Precious Kashmir

Ex-ministers, former MLA, Sikh Progressive Front call on Lt Governor

Jammu & Kashmir

15/03/2021

Jammu: Former Ministers, Ex MLA, and a delegation of Sikh Progressive Front called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, at Raj Bhavan here Sunday.

Former MoS, Pawan Gupta met Lt Governor and submitted a memorandum of demands pertaining to augmentation of water supply, better road connectivity with widening of major roads, construction of new bus Stand at Udhampur, restructuring of Udhampur Town for better mobility and reducing congestion in busy markets, establishment of Solid Waste Management plan, Sports stadium at Udhampur, and establishment of Manufacturing and IT industries, besides other issues of public importance.

Similarly, former Minister, Sham Choudhary apprised the Lt Governor about various welfare issues of farmers of border villages in Suchetgarh Sector. He discussed with the Lt Governor difficulties faced by farmers for cultivating the land beyond fencing. He also urged the Lt Governor for timely desilting of irrigation canals in Suchetgarh Sector so that the water of the canals could reach the tail end. The issue of strengthening mobile network was also raised during the meeting.

Later, ex-MLA, Qamar Choudhary called on the Lt Governor and apprised him about the issues of Daily wagers of PDD and PHE departments, Aanganwadi centres. He also demanded for the release of funds for tribal villages.

The Lt Governor gave a patient hearing to all the issues presented by the visiting ex legislators. The Lt Governor assured that all issues would be taken up meticulously for early redressal and genuine demands would be looked into earnestly.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Sikh Progressive Front led by its President Sh. Balvinder Singh met the Lt Governor and presented various welfare issues of Sikh Community of the UT.

The members of the delegation put forth the demands pertaining to relief compensation for Sikh migrants, promotion of Punjabi language in the UT, implementation of Anand Marriage Act, Minority Commission in the UT and installation of statute of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Kunjwani.

While interacting with the members of the delegation, the Lt Governor observed that the UT Government is working with the agenda of holistic development of all the sections of the UT. He said that the Government is committed to promoting the Punjabi language in the UT.

Kupwara-Keran road reopens; Karnah, Machil, Gurez remain cutoff

Jammu & Kashmir

United News Of India

15/03/2021

Srinagar: Roads to several far-flung and remote villages, including the border town of Keran, reopened on Sunday after remaining closed for three days due to slippery road conditions and accumulation of snow.

However, two main roads — Kupwara-Machil and Kupwara-Karnah — were closed since earlier Thursday following which dozens of villages, including near the Line of Control (LoC), remained cut off with tehsil and district headquarter Kupwara. Traffic to the border town of Gurez also remained suspended since January 1 due to accumulation of about three to four feet of snow at Razdan pass and adjoining areas.

“Traffic has been restored on Kupwara-Keran road though the vehicles are currently plying only till Munden, which is few kms from the main town,” an official of Police Control Room (PCR), Kupwara said on Sunday.

He said traffic was restored on the road after clearing about 2.6 feet of snow from Phirkiyan pass and adjoining areas. “The snow clearance operation to restore traffic till Keran town was going on war footing,” he said.

People living in dozens of far-flung and remote villages, including Machil and Karnah, continued to suffer as the roads to these areas remained cutoff for the fourth successive day on Sunday due accumulation of snow.

“Sadhna top received about 2.6 feet of fresh snowfall earlier this week while Z gali recorded 1.9 feet of snow,” he said, adding traffic to these areas will be restored only after clearing snow from the roads and getting a green signal from the officials deployed on the ground.

An official of Police Control Room (PCR) from Bandipora told UNI that Gurez remained closed for traffic since January 1.

“Razdan pass, connecting Gurez, Neeru and dozens of other areas near LoC with district headquarters Bandipora, received fresh snowfall earlier this week hampering the snow clearance operation,” he said.

He said Razdan pass received about 1.5 feet of fresh snowfall while other places, including Dawar and Tulail Valley, recorded 9 inches to a foot of fresh snow.

Now tourist vehicle operators will get All India permit

Jammu & Kashmir

Precious Kashmir

15/03/2021

Srinagar: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced a new scheme for tourist vehicle operators.

Any tourist vehicle operator may apply for an All India tourist authorization and permit through online mode. It will be issued, after relevant documents are submitted and fees deposited, within 30 days of submission of such applications.

The new set of rules to be known as, All India Tourist Vehicles Authorization and Permit Rules, 2021, will be applicable from 1st April this year. All existing permits shall continue to be in force during their validity. The new rules for permits are expected to go a long way in promoting tourism across the states. It will also consolidate a central database and fees of all such authorization which might give a sense of tourist movements, scope for improvement and promotion of tourism. (KNS)

Edu Minister announces linking of OTPRMS certificates with DigiLocker

National

Agencies

15/03/2021

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Sunday announced that the Ministry of Education has decided to link the certificates with DigiLocker in order to ensure hassle-free access to verified Online Teacher Pupil Registration Management System (OTPRMS) Certificates.

“In our effort to provide free access to verified Online Teacher Pupil Registration Management System Certificates, @EduMinOfIndia has decided to link the certificates with DigiLocker. DigiLocker App may be downloaded from apple and play store as well!” Pokhriyal tweeted.

The issued certificates will automatically be transferred to DigiLocker and the same may be traced at the website of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) at https://ncte.gov.in/website/DigiLocker.aspx and DigiLocker at https://digilocker.gov.in/.

DigiLocker App may be downloaded from Android phone and for iPhone.

The Minister also informed that the registration fee of Rs 200/-, payable for obtaining OTPRMS Certificates, issued by NCTE has been waived off.

This will enable all stakeholders across India to be digitally empowered facilitating ease of doing business.

Muslim boy beaten for entering temple to drink water, man arrested: Cops

National

United News Of India

15/03/2021

Ghaziabad: A man has been arrested from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh after a video of him mercilessly thrashing a boy who had gone to a temple to drink water, was widely shared on social media.

The undated video clip begins with the man holding the boy by his shoulders and arms, and telling his accomplice, “Dono ka chehra aana chahiye (both the faces should be seen)”. A male voice behind the camera readily agrees.

Then the man, dressed in a blue T-shirt, asks, “What is your name? What is your father’s name,” making it clear that the boy is a Muslim.

Asked what he was doing in the temple, the boy said, “Came to drink water”.

Then the beating begins. The man hits the boy multiple times on his head and twists his right arm. When the boy falls on the ground, he is stamped on and repeatedly kicked. The boy is seen helplessly trying to shield himself.

The police said the man has been identified as Shringi Nandan Yadav, an engineering graduate from Bihar’s Bhagalpur.

“He is unemployed and was staying in the temple for the last three months,” the police said.

He was arrested after the video was brought to the police’s attention on social media.

“Two videos have gone viral on social video. In one video, a man can be seen spitting on food items. He has been arrested and a case has been filed against him. The other video shows a child being beaten by a man. The accused has also been arrested and a case filed against him. The police, through these arrests, want to make it clear that those involved in such activities won’t be spared and action will be taken against them as per law,” a senior officer of the local police told the media.

The Ghaziabad Police also tweeted to say that taking “immediate cognizance of the video , Shringi Nandan Yadav, son of Ashwai Kumari Ydav, residents in the Gopalpur Police Station limits in Bihar’s Bhagalpr, have been arrested.

A case has been registered and formal procedures were done,” Ghaziabad Police tweeted.

“The police’s strong message is that in such cases, a case will be registered against such persons and legal actions will be taken,” senior police officer Iraj Raja said.

Flood Threat

Edit

Precious Kashmir

13/03/2021

There have been incessant rains from last few days in Kashmir Valley. The phenomenon is normal and the Valley historically received rains during this time of the year. However, the downpour has led to apprehensions of floods even as water level in all rivers, lakes and tributaries is far below than the danger mark for even alert to be sounded.

The officials have time and again called for a fool-proof action plan especially when flood situation arises.

The devastating 2014 floods were a nature phenomenon as well as human tragedy as government overlooked geological features and drainage patterns prior to it as well as post it by allowing illegal construction on river banks and over natural water channels.

In drafting the management plans, Jammu and Kashmir must be aware of the scientific consensus that future rain spells may be short, often unpredictable and very heavy, influenced by a changing climate. There is need to invest in reliable infrastructure to mitigate the impact of flooding and avert disasters like one in 2014 when almost half of the Srinagar and many villages in south Kashmir were devastated.

It is worth pointing out that the response of the governments to the imperative has been tardy and even indifferent. The official machinery is hesitant to act against the encroachment of water bodies’ catchments, river courses and floodplains.

Unscrupulous people are allowed to build structures in close proximity to the rivers and lakes. Granting permissions or closing eye to such constructions is an abdication of responsibility and a violation of Disaster Management Authority Guidelines to prevent flooding.

A recent report has put India among the 10 most disaster prone countries in the world and ranked floods as a climate related hazard posing the greatest risk to the people. India has numerous flood forecasting systems that provide predictions of water levels and flows but not their impact in terms of loss of life, damage to buildings, critical infrastructure and agriculture.

The impact-based forecast of flood is in pipeline. It will be useful for efficient, effective contingency planning and swift evaluation of the severity for a necessary response.

The mechanism is tipped to predict impacts to people, their houses, crops, livestock, and transport routes and such mitigating many of the challenges, people face during flood events. The government should be hailed for the decision but the endeavor is this regard for better predictions should continue.

The administration must also draw up various plans clearly and in an era of the climate crisis, the same is a prerequisite, not a choice.

6 out of 12 education zones in Anantnag headless

Anchor stories

Ahmed Shabir

13/03/2021

6 out of 12 education zones in Anantnag headless

Anantnag: Six educational zones of this south Kashmir district are without Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) badly affecting the administrative affairs of these zones.

Anantnag district has a total of twelve educational zones.

Out of twelve zones, sources said six are headless.

Headless zones include Bijbehara, Pahalgam, Aishmuqam, Shangas, Dooru and Verinag.

Some of these educational zones like Shangas, Srigufwara and Aishmuqam , sources said, are without heads for more than a year while others are without ZEOs for months.

“After the ZEOs posted in these zones were either promoted to higher positions or reached superannuation, authorities never bothered to fill these vacant posts,” they said.

Though, authorities have given charge of these zones to other officers of equal rank or to the principals of higher secondary schools but sources said this additional charge arrangement is not working well in the zones.

“In absence of full-fledged ZEOs, administrative affairs in these zones have been badly hit. Humanly it is not possible for one person to smoothly run the affairs of more than one institution,” they said.

Ironically, some principals are looking after two higher secondary schools and an educational zone.

For instance, Principal Higher Secondary School Chittergul has been holding the additional charge of HSS Chaklipora and zone Shangas, which has more than hundred schools.

Similarly, Principal Higher Secondary school Marhama is looking after two educational zones, Bijbehara and Srigufwara, one of the largest zones in the district with atleast 150 schools.

The charge to look after the zone Aishmuqam and high school L P Kalan in Pahalgam are lying with Principal Higher Secondary school Kullar for more than a year while ZEO Qazigund has the additional charge of zone Dooru also.

Educational zone Verinag, official sources, said is being looked after by the principal of a nearby higher secondary school.

“In the absence of full-fledged ZEOs it is the clerks who are calling the shots in these zones,” said an official.

Director School Education and Chief Education Officer (CEO) did not respond to the repeated calls from Precious Kashmir.

However, an officer in the office of DSEK said posts of ZEOs in many zones of the valley are vacant but they are functioning smoothly.

“Charge of these zones has been given to other officers and all these zones are functioning smoothly,” the officer said.

He, however, said filling the vacant ZEO posts is the domain of top authorities.

India, China review situation along LAC in Ladakh

Front

United News Of India

13/03/2021

India, China review situation along LAC in Ladakh

New Delhi: India and China on Friday reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector and held in-depth discussions on the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western sector in Ladakh.

At the 21st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), the Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs while the Chinese side was represented by the Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two sides agreed that the completion of the disengagement in North and South Bank of the Pangong Lake provided a good basis for the two sides to work towards early resolution of these remaining issues.

They agreed that the agreement reached between the two Foreign Ministers in Moscow in September last year as also their recent phone conversation last month, should continue to guide the work of two sides. The two sides should continue their dialogue to reach a mutually acceptable solution for complete disengagement from all friction points at the earliest. This would enable two sides to look at broader de-escalation of troops in the area and work towards restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas. They also agreed that in the interim two sides should continue to maintain stability at ground level and prevent any untoward incident.

The two sides agreed to maintain close communication and dialogue through both the diplomatic and military channels. In this regard, they agreed to convene the 11th round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date so that two sides could work towards complete disengagement from the remaining friction areas, according to a statement by External Affairs Ministry here.

Weather woes to continue

Front

United News Of India

13/03/2021

No threat of floods: I&FC Deptt

Srinagar, March 12: The weather woes are expected to continue till March 16 even as intermittent snowfall continued for the third successive day on Friday in the upper reaches, including world famous ski resort of Gulmarg and border town of Gurez, while rain lashed plains in the valley.

The night temperature witnessed a considerable dip due to wet weather across the valley, where a snow avalanche and landslide warning has been issued for vulnerable areas in view of incessant rain and snowfall during the last 48 hours.

The Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department said there was no threat of floods in the valley as the major rainfall activity was recorded in north Kashmir.

A Met department spokesperson said light to moderate rain and snow would occur during the next 24 hours in Kashmir under the influence of a Western Disturbance (WD), which is active in the region.

“Current weather is likely to persist during day time. Expect gradual improvement from evening,” he said, adding there is a possibility of thunderstorm with rain most likely at some places of south Kashmir today.

He said people are being advised to remain alert for landslide and snow avalanche in vulnerable spots as land is fully saturated.

He said another WD, which originated from the Arabian Sea and is approaching the region though Afghanistan and Pakistan, will hit the region on Saturday evening.

“Under the influence of this WD, light rain and snow would occur at many places in the valley,” he added.

He said the weather is expected to improve from March 16 onwards.

Normal life was thrown out of gear even as intermittent heavy rain continued for the third successive day on Friday, resulting in water-logging in most of the roads and lanes in Srinagar.

Pedestrian and vehicular movement was badly affected due to waterlogged roads in the city, where the night temperature settled a degree below normal.

Against 6.8 degree recorded on Wednesday, the night temperature in Srinagar dipped and settled at 2.2 degree. The maximum temperature also remained several degrees below normal during the last couple of days due to wet weather, forcing people to once again wear sweaters and jackets, besides use other heating gadgets to keep themselves warm.

The Met Department official said skies will be partly cloudy to generally cloudy during the next 24 hours in Srinagar.

No traffic on highway

Front

United News Of India

13/03/2021

Srinagar: Traffic has been suspended for weekly Friday maintenance on the 270-km-long Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only all weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country.

A traffic police official said on Friday that no vehicular movement was allowed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway from both sides in view of the maintenance and repair of the road.

After traffic was being disrupted frequently due to landslides and shooting stones, the administration decided to allow National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to undertake necessary maintenance and repair work on the road so that road is through during other days. However, the locals between Banihal and Ramsu alleged that since NHAI started work to convert the road into four-lane, incidents of landslides and shooting has witnessed increase.

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