Precious Kashmir

ADGP Jamwal felicitates Inspector Rajesh Anand

City

28/12/2021

ADGP Jamwal felicitates Inspector Rajesh Anand

Jammu: Additional Director General of Police Security J&K, Dr. S.D Singh Jamwal Monday felicitated Inspector Rajesh Anand J&K ace Roller Hockey Player (State & Sher-E-Kashmir Awardee) of J&K Police (presently posted in Security Jammu) former captain India Roller Hockey Team, for winning Gold Medal at 59th National Roller/Inline Hockey Championship held at Mohali, Punjab from 11th to 22nd December-2021.

While congratulating the officer, Dr. S.D Singh Jamwal hailed the hard work and dedication of J&K Roller Hockey Masters Team for winning Gold Medal (National Champion) for 3rd consecutive year for J&K UT Roller Hockey Team and hoped that the team shall earn more honor for UT J&K as well as J&K Police.

Swarn Singh Kotwal, SSP Security Central Pool Jammu and Ranjit Singh Sambyal, SSP (Tech) Security were also present during the felicitation function held at Security Headquarters, Sidhra Jammu. SSP Security Jammu, Swarn Singh Kotwal also congratulated the officer and his team members for the great achievement.

Jab for kids

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Oped

Precious Kashmir

28/12/2021

Vaccines save lives. Measles vaccines alone are estimated to have prevented over 21 million deaths in less than two decades, according to UNICEF.

Vaccines help protect people against diseases that can cause serious harm especially in people with developing immune systems. Last week, the government of India announced that children above the age of 15 will be covered under covid-19 vaccine. The centre’s decision comes months after several countries with robust scientific institutions allowed vaccinations for kids. The covid-19 pandemic has already taken an invisible toll on the young, who have lost out on the learning and social interactions crucial for their formative years.

As on date, they are also the largest group that is unvaccinated. A variant as highly transmissible as Omicron can lead to a large number of infections in them.

Because the variant contains several mutations that allow the virus to escape antibodies, the forecast is that several — in spite of being vaccinated — may likely experience breakthrough infections or re-infections. Seen this way, this also bodes harm for children

Up until now, Covid-19 has caused mild symptoms in children. But in South Africa where the Omicron variant is now the dominant strain, there has been an increase in hospital admissions among young kids.

Even as children were not affected severely by the Covid pandemic in the past, vaccinating them will protect them from getting Covid and can also help keep them from getting seriously sick even if they do get Covid-19, as per a doctor’s body.

Covid-19 vaccine is required for children to return to classrooms and is important for ensuring a safe learning environment in schools, the doctors’ body said.

It underlined that defeating Covid-19 was impossible until children are vaccinated. It is hard to beat the pandemic without vaccinating children who constitute nearly 40 percent of the population, it stressed. Now that the government of India has opened up the vaccine for the kids and starts from January 1, there is a need to create awareness about the safety of the vaccines.

For parents, it can be difficult to make a confident decision amid the slew of studies and statistics. There might be reluctance on part of the parents to get their kids inoculated but the right information would be able to dispel whatever apprehensions parents might have. Vaccinating children could help re-openings schools but safety should be ensured at all levels.

Form dedicated anti-narcotic force, will help co-ordination, Shah tells states

National

Indo Asian News Service

28/12/2021

Form dedicated anti-narcotic force, will help co-ordination, Shah tells states

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asked all states to ser up a dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) under the Director General of Police, which will also function as state Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) secretariat.

Chairing the third meeting of the apex-level committee of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) here, he said that “in the 75th year of Independence, we have to ensure to make the resolve to bring about the vision of ‘Drug-Free India’ given to us by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Noting that the government has adopted zero tolerance policy against narcotics, considers drug abuse a major threat to national security and that can only be dealt with overall coordination, he stressed that there is a need for better coordination between all drug law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies, not only at the national level but also between the Centre and the states.

He said the central NCORD unit under the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will work as effective mechanism for information exchange between various institutions and agencies, while an effective system has to be put in place to stop increasing use of Dark Net and crypto-currency in illegal drugs trade and to prevent illegal drug cultivation, the agencies can use drones, satellites and other technology.

Describing drug-trafficking as a borderless crime, he said that drugs, valued at Rs 1,881 crore, have been seized between 2018 and 2021, which is three times higher than the value of drugs seized between 2011 and 2014.

He also said that a Narcotics Training Module should be prepared at national level so that police, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, prosecutors and people from other departments can be trained under it.

To stop misuse of dual-use prescription medicines, a standing Inter-Ministerial Committee under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should be formed which should have officials from the Department of Pharma, the National Medical Commission, the NCB, and industry experts.

He also said that special efforts should be made by all coastal states and Union Territories and state NCORD Committee meetings should have all stakeholders like Coast Guard, Navy, Ports Authority etc.

Directions were given for the arranging scanners and related equipment for scanning of incoming and outgoing containers at all ports, whether government or private.

During the meeting, an elaborate spread of awareness campaign against drugs was suggested along with setting up of de-addiction centres in all major prisons.

The Home Minister also directed that all personnel, all Central Paramilitary police forces and state police forces should participate in the Modi government’s oath campaign of drug-free India and ensure that all their personnel become a part of it.

He also added that this campaign should be completed by January 12, 2022 on the Swami Vivekananda Jayanti which is celebrated as National Youth Day.

The meeting was organised by the NCB and the Union Home Secretary, Secretaries of related ministries, the DGs of all CAPFs, Chief Secretaries and DGPs of states participated.

KL Rahul may lead in ODI series against Proteas if Rohit fails to recover in time: Report

Sports

Indo Asian News Service

28/12/2021

KL Rahul may lead in ODI series against Proteas if Rohit fails to recover in time: Report

New Delhi: Stylish opener KL Rahul is likely to captain Team India in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa if the newly appointed skipper, Rohit Sharma fails to recover in time.

Rohit was named India’s limited-overs captain ahead of the start of the South Africa tour earlier this month. He was also appointed vice-captain of the Test side.

However, he got injured (hamstring injury) during the training session in Mumbai and was later ruled out of the Test series against Proteas.

He is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru where he is working on his recovery.

Earlier, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) had said that Rohit might return in three weeks to lead the team in the ODI series, starting on January 19, 2022.

But now a report by Sports Today is suggesting that he is unlikely to recover in time and KL Rahul might lead the team.

KL Rahul made a brilliant start to the Test series against South Africa as he hit an unbeaten ton (122*) on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test in Centurion. With this, he became only the second Indian opener to score a century in the Rainbow Nation after Wasim Jaffer’s century in Cape Town in 2006-07.

Implement street vendors Act: Parliamentary panel to J&K Govt

Anchor stories

Ibni Maqbool

27/12/2021

Implement street vendors Act: Parliamentary panel to J&K Govt

By: Ibni Maqbool

Srinagar: A parliamentary committee has reiterated its recommendation to the Government of India and the Jammu & Kashmir government to take expeditious steps to implement the various provisions of the street vendors (protection of livelihood and regulation of street vending) Act-2014 in the Union Territory.

In its report, a copy of which is lying with The Precious Kashmir, the standing committee on Housing & Urban Affairs has stated that J&K would require continuous hand holding, frequent reminders and monitoring of the progress of the implementation of the Act by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

“The committee appreciate the Ministry’s efforts to impress upon UT of Jammu & Kashmir to expeditiously implement the provisions of the Street Vendors Act and UT of Ladakh to notify the Scheme under the Act within the time frame prescribed in the Street Vendors Act, 2014 to enable the street vendors to carry out their business legitimately and to avail benefits under the schemes meant for welfare of the street vendors. They, however, apprehend that there may be many teething problems for the newly constituted UTs of J&K and Ladakh and considering that the jurisdiction of the Act was extended to these UTs recently, they would require continuous hand holding, frequent reminders and monitoring of the progress of the implementation of the Act by the Ministry,” reads the report.

It is worthwhile to mention that the Ministry, vide letter dated April 30, 2021, requested UT of Jammu & Kashmir to conduct survey, issue certificate of vending (CoV) and identity card to identified street vendors and to implement the provisions of Street Vendors Act, 2014.

The Government of Jammu & Kashmir has notified both the Rules and the Scheme under the law.

Water scarcity ends in Khiram villages, courtesy Jal Shakti Deptt

Anchor stories

Ahmed Shabir

27/12/2021

Water scarcity ends in Khiram villages, courtesy Jal Shakti Deptt

By: Ahmad Shabir

Anantnag: The water paucity to the most populous village, Khiram in South Kashmir’s Bijbehara area has come to an end as the Public health Engineering, now Jal Shakti Department has successfully completed the construction work of two bore wells within the shortest span, bringing the respite tot the people living in the village.

The residents of the Durpora and Khodpora localities of the village were facing acute shortage of drinking water for over a decade as the multi-crore regional water supply scheme constructed more than a decade ago to provide water to the village had proved to be failure.

Last year, the Jal Shakti department in order to provide relief to the people of the village decided to construct two bore wells. The department soon after floating tenders started construction on both the bore wells.

Local residents said that the work on both bore wells was supervised by the executive engineer PHE division Bijbehara, Mohammad Haneef as a result both saw the completion well on time.

The officials of the department have earned all the praise from locals for completion of the project in a short span of time.

“It was due to the efforts of the officers of the department that the bore wells meant to provide portable drinking water to the village were completed on time. It is for the first time that any developmental work in the village has been completed on such a priority. We are highly thankful to the officials who prioritised this work bringing a major relief to the villagers,” said a resident Abdul Majid.

Another resident Basheer Ahmad showering raise over the officials of the PHE department said that the construction of bore wells on war footing basis has put end to the miseries of thousands of people.

“Since the regional water supply scheme had proved a failure, more than half of the population of the village were facing hardships due to the non-availability of drinking water. But the construction of bore wells has proved to be major relief for us,” Ahmad said.

The scheme was completed at the cost of 1 crore 50 lakh rupees by PHE division Bijbehara and is benefitting the population of four thousand people. The localities being supplied water from the scheme include , Durpora, Hajipora , Patnu and Darga Mohalla.

“t is after several decades that our wait for the portable drinking water has ended. Officials of the department including executive engineer, PHE division Bijbehara and deputy commissioner Anantnag who ensured the completion of borewells on time deserve all the appreciation,” another local, Bilal Ahmad said.

Officials of the PHE also see the completion of the scheme as the department’s major success.

“People of this village were really in desperation due to the non-availablility of water. The construction of the scheme which was recently commissioned successfully has put end to the water woes of this huge chunk of population,” Executive engineer , PHE division Bijbehara , Mohammad Haneef said.

The credit for this success, he said, goes to all the officers including AEE, JE and other field staff.

Govt building strong public health care system in J&K: LG Sinha

Front

Precious Kashmir

27/12/2021

Govt building strong public health care system in J&K: LG Sinha

Inaugurates upgraded facility at paediatric cancer ward, children’s play area at SMGS hospital

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today inaugurated the upgraded facility at paediatric cancer ward & children’s play area at SMGS Hospital, Jammu.

The Lt Governor observed that Sparkle Women Club is a living example of how selfless service can make a real contribution, a profound difference in our society. Those who choose to serve the disadvantaged unconditionally are doing greater service to humanity, the Lt Governor said.

The transformation of the paediatirc cancer ward has been made possible by the Sparkle Women Club, a voluntary organization dedicated to public service, he added.

The Lt Governor said, “We are building a strong well-developed public health care system that aims to ensure the highest possible level of health and well-being of people”.

He appealed for the active participation of communities and healthcare workers in prevention efforts amid fears of third Covid wave.

The Lt Governor underlined that the biggest example of selfless service can be witnessed across the hospitals.

“In the last 20 months, we have seen countless true heroes, hidden behind PPE kits and masks. They risked their own lives to save others”, he added.

“Our doctors, nurses, para-medical staff, ambulance drivers, ASHA, Anganwadi workers, sanitation and other front line workers courageously fought against two waves of covid pandemic and continue to do so. I salute their spirit of selfless service”, said the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor observed that the last seven and half years have witnessed a revolution in the health sector of J&K which was never seen in the last 7 decades. The increased funding for the health sector of the UT has resulted in substantial improvement in J&K’s health ranking, he added.

The Lt Governor emphasized the role of civil society members in the vaccination drive for 15 to 18 years age group commencing January 03, 2022, and booster dose for health care workers from January 10, 2022 as announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister in his address to the nation.

The Lt Governor also urged the NGOs and volunteers engaged in community service to come forward and complement the government’s efforts in the fight against the drug menace.

Earlier, the Lt Governor took a round of various wards of the hospital and also interacted with the children.

Vivek Bhardwaj, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, while speaking on the occasion appreciated the Sparkle Women Club for their noble endeavours and underlined the importance of community participation in public welfare initiatives for the betterment of society.

Dr. Shashi Sudhan Sharma, Principal & Dean GMC & AHs Jammu informed about the upcoming health care facilities catering to the patients.

Poonam Sethi, Chairperson, and Sarika Sethi, Co-founder of the Sparkle Women Club thanked the Hospital Administration and the Medical fraternity for rendering their support to the organization.

Benu Lakra, Project Head, Sparkle Women Club, briefed about the various initiatives undertaken by the organization for the welfare of the people.

Chander Mohan Gupta, Mayor JMC; Dr Raghav Langer, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Anshul Garg, DC Jammu; Dr Dara Singh, Medical Superintendent; faculty members, Dr GS Saini, Dr Sanjeev Digra; members of Sparkle Women Club, Doctors, nursing staff and people were present on the occasion.

PM cautions against continuing threat of Covid-19, Omicron

Front

United News Of India

27/12/2021

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday once again cautioned people against the continuing threat of Covid-19 and new variant Omicron, as he also paid tributes to Group Captain Varun Singh who was the pilot of the ill fated chopper which crashed killing India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 13 others.

In his radio program Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister Modi said it is the strength of the people and because of everyone’s effort that India could fight the biggest pandemic in a 100 years.

“We stood by each other like a family in every difficult moment. To help someone in one’s locality or city… everyone tried to do more than what one could have done. If we compare the vaccination figures of the world today with those of India, it feels that the country has handled such an unprecedented task… how big a goal has been achieved,” the Prime Minister said.

“Crossing the 140 million vaccine dose mark is an achievement of each and every Indian. This shows the trust of every Indian in the system; shows trust in science and in scientists; and is also a testament to the willpower of we Indians who are fulfilling our responsibilities towards the society,” he said.

He however cautioned citizens against the continuing threat of the pandemic, and said, “We also have to keep in mind that a new variant of Corona has already knocked at the door. Our experience of the last two years is that our own effort as a citizen is very important to defeat this global pandemic.”

“In such a situation, self-awareness, self-discipline is in itself the country’s strength in fighting against this variant of Corona. It is this very collective strength of ours that will defeat Corona; with this very sense of responsibility we have to enter into 2022,” he said.

The Prime Minister also remembered Group Captain Varun Singh, and said, “In that accident, we lost the country’s first CDS, General Bipin Rawat and his wife along with many brave hearts.

Varun Singh also fought death bravely for many days, but then he also left us.”

The Prime Minister also quoted from his letter to his school principal after winning the Shaurya Chakra this year.

“After reading this letter, the first thought that came to my mind was that even after reaching the pinnacle of success, he did not forget to nurture his roots. Second – that when he had time to celebrate, he showed concern for the generations to come. He wanted that the lives of the students of the school that he studied in should also be a celebration,” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister quoted from Group Captain Singh’s letter, “It is ok to be mediocre. Not everyone will excel at school and not everyone will be able to score in the 90s. If you do, it is an amazing achievement and must be applauded. However, if you don’t, do not think that you are meant to be mediocre. You may be mediocre in school but it is by no means a measure of things to come in life”.

“Never lose hope. Never think that you cannot be good at what you want to be. It will not come easy, it will take sacrifice of time and comfort. I was mediocre, and today, I have reached difficult milestones in my career. Do not think that 12th board marks decide what you are capable of achieving in life. Believe in yourself and work towards it,” the letter said.

“Varun had written that if he could inspire even a single student , it would be a lot. But today I would like to say – he has inspired the whole country. Even though his letter talks only to the students, he has given a message to our entire society,” said the Prime Minister.

At the beginning of his address, the Prime Minister also said that he could have talked about government’s achievements in this radio program which has now been running for seven years, but talking about citizens who have dedicated their lives for national good is “very comforting” and gives “deep inspiration”.

In the 84th episode of Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister shared a clipping of national song ‘Vande Mataram’ being sung by students in Greece as a part of the celebrations ‘India’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

He mentioned Dr Kurela Vithalacharya from Telangana who has set up a library with over two lakh books Ramannapet Division in Yadadri-Bhuvnagiri District, Serbian Scholar Dr Momir Nikich who has compiled a Bilingual Sanskrit-Serbian Dictionary, 93-year old Professor J Gendedharam of Mongolia who has translated about 40 ancient texts, epics and compositions of India into Mongolian language, and Sagar Mule of Goa who is preserving and practicing centuries old ‘Kaavi’ painting style.

He also mentioned a special drive being run in Arunachal Pradesh where people are surrendering their air guns to control hunting of birds.

Prime Minister also urged people to read more books, and urged the audience to share five of their favorite books to inspire others to read. (UNI)

Militant killed in Anantnag gunfight: Police

Front

Indo Asian News Service

27/12/2021

Srinagar: A militant was killed in an encounter between militants and security forces at Srigufwara area in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, officials said on Sunday.

“One unidentified militant killed. Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition recovered. Search going on,” police said.

The firefight between militants and security forces had started on Saturday after a joint team of the police and the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of militants. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where militants were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.

This was the third encounter between militants and security forces in Kashmir on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday police and security forces killed two militants in an anti-militancy operation in Tral area of Awantipora, while two other militants were also killed in an encounter by police and security forces in Shopian. (IANS)

2 policemen injured in Pulwama grenade attack

Front

Precious Kashmir

27/12/2021

Srinagar, Dec 26: Two policemen were injured after militants hurled a grenade at a police party in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred at Pulwama’s Main Chowk, they said.

Two police personnel were injured in the explosion. They have been hospitalised, the officials said.

“Today at about 1500 hours Pulwama police received information about an incident near Post Office Washbug Pulwama. Senior police officers reached at the spot,” police said in a statement issued later, adding, “Preliminary investigation revealed that (militants) had hurled a grenade upon joint deployment of Police and CRPF near Post Office area of Washbug Pulwama in which two Police personnel got splinter injuries and were shifted to nearby hospital for the treatment of their injuries.”

“Police has registered a case in this regard under relevant sections of law,” it said, adding, “Investigation is in progress and officers continue to work to establish the full circumstances of this terror crime. Area has been cordoned and search in the area is going on.”

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