaps have been plugged and no enemy aircraft would be able to go undetected from the eyes of defence forces. India has deployed its frontline assets like Su-30MKIs, Apache attack helicopters and Boeing CH-47 Chinook along the LAC.

Meanwhile, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Lobsang Sangay today said that the ongoing military aggression across the Himalayas is not the first by China and it won’t be the last.

Srinagar: Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory on Saturday recorded this season’s highest temperature at 32.9 degrees Celsius, an official in the local Meteorological department said.

The temperature in Kashmir is witnessing an upward trend and as per the officials, Srinagar has experienced this season’s hottest day today.

Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Director Meteorological department (MeT), Sonum Lotus said that there is possibility of further rise in day temperature.

“There will be a gradual rise in day as well as night temperature in upcoming days,” he said, adding that there is possibility of thunderstorm and gusty winds at scattered places across the Valley on tomorrow (Sunday)

He added that from June 29, the weather will remain mainly dry—(KNO)

 

Anantnag: At a time when Maternity and Child Care Hospital here in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district is always in news for bad reasons, there is something for the hospital administration to cheer about.

Consultant Gynecologist at MCCH Anantnag, Dr Fozia successfully operated a Covid-19 infected pregnant lady in John Bishop Nursing Home who delivered a baby girl. In this nocturnal operation, Dr Fozia raised hopes among all other Covid-19 positive pregnant ladies who are being ignored and asked to get admitted in Covid-19 designated hospitals only.

As reported earlier a Covid-19 positive pregnant lady From Dooru Anantnag was operated today and she gave birth to a baby in JBM Hospital Sarnal Anantnag. Patient was operated by Dr.Fozia Jan Consultant Gynecologist M&CCH Anantnag and Anesthesia was administered by Dr.Hashim GMC Anantnag. Medical Superintendent Dr SM Andrabi and Nodal Officer Dr.Raja Aejaz were also present at the time of surgery.

Deputy Commissioner Anantnag had issued an order that all Covid-19 infected pregnant ladies will be operated at JB Nursing Home. Dr Fozia who started nocturnal operation culture at Maternity and Child Care Hospital played a key role. “I am thankful to Almighty for all this. Both mother and baby are healthy, though mother is Covid-19 infected and has to quarantine herself,” she told KNT.

‘At fields, construction sites, locals everywhere in sight’

Srinagar: The Covid pandemic has forced the people to sow paddy saplings on their own as this time around the pandemic has barred non-locals, who would otherwise sow rice crops across Kashmir and earn their living.

Paddy crop across Kashmir is sown in the month of June and this time around not a single non-local worker is in the fields. Amid pandemic, workers from outside the Union Territory could not come to Kashmir, leaving Valleyites with the no option other than to do it on their own.

“I had been repeatedly calling Rajum from Uttar Pradesh, who had been working for us for years now. But he has not been able to book a ticket due to the pandemic. He along with his half-a-dozen friends would sow our rice crops and I would pay them their wages well on time every year,” Abdul Samad Khan, a resident of Baramulla district told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

At the same time, Mahesh Pranav, who would reach Kashmir in the first week of April, couldn’t make it to Valley this time around due to the pandemic. “I would lead a group of 50 to 100 people, all from my village Gorakhpur in Bihar, to Kashmir every year. Majority of them would work in fields both at the time of sowing paddy crop and at the time of harvest as well,” he said, adding all his efforts failed to travel to the Valley this time.

Every year, thousands of non-locals would throng Kashmir in the month of March-April to earn their living by engaging themselves in various jobs—painting, construction, sowing varieties of crops, harvest etc. These people would stay in rented accommodations across Kashmir and remain busy in work from April to October. “In October, they leave for their respective places in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh only to spend five months in their homes. From March onwards they flooded Kashmir,”he said.

Bhuvesh Kumar, a painter by profession, faced huge losses this time. “I couldn’t make it to Kashmir this year due to the pandemic.

Somebody told me, if I reach Kashmir somehow, I have to spend two weeks or more in quarantine. I thought better to stay home,” he said, adding that he had already booked 26 houses in the Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama. “This year has been full of losses. We have been waiting for the virus to end, but it is spreading fast. So my chances of going to Kashmir is very bleak.”(KINS)