Precious Kashmir

COVID-19 resurgence: Impose self-restrictions, save economy from further shock: Div Com to people

City

12/01/2022

COVID-19 resurgence: Impose self-restrictions, save economy from further shock: Div Com to people

By: Nasir Azam

Srinagar: As Covid cases records spike, the Divisional Administration Kashmir Tuesday urged people to impose self-restrictions so that the region’s economy is saved from further shock.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole said that his fervent appeal to people of Kashmir amid Covid case spike is that they should impose self-restrictions to prevent spread and further damage.

“The best way to prevent further spread is that people should impose self-restrictions. Lockdowns shatter economies and we don’t want to go for lockdowns at a time when Kashmir economy has started to revive,” Pole said.

He said people must go for self-imposed restrictions and follow Covid Appropriate Behavior (CAB) in spirit. “People must avoid unnecessary travel and switch to online mode of education, work to prevent spread of Covid and Omicron,” the Divisional Commissioner said.

He said that the administration has already sealed some coaching centers for violating the CAB and in view of the spurt cases. The Divisional Commissioner said that lockdowns shatter economies and there is no plan with the government to impose lockdown as of now.

“The imposition of lockdown is the sole prerogative of Lieutenant Governor and top officials in the government. At this juncture when Kashmir economy has started to revive after back to back jolts, lockdown will further shatter it again,” he said, adding that people must themselves take measures to prevent spread so that their livelihood doesn’t suffer.

Pertinently, J&K reported over 1100 Covid positive cases on Tuesday while Kashmir region witnessed five fresh cases of Omicron variant. With Omicron making its entry into Kashmir, the Divisional Administration wants people to go for self-imposed curbs that entails, avoiding unnecessary, travel and venturing out of homes, mingling with people, social and religious gatherings and following CAB whenever out of homes. (KNO)

Work with added zeal to deal any exigent situation: DC Sgr to Doctors, officers

City

Precious Kashmir

12/01/2022

Draws Action Plan for Covid mitigation in view of surging cases

Srinagar: In wake of present Covid-19 situation, the Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad Tuesday chaired a meeting of senior health functionaries and senior officers of District Administration to draw an Action Plan to tackle and mitigate the 3rd wave of Covid-19.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Syed Hanief Balkhi, SDM East/ Incharge Nodal Officer Covid-19, Owais Mushtaq, CMO, Dr Jameel, Nodel officers from CD Hospital, Dr Navid Nazir, Dr Saleem, Dr Irfan, besides Deputy CMO, ZMOs and other concerned were present in the meeting.

During the meeting, a threadbare discussion was held to formulate a comprehensive action plan to prevent the spread of infection of the deadly corona virus and ensure better management of available resources.

Some medical experts emphasised on utilization of services of final year MBBS students and ISM Doctors if required at any point of time for providing services like tele-consultation and monitoring of mild Covid cases after due orientation by faculty to reduce the workload on existing system engaged in Covid duty and provide boost to efforts of triaging.

Some senior Doctors also suggested for suspending OPD services except of emergency nature in all Government hospitals till positivity rate is declined so that upto mark Covid care services are ensured.

With regard to keep adequate back up of staff, the meeting stressed on pressing Red Cross Volunteers on service by giving them proper patient handling training.

One of the Doctors also suggested that strict referral policy should be adopted to lessen the pressure on Tertiary care Hospital for effective covid care mitigation and management. Besides, a Referral Control Room be also established for effective and prompt monitoring of patient referral is managed.

Addressing the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner stressed upon all to work with added zeal and dedication to deal any exigent situation arisen due to Covid-19. He also urged for better cooperation between line departments to beat the imminent surge of Covid-19 cases in the District.

Sgr-Jmu highway to remain open for 1-way traffic today

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

12/01/2022

Sgr-Jmu highway to remain open for 1-way traffic today

Jammu: The Jammu-Srinagar Highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir with the outside world, shall remain open for one-way traffic on Wednesday, officials said.

“Tomorrow (Jan 12), subject to fair weather and better road condition LMVs Passengers shall be allowed from Jammu towards Srinagar (only one way) in view of narrow and slippery conditions of road at many places on Jammu-Srinagar highway and shall be allowed from Nagrota Jammu at 0600 hrs upto 1200 hrs & from Jakheni (Udhampur) at 0700 hrs upto 1300 hrs,” a traffic department official said.

He said no vehicle shall be allowed before and after cut off timing.

Meanwhile, Mughal Road, connecting Shopian with Poonch and Rajouri districts, remained closed for vehicular movement in view of snow accumulation at Peer Ki Gali.

Also, Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road remained shut for vehicular movement in view of snow accumulation on Zoji la axis and has been closed till further orders.

Traffic movement on kishtwar-sinthan road also has been halted on Kishtwar-Sinthan road in view of snow accumulation, they said.

Punjab resident arrested on abduction charges

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

12/01/2022

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested a Punjab resident for allegedly abducting a girl from south Kashmir.

Police said they received a written complaint on January 10 from a south Kashmir resident alleging that his daughter has been kidnapped by Sanju Singh, a resident of Pundail in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

Accordingly, a case under relevant sections of law was registered at Police Station Awantipora and an investigation was initiated.

“During the course of investigation, a police party headed by Station House Officer Awantipora with the assistance of a technical team tracked down the location of the accused person in Banihal area,” a police spokesman said. “Immediately a police team was dispatched to Banihal to rescue the abducted girl. The team was able to recover the kidnapped girl from Sheer Bebi Banihal and arrested the accused person involved in the commission of crime within 5 hours.”

After fulfilling all medico-legal formalities, the girl has been handed over to her legal heirs, the police said, adding further investigation into the matter is in progress.

2 patients airlifted from Gurez to Bandipora

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

12/01/2022

By: Sajid Raina

Bandipora: The administration in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday airlifted two patients from snowbound Gurez valley to Bandipora for immediate medical relief, officials said.

Officials said that on the directions of Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora, Dr Owais Ahmad, the duo patients requiring emergency evacuation from Gurez Sub Division airlifted from Baduaab and Neeru to Bandipora.

Notably, the snow-clad Gurez valley remains cut off from the rest of the Kashmir parts during winters, owing to heavy snowfall in the valley. (KNO)

Amid closure of coaching center, students asked to pay hefty amount

City

Precious Kashmir

12/01/2022

By: Bhat Imran

Srinagar: Following the government directives to switch the online mode of teaching in view of rise in COVID-19 cases, some private coaching institutes in Kashmir are forcibly, asking the students to pay the hefty amount.

It has been leant that the students are being forced to pay the hefty amount in the name of tuition charges that too at the time when the government has ordered the private coaching institutes to switch the teaching to online mode.

One of the students said, “I am pursuing NEET coaching in one of the leading private institutions wherein the management is forcing us to pay the charges at earliest. The compulsions were made after the government ordered them to change the mode of teaching from offline to online.”

The student said that earlier there used to be no such compulsion. “But, now they (management of coaching centers) seem to be insecure about the fee they collect from the students.”

Meanwhile, another 11th standard student said that she is pursuing private coaching in one of the leading institutes.

“I have been pursuing coaching for only the past few weeks. For the past two days, concerned officials of the management at the coaching institutes have been entering class only to announce that they are collecting 60 percent of the charges,” she said.

In the meantime, the concerned officials at Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), did not respond to the calls.

Pertinently, the government earlier this week has ordered the private coaching institutes of Jammu and Kashmir to adopt the online means to teach the students in view of steep rise in COVID-19 cases. (KNO)

PMGSY: J&K Govt submits proposals worth Rs 2462 cr to Centre

Anchor stories

Ibni Maqbool

12/01/2022

PMGSY: J&K Govt submits proposals worth Rs 2462 cr to Centre

By: Ibni Maqbool

Srinagar: In a significant development, the administration of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory has submitted projects worth Rs 2462.71 crore to the Government of India for sanctioning under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III.

Documents in possession of The Precious Kashmir reveal that J&K UT administration has submitted project proposals of 235 roads involving 1782.72 kilometers to the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NIRDA) for sanctioning under PMGSY.

“Out of 235 roads, 173 roads of 1108.46 km have been proposed with 3.75 m carriageway width at an average cost of Rs 125.21 lakh/km, 58 roads of 621.04 km have been proposed with a carriageway width of 5.50 meter with an average cost of Rs 156.73 lakh/km and 04 roads of 53.27 km have been proposed with carriageway width of 7.00 m at an average cost of Rs 190. 38 lakh/km,” reads the documents.

The projects involve total financial outlay of Rs 2462.71 crore- of which Rs 2188. 25 crore has been proposed as GoI’s share and Rs 274.76 crore as UT share.

The projects came up for discussion during the pre-empowered committee meeting held at New Delhi on December 9, 2021 through videoconferencing. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of additional secretary (Ministry of Rural Development) and Director General, National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA).

The Centre is likely to take a final call on the projects during the empowered committee meeting which will be held after the J&K government responds to observations raised by the Centre during the preliminary meeting.

The PMGSY is an ambitious road connectivity programme launched by the Government of India to provide all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages.

Exercise Caution, Do Not Panic

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Oped

Precious Kashmir

12/01/2022

Although belated, Omicron presence has been confirmed in Kashmir Valley. Jammu has also reported five more cases, taking the overall tally in J&K to 13.

There is also a surge in overall covid-19 cases. More than four thousand cases have been confirmed in the last less than a week.

As per experts, the current surge in COVID-19 cases in India is driven mostly by the Omicron variant. They said the rise in numbers was expected to continue for the next few weeks. At present, COVID deaths were being reported mostly among those with co-morbidities, the experts said.

The early indication given by the IIT Kanpur model noted that transmission was taking place very actively and that India should be reaching its peak in the near future.

The peak will depend on the virus transmission, and how well the community adheres to the COVID-appropriate behavior, experts said, which underlines that a lot can be avoided by people. If the norms are violated, a faster and taller peak is likely to occur.

The initial experience from the genomic surveillance shows that from 10 days to two weeks, over 90% of the virus circulating in big cities in India was the Omicron variant.

Advisories by the government need to be taken seriously given that the virus surge is linked to affecting livelihood besides life itself. There should be no laxity in enforcement of Covid Appropriate Behaviour. There is need for increasing testing capacity, besides declaring micro-containment zones and hot spots in areas registering increase in the cases, and to avoid crowding at public places.

The message to the public at large needs reiteration on a daily basis as the Covid-19 cases mount: let’s not panic, but let’s also exercise utmost caution. There is need to ramp up infrastructure including the production and distribution of medical oxygen, while ensuring that health facilities have their own captive oxygen generation plants and storage tanks.

The focus at present has to be on the preparedness status of the entire spectrum of equipment, as also mock drills to ensure all preparations are in place before they are needed critically.

While it is true that cowering in fear of the virus can no longer be an option, as sustenance of everyday life has to be ensured, the government and people cannot take things for granted. For activities to continue, both the government and the public must not allow virus free run.

Delhi govt will not impose lockdown: CM

National

Indo Asian News Service

12/01/2022

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday reiterated that the Delhi government is fully prepared to deal with any kind of problem posed by the Covid-19 situation. However, it will not impose a lockdown.

“We are fully prepared. We have the ability to extend up to 37,000 beds if necessary. Our 37,000-bed capacity has yet to be utilised. If necessary, we may prepare 10000-11000 ICUs in Delhi by preparing 37,000 beds. However, there isn’t much of a need for that right now,” the CM said in a statement after reviewing the Covid preparedness at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

He added: “Today, I held a meeting with Dr Suresh Kumar, Director, LNJP and the entire team at LNJP Hospital. I came here to take stock of the Covid preparations. It treated the highest number of patients successfully. More than 22,000 patients have returned home after receiving treatment at this facility.”

Speaking on the Covid-19 restrictions, he said, “I would like to convey to them that these restrictions were imposed under compulsion. I understand that we have to maintain a very delicate balance at this time. On the one hand, it concerns the employment of people, and if restrictions are imposed, people’s jobs will be jeopardised. On the other hand, if we do not impose limitations, your health and life will be jeopardised.”

Talking about the restrictions in the areas surrounding Delhi he said, “This I will appeal to the central government. We also requested the central government representatives who attended the DDMA (Delhi Disaster Management Authority) meeting that imposing limitations simply in Delhi would not work; you would have to include the entire NCR. They have assured that these limits would be implemented throughout the NCR.”

Delhi reported a 25 per cent surge in Covid-19 cases after recording 19,166 fresh cases. With this, the infection tally has climbed to 15,68,896. Meanwhile, the city has recorded 17 Covid deaths on the second consecutive day, pushing the death toll to 25,177.

Rathour praises Kohli for being more disciplined, says his batting was never a concern

Sports

Indo Asian News Service

12/01/2022

Rathour praises Kohli for being more disciplined, says his batting was never a concern

Cape Town: India batting coach Vikram Rathour on Tuesday praised Virat Kohli for being more disciplined in his off-side play during his fighting knock, adding that the skipper’s batting was never a concern for him.

A determined Kohli showed tremendous application and his masterclass was the batting highlight of the fast-moving opening day of the third Test and if not for his effort, India could have landed in a much deeper hole against South Africa at Newlands.

“There was never concern with the way he (Kohli) was batting, I mean he was always batting well, I thought as a batting coach, I was never concerned that he is not batting well, he was looking very good in the nets, he was looking very good in the game also, he was getting starts,” said Rathour at the post day press conference.

“One good change today, he was more disciplined, I agree with that, so he really looked good, really good and solid and with a bit of (more) luck, he could have converted (his knock) into a big one, but I am happy (with) the way he played,” he added.

However, the coach wasn’t pleased with the overall batting performance of his side, saying that batters could have done a better job especially in avoiding soft dismissals.

“These are challenging conditions, not easy conditions to score runs in, but you are right, we are below par. We could have scored 50/60 more runs, that’s what we were at least expecting,” he said.

“Virat played a phenomenal innings…Pujara was looking really good, but then they bowled a good spell in the morning, the conditions were overcast and they were challenging (for batting), but again I thought there were some soft dismissals in the latter part of the innings, we could have done better definitely,” he added.

Rathour also hoped that the visitors would restrict the hosts to a low total on the second day of the ongoing Test.

“The fewer the runs, I hope it will be an equal innings and they won’t get a big lead,” he said.

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