Agencies
New Delhi, Jan 10: The Centre on Sunday said the bird flu or avian influenza outbreak has been confirmed in seven states .
Besides Uttar Pradesh, the other six states where bird flu is confirmed are Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.
However, the confirmation of bird flu in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, is awaited as the samples have been sent for testing, it said.
“So far, the disease has been confirmed from seven states. …The Department has issued advisory to the affected states so as to avoid further spread of the disease,” the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said in a statement.
“In Chhattisgarh, reports of unusual mortality of birds in poultry and wild birds in Balod district were reported on Friday night and Saturday morning. The samples have been sent to the labs concerned. In Delhi, reports of unusual mortality in ducks were received from Sanjay lake and the samples have been sent for testing, it said.
Similarly in Maharashtra, the samples of dead crows from Mumbai, Thane, Dapoli, Parbhani and Beed districts have been sent to Bhopal-based ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (ICAR-NIHSAD), it added.
“After confirmation of Avian Influenza positive samples from ICAR-NIHSAD in poultry (two poultry farms) of Panchkula district, Haryana, positive cases of Avian Influenza in migratory birds were reported in Shivpuri, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Agar, Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, Zoological Park, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and Pratapgarh and Dausa districts of Rajasthan,” the ministry said.
On the status of culling operation, the ministry said it has been completed in two affected districts of Kerala. Central teams have reached Kerala, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for monitoring/ epidemiological investigation.
The Centre has also asked state governments to ensure effective communication and coordination with health authorities for close vigilance on the outbreak and to avoid any chances of spreading of the disease to humans.
States have been asked to increase surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos and poultry farms and also to ensure proper disposal of carcass, and strengthening of bio-security in poultry farms.
They have also been asked to be prepared for any eventuality of avian influenza and ensure sufficient stock of PPE kits and accessories required for culling operations.
Over the past few days, bird flu cases have been found in 13 Madhya Pradesh districts, while around 1,100 crows and other birds have been found dead across 27 districts since the first detection last month, a government official said on Sunday.

Stresses on prompt response to public grievances
Precious Kashmir News
Shopian, Jan 10: The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole Sunday visited various areas of Shopian to take stock of snow clearance and availability of essential commodities across the district.
The Div Com also convened a high level meeting of concerned officers to take first hand appraisal of the post snowfall situation and restoration of essential services in all affected areas.
During the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Shopian Choudhary Mohammad Yasin informed the chair that all major roads including Shopian-Srinagar, Shopian-Bijbehara and Shopian-Kulgam were cleared off snow under the priority first. He apprised that various engineering agencies, including R&B , MED and Municipal Committee Shopian were carrying out the snow clearance work at full paceas 70 per cent of roads stand cleared while as remaining which includes link, lanes and by- shall be cleared in the shortest time.
The Div Com called upon putting all efforts to ensure speedy snow clearance and prompt response to the public grievances. He instructed concerned to ensure the control room remains functional round the clock and better public services are delivered.
Emphasizing on better healthcare facilities are provided to the general public at all hospitals, the Div Com directed concerned to ensure all doctors and paramedical staff follow duty roster religiously and better patient care is guaranteed in the district.
At the outset, the Div Com took a detailed review of the stock position and it was informed that there is sufficient stock of essential commodities available in the district.
To curb black marketing, profiteering and hoarding, the Div Com directed concerned to conduct regular market checking and take strict action against the offenders.
He also directed PDD to ensure timely lifting of damaged transformers, besides instructions were given that the disaster management centres remain fully functional to meet any emergency situation. He also directed the concerned to work throughout day and night and press all men and machinery on the job to ensure snow clearance and early restoration of essential services in all areas.
The meeting was attended by Managing Director Mohammad Aijaz, Chief Engineers MED, R&B, ADC, ACR, AD FCS&CA, CMO and other officers and officials, DDC members were also present in the meeting.

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Jan 10: The Director General of Police Dilbag Singh Sunday visited the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Awantipora to review the security preparedness and drills of the Nakas and men deployed on the critical NH 44.
The NH 44 security grid is being further enhanced to meet the challenges from militancy, he said.
During his visit, the DGP interacted with men and officer of JKP and CRPF. He complimented them for the dedication with which they have been working despite the heavy snow fall and inclement weather braving the harsh winters.
The DGP emphasised upon the importance of courteous behaviour to be displayed during checking on the Highway.
He appreciated the men of JKP for the way they have handled the Naka checking duties during COVID-19 pandemic.
The DGP congratulated Deputy Commandant Vasudev of CRPF 40 Bn on a naka. The officer was recently awarded the DGP Disc for his committed service to the nation.
DIG SKR Atul Goel, SSP Anantnag and SSP Awantipora accompanied the DGP.

Agencies
Srinagar, Jan 10: The Army captain who was involved in the fake encounter in Shopian in July last year in which three youth were killed, had hatched a conspiracy along with two civilians with the motive of “grabbing” a reward money of ₹20 lakh and also fired at the victims even before his men could lay a cordon of the area, according to a police charge sheet.
Captain Bhoopinder Singh is currently in the custody of the Army. Sources said he may face a court martial.
The case relates to the July 18, 2020, encounter at Amshipura in Shopian in which three youths of Rajouri district — Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar — were killed and branded as terrorists. The charge sheet submitted before the chief judicial magistrate of Shopian district also details the role of the two civilians — Tabish Nazir and Bilal Ahmed Lone — in the case.
Lone has since turned an approver and recorded his confession statement before a magistrate. After reports emerged on social media that the three youths were not associated with militancy, the Army had ordered a court of inquiry which completed its probe in September last year.
It had found ‘prima facie’ evidence that the troops had “exceeded” the powers granted under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Following this, the Army had initiated disciplinary proceedings.
The identities of the three youths killed in Amshipura were confirmed through a DNA test and the bodies were handed over to their families in Baramulla in October.
General officer in Command of the strategically-located XV Corps, Lt Gen B S Raju had said earlier the Summary of Evidence had been completed and the Army will take the next course of action as per law.
Officials in know of the development said the Captain may face a court martial for violating the powers vested under the AFSPA 1990 and for not following the dos and don’ts of the Chief of Army Staff as approved by the Supreme Court.
The charge sheet submitted by the Special Investigation Team of the Jammu and Kashmir police has listed 75 witnesses in support of its findings and has also provided technical evidence, including call data records of the accused persons involved in the case. The charge sheet also has the statements of four army personnel — Subedar Garu Ram, Lance Naik Ravi Kumar, Sepoys Ashwini Kumar and Yougesh — who were part of Capt Singh’s team at the time of the incident.
They said that all of them along with the two civilians had left the Army camp together as there were reliable inputs that a contact with terrorists was possible, according to the chargesheet. On reaching the spot, all the four were asked to cordon off from different directions. “As they were approaching the spot on foot after disembarking from the vehicle, they heard a few bursts of live ammunition even before they had laid the cordon,” said the chargesheet, quoting the statements of the four. Later Capt Singh told them that he had to fire as the hiding militants were trying to escape. “By staging the encounter,” the chargesheet said, Capt Singh and two other civilians also “purposefully destroyed evidence of real crime that they have committed and also have been purposefully projecting false information as part of a criminal conspiracy hatched between them with motive to grab prize money of ₹20 lakh”.
It said the accused captain of 62 Rashtriya Rifles “furnished false information to mislead the senior officer and for getting” an FIR lodged to “tailor fit his motive for grabbing prize money in furtherance of criminal conspiracy”.

Srinagar, Jan 10: Roads to several far-flung and remote villages, including the border town of Karnah, reopened on Sunday after remaining closed for six days due to slippery road conditions and accumulation of snow.
However, dozens of villages, including near the Line of Control (LoC), in north Kashmir district of Kupwara and Bandipora, remained cut off with their respective tehsil and district headquarters due to accumulation of several feet of snow and slippery road conditions.
“One-way traffic was on Sunday restored on Kupwara-Karnah road after remaining suspended for six days due to heavy snowfall earlier this week,” an official of Police Control Room (PCR), Kupwara, told UNI.
He said one-way traffic from Karnah to Kupwara was allowed to ply this morning after clearance of snow from the road, including Sadhna top, and improvement in the weather conditions. “Sadhna top had received about 5 feet of snow, earlier this week,” he said.
He said traffic remained suspended to dozens of far-flung and remote villages, including Keran and Machil, due to accumulation of several feet of snow. “Phirkiyan pass and Z-Gali received about 2 to 3 feet of snowfall earlier this week,” he said, adding snow clearance operation was going on war footing to restores traffic to these areas.
“Traffic will be resumed to these areas only after clearance of the road and getting a green signal from officials deployed on the ground,” he added.
An official of Police Control Room (PCR) from Bandipora told UNI that Gurez remained closed for traffic for the eights successive day on Sunday. “Razdan pass, connecting Gurez, Neeru and dozens of other areas near LoC with district headquarters Bandipora, received over 2.5 feet of fresh snowfall this week,” he said.
He said the snow clearance operation in Gurez was halted after fresh 3 to 4 inches of snow was received at Razdan pass and adjoining areas on Saturday.

Jammu, Jan 10: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said Jammu and Kashmir’s first Homeopathic Medical College has been proposed for Kathua and the matter is being pursued with the Union Ministry of AYUSH.
A public demand for Homeopathic College had been pending for several decades but none of the earlier governments or public representatives took a serious cognizance of it over the last 70 years, he said.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving special impetus to indegenious and alternative systems of medicine and with the Modi government setting up a separate Ministry of AYUSH and getting International Day of Yoga approved by the United Nations, Jitendra Singh said the irony is that Jammu & Kashmir is yet to get its first Homeopathic College.
He said that the matter is being actively pursued and he is personally in touch with the Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik.
The minister was informed that Government of Jammu & Kashmir had identified land measuring over 60 Kanals in district and tehsil Kathua. After the approval of the Union Ministry of AYUSH, the piece of land will be formally handed over to the Directorate, Indian System of Medicine, Jammu & Kashmir and further process of establishing the College will start.
With the setting up of the first-ever Homeopathic College in J&K, either in government or private sector, Singh said, it will offer options to the aspirant students who were earlier travelling to other States for Homeopathy Degree.
The college, he said, will also cater to adjoining districts of the neighbouring States.
He recalled that the Ayurvedic College in Jammu was also revived three years back after a lapse of nearly four decades and the Unani College in Srinagar was possibly among the first in the entire subcontinent to have started a Postgraduate degree course. The first-ever National Institute of High Altitude Medicine, under the aegis of Ministry of AYUSH, is coming up at Bhaderwah, he added.

Agencies
New Delhi, Jan 10: With Covid-19 vaccination drive set to begin across the country from 16 January, Centre on Sunday guided states/UTs on Co-WIN management.
The Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) app is a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of Covid-19 vaccine delivery and distribution by the Centre.
States and UTs have been collecting data of healthcare and frontline workers who would be administered the anti-coronavirus vaccine on first priority and the data is being uploaded on the Co-WIN software.
“The Centre has been proactively carrying activities towards preparing for the nationwide roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine in close collaboration with States/UTs and all stakeholders. The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) today held a video conference with administrators from states and UTs on the Co-WIN software which forms the backbone of the last mile vaccine administration,” said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in an official release.
The meeting was chaired by Ram Sewak Sharma, Chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to combat Covid-19 and member, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19. The meeting was attended by the state Principal Secretaries, NHM Mission Directors, and state Immunisation officers and senior officers of the Health Ministry. During the meeting the feedback of the States/UTs on the Co-WIN software and its operational use, emanating from the dry runs, was discussed in detail.
Addressing the participants, he stated that the process should be citizen-centric, and built on the approach that the vaccine shall be available anytime and anywhere. He stressed on the need to be flexible without compromising on quality. He reiterated that the inclusivity, speed and scalability have been kept in mind while designing the unique digital platform with all components being portable, synchronous without excessive and unnecessary dependencies, the ministry said.
He also underscored the critical importance of capturing the vaccination data in real time, stating that this was non-negotiable. However, the posting of data on the portal may be online or offline in view of connectivity issues being highlighted by few states.
He also critically highlighted the caution one needs to exercise to ensure that there are ‘no proxies’ at all and that the beneficiaries need to be uniquely and undeniably identified.
Speaking on the use of Aadhaar platform, he advised the states to urge the beneficiaries to seed their current mobile number with Aadhaar for registration and consequent communication through SMS and that there cannot be any proxies for Aadhaar authentication.
He pointed out that it is extremely important to clearly identify person who is getting vaccinated and keep a digital record on who gets vaccinated by whom, when and which vaccine.
He also advised the states and UTs that the data collection should meet the purpose of facilitating work and that needs to be validated at the field levels.
India will launch its COVID-19 vaccination drive from January 16 in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the world’s largest inoculation programme with priority to be given to nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers.
There was a detailed and comprehensive discussion on the experience of the states/UTs. Their feedback and the consequent changes in software/protocols based on those inputs were deliberated upon. These included issues such as: session allocation/planning/time slotting; work flow allocation; vaccinator’s allocation; sending SMS to vaccinators and beneficiaries; and connectivity issues.

Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir starts live musical weekends at Gulmarg
Precious Kashmir News
Gulmarg, Jan 10: While the Tourists are enjoying their stay at the snow-clad Gulmarg, a new musical element has been added for their enjoyment by the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir.
“Gulmarg offers everything a tourist looks for, especially during the winter, when snow decks it’s landscape. Now, we have added a new element- music” Assistant Director, Tourism Gulmarg, Dr Javid-ur-Rehman said.
He said local artists will be performing live on weekends in Gulmarg at locations thronged by tourists and locals like the Ski Shop area, Gondola and the Golf Club.
This weekend, live musical performances were held at the Ski Shop throughout the day with hundreds of tourists and Ski enthusiasts seen enjoying the concert against the beautiful backdrop of snow covered mountains and slopes.
“In comings days, Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir will also be organising a ‘Snow Sculpting Competition-2021’ here for which preparations are in full swing. All these activities are being organized as part of the tourism revival plans and to present the resort as a lively, welcoming and an enjoyable tourism destination”, Javid said.
He said all slopes in Gulmarg are now open for Skiing.
“The Ski Patrol Team headed by Snow Safety Officer, Brian Newman is in place and all slopes are being groomed and open for Skiers now after the recent spell of fresh snow fall. We are seeing good rush of Ski enthusiasts and tourists enjoying the skiing experience,” he added.

Agencies
Jaipur, Jan 10: A BJP MLA from Rajasthan lashed out at the protesting farmers and said the agitation could lead to a nationwide bird flu problem since the protesters are eating chicken biryani to spread the pandemic.
In a video that is viral on social media, Ramganj Mandi MLA Madan Dilawar is heard saying that those conspiring to create such a crisis could be ‘terrorists, robbers, and thieves’, a report in NDTV said.
“They are merely relishing biryani. They are eating dry fruits. They are enjoying in all ways. They are changing their appearances frequently. There could be many terrorists among them. Thieves and looters, too. They could be the enemies of farmers,” Dilawar says in the video.
Dilawar could also be heard saying that the protesting farmers aren’t giving a thought to the country or the people. He says that it’s like a picnic.
“I suspect that if the government does not remove them in the next few days, either by pleading or by use of force, then the country will face the problem of bird flu,” he adds.
The talks between the Centre and farmers’ unions opposed to the new agriculture laws failed to make headway in the recent meet on Friday.