New Delhi:  The total number of people who have received anti-coronavirus vaccine shots till Monday evening has crossed 60 lakh, the Union Health Ministry said, highlighting that India reached the mark in 24 days, the fastest in the world.

The USA took 26 days to reach this mark, whereas the UK achieved it in 46 days, it underlined.

Till Monday evening, 60,35,660 beneficiaries were vaccinated through 1,24,744 sessions. Of these, 54,12,270 are healthcare workers and 6,23,390 frontline workers whose vaccination started on February 2, Additional Secretary in the Health Ministry Manohar Agnani said.

Eleven states and Union Territories — Bihar, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala — have vaccinated more than 65 per cent of the registered healthcare workers, he said.

Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, and Puducherry have reported less than 40 per cent coverage of vaccinating healthcare workers.

Srinagar: The government Monday ordered the reinstatement of Kumar Rajeev Ranjan (IAS) who was last year detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in an arms licensing case.

Immediately after his detention by the CBI, the government had ordered Ranjan’s suspension with effect from February 29 last year.

Ranjan was then posted as Additional Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Regulatory Authority, Jammu and was also holding the additional charge of Vice-Chairman, Jammu Development Authority (JDA).

“As recommended by the Review Committee constituted vide government order No. 885-JK (GAD) of 2020 dated 22.09.2020, suspension of Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, IAS, (JK:2010), is revoked and he is reinstated with immediate effect. His period of suspension shall be decided separately,” reads a government order issued here.

Consequently, Ranjan has been posted as Additional Secretary to the government, Revenue Department.

“He shall also hold the charge of the post of Additional CEO, Jammu and Kashmir land records management agency (JaKLaRMA) in addition to his own duties,” the order added.  (GNS)

BY: Bhat Imran

Srinagar, Feb 8: As many as 530 departmental posts are lying vacant in the School Education Department, the government said on Monday.

The multiple orders issued by the School Education Department state that at least 530 departmental posts in the Department were lying vacant upto February-02-2021.

“The school-wise vacancy position of headmasters as on February-02-2021 in ten districts of the valley is 329,” reads one of the orders.

The School Education Department also said that there are 32 positions of ZEPOs’ at zonal level that are lying vacant 22 Zonal Education Officers (ZEO’s) posts across the valley were also lying vacant.

The government orders further state that at least 149 vacancy positions of principals at district level and two deputy CEO’s in Kulgam and Kupwara were also lying vacant.

In another order, the department said that five headquarter assistants as on February-02-2021 were also lying vacant—(KNO)

Srinagar:  low intensity earthquake, measuring 3.5 on Richter scale, hit Kashmir on Monday.

An official said the quake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale occurred in J&K on Monday at 0456 hrs.

“The coordinates of the earthquake are latitude 34.22 degrees north and longitude 73.61 degrees east. The epi-centre was in J&K region and its depth was 30 km,” he said.

Srinagar: Maintaining that the union government is working for prosperity and development of Jammu and Kashmir, the MoS Home GK Reddy Monday said that the central government has undertaken major developmental projects but there has been some delay in achieving the set target due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing the house, Minister of State, Home Affairs, GK Reddy, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that if the development in Jammu and Kashmir is compared with the past 70 years it’s quite better and speedy development is underway and center along with UT administration are working together for the betterment. “The set target for J&K remained unachieved given the COVID-19 pandemic”, he said.

He said that the maiden DC elections were conducted successfully. “Panchayat Raj elections were conducted with 74 voter percentages. 98 percent of BDC elections were conducted. PM Modi led government is working together with the UT administration of J&K,” Reddy said.

The union minister said that for the first time grievance boxes have been installed across J&K. Back to village program was launched. “My Town My Pride program was launched for urban areas. Under the PM development package, the work of 54 percent stands completed. Kashmir will be connected with the Train by December 2022,” he said.

Reddy said that the World-class transport facility in Jammu and Srinagar is set to be completed in the next four years. “The power sector has started a lot of work and additional capacity will be produced. Power for all schemes launched. Water supply for all schemes launched. Village road connectivity being improved and built,”

“J&K has received the entire amount of 881 crores allocation under the PM development program which amounts to 754 spent so far”, he said. “140 new health projects undertaken. Two AIIMS, super-specialty hospital, medical college being constructed. Seven medical colleges have been sanctioned and 15 BSC medical colleges also a cancer institute in Srinagar and Jammu.”

He also informed that all-important union ministers will visit J&K, the first phase of which was completed but the 2nd is pending due to the pandemic. A new business royal package has also been announced.

About the unemployment in J&K, the union minister said that the government has decided to hold a mega employment drive that includes 5 IR Battalions along with 2 border battalions and 2 women battalions in the police for Jammu and Kashmir and the process is underway while the board has been constituted.

“In paramilitary, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir will be recruited and as part of development, the Lakhanpur toll has been abolished”, he said.

“People in Jammu and Kashmir don’t want article 370 rather development for that Pakistan attempts to disrupt and resorts to ceasefire violation and 71 people received injuries in 2020 along LoC while the infiltration attempts were 216 in 2019 but the number has come down to 99. “221 militants were killed in 2020 in J&K. 327 stone-pelting incidents were reported in 2020”, MoS Home informed the house.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre to consider granting one-time relaxation on age limit to UPSC civil service aspirants, including those who had exhausted their last attempt in 2020 exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic and would get one more chance this year provided they are otherwise not age barred.
The Centre had on February 5 told the Apex Court that it was agreeable to give an extra chance as a one-time relaxation to those civil service aspirants, who had appeared in their last attempt in the 2020 exam and are otherwise not age-barred.
It, however, had said that no relaxation shall be granted for 2021 exam to those candidates who have not exhausted their permissible number of attempts or to those who are otherwise age-barred from appearing in 2021 exam as per the prescribed age limits of different categories, or to any other candidate for any other reason whatsoever.

Traffic to ply from Srinagar to Jammu today

Srinagar: After witnessing pleasant weather during the last two days, sun on Monday played hide and seek though maximum temperature remained above normal in the summer capital, Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir valley, where there is predictor of light snow on Tuesday at isolated places.

After witnessing an improvement of over a degree in the night temperature since Sunday, people in Srinagar woke up to a chilly Monday morning.

However, as the day progressed, sun played hide and seek, resulting in improvement in the day temperature. Against minus 3.6 degree recorded on Sunday, the night temperature in Srinagar improved and settled at minus 2 degree, which is over a degree below normal. The maximum temperature in the city settled over 2 degree above normal.

The night temperature improved due to overcast conditions though settled below normal across the valley.

A Met department spokesperson said very light rain and snow would occur at one or two places in the upper reaches in Kashmir on Tuesday under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance (WD), which will hit the region during the next 24 hours.

He said skies will be partly to generally cloudy during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, where the maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 9 degree and zero degree, respectively.

The maximum and minimum temperatures at Gulmarg, which is known of its ski slopes and quality of snow, improved and settled above normal. Against minus 6.5 degree recorded on Sunday, the night temperature in the ski resort improved and settled at 2.5 degree, which is slightly below normal.

Meanwhile, traffic shall ply from Srinagar towards Jammu on Tuesday.

The Traffic official the traffic will ply from Srinagar towards Jammu on a second consecutive day on Tuesday. “And no vehicle from the opposite direction will be allowed to move. ”

“The LMVs and HMVs could not be cleared it on Monday, so traffic will continue to move from Srinagar towards Jammu for a second consecutive day,” an official said.

The traffic plan on 09-02-2021, on Srinagar Jammu Highway, Traffic authorities in their communiqué said, “subject to fair weather and better road condition, only one-way traffic shall be allowed from Srinagar towards Jammu including Ramban-Banihal(local traffic) on Jammu-Srinagar NHW. ”

Meanwhile, Mughal road continues to remain closed due to the heavy snowfall in the region. (Additional inputs from UNI and KNO)

Chount Koul, Sonar Koul, Gagribal have lost its glory: Locals

Nobody owning tributaries, Govt must fix responsibility: Expert

BY: Owais Gul

Srinagar: There was a time when people especially children used to bath in the tributaries in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, but now the situation has changed as the tributaries here are almost on extinction and the garbage mostly polythene could be seen piled up on the embankments as well as in the water.

The locals while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) at the once gushing three tributaries including Chount Koul, Sonar Koul and Gagribal said that the tributaries have lost its glory as the successive government failed to give it proper attention.

Abdul Majeed, a local resident at Aabi Karpora area near Gagribal tributary said that the though government is taking steps to clean stream, only at the front side.

“The backside of the tributary where we live has not been cleaned from the past several decades. It is we (locals), who clean it almost every week,” he said.

He added that during the tenure of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, it was told that the people living in this particular area will be shifted to other places to take requisite measures to preserve the tributary.

“The poles regarding the measure were erected in the locality during that period. However, since then no step has been taken,” Majeed told KNO.

Majeed also said that such is the height that the locality has no drainage, thus resulting in further deterioration of Gagribal tributary.

At Sonar Koul, locals said that after the floods hit Kashmir in 2014, the government started dredging process in this tributary, but it has not been cleaned for a long now.

“There was a time when people especially children used to bath and women folk used to wash clothes or utensils at the tributary. However, the charm and glory are no longer visible. It won’t be an exaggeration to say than the tributary is dead. It has reduced to a useless place, which is being used for throwing garbage,” Manzoor Ahmad, a local resident said.

At Chount Koul, one can imagine the similar situation of Achan, a garbage dumping site and this tributary. “It is a well-known fact that the government never paid heed to preserve these tributaries, but at the same time, the local populace  are also responsible for the current mess as we as a local should have taken care of it, but we used these tributaries as garbage dumping place,” Ghulam Muhammad, an elderly said.

He said in his childhood, people used to drink the water of the tributary, now it is not only filthy but poisonous too. He added that the government needs to take special care of these tributaries to preserve it for the generations to come.

Environmental Expert M RD Kundangar told KNO that it is unfortunate that the major departments including Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) and Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) don’t own the tributaries.

“The government at the topmost priority must fix responsibility in this regard,” he said.”Once the responsibility is fixed, the department concerned would take apt steps accordingly to keep the tributaries alive.”

Kundangar said that the Chount Koul, which is basically the exit channel of Dal Lake and river Jhelum, was also being used for water transportation while Sonar Koul was a tributary of river Jhelum.

He said that both the government apathy, as well as the negligence of people, is responsible for the current mess of these tributaries, adding that the government must speed up the rehabilitation process.

“In Gagribal, there used to be a residential area in the ancient time as well. But, the rehabilitation process is must also to preserve the tributaries,” he said—(KNO)

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) on Sunday censured the ruling BJP and its ilk for undermining democracy by resorting to illicit means to capture power in District Development Council elections.

The BJP and its ilk is unabashedly undermining all norms in the elections to DDC chairpersons and deputy chairpersons, said Party’s Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar in a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) while expressing dismay over the nose diving of democratic norms and set rules in DDC council elections.

Ruing the impartiality of the administration and the laidback attitude of CEC, he  stated that the way administration was playing partisan to curry favor with the ruling party and their stooges has also raised a question mark on the partiality of the entire process.

He said these parties having failed to make any mark on the recently concluded DDC elections are now employing different means to make up the numbers with little understanding of the long term consequences on the prospects of democracy in the region.

“Through DDC elections, the people of J&K had conveyed a message. The BJP and its ilk are unfortunately making a gaffe in reading it. In a curious turn of events it is nose diving to the lowest ebb of political impropriety in a gambit to grab power in DDCs using whatever means to achieve that end. The rampant instances of defection , and crossovers  using coercion, intimidation and bullying post DDC elections  in Shopian, Srinagar, Budgam and elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir is a telling indictment  of the BJP’s brand of politics. BJP is wittingly helping political impropriety and opportunism take roots. This, I believe, is not compatible with the country’s democratic moorings and certainly not in the greater interests of a region like that of ours,” he said.

“Defections and crossovers have become a new normal in this part of the world. The region has turned into a breeding ground of such a breed of politics nurtured by ruling BJP. In the long run the current phenomenon will have a formidable bearing on the nature of electoral politics in Kashmir. The pest of defection has been a prominent feature of BJPs new touted Kashmir policy. Having failed to garner support through genuine electoral process, the BJP is touching new lows on a daily basis to help its team B,” he said.

He said the scenario unleashed by the ruling BJP tantamount to robbing the mandate of people.(KNO)

Srinagar: Militants managed to escape after a brief gunfight near Khanabal area in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday.

A police officer said there was a brief encounter between militants and a joint team of police and army at around 11 am.

He said there was a lull following which massive searches were launched. However, he said, there no second contact established with militants nor any one was arrested, suggesting that the militant fled from the spot.

Earlier, army had tweeted that a “speculative search operation” was launched in the area, some 5 kilometres from Khanabal town followed by a round of fire by the troops at 1100 hours.

The army said suspected militants fired back at 115 hours. (GNS)