By: Abid Bashir

Srinagar: A day after two cousin sisters drowned to death at Ferozpur Nallah at picturesque Drang in Tangmarg area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district due to sudden discharge of water into the canal, the family members of the deceased girls Thursday urged J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to order a probe into the incident and to take concrete measures to prevent further deaths at the site.

A picnic trip turned into mourning for two Srinagar families—when two cousin sisters—Utba, 17 and Eeesha, 19 were clicking selfies at the power canal in the Drang area and all of a sudden huge discharge of water from almost 50 feet height washed them away. “I was myself stuck in a rock, otherwise could have saved my daughter and her cousin from drowning,” Muhammad Ashraf Khan said. “I was pulled out by the locals. My daughter and her cousin sister were fished out by locals too but both of them had head injuries.”

Utba was Ashraf’s lone daughter. “Now that I have lost my daughter and her cousin sister and they can’t return now, my only concern is that the canal which is turning a death trap should be plugged. I urge the LG Manoj Sinha to first order a probe into the incident and then take concrete measures to ensure no more children are washed away at the Drang resort,” said Ashraf amid tears in his eyes.

He said that the area should be fenced so that no children die in the canal and none is able to take selfies. Another relative of the deceased girl said that the LG administration should take initiatives to prevent deaths. “The officials claimed there is a siren and an announcement is made before discharging the water, but this is all a lie,” he said.

He further said that at the time of Utba’s birth, her mother developed some complications and doctors told her she can’t become a mother again. “Our family is shell-shocked and our only concern is that it shouldn’t happen to any other child now,” he said.

Ashraf lives in Bemina locality of Srinagar and another family stays at Qalamdanpora, Nawabazar. It was Utba’s 18th birthday and she had insisted her father take her cousin Eeesha along for a picnic trip to Drang. But little did they know that she along with her cousin would return home dead. At Nawabazar, Eeesha’s father Bilal Ahmed Khan was in deep shock. “My daughter was a topper and I had a dream to see her become a doctor. Everything is over now,” said Khan as he breaks down.

As his friends try to console him, one of his friend Javaid Ahmed Mir said government must take measures like making proper announcements loudly before releasing the water at the canal. “Tourism department should deploy its employees and ensure all the people including children are out of the canal before the water is released. This will save precious lives and prevent further tragedies,” Mir said.

On Wednesday, Sub District Magistrate Tangmarg Sameer Jan had said that an inquiry has been initiated into the death of two cousin sisters. There is a micro-hydro power project at Drang tourist resort where many children and people prefer to take selfies unmindful of the sudden discharge of water from the height that may take them away in a jiffy as happened to two cousin sisters on Wednesday. (KNO)

 Srinagar: The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday filed charge-sheet against the then Executive Engineer (Ex Er) of Roads and Buildings (R&B) and five others for purchasing pipes on exorbitant rates.

A spokesman of the ACB said this evening that the ACB produced charge sheet before Anti Corruption Court Baramulla Mohammad Shafi Bhat (then Executive Engineer, Abdul Gani Bhat (then Head Draftsman, Ghulam Rasool Dar (then Storekeeper, Mohammad Shafi Qazi (then AAO) of R&B Division Kupwara besides Lateef Ahmad Ganie ( Proprietor Lateef & Co) and Sajad Ahmad Rather (Proprietor SI Traders).

He said investigation conducted by Vigilance Organisation (now Anti Corruption Bureau) in case FIR No.13/2011 has proved that accused Ex Er and his associate accused officials of R&B Division Kupwara have purchased Mild Steel Pipes and Galvanized Iron Pipes on highly exorbitant rates and thereby caused a loss of Rs 4,61,000 in the purchase of MS Pipes and Rs 69,630 in the purchase of GI Pipes to the State Exchequer.

The investigation has thus established the commission of offences u/s 5(2) J&K PC Act Svt 2006 r/w sections 467,468,471 RPC and 120-B RPC against accused public servants and private suppliers.

He said Government had accorded sanction for prosecution against the in-service public servants vide order No.43-GAD(Vig) of 2019 dated 26.07.2019. ACB filed the chargesheet in court. The Court fixed August 21,2021 as next date of hearing in the case.

‘Adequate arrangements put in place ahead of Eid-ul-Adha’

By: Owais Gul

Srinagar: The government on Thursday said that violation of Covid guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) amid the pandemic are suicidal, while stating that elaborate arrangements have been put in place ahead of Eid-ul-Adha.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Muhammad Aijaz Asad said that a review meeting was recently held with regard to Eid-ul-Adha to ensure that the people don’t face any hardships on the eve of this holy festival.

“Market checking is being conducted to check overpricing and other related issues for the wellbeing of the people,” he said.

Asked about buying and selling of sacrificial animals, DC Srinagar said that the teams from the concerned departments have been constituted to ensure that the rates fixed by the government are adhered to and no other violation takes place anywhere across the district.

Replying to a query about Eid rush amid the pandemic, he said that there is a need to understand that virus doesn’t go for holidays, presuming it and doing away with the Covid guidelines will be suicidal.

“Whenever we take the virus lightly, we get trapped. It was observed that after the first wave, people presumed that the virus was over, but suddenly an explosion took place across the globe. As experts are predicting a third Covid wave, the SOPs have to be followed in spirit as the virus is in working mode 24*7, so we need to be more cautious,” he said.

Asked about the arrangements on Eid amid Covid pandemic, Asad said self-enforcement is the biggest thing. “Everywhere the people at holy places have been following Covid appropriate behavior and similarly, we also need to follow the suit here,” he said.

About the arrangements at shrines and Masjids for Eid prayers amid pandemic, he said Covid Appropriate behavior is must every day. “Nobody will afford any violation in Covid Appropriate Behavior whether on festivals or on normal days,” he said.

Regarding traffic management plan ahead of Eid, he said that traffic flow usually increases during festivals and weekends. “Over the last one decade, the number of vehicles have increased while roads are the same. The issue of roads is being resolved under the Smart City project. Public transport will be made public friendly very soon. We are heading towards having liable public transport,” he added.

He also wished Srinagarities a happy and prosperous Eid. (KNO)

New Delhi: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that his country is not to be blamed for the border crisis and it is ready for a mutually acceptable solution with India, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua said Wang made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Dushanbe.

In a report from the Tajikistan capital. Xinhua said the Chinese foreign minister pointed out that the truth of the China-India border issues last year is clear, and China is not to be blamed.

China is ready to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the issues that require emergency treatment through negotiation and consultation with the Indian side, Wang said.

He underscored the significance of consolidating the results of disengagement between the militaries of the two countries, refraining from taking any unilateral actions in the sensitive disputed areas and avoiding the recurrence of the situation resulting from misunderstanding and miscalculation.

Wang said that the two countries need to take a long-term view and prevent border-related incidents from causing unnecessary disruptions to bilateral relations.

He noted that since the foreign ministers of the two countries met in Moscow last September, the frontline troops of the two militaries have got disengaged at the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake area, and the situation in the China-India border area has generally been easing.

However, China-India relations are still at a low point, which serves no one’s interests, he added.

Wang stressed that China’s strategic judgment of the bilateral relations remains unchanged, adding that neither country should be a threat to each other, but an opportunity for each other’s development, and China and India are partners, not rivals, let alone enemies.

At present, he added, China and India shoulder more important responsibilities than ever for peace and prosperity in their respective respective regions and the world at large, and should attach greater importance to the common strategic interests and deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

For his part, Jaishankar said that as two major developing countries, the two sides have much in common and should strengthen cooperation in many areas.

According to Xinhua, Jaishankar said the Indian side has not and does not want to change its strategic judgment of India-China relations and is willing to work with China to push bilateral relations out of the trough.

He added that India and China should find a solution to the boundary issue that serves the interests of both countries through dialogue and consultation.

Both sides believe that bilateral relations should be lifted out of the current low level as soon as possible, so as to ensure their development in a sound and steady manner, Jaishankar said.

The two foreign ministers agreed that both countries should strengthen their consultations on border issues through existing mechanisms, consolidate the results already achieved, and strive to shift from emergency response to normal management and control, in a bid to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas, Xinhua said.

Jammu: A drone was spotted over the Line of Control in Pallanwala area here late on Wednesday night.

“The Army authorities have informed us that they fired few rounds after spotting UAV in Pallanwala sector,” police sources said.

“The flying object was pushed back by the troops,” they added.

An alert was sounded after the drone was spotted hovering near Air Force Station Jammu on Wednesday night.

The concerned authorities informed the police that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was spotted between Satwari–Kaluchak-Miran Sahib area, near Air Force Station, as per the sources.

“The security personnel reportedly fired few rounds and the flying object escaped.”

Earlier, the Border Security Force (BSF) troops fired and repulsed a flying object along the international border in the Arnia sector of Jammu.

According to the BSF, on Tuesday night, a blinking red light was observed by own troops in Arnia sector at height of 200 metres on own side.

Alert troops fired from their position towards red blinking light forcing it to retreat.

Last month, two explosives-laden drones were used to carry out an attack on the Jammu Air Force station in the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying UAVs to strike at vital installations in India.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat is currently in Jammu to review security situation on LoC after the drone attacks.

Drones have been sighted in the Union Territory earlier as well on many occasions near military areas since the drone attack at the IAF Station in Jammu last month. (UNI)

Baramulla: Banning local picnickers on weekend days in world famous ski resort of Gulmarg, chairman District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Bhupinder Kumar on Thursday said persons found roaming without masks will have to face a fine of Rs 1000.
The DDMAs of Anantnag and Ganderbal have already imposed weekend restrictions in Pahalgam and Sonamarg respectively to prevent spread of corona virus.
Mr Kumar in an order said today that to contain the spread of COVID-19 disease at tourist destination of Gulmarg, no local  day-picnickers shall be allowed to enter tourist destination Gulmarg on weekend days (Saturday and Sunday).
However, only vaccinated person or persons  possessing Negative Test Report (NTR) of RT/RTPCR conducted within 48 hours shall be allowed to enter the Gulmarg, he said.
He said only tourists who have booking of hotels, guest houses and huts shall be allowed on weekend days. Mr Kumar said enforcement squads constituted  on July 9, 2021 shall impose fine of Rs 1000 on persons found roaming without masks.
He directed Sub District Magistrate (SDM) and Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) to ensure enforcement of these directions with immediate effect.