Precious Kashmir

4286 sq kms of forests highly prone to fires, 9457 sq kms unlikely vulnerable: Study

Anchor stories

16/02/2022

4286 sq kms of forests highly prone to fires, 9457 sq kms unlikely vulnerable: Study

By: Ibni Maqbool

Srinagar: An official study has revealed that 4286. 2 square kilometers of forests are highly vulnerable to fires in Jammu and Kashmir.

The study titled “forest fire risk zonation and vulnerability assessment” categorizes the compartments of Jammu & Kashmir Forest divisions into four vulnerability classes (unlikely, low, medium & high.

A total of 102 forest ranges of 30 forest divisions of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir have been assessed for forest fire vulnerability under this project.

The study carried out by the Department of Ecology, Environment & Remote Sensing reveals that 1018 compartments of forests spread over 4286. 2 square kilometers are highly vulnerable to fires in Jammu & Kashmir.

According to the report, 2930 compartments of forests spread over 9490. 15 square kilometers have medium vulnerability to fires while 1514 compartments spread over 4636. 47 square kilometers have low vulnerability to fires.

According to the report, 1184 compartments of forests spread over 9457.04 square kilometers are unlikely vulnerable to fires.

The study has been carried out based on the various factors responsible for forest fires, such as fuel, wind speed, slope, aspect, proximity to roads, proximity to infrastructure and ecological conditions. In the study, an attempt has been made to model the forest fire risk zones based on various indicators as prescribed in the National Action Plan on Forest Fire (NAPFF).

The study has been carried out for crafting suitable management action plans to minimize incidents of forest fires and prevent damage to the rich biodiversity of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a first of its kind, Gurpal village in Tral illuminated

Anchor stories

Precious Kashmir

16/02/2022

In a first of its kind, Gurpal village in Tral illuminated

Locals jubilant, thank admin, PDD officials say hectic efforts during harsh winter bore fruits

By: Aabid Hameed

Srinagar: For the first time ever, a village, which remained disconnected from the power grid stations, has been electrified in South Kashmir’s Tral area, bringing joy and happiness among the masses.

Gurpal Satoora village of Tral hamlet in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, which consists of around 20 households wasn’t electrified till yet and for the first time, the area has received electricity.

Locals told Precious Kashmir News that they have been living there since last 26 years but were still dependent on candles and other traditional lighting systems.

“We were eagerly waiting for the electricity as we have struggling hard to provide education to our children due lack of electricity,” said a local lady, Shaheena.

She said that now their children will be able to study in evening hours too, otherwise under candle lights, the students were facing tremendous hardships.

“We were completely disconnected from the world due to the unavailability of the electricity, but as the village has been illuminated, the people here are set to heave a sigh of relief,” said Bashir Ahmad, a local resident.

Meanwhile, locals thanked administration for electrifying the area and said that there is festive environment in the area after witnessing the electricity.

They said that first sight of electricity has brought cheers among locals as it wasn’t less than a dream come true for them.

They requested administration to look into their other plights including road connectivity and water supply as well so that they could heave a sigh of relief.

An official of the Power Development department (PDD) said that they continued work even during snowfall in the area to electrify the area and due to slopes, it was a hectic job.

He said that the work of installing poles and wires in harsh weather was a challenging task and finally they have managed to provide electricity to the area, adding that providing them a dedicated transformer is already under proposal, which will be installed soon.

All-round Australia clinch third T20I, seal series vs Sri Lanka

Sports

Indo Asian News Service

16/02/2022

All-round Australia clinch third T20I, seal series vs Sri Lanka

Canberra: Australia came up with a superb all-round performance as they defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in the third T20I match to take a 3-0 lead here on Tuesday.

Pacer Kane Richardson claimed three wickets for 21 runs as Australia restricted Sri Lanka to 121/6 in 20 overs. In response, a 50-run stand between Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch helped Australia reach 124/4 in 16.5 overs to take an unassailable lead in the five-match series.

It was an important toss to win as Sri Lanka were put in to bat by Australia and restricted to a modest score — a display of smart bowling on Australia’s part, but also one with soft dismissals and poor shot selection from Sri Lanka.

The visitors began well, reaching 17/0 in two overs, but lost the plot soon after. Richardson came into the attack and immediately snapped up Danushka Gunathilaka and Charith Asalanka in an over to reduce Sri Lanka to 23/2. Gunathilka was undone by his paddle scoop, lobbing it straight to fine leg, while Asalanka poked one outside off to give Matthew Wade a regulation catch.

The misery compounded when Kusal Mendis (4) and Pathum Nissanka (16) fell in back-to-back overs. At 40/4, the Lankans looked in all sorts of trouble and in danger of folding early.

However, the fifth-wicket stand between Dinesh Chandimal and Dasun Shanaka revived them, although while the association lent stability to the innings, the scoring rate never threatened the hosts.

Chandimal was finally bowled by Richardson at the beginning of the 17th over for a 29-ball 25 with Sri Lanka slipping to 87/5. A few shots at the end and Shanaka’s presence managed to push the total to a more respectable 121/6.

With a low total to defend, Sri Lanka needed a terrific start and they got just that as Maheesh Theekshana dismissed Ben McDermott on the first ball of Australia’s innings. As Agar and Aaron Finch looked to rebuild, Theekshana struck again in the fifth over, removing the former by trapping him in front of leg.

At 26/2, Australia were in a similar position to that of Sri Lanka and needed some resistance from their experienced batters. Glenn Maxwell and Finch provided just that. While Maxwell took up the role of the aggressor, Finch dropped anchor at the other end. Slowly and surely, the duo began chipping away at the modest target.

Maxwell got a reprieve on 22 when he was dropped off Jeffrey Vandersay, albeit a tough chance at cover. Maxwell was able to add 17 more runs to his total before Theekshana struck again to dismiss him for 39, Kusal Mendis taking a simple catch in the deep.

Despite Maxwell’s crucial wicket, the half-century stand had revived the hosts and they need only 46 more in 9.2 overs. By the time Finch got out three overs later, the runs required had halved with Josh Inglis continuing from where the previous pair had left off.

Inglis and Marcus Stoinis kept their wits to run through the rest of the chase with ease. Stoinis hit two fours in the 17th over to help Australia to a six-wicket win, sealing the series 3-0 with two more matches left.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 121/6 in 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 39, Dinesh Chandimal 25; Kane Richardson 3/21) lost to Australia 124/4 in 16.5 overs (Glenn Maxwell 39, Aaron Finch 35; Maheesh Theekshana 3/24).

Child Obesity

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Precious Kashmir

16/02/2022

Obesity is a health crisis of sorts, more so in children. Public health experts have been calling for curbs on highly processed junk food to address obesity.

Consuming anything in excessive quantities is always harmful to health. Junk food is high in calories and contains unhealthy fats that can lead to obesity and high sugar levels.

According to some experts, there are various microbial species in the stomach that help the body cells to battle against obesity, diabetes, provocative gut conditions, coronary illness, and so on. Junk foods are said to impact them badly.

Development of obesity is multi-factorial and eating of junk food and processed food is one of them, the government quoting experts informed the Parliament recently. Childhood obesity is a risk factor of developing heart diseases and diabetes in later life, the government said, also quoting a recent systematic review of studies on childhood obesity from India. The study, the government said, showed that the pooled data after 2010 estimated a combined prevalence of 19.3% of childhood overweight and obesity which was a significant increase from the earlier prevalence of 16.3% reported in 2001-2005.

As per Indian Council of Medical Research’s India State Level Disease Burden Initiative study paper published in “Lancet Global Health”, there has been an increase in the number of people suffering with diabetes from 26.0 million in 1990 to 65.0 million in 2016 in India with an increase in the crude prevalence by 39·4% in adults aged 20 years or older with an increase in every state from 1990 to 2016, contributing about 3·1% of the total deaths, the parliament was informed.

The most important risk factor for diabetes was overweight, with about 36·0% of the diabetes disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) could be attributed to. For every 100 overweight adults aged 20 years or older, there were 38 adults with diabetes, compared with the global average of 19 adults in 2016. The other risk factors for diabetes are low physical activity and increase in unhealthy diet (dietary risk).

ICMR- NIN (National Institute of Nutrition) has also recommended a new syllabus to be included in Textbooks of School children in NCERT Board on Healthy Food habits and Nutrition as a Part of Nutrition Education and Communication strategy for Healthy foods. These are welcome steps and need to be implemented in letter and spirit. Also, importantly too, the onus of inculcating healthy eating habits also starts at home. People should ensure steps to reduce the intake of unhealthy food.

Govt committed to strengthen power infra in J&K: LG

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Precious Kashmir

15/02/2022

Govt committed to strengthen power infra in J&K: LG

Inaugurates 22 power transmission, distribution projects costing Rs 216 cr

Samba: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday inaugurated 22 Power transmission & distribution projects costing Rs. 216 Cr at Samba.

The Lt Governor said that the J&K’s power infrastructure, which remained dilapidated for the last several decades, is being transformed at a fast pace.

Today’s development represents a giant stride in capacity augmentation and improvement in power supply to consumers of Jammu, Samba, Hiranagar, Kathua, Udhampur and adjoining areas. The new power projects will meet the power supply demand of the citizens as well as the industrial sector, he added.

Terming the occasion as historic for the people of Samba, the Lt Governor said that the Samba district has also received a dedicated grid station after a long wait of 15 years.

We are firm in our resolve for practical, pragmatic and viable solution to strengthen power infrastructure in every district of J&K UT, the Lt Governor said

To address the current power deficit and to meet the needs of our expanding economy, the government is upgrading transmission & distribution infrastructure that will also enable us to generate productive employment opportunities for youth, added the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and Union Power Minister for their continuous support in strengthening the power sector in J&K. The upcoming Rs 12,922 cr power sector project for the UT will increase the total availability of electricity in the system, especially for the household, industries and agriculture sector.

The Lt Governor said that Jammu & Kashmir, under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is moving towards fulfilling the dream of a better life for every citizen.

We are working on an unprecedented scale in building new infrastructure and improving the facilities available to the citizens, he added.

“Government will not rest till J&K truly becomes one of the country’s best developed regions, which the entire nation can be proud of”, said the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor congratulated the officials of Power Development Department, the people of Samba and the adjoining areas on the commissioning of new power projects.

PDD is making efforts to reduce T&D losses and bring them within reasonable limits. The department has achieved praiseworthy results. However, due to power theft, honest consumers who pay their electricity bills regularly are bearing the brunt of the cost of theft by other unscrupulous elements. We need to sensitize people to pay their bills on time and help the government to make power sector financially viable, the Lt Governor observed.

The Lt Governor also made a special mention of Jagmohan Sharma, Chairman JPDCL for highlighting the core issues of power sector in the UT.

Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member Parliament, while speaking on the occasion, highlighted how the new projects will benefit the people of Samba, Kathua, and adjoining areas.

Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J&K has entered into the era of equitable development and the change is clearly visible on ground with the rapid implementation of several development projects, he added.

Keshav Sharma, DDC Chairperson Samba expressed gratitude towards the Lt Governor led UT Government for strengthening the power infrastructure in the area. He also highlighted various public issues, especially the development of the border areas.

Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor and Principal Secretary, Power Development Department delivered the welcome address and highlighted the ongoing efforts of PDD across the UT.

The JKPTCL projects worth Rs 153.42 cr inaugurated today includes 160MVA, 220/66 kV Samba Grid Station including 220KV D/C Jatwal- Samba Transmission Line; 160MVA, 220/66 kV Kathua-II (Ghatti) Grid Station including 220KV D/C LILO of Thein-Hiranagar Transmission Line; LILO-I of 220 KV D/C Hiranagar-Bishnah Transmission Line from 400/220 KV Grid Substation Jatwal and 1x50MVA, 132/33KV Grid Station Battal-Manwal including 132KV D/C Hiranagar-Battal-Manwal Transmission Line, under PMDP and PMRP.

Moreover, 18 power distribution projects (11 in Samba and 7 in Kathua) costing Rs 63 cr under various centrally sponsored schemes including 66/11 KV 33/11 KV Substations and installation of additional power transformers were also e-inaugurated on the occasion.

The projects will improve the Power Supply and reduce the transmission losses, it was informed.

Shiv Anant Tayal, Managing Director, JPDCL presented the Vote of Thanks.

Dr Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Vivek Gupta, DIG JKS Range; Anuradha Gupta, Deputy Commissioner Samba; Abhishek Mahajan, SSP Samba; Dr RP Singh, Chairman JKPCL; Balwan Singh, Vice Chairman, DDC Samba; BDC Chairpersons; PRI and ULB representatives; former legislators; officials of PDD and people in large attended the inaugural ceremony.

LG felicitates young Chess Champion

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Precious Kashmir

15/02/2022

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday felicitated young Chess Champion Arushi Kotwal at Raj Bhavan.

The Lt Governor congratulated Kotwal for bringing laurels to Jammu and Kashmir by winning several national and international awards in Chess.

Arushi Kotwal who aspires to be a Grand Master was recently conferred with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for her achievements in Chess Championships.

While interacting with Kotwal, the Lt Governor gave his best wishes for her upcoming Chess competitions and assured her all possible assistance from the Sports department of the UT administration.

Arushi was accompanied by her father and her sister. She hails from Bhaderwah area of District Doda.

Later, Muhammad Rafiq Balote, BDC Chairperson, Uri also called on the Lt Governor and projected various issues pertaining to the development of tourists sites in Uri area.

While interacting with the BDC Chairperson, the Lt Governor said that the UT Government is giving dedicated focus on exploring full potential of J&K’s tourism by developing various tourist circuits and identifying new, unexplored tourist spots.

The Lt Governor assured that the issues projected during the interaction would be taken up for consideration.

COVID-19: J&K records lowest tally in 41 days at 245 cases

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Nadeem Nadu

15/02/2022

By: Nadeem Nadu

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir reported 245 fresh covid-19 cases, lowest daily count in 41 days, even as there was no death to the virus in the last 24 hours, officials said on Monday.

They said, 160 of the cases were reported from Jammu Division and 85 from Kashmir Valley, taking the overall tally to 451016.

Giving district wise details, the officials said that Srinagar reported 32 cases, Baramulla 10, Budgam 12, Pulwama 2, Kupwara 16, Anantnag 2, Bandipora 4, Ganderbal 0, Kulgam 5, Shopian 2, Jammu 38, Udhampur 4, Rajouri 8, Doda 65, Kathua 2, Samba 0, Kishtwar 1, Poonch 1, Ramban 27 and Reasi 14.

There was no death either from Jammu or Kashmir during the time, they said. So far 4745 persons have succumbed to the virus—2323 in Jammu and 2422 in Kashmir.

Besides, they said, 808 Covid-19 patients—339 from Jammu and 469 from Valley— recovered during the time. So far 441368 people have recovered, leaving the active case tally at 4903— 2108 in Jammu and 2795 in Kashmir.

They said there was no new confirmed case of mucormycosis (black fungus) reported today. So far 51 black fungus cases have been confirmed in J&K, the officials said. They also informed that 43769 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered during the time in J&K. (GNS)

SKIMS Bemina to resume normal activities tomorrow

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Jahangeer Ganaie

15/02/2022

By: Jahangeer Ganaie

Srinagar: In view of the decline in Covid-19 cases, SKIMS Medical College hospital Bemina has been de-notified as Covid-19 dedicated hospital and college will resume normal activities from Wednesday.

The authorities have also ordered for re-opening of Medical College Srinagar and students have been asked to attend offline classes.

“Pursuant to the communication issued by the Government vide No: HD/Plan/30/2022-02 dated: 14.02.2022, SKIMS Medical College Hospital, Bemina has been de-notified as COVID-19 dedicated Hospital,” reads the order issued by principal of the college Dr Irfan Robbani.

“Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that SKIMS Medical College-Hospital, Bemina shall resume normal activities with effect from Wednesday 16th February 2022. The Medical Superintendent and the HODs of Clinical Departments shall ensure that normal Hospital service systems are put back in place, prior to resumption of routine activities from the aforementioned date, in the best interests of patient care,” the order reads.

Notably SKIMS Medical College Hospital, Bernina was designated as a dedicated COVID hospital for treatment of Maternity Child Care and Orthopedic COVID patients in the third week of January.

However, after decline in Covid-19 cases non-emergency services in the specialties of Dermatology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Dentistry and Psychiatry were resumed from February 3.

“Pursuant to the Government Order No: 15-JK (DMRRR) of 2022 dated: 13/02/2022, it is hereby notified for information of all concerned faculty/students (MBBS & B.Sc. Paramedical Courses) that they shall attend to their offline classes wet 14th Feb, 2022 as per the programme already devised by this College The concerned faculty as well as students shall ensure scrupulous implementation of the directions issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as National Medical Commission from time to time in the best interest of Medical Education and while. re-opening the offline Classes they must ensure that guidelines with respect to social distancing and Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) are strictly followed,” reads the order issued by Principal GMC Srinagar.

The guidelines as the order include that all the students must have got both the jabs of COVID Vaccination and they will be required to provide a certificate to this effect, they shall avoid the risk of transmission, the students, faculty and staff should be screened and symptomatic ones be advised to get clinically assessed before allowing them entry into the classes.

In this regard adequate arrangements of thermal scanners, sanitizers and face masks should be made available at all entry and exit points including the reception area, all the students, teachers/professors and other staff should wear masks compulsorily and have their own sanitizer also with them and the minimum distance between two students shall be maintained as per the standing guidelines besides that while coming and leaving the college the students and staff should maintain physical distance of at least one meter from each other and no student or staff member should breach this distance rule either during the class work or while coming or leaving the institute. In all cases gathering or grouping should be avoided and everybody should come and leave college individually.

“Heads of the Departments concerned shall evolve a mechanism to take offline classes of UG (MBBS) in a such a way that it should not violate the standing SoPs/guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, besides the directions issued by Health and Medical Education Department, in this regard, are implemented in letter and spirit. The opening of college for offline teaching doesn’t mean that the online teaching has been abandoned and all other CAB/SoP guidelines issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and department of Health and Medical Education Department, J&K from time to time are implemented scrupulously,” the order said. (KNO)

2022 to be year of educational transformation in J&K: CS

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Precious Kashmir

15/02/2022

2022 to be year of educational transformation in J&K: CS

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Monday chaired a meeting to take stock of arrangements for reopening of educational institutions and resuming offline teaching in Jammu and Kashmir.

Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education, Principal Resident Commissioner, New Delhi, administrative secretaries of the departments of Skill Development, Higher Education, School Education, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction, Vice Chancellors of all universities, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Deputy Commissioners, and concerned HoDs participated in the meeting.

It was informed that the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has been regularly reviewing the COVID situation in the Union territory and has now decided to resume offline teaching by reopening all educational institutions.

The Chief Secretary stated that the COVID positivity rate in the UT has been contained to 0.7% and impressed upon the Heads of all educational institutions to remain vigilant to any signs of infection especially among unvaccinated students below the age of 17 years, besides ensuring adherence to COVID appropriate behavior, SoPs and protocols; proper social distancing; and hand hygiene provisions, and compliance to UGC guidelines in the matter.

Dr. Mehta asked the Vice-Chancellors of universities, Principals of colleges, and Heads of all schools to submit COVID prevention and mitigation plans taking into account capacity of class rooms with 6 feet norm, staggered teaching plan, COVID protocols, vaccination, screening, and emergency SoP; within two days.

Further, to enhance effetiveness of COVID mitigation and management, the Chief Secretary advised the educational institutions to base their COVID management plans on the model UGC guidelines.

The education institutions were further asked to regularly screen their students and ensure that symptomatic students are tested timely and isolated to prevent the spread of infection. Meanwhile, the Health and Medical Education Department was also asked to address the health-related needs of all schools, colleges, and universities in a time-bound manner, through the concerned divisional and district administrations.

Considering the educational institutions in Jammu & Kashmir are reopening for offline classes after a hiatus of almost two years, Dr. Mehta impressed upon the concerned to ensure proper maintenance, upkeep, and cleanliness in the institutions along with functional electricity and water supplies as well as proper sanitation facilities therein.

The Chief Secretary impressed upon the institutions to build on the experience of online classes and adopt an ideal blend of IT-based offline teaching curriculum to boost students’ learning outcomes and successfully train them for national-level examinations. “The academic year 2022-23 shall be the year of educational transformation for Jammu and Kashmir”, Dr. Mehta maintained. He emphasised that each head of the Institution shall be personally responsible for covid management and healthy teaching environment. There should be no tolerance for unhealthy activities in places of learning.

Additionally, the Higher Education Department and School Education Department were asked to fully implement the National Education Policy across Jammu and Kashmir during 2022, thereby making the Union territory, the first among in the country to do so.

6 officers promoted to various scales of IAS

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Precious Kashmir

15/02/2022

Srinagar: Government on Monday ordered promotion of six IAS officers to various scales of Indian Administrative Service.

According to an order, two officers—Sheetal Nanda and Saugat Biswas—have been promoted to the Super Time Scale of IAS (Level 14 of Pay matrix) with effect from 1 January 2022.

The officers shall undergo Mid Career Phase-IV training as an when deputed by Government of India and have to pass the departmental examination within one year, as applicable, the order reads further.

Consequently, Sheetal Nanda shall be designated as Commissioner/ Secretary to the Government, it reads.

Three officers— Sushma Chauhan, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary and Sarmad Hafeez—have been promoted to the Selection Grade of IAS (Level 13 of Pay matrix) with effect from 1 January 2022.

Consequently, these officers shall be designated as Secretary to the Government.

Also, Faz Lul Haseeb (IAS) has been promoted to the Senior Time Scale of IAS (Level 11 of Pay matrix) with effect from 1 January 2022.

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