New Delhi: More than 400 Parliament staff have tested positive for Covid-19, after screenings were conducted on January 06 and 07.

According to sources, around 1400 staff members were tested, and over 400 tested positive for Covid. Most of those tested positive are asymptomatic.

The tests come as the Parliament heads toward Budget Session, even as the dates have not been announced yet.

It was not clear how many of the staff tested positive for Omicron, as that would be revealed after genome sequencing of the samples is done.

Testing for staff and MPs has been arranged in the Parliament complex, and the Lok Sabha secretariat has also started booster dose vaccinations for MPs above 60 as per government guidelines.

A circular issued on Sunday said arrangements have been made for MPs above 60 years with comorbidities to get booster shots of Covishield or Covaxine in the Parliament complex. (UNI)

Jammu: In view of surge in Covid-19 cases, Divisional administration Jammu on Sunday cancelled the Beating Retreat ceremony, being held on every weekend at Suchetgarh Border Outpost along the Indo-Pak border here.

“In view of the surge in Covid-19 positive cases and latest Covid related SOPs and guidelines issued by the State Executive Committee, the Beating Retreat Ceremony, being held on every weekend at BoP Suchetgarh by the BSF, shall not be held from today onwards, till further orders,” the office of Divisional Commissioner Jammu said.

It further said that Covid situation shall be again reviewed after two weeks by the Administration and BSF authorities and the decision regarding its resumption will be taken accordingly.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Wagah-Attari style retreat ceremony at Octroi Post in Suchetgarh on October 3 last year.

After the inauguration of the ceremony, the footfall has increased manifold on the spot. (UNI)

MeT predicts dry conditions till Jan 16, Gulmarg freezes at minus 10°C

Srinagar: After two-day snowfall at most parts of the Valley, the weatherman on Sunday forecast dry weather till January 16 at most places in Jammu and Kashmir.

“As expected, weather improved significantly in J&K. Light rain/ snow may occur at scattered places of J&K, especially over eastern parts during next 24 to 48 hours,” an official of the MeT department said in a statement.

“Thereafter, weather likely to remain dry till January 16,” he said. He said there would be gradual rise in day temperature and fall in night mercury.

The MeT also urged people putting up in snowbound areas to be wary of avalanches.

“Although, snowfall has ceased, still threat of avalanche exists in snowbound areas. So, People are once again requested not to venture in avalanche prone areas and remain cautious especially during next 1-2 days. “Our data shows that most avalanches are triggered during intense heavy snowfall,” the official said. He also urged people to maintain proper ventilation of their rooms.

Srinagar, Jan 9: After days of snowfall, weather improved in J&K and Ladakh even as night temperature recorded a drop with mercury settling at minus 10.0°C at the world famous skiing resort of Gulmarg on Sunday.

A meteorological department official here said that as expected, weather improved significantly in J&K and Ladakh. “Currently weather is partly cloudy in J&K and generally cloudy in Ladakh,” he said, adding, “Except isolated incidences of accidents, there was no report of any major weather related events during this spell of western disturbance.”

He said Srinagar, with snowfall of 4.2cms in last 24 hours till 0830 hours today, recorded a low of 0.3°C against previous night’s 0.2°C. It was 2.1°C above normal for this time of the year in the summer capital of J&K, he said.

Kashmir is presently under the grip of 40-day long harshest period of winter, known locally as ‘Chillai Kalan, which started from December 21. It is followed by a 20-day long ‘Chillai Khurd’ and a 10-day-long ‘Chilla Bachha’.

Gulmarg, having 15cms of fresh snowfall during the time, recorded plunge in temperature as mercury settled at minus 10.0°C against minus 4.6°C on the previous night at the world famous resort, he said.

Qazigund with 14cms of snow in the last 24 hours recorded a low of minus 0.4°C against 0.0°C on the previous night in the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.

Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir had 16.8cms of snowfall during the time and recorded a low of minus 1.8°C against minus 0.2°C on previous night, he said.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had 12cms of snow during the time and recorded a low of minus 2.3°C against minus 0.9°C on previous night, the official said.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir, had 4.1cms of fresh snowfall during the time and recorded a minimum of minus 0.6°C against 0.0°C as on the previous night, the official said.

Jammu had 28.4mm rain and recorded a low of 6.8°C against previous night’s 10.6°C and normal of 7.3°C for the J&K’s winter capital during this time of the year, he said.

Banihal had 19.8cms of snowfall and recorded a low of minus 4.4°C while Batote and Bhaderwah with 24.5cms and 20.3cms of snowfall, recorded minimum of minus 1.8°C and minus 0.2°C respectively, the official said.

Ladakh’s Leh recorded a low of minus 8.2°C against last night’s 9.7°C while mercury at automatic station in Kargil settled at minus 7.0°C and minus7.3°C at Drass, the official said. (With inputs from GNS)

Sgr-Jmu highway reopens

Srinagar: Flight operations resumed at Srinagar international airport as 28 took off while five others were cancelled on Sunday. Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir Valley, reopened for stranded traffic and as per officials only LMVs shall be allowed on Monday provided road was clear.

Early morning, airport authorities cleared thin layer of ice on runway to prevent aircraft from skidding.

“We had 33 flights scheduled today, 28 flights operated and 5 were cancelled, AAI said in a tweet.

Since January 4th, there were 134 flight cancellations at the Srinagar Airport. “134 were cancelled from Srinagar only and 268 to and from Srinagar.”

While 43 flights were cancelled at Srinagar airport on Saturday, 6 each could not operate on Thursday and Friday.

42 flights were cancelled on Tuesday while many as 37 could not operate on Wednesday.

“The passengers of all those flights are being accommodated now. The new bookings will open after clearing the backlog,” the AAI had said.

Meanwhile the Jammu-Srinagar highway reopened for stranded traffic after remaining closed for the three days owing to heavy snowfall and multiple landslides in Ramban district.

“Tomorrow, subject to fair weather and better road condition (after clearance of road) LMVs Passengers shall be allowed from both sides on Jammu-Srinagar NHW viz Jammu towards Srinagar and vice-versa,” a traffic department official said, adding, “No Bus or Mini Bus will be allowed from either side.”

Earlier authorities speeded up the restoration work amid improvement in weather, officials said.

With improvement in weather after days of heavy rain and snowfall across Jammu and Kashmir, especially on Friday and Saturday, the road clearance operation was intensified on the 270-km-long strategic highway–the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the world.

The highway was closed for vehicular traffic on Friday afternoon shortly after it was opened for fresh traffic after two days of closure.

‘UT marching towards 100% coverage through Jal Jeevan Mission’

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday said that the dawn of 2022 has brought joy in the lives of residents of over 1000 villages in the Union Territory, as every household in these villages has been provided with tap water connection under government’s flagship programme Jal Jeevan Mission.

According to the statistics from the Jal Shakti Department, 1077 villages have been provided with Functional Household Tap Water Connections (FHTC).

The progress report of Jal Jeevan Mission in Kashmir division reveals that 593 villages have been provided with 100 % tap water connection. It includes 37 villages in Anantnag, 5 in Bandipora, 129 in Baramulla, 68 villages in Budgam, 147 in Ganderbal, 19 in Kulgam, 34 in Kupwara, 66 in Pulwama, 29 in Srinagar and 59 in Shopian.

Similarly, in Jammu division, 484 villages have been provided FHTCs under JJM. According to the data, Samba tops the list with cent percent FHTC coverage of 109 villages, followed by Doda with coverage of 105 villages and Jammu at third position with 100 percent coverage in 95 villages. Besides, 100 percent FHTCs have been provided in Ganderbal and Srinagar in the first phase which includes 11 blocks, 383 panchayats and 925 villages.

The department aims to provide tap water connections in the entire UT by the end of 2022, two year before the target.

According to the data, J&K has provided 4.64 lakh tap water connections since the launch of the scheme on August 15, 2019. The government has set a target to cover all the 20 districts of the union territory by September 2022.

Mission Director, Jal Jeevan Mission, Syed Abid Rasheed said 1000 villages becoming ‘Har Ghar Jal’ is a remarkable achievement by J&K’s Jal Shakti Department and underlines the commitment made by government to cover every rural household with FHTC before the deadline of 2024.

New Delhi: With 552 fresh new Omicron cases detected in last 24 hrs, India’s tally of this highly transmissible Covid-19 varaint has climbed to 3,623, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Of the total, 1,409 people have recovered so far.

As per the Ministry, the variant has spread to 27 States and UTs till date, with Maharashtra and Delhi continuing to be the worst-hit.

Maharashtra has reported 1,009 Omicron cases and 439 of them have been discharged.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Omicron tally stood at 513, of which 57 have recovered.

The other states with a three-digit Omicron tally are Karnataka (441), Rajasthan (373), Kerala (333), Gujarat (204), Tamil Nadu (185), Haryana and Telangana (123 each) and Uttar Pradesh (113).

Two-digit case tallies were reported in Odisha (60), Andhra Pradesh (28), Punjab (27), West Bengal (27) and Goa (19).

The states with single-digit Omicron cases are Madhya Pradesh and Assam (nine each); Uttarakhand (eight); Meghalaya (four); Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir and the Andman & Nicobar Islands (three each); Puducherry (two); Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Manipur and Chhattisgarh (one each). (IANS)

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Sunday released 17 books on the life and philosophy of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay ji. These books have been authored by Prof. Kaushal Kishor Mishra and published by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Chair, Banaras Hindu University.

The Lt Governor observed that the books published by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Chair, BHU will enrich readers’ lives and expand their horizons.

The Lt Governor also threw light on the ideals, values and vision conceived by the pioneer of Integral Humanism Philosophy, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay ji. He said that the teachings of Pandit Deendayal ji are more relevant today than ever.

The Lt Governor applauded the efforts of Prof. Kaushal Kishore Mishra and congratulated him for the voluminous work.

Prof. Koushal Kishor Mishra, Professor In-charge, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Chair, BHU and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, BHU presented the context of publication of the books during the covid period, besides mentioning various works of Banaras Hindu University and Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Peeth.

The books which were released included- Integral Humanism: Revisited in Contemporary India; Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay ka Rashtra Gaurav Ke Prati Drishtikon (Hindi); Saanskrtik Chintan(Hindi); Sanatan Hindu Dharma & Ethics; Vichar Vidhi-Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Parichay (Hindi); Samaj Prabandhan- Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Parichay (Hindi)- besides other books.

Dr. Sunita Singh, Assistant Professor, BHU; Dr. Yogendra Dixit, Assistant Professor, Sanskrit University Jammu, besides research students of Pandit Deendayal Peeth, BHU were present on the occasion.

Srinagar: A video clip showing the Indian army soldiers carrying a pregnant woman to hospital on their shoulders amid heavy snowfall in J&K’s Uri sector is doing the rounds on the social media on Sunday.

Defence sources said the army received a distress call from Ghagar Hill village of LoC Boniyar requesting urgent help for carrying a pregnant woman to hospital.

“Braving continuing heavy snowfall and knee deep snow on ground, the soldiers carried the woman on their shoulders over a distance of 6.5 Kms to the primary health centre.”

In another incident during the recent heavy snowfall, the Army, on its Twitter page, said: “Chinarwarriors got a distress call from Ramnagri in #Shopian for urgent medical assistance for a pregnant lady. In heavy snowfall, evacuation team carried the lady on a stretcher & brought her to District Hospital #Shopian.

“Family blessed with a baby boy”.

These gallant acts have been greatly appreciated by the local people as they reflect the humanitarian character of the Indian Army. (IANS)

New Delhi: Covid vaccine certificates in the five poll-bound states will not have Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s picture because of the Model Code of Conduct that has come into place.

A Health Ministry said that the ministry will apply some filters on the CoWIN platform to exclude picture of the Prime Minister from Covid certificates being given to people in five poll-bound states.

The Election Commission on Saturday announced the schedule for Assembly polls in the five states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, and the model code came in place alongside.

While Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa will go for voting in a single phase on February 14, voting in Manipur will be held in two phases on February 27 and March 3. In Uttar Pradesh, there will be seven phases from February 10 to March 7. The counting will take place on March 10 in all five states. (IANS)