Kashmir.Watch

Blog

  • India’s Covid-19 tally reaches 2,16,919 with record spike of 9,304 cases; death toll 6,075

    PTI

    Coronavirus cases in India saw a record single-day jump of 9,304 cases on Thursday, pushing the total tally to 2,16,919, while the death toll climbed to 6,075 with 260 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry.

    India stood seventh among the nations worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic after the US, Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy.

    The Health Ministry said the number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 1,06,737, while 1,04,106 people have recovered and one patient has migrated. “Thus, around 47.99 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior official said.

    Of the 260 deaths reported since Wednesday morning, 122 were in Maharashtra, 50 in Delhi, 30 in Gujarat, 11 in Tamil Nadu, 10 in West Bengal, seven each in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, six in Rajasthan, four in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

    Maharashtra has reported the maximum 2,587 fatalities till date, followed by Gujarat with 1,122 deaths, Madhya Pradesh

  • Huge quantity of explosive material seized in J-K’s Anantnag; four held

    PTI

    Four persons were arrested and a huge quantity of explosive substance was seized from their possession in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said.

    Based on a credible input, police raided the residential house of Adil Maqbool Wani at Nanil in Anantnag and recovered 24 kgs of illegal explosive material, a police spokesman said.

    He said during the preliminary investigation, it was learnt that three other persons were also involved in it.

    They were identified as Mohammad Shahid Padder, a resident of Hutmarah, Faizan Ahmad, a resident of Nanil and Adnan Ahmad, a resident of Chandpora Bijbehara, the spokesman added.

    All the four accused persons were arrested and shifted to a police station in Mattan, he said.

    The spokesman said a case has been registered and further investigation is on.

    PTI SSB MIJ AQS AQS

  • 20-year-old woman raped by neighbour in U.P.

    PTI

    Uttar Pradesh: A 20-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a neighbour at pistol-point when she was alone in her house in Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Thursday.

    Charthawal police station SHO Sube Singh said a case has been registered based on a complaint filed by the woman’s father and the accused arrested.

    The woman has been sent for medical examination.

    According to a complaint filed by the woman’s father, the accused entered into their house on Wednesday when her daughter was alone and raped her at pistol-point.

  • Veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee dead

    PTI

    Mumbai: Veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, known for his relatable, light as souffl brand of cinema with films such as “Rajnigandha” and Chitchor , died on Thursday following age related health issues. He was 93.

    Chatterjee, who is survived by his daughters Sonali Bhattacharya and Rupali Guha, died in his sleep at his Santacruz residence.

    “He passed away peacefully in his sleep in the morning. He hadn’t been keeping well for quite a while due to old age problems and died at his residence. It’s a great loss for the film industry,” Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), told PTI.

    The last rites of the filmmaker, who blazed a middle-of-the-road trail in the 1970s and 1980s, will be performed at the Santacruz crematorium, Pandit said.

    Many people in the film industry and outside condoled the death of the director, who placed the middle class and its everyday joys and struggles at the centre of his cinematic world.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “Saddened at the demise of legendary film director and screenwriter Basu Chatterjee. He gave us gems like ‘Chhoti Si Baat’, ‘Chitchor’, ‘Rajanigandha’, ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’, ‘Rajni’ among others. Condolences to his family, friends, fans & the entire film fraternity.”

    Filmmaker Hansal Mehta said Chatterjee leaves behind a great legacy of cinema gems.

    “Basu Chatterjee moves on. For me very few see the lighter side of life like he did. All his films have a smirk on their faces. I’m a big fan. and I have ‘Kahaani 2’ to prove it,” said Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh said.

    Chatterjee began as a cartoonist in a tabloid but changed his career path after assisting Basu Bhattacharya in the Raj Kapoor-Waheeda Rehman starrer Teesri Kasam .

    The two Basus along with Hrishikesh Mukherjee formed the Hindi cinema triumvirate whose ethos lay firmly in the middle class and its day-to-day struggles at a time when most of Bollywood was focused on larger-than-life stories of angst and tragedy led by Amitabh Bachchan.

    Actors like Vidya Sinha, Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab were the stars that were favoured by Chatterjee to tell aspiring stories of the middle class.

    His cinema was progressive for the times, unhurried and a slice of everyday life — about conversations over cups of chai and romances blossoming in public buses, trains and office buildings.

    Some of his best known works are “Us Paar”, “Chitchor”, “Piya Ka Ghar”, “Khatta Meetha” and “Baton Baton Mein”.

    The filmmaker passed away less than a week after the death of lyricist Yogesh Gaur, who penned many popular songs in Chatterjee’s films, including Rajinigandha Phool Tumhare and Na Jaane Kyun . Gaur died on May 29.

  • Illegal construction destroying our city: Sheikh Imran

    Srinagar: Illegal construction in Srinagar city is destroying the beauty of the area, said sheikh Mohammad Imran, former deputy mayor of SMC Srinagar.

    He said that illegal construction is going on at airport road and officials have failed to take cognizance of the issue.

    He requested SMC commissioner Gazanfar Ali to take action aganist ward officer and earlier enforcement officer.

    He demanded that FIR must be lodged or PSA must be slapped aganist illegal constructors to save city.

    “Illegal construction destroying our city on IG road/Airport road even in #COVIDー19 I am sure @Gazanfa20829158 would act swiftly against ward officer & earlier enforcement officer. To stop this Fir/Psa should be slapped to save our city,” Imran tweeted

  • J&K polls in months from now: Madhav

    Jammu: BJP’s national general secretary Ram Madhav, while speaking to Arun Joshi, has indicated firmly that a new legislature will soon be in place in J&K in months and assertively declared that there would be “no compromise on Indian sovereignty, integrity,” while negotiating a solution to the current Chinese aggression in Ladakh. Excerpts from the interview:

    Your reading of situation post August 5, 2019?

    We are happy that the people of Jammu & Kashmir have responded very maturely to the change in the constitutional status of their state. They had lived under the shadow of Article 370 for almost seven decades. They have seen certain oligarchs prospering and ruling over them. Not much benefit happened to the lives of the ordinary people. That’s why they seem to have decided to experience life without Article 370 with an open mind. That puts the onus on the UT administration to deliver development at the doorsteps of the citizens. The administration is working hard in that direction.

    We have managed the general law and order situation well. The administration is managing the Covid fallout also well. What is important now is the resumption of the normal political activity. Leaders should come out and start representing people’s problems and concerns. Although all the leaders from all parties, except a handful, are out in open, they remain muted. Only the BJP leaders are seen among the people.

    What next?

    The new status of the J&K under our Constitution is more or less a settled fact. With new domicile laws also in place, the process initiated on August 5, 2019, has reached its logical culmination. Majority of the people are either happy or reconciled to the life without Article 370. May be some regional politicians still dream of the return of pre-53, but they also should understand the ground reality and resume political work. A large section of the Valley population, too, is willing to experience the new status.

    Is Delhi experimenting with the Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari?

    New political status will naturally give birth to new political arrangements and the rise of new parties. It happened before, when Mufti started the PDP or Sajjad started or reactivated PC. Those were not experiments. Those were evolutions in the political process of J&K. As far as we are concerned, the BJP would like to strengthen its position further even in the Valley and become an anchor for the ordinary Indian citizens of the Valley, who have all along been left at the mercy of the self-centred regional oligarchs.

    Interim govt or advisory council?

    It is wrong to assume that political process will be stalled by bureaucrats. It is the politicians who have to resume normal political activity in the state. When people face problems from snowfall or Covid-like healthcare challenges, where are the politicians to support them? Who is stopping them? Having said it, our party is keen that the delimitation process is quickly completed, and the UT is prepared for Assembly elections soon. All other discussions are hypothetical.

    Delimitation Commission?

    Any concerns regarding the delimitation of the constituencies can be discussed within the commission and addressed.

    Ladakh situation?

    Indo-Tibetan border along Ladakh and Sikkim has come into news because of the aggressive manoeuvres by the Chinese army. Since the Doklam standoff in 2017, India has conveyed to all concerned its new border policy of ‘proactive diplomacy together with strong ground posturing’. We are actively engaged with China both diplomatically and militarily to resolve the standoff. However, India shall not compromise on its sovereignty and integrity.

    Resolution of Ladakh situation?

    India’s efforts have always been through negotiations and diplomacy. However, peace for any price can’t be our approach. We are making sincere efforts to resolve the standoff by engaging with the Chinese side at military and diplomatic level, without compromising on our ground posturing.

    Haven’t separation of Ladakh from J&K hurt the strategic thinking because the strategies are not confined to one particular region?

    The creation of a separate UT for Ladakh has been a longstanding demand of the people of the region. The BJP had committed itself to granting it long ago. We fulfilled our promise. Strategy is not a static theory. It is dynamic and changes with the change in situations. Reorganisation of the J&K into two UTs doesn’t affect our strategy. It may call for some realignment, which the experts will undertake.

    Restoration of statehood to J&K?

    Restoring full statehood to J&K UT is not only a demand that the J&K unit of the BJP has been making; it is a commitment given by the Union Home Minister. At an appropriate time, the UT will again get its full statehood. Pending that, the UT will have an elected legislature soon in the months to come.

    With inputs from The Tribune

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • China building high-security compound in Pak to establish naval base

    China is secretly building a high-security compound near Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan province which it will probably use for naval base.

    According to Forbes, a leading Aerospace and Defense magagine, analysts have been watching for the first signs of a long-expected Chinese naval base at Gwadar.

    “The base, to complement the one at Djibouti, would strengthen China’s foothold in the Indian Ocean. Recent satellite images appear to show that several new complexes have been built in the last few years. One of them, identified as a Chinese company involved in port development, has unusually high security,” said Forbes.

    Located at the western end of Pakistan’s coast, Gwadar is expected to be a major port in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

    This will allow Chinese goods to shortcut through Pakistan, instead of sailing all the way around South Asia. China was first reported to be planning a naval base there in January 2018.

    While the plan has never been confirmed officially, it would be a natural path.

    “The high-security compound has been identified as being used by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC Ltd). This is a majority state-owned company which is heavily involved in many Chinese civil engineering projects. While some degree of security is normal in the region, the level of security seen here is extensive,” the magazine read.

    It added, “It has anti-vehicle berms, security fences and a high wall. Sentry posts and elevated guard towers cover the perimeter between the fence and the inner wall. This suggests armed guards with rifles”.

    The high security compound is not alone. There are also two smaller sites built in the last year with rows of blue-roofed buildings. It has been suggested that these might be barracks for a Chinese Marine Corps garrison.

    China was reported to be deploying marines there back in March 2017. But the sites lack the level of security that would be expected. Whatever their exact purpose, their location and timing suggests that they are connected to the port expansion.

    Forbes said, “Until now the commercial port at Gwadar appears to have been under-used. But Gwadar’s luck as a port is already changing, and not because of the Chinese base. A deal was recently made to allow Afghanistan-bound trade to use the port. The first large merchant ship, the MV Manet, landed 17,600 tons of wheat there last week. But the economic benefit of the Chinese port and potential naval base could be much larger”.

    Whether the Chinese naval base materialises remain to be seen. But these new sites, including the heavily defended compound, may indicate that the next phase of port construction is imminent.

    And if the Chinese Navy does begin using the port it will strengthen their capabilities in the Indian Ocean. (ANI)

  • Airstrip project cleared for south Kashmir

    The Jammu and Kashmir government has cleared a project to lay an emergency landing strip in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, a militancy-hit area.

    According to a notice from the Geology and Mining Department, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been awarded the project to build the 3.5-km emergency landing facility at Bijbehara in Anantnag.

    The earth work has started for the strip, which can handle even fighter jets. The project will come up parallel to the Srinagar-Banihal National Highway at Semthan. Around 49,000 tonnes of extracted earth is being laid to complete the strip.

    “There is no need to seek clearance from the Environmental Department for the liner projects,” the order said.

    It is the third airstrip in the Kashmir Valley, after those in Awantipora and Srinagar, that will be used by the Indian Air Force for its exercises.

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • Case of `rape’ registered against IAS official in C’garh

    PTI

    Raipur: A case was registered against an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champ district for allegedly raping a 33-year-old woman by threatening to dismiss her husband from the service, police said.

    Accused Janak Prasad Pathak is former collector of Janjgir-Champa district and currently Director of Land Records. He has not been arrested yet, said a senior police official.

    The woman alleged in her complaint to Janjgir-Champa Superintendent of Police Parul Mathur that on May 15 this year, the officer, then collector of the district, sexually exploited her on the collectorate premises after threatening to sack her husband, a government employee.

    The accused also sent obscene messages to her, she said, and provided screenshots of the messages from her mobile phone to police, said the senior police official.

    Case was registered against Pathak under IPC sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 B(word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), the official said, adding that further investigation is underway.

    Pathak, who was transferred from Jangir-Champa on May26, could not be contacted for his comment on the allegations.

  • Defence secretary tests positive for COVID-19: Sources

    PTI

    New Delhi: India’s Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, following which the defence ministry carried out a massive contact-tracing exercise, official sources said.

    Kumar’s condition is stable and he is currently under home-quarantine, they said.

    At least 35 officials working at the ministry’s headquarters in South Block in the Raisina Hills have been sent on home quarantine after reports of Kumar testing positive for the infection emerged on Wednesday morning.

    There was no official comment on Kumar’s health condition. The defence ministry spokesperson refused to comment on the issue.

    It is learnt that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not attend office as part of a precautionary measure.

    The offices of the defence minister, the defence secretary, the Army Chief and the Navy Chief are on the first floor of the South Block.

    The sources said all laid down protocols on contact-tracing and quarantining of people are being scrupulously followed.