Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta chaired a meeting Friday to review the rising COVID cases in Jammu and Kashmir and directed observance of strict containment protocols to effectively reduce the rate of transmission.

Administrative Secretaries of the departments of Finance, Health & Medical Education, Home, MD, National Health Mission, Director General, Family Health, Divisional Commissioners Kashmir/ Jammu, Inspectors General of Police Kashmir/Jammu, and Deputy Commissioners and District SPs were present in the meeting.

It was informed that the COVID cases in Jammu and Kashmir have risen by 10 times over the past 10 days, which has necessitated strict observance of CAB, COVID SOPs and protocols and curtailment of unnecessary movement by the general public.

The Chief Secretary appealed to the general public to act responsibly during the third wave of the pandemic and avoid unnecessary and non-essential movement, especially during the weekend, and prevent further surge in cases.

Emphasising that Omicron has a growth advantage over the delta variant, Dr. Mehta impressed upon the divisional and district administrations to ensure fool-proof enforcement of all COVID protocols and SOPs.

He directed mass scale awareness campaign for promoting the district COVID helpline numbers for seeking medical assistance through tele-consultations and re-activation of block-level COVID medical grid to provide isolation facilities at Panchayat level, primary medical assistance at primary health care centres, and referral to district ad tertiary healthcare facilities in cases of emergencies.

The district administrations were directed to enhance their testing figures including RtPCR testing and expedite identification, isolation and micro- containment of the infection, besides speeding up vaccination drive in the 15-17 age category which is currently at 40%. They were asked to complete the vaccination in this age category within one week by raising the number of vaccination sites and decentralising the process.

The Chief Secretary asked the Health & Medical Education Department to prioritize administering booster doses in vulnerable populations through the continuing ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign.

Moreover, the Revenue, Police and Health Departments were directed to vaccinate the frontline workers, healthcare workers and volunteers with the third precautionary dose.

The Chief Secretary directed the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Director SKIMS, Director General, Family Welfare, MCH & Immunization, and Principal GMC Srinagar to regularly give media briefings on the mitigation measures, current trajectory of the disease and suitably address the public concerns on the matter.

Srinagar: The administration has announced start of 3rd wave of Covid-19 in Kashmir Valley and among others ordered establishment of Triage Centres besides designating all those hospitals as “dedicated Covid Hospitals which were earmarked for such purpose previously.

As per minutes of meeting regarding implementation of mitigation measures for the control of “3rd wave,” the divisional commissioner Kashmir P K Pole stressed upon the application of fundamental Principles of Patient Care Management of asymptomatic Covid Positive patients in Home Isolation and in hospitals.

“(Divisional Commissioner) informed that so far the nature of the 3rd Wave of Covid-19 has been very mild and the cases require symptom based treatment which can be given to them at primary Health Centres,” reads the minutes of meeting, a copy of which lies with GNS. “As such it is imperative that such primary health centres including Panchayat Covid Care Centres be strengthened with men and machinery,” the divisional commissioner said and ordered action in this regard by Chief Medical Officers.

The Divisional Commissioner, also directed for establishment of Triage Centres—two in each district- one at district Hospital and other at Sub-District Hospital. “All the necessary staff/logistics shall be put in place in these Triage Centres,” he said, adding, “All positive cases in the district shall attend the Triage Centre on getting a positive Covid- 19 test report and their further destination shall be decided by the Medical Team at the Triage Centre.” In this regard, action has been ordered to be taken by all Deputy Commissioners and Chief Medical Officers.

He also directed designating all those Hospitals as “Dedicated Covid Hospitals” which were earmarked for such purpose during 2nd wave. “Director SKIMS, Principal GMC Sgr/Ant/Bmr/SKIMS- MCH Bernina have been asked to issue orders,” the minutes of meeting reads further

He also directed designation of Special Beds and Wards for Covid-19 positive pregnant ladies.

“In order to prevent overwhelming of health care facilities due to upsurge in Covid-19 cases, the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir directed that OPD and Elective Surgeries be put on hold.”

He said that in view of huge surge in cases, more manpower may be required to deal with any eventuality. “In this connection the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir instructed for roping in manpower from other departments,” it reads, adding, “The Health Teams constituted for monitoring of home isolation cases be also supplemented with additional manpower roped in from other departments, the chair stressed.”

In order to review the status of Covid-19, the minutes of meeting state that the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir shall hold weekly review meetings on every Tuesday with Districts and the Deputy Commissioners shall hold review meetings of their districts on every Monday.

“Besides, every hospital shall conduct a 10 to 15 minutes meeting on every alternate day to access the implementation of CAB in their Hospitals and infection control measures.

The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir also directed all the Deputy Commissioners to activate the District Control/war Rooms for covid-19 in their respective districts.

The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir directed constituting District Monitoring/ Supervisory teams who shall monitor and supervise the Home Isolation Surveillance and delivery of Covid-19 kits. “They shall submit report to this office on weekly basis as per the format to be shared By DCCRK.”

The Divisional Commissioner also stressed for testing of all symptomatic cases for Covid-19.

The divisional commissioner also instructed the Director SKIMS, Principal GMC Srinagar and Principal MCH- Bemina Srinagar to depute final year MBBS students and final year Nursing/Paramedic students to Deputy Commissioner Srinagar for further deployment as per requirement. (GNS)

Srinagar: Parts of famous Dal Lake froze as night temperature in Kashmir valley slipped by several notches with icy winds blowing from the snow bound mountains sweeping to the plains on Friday.

Small rivulets, nallas and streams connecting the interior parts of Dal Lake were covered with a thick layer of frozen ice sheets as cold conditions prevailed in Srinagar with temperature plummeting to minus 3.4 degree Celsius on Friday which is minus 2.1 degree Celsius below normal.

Children were seen breaking the frozen ice surface of the lake in the interior parts and having fun.

Dal Lake is surrounded with high snowclad mountains from where the cold wind blows to the plains making life difficult especially for the inhabitants and the houseboat men living on the lake.

Kashmir valley including Srinagar recently experienced moderate to heavy snowfall resulting in further drop in night temperature and sweeping icy cold winds all across.

Meanwhile, Cold conditions intensified in Kashmir and Ladakh as night temperature slipped down several notches below freezing point.

Drass, in Ladakh, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia recorded a low of minus 23.8 and the Ski resort of Gulmarg in Kashmir witnessed a low of minus 10.5 degree Celsius.

A Meteorological Department official said that Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir after showing slight improvement on Thursday plunged to minus 3.4 degree Celsius against the minus 2.7 degree Celsius which was minus 1.2 degree below normal during this time of the season, he said.

The famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir remained the coldest place in the Kashmir valley even after showing a slight improvement at minus 10.5 degree Celsius against the minus 11.0 degree Celsius recorded on Thursday which is minus 2.6 degree below normal during this period of season.

Pahalgam, the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir also dipped to minus 10.3 degree Celsius against minus 9.4 degree Celsius recorded the previous day.

Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway slipped to a low of minus 7.8 degree Celsius against minus 5.8 degree Celsius recorded the previous day which was minus 4.8 degree below normal during this period of the season.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir recorded plunged to minus 7.5 degree Celsius against the minus 6.1 degree Celsius on Thursday, minus 2.5 degree below normal during this time of season.

The night temperature in frontier Kashmir district of Kupwara also slipped down to minus 4.2 degree Celsius against minus 2.5 degree Celsius recorded on Thursday.

Leh in Ladakh recorded a low of minus 13.9 degree Celsius against minus 15.5 degree Celsius recorded the previous day while the mercury at the automatic station in Kargil plummeted to minus 19.9 degree Celsius against the minus 16.9 degree Celsius recorded a day ago while, Drass recorded a low of minus 23.8 degree Celsius against minus 21.9 degree Celsius, the official said. (UNI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted people across the nation on Makar Sankranti, Uttarayan, Bhogi, Magh Bihu and Pongal.

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Modi said; “Across India we are marking different festivals which signify India’s vibrant cultural diversity. My greetings on these festivals.”

Greeting people on Bhogi, he said, “Bhogi greetings to everyone. May this special festival enrich the spirit of happiness in our society. I pray for the good health and well-being of our fellow citizens.”

Wishing people on Magh Bihu, the Prime Minister said, “Magh Bihu greetings to you all. I pray that this festival enhances happiness and prosperity in everyone’s lives.”

Extending his greeting on Pongal, the Prime minister said, “Pongal is synonymous with the vibrant culture of Tamil Nadu. On this special occasion, my greetings to everyone and especially the Tamil people spread all over the world. I pray that our bond with nature and the spirit of brotherhood in our society are deepened.” (IANS)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually interact with startups on Saturday morning.

Startups from various sectors including agriculture, health, enterprise systems, space, industry, security, fintech, environment will be part of this interaction.

“More than 150 startups have been divided into six working groups based on themes including growing from roots; nudging the DNA; from local to global; technology of future; building champions in manufacturing; and sustainable development,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.

Each group will make a presentation before the Prime Minister on the allotted theme in the interaction. The aim of the interaction is to understand how startups can contribute to the national needs by driving innovation in the country.

“As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, a week-long event, “Celebrating Innovation Ecosystem”, is being hosted by DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, from January 10 to 16. The event marks the sixth anniversary of the launch of the Startup India initiative,” the statement said.

The PMO claimed that the Prime Minister has been a firm believer in the potential of startups to contribute significantly to the growth of the nation.

“This was reflected in the launch of the flagship initiative startup India in 2016. Government has worked on providing an enabling atmosphere for boosting the growth and development of startups. This has had a tremendous impact on the startup ecosystem in the country, and has led to a staggering growth of unicorns in the country,” the PMO added. (IANS)

Srinagar: The Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) on Friday detonated a grenade kept inside a pressure cooker which was in turn kept in a bag in old Srinagar, officials said.

They said a suspected bag was found by the forces at Khawjabazar area of Nowhatta and they immediately sealed the area and BDS was called. The traffic on the stretch was also suspended. There were some “wires visible” inside the bag.

“The suspected object was opened and a grenade was found inside the pressure cooker,” a security official said. The BDS then detonated the grenade safely.

The traffic, which was suspended earlier, was restored and the area cleared. (UNI)

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Friday chaired a meeting to take stock of preparations to be put in place for the celebration of Republic Day-2022.

Director General of Police, Administrative Secretaries of Departments of Health & Medical Education, Home, PWD(R&B), General Administration, Youth Services & Sports, Forest, Ecology & Environment, Rural Development, Jal Shakti, besides Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir, Additional Director General of Police, along with HODs of concerned departments participated in the meeting.

Detailed deliberations were held regarding the venues, security arrangements, parade/band contingents of Army, CRPF, Police, School children, cultural items, seating arrangements, transport/parking arrangements, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, medical aid, and emergency facilities.

It was informed that the main Republic Day functions will be organized at MA Stadium Jammu and Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium, Srinagar. Further, Beating the Retreat ceremony will be organized on 29th January, 2022.

The Chief Secretary directed the concerned to ensure arrangements regarding various facilities including transport, parking, seating, availability of drinking water, uninterrupted electricity supply, deployment of health, fire and emergency staff and equipment, cultural programmes and illumination of important government buildings.

Dr. Mehta underscored the importance of observing of the COVID SOPs and CAB by the participating contingents and audience. The concerned departments were directed to ensure maintenance of social distance by the gathering with only 50% seating at the venues.

The Health Department was asked to put in a mechanism for testing the participants prior to their participation in the event along with thermal screening of audience on the day of the function at both the venues.

The Home Department, School Education Department and the Youth Services and Sports Department were asked to observe CAB and laid down protocols during the rehearsals. It was informed that in view of the prevailing COVID situation, participation of only vaccinated people is being ensured, with a special focus on school children in the age group of 15-17 years who are being vaccinated on priority.

The Chief Secretary impressed upon the Culture Department to lay special emphasis on befitting celebrations of the 73rd Republic Day under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav which is being observed across the country to celebrate 75 years of Independence.