Srinagar: District administration in Srinagar on Sunday ordered five new Containment Zones.

“Five new Containment Zones come up in Srinagar. Rainawari, Dalgate, Buchpora, Soura, Lal Bazaar. Positive cases between 40-50 reported from these areas during mass sampling over past 3 days. Stay indoors. Let’s #BreakTheChain,” deputy commissioner Srinagar Aijaz Asad said in a tweet.

Yesterday, Khanyar was notified as Containment zone after over 50 positive cases were reported from Old City locality.

Srinagar: The Srinagar International airport authorities on Sunday urged passengers to confirm their latest COVID-19 test report and its validity before travelling with the concerned airline operator to avoid any last minute confusion.

“It is advised to all passengers before traveling kindly confirm the latest COVID Test Report requirement and validity from concern Airline operator to avoid any last time confusion, ” Srinagar Airport wrote on its official Twitter handle on Sunday.

Passengers, including tourists arriving in Kashmir through Srinagar airport, undergo RT-PCR test but takes two to three days for the reports to arrive. During this time the passengers are allowed to move into the city.

Until recently, there was no testing of those reaching here by Srinagar-Jammu national highway. The COVID-19 cases have risen unabated in Kashmir valley, particularly the summer capital, Srinagar, which has recorded the major chunk of positive cases during the last about a fortnight.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s top pulmonologist, Dr. Naveed Nazir Shah told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme that self-protection is the only way out for the nation to survive the second phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interacting with PM Modi during ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, Dr. Naveed said: “If we adhere to protective measures such as wearing masks, using hand sanitizers and also maintain physical distancing by avoiding social gatherings, we can overcome the pandemic and carry on our daily work”.

He also dispelled the rumour that the vaccine has any adverse side effect.

Dr. Naveed is the head of department at Srinagar’s Chest Diseases hospital which is the only major healthcare facility for people with lung ailments.

He has not only been in the frontline of fighting the pandemic by attending to scores of Covid patients on a daily basis, but he is also a Covid-19 infection survivor.

He caught the infection last year while treating Covid patients at the hospital.

He has the unique experience of having been a Covid patient and a top ranking pulmonologist.

All shops, Sunday market remain closed in Srinagar

By: Mubashir Aalam wani

Srinagar, Apr 25: Amid spike in the Covid-19 cases, the authorities on Sunday imposed strict Corona curfew across Jammu and Kashmir in order to prevent the virus from spreading further.

According to KNO, a large contingent of police and paramilitary troopers have been deployed all across Srinagar city and other districts in the UT to impose strict curfew today.

“Barricades have also been erected on every entry and exit points of Srinagar city,” witnesses said.

Meanwhile, the famous Sunday market in the city has also been closed here. All the shops and other business establishments are also closed while only emergency services have been allowed to function normally.

Pertinently, the government on Saturday ordered imposition of Corona Curfew from Saturday evening till 6 AM on Monday morning.

“Complete corona curfew to be observed in the Union Territory from 8 pm, April 24 (Saturday) till 6 am, April 26 (Monday). Essential and emergency services to be allowed. All market, commercial institutions will remain closed,” Office of J&K LG had tweeted.

By: Umaisar Gull Ganie

Qazigund:  As many as 110 non-local labourers, who arrived in Kashmir last week, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Qazigund area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Sunday, officials said.

A health official told KNO that they have collected 190 samples of non-local labourers three day ago, among which 110 labourers have tested positive.

As per official, majority of these infected labourers were working with Border Road Organization (BRO) in Ladakh region.

“All positive cases have been sent to COVID care centres at two hotels in Qazigund area where public movement has restricted,” he said.

Srinagar: Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Sunday said that every masjid committee must keep oxygen cylinders ready to help the serious Covid patients while as every masjid should be fumigated in a phased manner.

Talking to KNO Grand Mufti said that every masjid committee must keep oxygen cylinders ready to help serious covid patients, who are in need of oxygen. “Oxygen cylinders should be kept in ready mode in every locality to meet any exigency or the patient who needs it,” he said, adding that masjid committees must procure fumigation machines and fumigate/ sanitize every masjid in phased manner.

He also urged the people to follow SoPs in spirit and to take all precautions while offering prayers in masjids across Kashmir. “I also appeal people to make special prayers/duas in masjids to seek refuge from the Covid pandemic,” the Grand Mufti said.

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday approved the grant of ‘special move TA’ of Rs 25,000 to all the Darbar move employees irrespective of actual movement as a special case this year in wake of the deadly COVID-19.
The announcement was made through the official twitter handle of Office of the J&K Lieutenant Governor. “Approved Special Move TA @ Rs 25,000 per employee to be paid to all move employees, irrespective of whether they move to Srinagar or work from Jammu. This is a special dispensation in view of the COVID-19 situation,” Office of J&K LG tweeted.

Srinagar: The University of Kashmir has postponed all its offline PG and UG examinations till May 2 in view of the prevailing circumstances, even as it decided that the main campus shall continue to remain closed up to and including Wednesday (April 28, 2021).

The decisions to this effect were taken after detailed deliberations over the prevailing circumstances at a high-level meeting of the varsity’s advisory committee, chaired in online mode by Prof Neelofar Khan.

The meeting however decided that online classes, as already notified, shall continue to be held by the teaching departments.

The meeting, among others, was attended by top KU functionaries including Dean Academics Prof Shabir A Bhat, Dean Colleges Prof GM Sangmi, Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir, Controller of Examinations Prof Irshad A Nawchoo, Dean Behavioural Sciences and Chief Proctor Prof Showket A Shah, in-charge Director IT and SS Dr Maroof Naeem Qadri, Special Secretary to Vice-Chancellor Dr Tanveer A Shah and Joint Registrar Dr Ashfaq A Zarri.

By: Sajid Raina

Sopore: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on late Saturday night recovered the body of a missing Bandipora youth from Wular Lake in Warpora village of Sopore in North kashmir’s Baramulla district.

An official told KNO that locals spotted the body in the Lake and accordingly informed the police late last night. He said a police team immediately rushed to the area and recovered the semi-decomposed body from the spot.

The official said that the body was identified as Rounak Hassan (19) son of Ghulam Hassan, a resident of Ward No. 3 of Plan locality of Bandipora. Rounak had gone missing from his home on March 29 this year.  He said that the body was identified by the cloths, he was wearing, by his family members.
The official said that the body will be handed over to the family for last rites after post-mortem.

By: Umaisar Gull Ganie

Kulgam: Three residential houses were damaged in a massive blaze that broke out in Shouch area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Sunday afternoon.

An official told KNO that fire broke out in a residential house in Batpora Shouch in Kulgam.

“Fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the flames,” he said, adding that three residential houses got damaged till the fire was brought under control

They said no one was injured in the incident and the cause of fire is yet to be ascertained.

He said the three residential houses belong to Abdul Rashid Lone, son of Mohammad Shaban Lone, Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat, son of Abdul Salam Bhat and Gulzar Ahmad Thokar, son of Abdul Aziz Thokar of Batpora Shouch, Kulgam.