Mercury rises above sub-zero level in Srinagar, Gulmarg coldest

Srinagar, Feb 4: Amid overnight cloud cover, the minimum temperatures rose considerably across Kashmir Valley with mercury increasing to above sub-zero level in Srinagar, officials said on Thursday. The respite from the severe cold seems short-lived as the meteorological department has forecast dry weather for next one week with 2-3 degrees Celsius drop in the mercury from tomorrow.

“While light to moderate rain/snow occurred at most places of J&K during past 24 hours, significant improvement in the weather is expected from today afternoon,” Sonam Lotus, Director of the local meteorological department told GNS. “Mainly dry weather is expected for next one week from tomorrow (February 5 and expect minimum temp to fall by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius tomorrow,” he said.

A meteorological department official told GNS that Srinagar witnessed 1.2-centimeter of snowfall in last 24 hours till 0830 hours today while mercury settled at 0.4°C against minus previous nights minus 0.4 °C in the summer capital of J&K. It was for the first time in almost two months that Srinagar recorded temperature above sub-zero level, first time in 55 days. The minimum temperatures have consistently remained far below normal this season. On January 31, the mercury plunged to minus 8.8°C, the coldest January night recorded in three decades.

The minimum temperature also improved in other parts of the Valley, the MeT official said.

The mercury settled at minus 3.3°C in Pahalgam against minus 3.9 °C on the previous night while the the world-famous health resort received 1.6cms of snow.

Qazigund, the gateway town of J&K, recorded a low of minus 0.8°C against minus 2.8°C on the previous night and it received snowfall of 13.2cms. Kokernag recorded a minimum of minus 5.1°C against minus 2.4 °C on the earlier night while it had 6cms of snow.

Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 6.4°C against minus 5.2°C earlier night while the world’s famous skiing resort received the good amount of fresh snowfall, the official said.

The mercury settled at minus 2.3°C in Kupwara against minus 1.2°C on the previous night while northern Kashmir district received 1.5cms during the time, the official added.(GNS)

Srinagar: Flights to and for Kashmir Valley were disrupted for the second consecutive day due to snowfall on Thursday, officials said.

Officials told GNS that several flights were delayed due to the snowfall but “obstacles” were cleared later. In all three flights were cancelled, they said. The flight operations at the airport were affected on February 3 as well as most parts of the valley received snowfall. As many as 14 flights were cancelled due to poor visibility.  (GNS)

Srinagar:  Jammu-Srinagar National Highway shall remain closed for traffic on Friday, officials said on Thursday.

“On 05 February 2021, no vehicular movement shall be allowed from either side on Jammu-Srinagar highway in view of maintenance/repairing of the road,” a traffic department official said.

Meanwhile, Mughal road, connecting Shopian and Poonch districts, also remained closed due to the snowfall. Srinagar-Leh highway has been officially closed on the orders by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir on December 30.

Meanwhile, divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma reviewed the progress of 4 lanning work on Nashri to Banihal stretch of Highway at a video conference meeting with concerned officers.

The Divisional Commissioner took detailed review of the progress on land acquisition pertaining to Nashri to Banihal stretch.

The Deputy Commissioner Ramban apprised the Div Com about the progress on each case and informed that most of the land acquisition cases have been resolved, while other pending cases are also at different stages. The Div Com sought details of land acquisition, structure removal, disbursement of compensation to land owners and shifting of electric towers.

The Div Com asked the DC Ramban to follow   and complete the pending land acquisition cases, structure removal for smooth execution of work on the vital road project.

The concerned officers apprised the Div Com that the work on shifting of electric towers has almost been completed.

The Div Com asked the concerned officers to   resolve bottlenecks which are hampering the work progress. He also directed the NHAI to expedite the pace of work on the stretches where land acquisition has been completed for timely completion of road project.

Srinagar: The Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the work on Banihal-Qazigund tunnel is about to complete, saying that it will be dedicated to the people soon.

In a tweet, Singh informed that the tunnel along the Srinagar-Jammu highway in J&K will be soon dedicated to the people.

“Work nearing completion! #Banihal-Qazigund Tunnel of 8.5 km at an elevation of 1,790 mtr is the only 4 lane twin tube tunnel in #JammuAndKashmir soon to be dedicated to the people,” Singh tweeted.

Pertinently, reports said that work on the double tube 8.5-km-long Banihal-Qazigund tunnel along the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar highway would likely open for traffic in March.

The work on the Rs 2100-crore project started in June 2011 by Navyuga engineering company and on completion would reduce the road distance between Banihal in Jammu province and Qazigund in South Kashmir by 16 km, from the present 35 km, and will bypass Jawahar Tunnel and Shaitan Nalla, which is prone to heavy snowfall and slippery conditions during winters. (KNO)

Srinagar: The Government of India on Thursday cited dearth of All India Service (AIS) in Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory as the reason for merging J&K cadre of IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

According to statement of objects and reasons of “The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (amendment) Bill-2021” moved in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, the merger of J&K cadre with AGMUT happened due to severe shortage of All India Service officers in the UT.

The merger will facilitate posting of officers of AGMUT cadre in J&K to overcome deficiency of AIS officers to some extent, it further states.

“There is a huge deficiency of the officers of All India Services in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. The developmental schemes, centrally sponsored schemes and other allied activities suffer due to non-availability of All India Officers in the existing cadres of the Jammu and Kashmir as such there is a requirement of merging it with Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Union territories cadre so that the officers in this cadre can be posted in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to meet out any deficiency to some extent,” reads the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.

It further reads that move will provide uniformity in the governance of all the Union territories and further enhance efficiency in their administration.

The bill was brought in the Parliament to replace ordinance brought on January 7 for merger of J&K cadre of coveted services with AGMUT cadre. (KNO)

Srinagar: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Thursday said that the issue related to the wrong depiction of the map of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been raised strongly at the highest level.

Minister of State for External Affairs Vellamvelly Muraleedharan in response to questions raised including whether a map of India on the website of World Health Organization (WHO) is depicting the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in a totally different colour;  if so, the details thereof; whether Government of India has lodged any protest with WHO in this regard; and if so, the steps taken by Government to ensure that such incidents may not recur in future?

In a written reply filed by the MoS, External Affairs, Muraleedharan, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that the issue of the wrong depiction of the map of India on the World Health Organization (WHO) website has been raised strongly with WHO including at the highest level.

The minister informed that in response, the WHO has informed the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva that they have put a disclaimer on the portal.

The response, Minister said that “The designations employed and the presentation of these materials do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.”

“Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement”, the minister said in a written reply.

The MoS External Affairs said that “Nevertheless, Government of India’s position on the right depiction of its boundaries has been unambiguously reiterated.”

It may be recalled that earlier in a color-coded map of countries, based on the latest pandemic numbers, the World Health Organisation had depicted Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as separate from the India. (KNO)

Srinagar: At least eight persons from Jammu and Kashmir are languishing in jails in foreign countries, Parliament was informed on Thursday.  Among them, two are in Pakistan, two in Bangladesh and three each in Lebanon, Portugal and Cambodia, minister of state, External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha while responding to a query member Prof. Manoj Kumar Jha who  had sought details of Indian nationals lodged in foreign prisons, domicile-wise, sex-wise and offence-wise.

The eight persons from Jammu and Kashmir are among 7139 Indian prisoners including under-trials in the foreign jails, the MoS said.

“Due to strong privacy laws prevailing in many countries, the local authorities do not share information on prisoners unless the person concerned consents to the disclosure of such information. Even countries which share information do not generally provide detailed information about the foreign nationals imprisoned.”

To a question regarding the total number of applications for repatriation received and total number of Indian nationals repatriated from foreign prisons since the enactment of the Repatriation of Prisoners Act in 2003, the MoS said: “After the enactment of the Repatriation of Prisoners Act in 2003, 205 applications for repatriation have been received and 73 Indian prisoners have been repatriated from foreign prisons.”

He said there are 31 countries with which India has bilateral agreements in regard to repatriation of prisoners.

Regarding the inter-ministerial process of interaction between different Ministries and Departments and the average time taken to process repatriation requests, he said, “There is a regular process of inter-Ministerial meetings, consultation and coordination between the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs on the issue of repatriation of Indian nationals in foreign prisons including in the context of bilateral agreements for Transfer of Sentenced Persons (TSP).”

Transfer of sentenced persons involves several stages of processing, namely obtaining consent of the transferring country, availability of complete documentation necessary for processing the request, obtaining comments of the State  Government concerned and identification of the specific prison where the prisoner is to be lodged, making escort arrangements by the State Government concerned for  transfer from foreign country to India, clearance from various agencies etc, he said further. “All these factors have to be attended to while processing request transfer, “he said as per GNS, adding, “Therefore, no rigid timeline can be fixed for completion of such requests as the fulfilment of requirement depends on receiving complete documentation and clearance from foreign Governments, State Governments and other relevant agencies etc.” (GNS)

Calls for executing projects expeditiously, passes specific directions for completion within timelines

Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today called for executing the ambitious Smart City projects in Jammu and Kashmir expeditiously.

The Lt Governor was chairing a high level meeting of Administrative Secretaries, experts on Smart City Projects and other stakeholders here at Civil Secretariat.

Stressing on timely completion of the Smart City Projects, the Lt Governor passed specific directions to the concerned officers for completion of the projects within the set timelines without any delay.

“The vision behind the ambitious projects is to transform Jammu & Srinagar into modern, sustainable and economically vibrant cities with dedicated focus on improving infrastructure & services, increasing mobility and enhancing the administrative efficiency”, observed the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor called for exploring every possibility to achieve the desired results and asked the concerned officers of Smart City projects in J&K to apply the learning gained from the experience of the officers of Smart City Ahmedabad Development Ltd during the implementation phase for various smart city initiatives.

The Lt Governor stressed upon the necessity of proper inter-departmental coordination and also directed the officers to get a better exposure and understanding of different aspects of Smart City projects.

He also enquired about the measures taken while completing projects by Smart City Ahmedabad Development Ltd and issued directions to the concerned officers for effective implementation of different projects and IT based smart civic services in Jammu & Kashmir. He further emphasised upon the need of undergrounding of overhead utilities all along the proposed Complete Street development project.

Keshav Varma, Chairman, Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL); Mukesh Kumar, Commissioner, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation; Nitin Sangwan, CEO, Smart City Ahmedabad Development Ltd and Jagdish Patel, General Manager, Technical, SRFDCL gave their valuable inputs for sharing of knowledge and expertise in implementing various aspects of Smart City projects.

Experts from Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Ltd explained the details and gave suggestions for development of Tawi River Front on the lines of Sabarmati River Front, besides flood control measures to be taken. They also briefed the chair about the challenges and best practices adopted during the development of Sabarmati Riverfront at Ahmedabad, and drew parallels between the Tawi River Front project.

CEO, Smart City Ahmedabad Development Ltd gave a detailed overview of projects undertaken by SCADL, while CEO, Jammu Smart City Ltd., Sushma Chauhan presented the status of similar projects executed & under execution in Jammu, including Integrated Command & Control Center; upcoming ICCC integrations; smart urban mobility & Intelligent Traffic Management System; City beautification; façade lighting & illumination; efficient green initiatives; solid waste management etc.

Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lt Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; concerned Administrative Secretaries; Divisional Commissioners, Jammu and Kashmir; IGPs Jammu and Kashmir; Deputy Commissioners, Jammu and Srinagar; Commissioners, Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations; VCs JDA and SDA; HoDs; Chief Engineers and other senior officers attended the meeting, in person and through virtual mode.

Anantnag: The District Panchayat Election Officer (DPEO) Anantnag, Anshul Garg has ordered for recounting of votes for District Development Council Seat 08-Larnoo Anantnag.

According to an order issued by the DPEO, the recounting of the votes for 08-Larnoo DDC Constituency shall be held on 05 February, 2021 from 11:00 AM onwards at New Conference Hall, Dak Bungalow Khanabal.

Deputy District Election Officer, ADC(S) Anantnag, has been appointed as the Nodal Officer to monitor the conduct of the whole counting process as per the same order.

The recounting of votes has been ordered following directions issued by Additional Commissioner, Kashmir, the Appellate Authority, before whom Sajida Begum, the nearest rival, had filed an appeal for recounting under relevant provisions of the law.

The DDC Election for 08- Larnoo was conducted in Phase-1 on 28 November, 2020 and Khalida Bibi was declared winner by a margin of 07 votes against her nearest rival Sajida Begum on counting day which was held on 22 December, 2020.

Meanwhile, the ACD Ang also nodal officer Training management, along with master trainer Dr Arshid imparted thorough training to the counting staff deputed for the recounting process. The master trainer elaborated the guidelines about postal ballots, migrant, rejected and valid votes.

The ACD informed that for polling in Larnoo DDC seat, 143 polling stations were set up in the block. He also stressed on the counting staff to follow all guidelines for the counting process as well as the directions from the competent authorities.

Besides, the role of micro observers, counting assistants & counting supervisors and all the critical issues associated with the counting process were discussed threadbare during the training session.