New Delhi: India registered 2,17,353 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to the Union Health Ministry data released on Friday.

With this, the total number of those who tested positive for the disease has reached 1,42,91,917.

Besides, the country also recorded 1,185 deaths due to the virus, pushing the death toll to 1,74,308.

Total 12,547,866 patients have recovered from the virus since the start of the epidemic.

Meanwhile, total 11,72,23,509 Coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the country since January 16, with 27,30,359 jabs being given since yesterday.

Currently, the country has 1569743 active cases.

According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), so far, 26,34,76,625 tests have been conducted in the country. Of these, 14,73,210 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday, India reported 2,00,739 cases and 1,038 deaths.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea regarding re-registration of outside vehicles as Public Interest Litigation even as it ordered its listing on Monday with a petition pending before its single Bench.

“List this petition along with the record of (a plea pending before court) on 19.04.2021. This petition would not be treated as PIL,” a bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal  said, as per the order a copy of which lies with GNS.

The petitioner, Irshad Hussain Munshi, a resident of Buchpora Srinagar, has sought directions to the concerned authorities to quash RTO Kashmir’s circular dated March 27, mandating the vehicle owners who have purchased their vehicles bearing outside registration number to apply for a new registration as per the provisions of Section 47/50 of Motor Vehicle Act 1988 within a prescribed period of 15 days, failing which action as warranted shall be initiated against them.

He also sought directions also clarify by way of a circular or order on the issue of levying of tax on the vehicles purchased outside J&K if the previous owner of the vehicle has already paid the tax on the vehicle.

He also sought directions to clarify by way of circular from which period the tax is to be levied on the vehicles.

Munshi has also sought directions to the concerned not to seize or impound or fine the vehicles bearing outside registration number in pursuance of the RTO’s circular.

He also sought direction to the authorities concerned to give the public ample period of time for submitting heir documents for re-registration and also sought directions to amend/relax the rules in order to avoid inconvenience to the general public.

Last week, a bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey  sought government’s response on a petition filed by another individual. Advocate General D C Raina, questioned the maintainability of a petition challenging authority of the Regional Transport Officer, Kashmir, vis-à-vis issuance of a Circular on March 27 last.

The Advocate General further submitted that in implementation and adherence to the law and in application of Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, read with Section 50 and 54, the officials have the authority to seek registration of the vehicle which remained in the J&K for a period exceeding 12 months.

Earlier, Faisal Qadri, senior counsel for the petitioner, invited attention of the Court to section 46, 47 and 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to indicate that the scheme of law provides that when a motor vehicle registered in one State has been kept in another State, for a period exceeding twelve months, the owner of the vehicle shall, within such period and in such form containing such particulars as may be prescribed by the Central Government, apply to the Registering Authority, within whose jurisdiction the vehicle then is, for the assignment of a new registration mark.

Therefore, he submitted that it is the Central Government which can prescribe the period and form in which the vehicle is required to be registered by the registering authority, according to GNS Correspondent.

He also submitted that in the event the RTO Kashmir’s circular is given effect, it will frustrate the object of Section 47 which is sought to be implemented by the RTO Kashmir.

In support of his submissions, the senior counsel also referred to and relied upon the judgment of the High Court of Karnataka delivered— Jagdev Biradar v. State of Karnataka.

“Prima facie there appears to be a consensus over the fact that while adhering to the provisions of law, the Competent Authority can seek such response from the owners whose vehicle remains in the State other than the one from where the vehicle is purchased for a period exceeding 12 months, but the question is raised as to who that Competent Authority is?”

Subsequently, “feeling it appropriate”, the court had asked that to file their response so that the controversy is set at rest. (GNS)

Srinagar:  Rains continue to lash Kashmir Valley, bringing a considerable drop in the mercury on Friday.

A meteorological department official told GNS that Srinagar received 10.7mm of rainfall in the last 36 hours till 5:30 p.m. The minimum temperature settled at 7.9°C against 7.8°C on the previous night while the summer capital of J&K recorded a maximum of 13.2°C against 21.1°C normal for this time of the season.

Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, received 3.0mm of rain and recorded a low of 7.4°C and maximum of 14.9°C against normal of 20.7°C, the official said.

Pahalgam received 10.4mm during the time while the famous resort in south Kashmir recorded a minimum of 3.4°C and maximum of 13°C while was 5.2°C below normal for this time of the year, he said.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, received 2.6mm of rain and recorded a low of 6.0°C against previous night’s 6.5°C and maximum of 14.5°C which was 6.0°C below normal, the official said.

Kupwara received 22.2mm of rain during the 36 hours while the north Kashmir district recorded a low of 6.3°C against 6.6°C on the previous night and maximum of 10.9°C which is 10.8°C below normal for the area, the official said.

Gulmarg, the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, received 26.4mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 1.0°C against 0.5°C on the previous night which was minus 1.3°C below normal, the official said. The resort recorded maximum of 3.5°C which is 7.2°C below normal for the season there, the official said.

Jammu district received 0.9mm of rain, Banihal 6.4mm, Batote 3.0mm, Katra 0.4mm, Bhaderwah 8.7mm and Kathua 0.0mm, the official added.

Director Meteorological department Sonam Lotus said that “erratic weather” shall continue till the weekend.

“Weather to remain partly to generally cloudy, turning windy towards afternoon till April 17th in both Districts,” he said, adding, “Light snow is expected at isolated to scattered places of Kargil district mainly on higher reaches mainly along Drass -Zojila etc. and at isolated places on higher reaches of Leh district,” he said.

The weather department has also issued ‘yellow warning for “isolated thunder/lightning with gusty wind 30- 40-kmph” for both Jammu and Kashmir divisions till April 17. There are four types of colour codes signifying the level of caution: green which means no action, yellow—situation to be watched), amber –government agencies need to be prepared for severe weather and red –action needed by the agencies.    The weather department in a statement issued here said that dry weather is expected on April 19 while “fairly widespread rain” is expected on April 20 and widespread rains have been forecast on April 22 and 22 respectively. (GNS)

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha took a comprehensive review of the status of various projects of Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd. (CVPPPL) in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in a meeting at the Raj Bhavan here today.

At the outset, Managing Director, CVPPPL, A.K Choudhary briefed the Lt Governor regarding the present status of the power projects in the UT viz.- Pakal Dul  HE Project(1000 MW), Kiru HE Project (624 MW),  Kwar  HE Project (540 MW),  Kirthai-II HE Project (930 MW).

Cumulatively, the upcoming power projects will generate 3094 MW at the cost of an estimated Rs 23000 crores, substantially enhancing the generation capacity in the region.

The chair was briefed about the status of ongoing works, besides the to-date position of requisite approvals at various levels. Various other important issues to facilitate the smooth and timely implementation of projects were also discussed during the review meeting.

Taking stock of the local employment being generated in these power projects, the Lt Governor asked the project executing agencies to ensure maximum local employment while implementing the projects and undertaking short-term skill enhancement initiatives for the local youth.

The Lt Governor issued on-spot directions to concerned officers for removing any bottlenecks hampering the completion of ongoing projects and called for better synergy between agencies for making J&K a power surplus region in the country.

Stressing on speedy completion of the projects, the Lt Governor directed the concerned officers for completion of all projects within the set timelines. He also asked the CVPPPL functionaries and the officials of the executive agencies to ensure employment of locals in the projects.

The Lt Governor enquired about the CSR works being carried out by the executing agencies in the field of Healthcare, Education, Swachh Bharat, and Vocational Training and called for amplifying such socio-economic initiatives under CSR to benefit the people of the region and making positive changes in their lives.

Sh. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Sh. Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Sh. A.K. Choudhary, Managing Director, Chenab Valley Power Projects (CVPPPL); Sh. Rajan Kumar, CGM, NHPC Regional Office, Jammu, and Sh. Nirmal Singh, GM, Dulhasti Power Station were present.

Senior functionaries of the various executing agencies including Sh. Rajendra Chopde, Zonal Head M/s Patel Engineering Ltd; Sh. Rajendra Kumar, Project Controller AFCONS; Sh. Sunil Sharma, Executive Vice Chairman, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd; Sh. T. Krishna Vice President & Head, Hydel &Tunnels Business Unit L&T also attended the meeting.

Sopore: A Panch associated with BJP was among three persons arrested for extorting money using toy gun in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said on Friday.

“Police received a complaint from Mudasir Ahmad Shiekh son of Ghulam Muhammad Shiekh of Panzipora Sopore, son in law of Ghulam Nabi Lone of Hamdani Colony Nadihal, stating therein that during the intervening night of 03/04 April 2021 some unidentified persons barged into his in-laws’ house at Nadihal along with weapons and asked them to drop them at South Kashmir,” a police spokesman said in a statement to GNS.

“The complaint further reads that they also took away two mobile phones and threatened them not to disclose this to anyone.”

In this regard, the police spokesman said that a case (FIR No. 20/2021) under section 450, 506 IPC and 7/25 Arms Act was lodged at Police Station Panzlla and investigation was set into motion.

“During the course of investigation, police taking advantage of modern techniques zeroed in on one person identified as Mehraj ud Din Rather, a Panch, son of Haji Muhammad Akbar Rather, resident of Minipora Krankshivan, Sopore and was called for questioning,” he said, adding, “During questioning, he confessed his involvement in the commission of crime and involvement of three other persons identified as Mohammad Saleem Wani, a Sarpanch son of Ghulam Rasool Wani resident of Hardpora Achabal, Anantnag, Bashir Ahmad Lone son of Muhammad Shaban Lone resident of Nadihal and Muhammad Dilawar Khawaja son of Sonnaulla Khawaja resident of Dachinpora, Ruhama.”

Subsequently, he said, two accused persons namely Bashir Ahmad Lone and Muhammad Dilawar Khawaja were arrested while Mohammad Saleem Wani is still at large. “Efforts are on to nab the third accused.”

During further course of investigation, it came to fore that accused Mehraj-ud-Din Rather and Mohammad Saleem Wani had conspired to extort money from Lone Traders.

“It was also disclosed that Meharaj-ud-Din contacted Bashir, and Bashir contacted Dilawar for obtaining some fake (toy) weapons for committing the crime,” he said, adding, “The fake weapons have been also seized by Sopore Police and further investigation in the matter is going on.” (GNS)

Kulgam: Police on Friday arrested a woman SPO and disengaged her from services for allegedly “obstructing” a military operation in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

“On 14 April 2021, after receiving specific input regarding the presence of (militants) in Karewa Mohallah of Village Frisal, a search operation was launched there. During the course of search, the search party was obstructed by a woman identified as Saima Akther D/O Ghulam Nabi Rah R/O Frisal,” police said. “The woman resisted the search party and turned violent, and uttered statements glorifying violent actions of (militants),” the police said, adding, ““She captured a video through her personal phone and forwarded it on social media platforms with the aim of disrupting the search.”

Taking cognizance of the matter, police said, the woman has been arrested and subsequently terminated from service.

Regarding the incident, the police said that a case (FIR No 19/2021) U/S 353 IPC, 13 UAP Act stands registered in Police Station Yaripora and “investigation of case is in progress.” (GNS)

By: Anzer Ayoob

Doda: A woman was killed while her husband was injured in a road accident that took place in Chakrabati area of Bhalla tehsil in Doda district on Friday.

Officials said two persons were traveling in a van from Pranoo to Chakrabati when the accident took place, resulting in on spot death to woman and critical injuries to her husband.

Deceased has been identified as Neelma Devi (30) wife of Ankush Kumar while the injured has been identified as Ankush Kumar (32) son of Ram Lal Bhagat—both residents of Sindra area of Bhalla.

Medical superintendent AH GMC Doda, Dr Yudhveer said that injured has been shifted to emergency ward having head injury but he is stable and is undergoing treatment—(KNO)