Srinagar, July 28: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday urged concerned authorities in Kashmir valley to make life-saving drug Tocilizumab available for critically-ill Covid-19 patients.

“The drug reduces the risk of death in seriously ill Covid-19 patients,” DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan  said in a statement.
Quoting a study from the University of Michigan, he said Covid-19 patients on ventilators who received a single dose of Tocilizumab injection were 45 percent less likely to die compared to those who did not receive the drug.

“Originally developed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, the drug combats the disease by quelling cytokine storm which is the hyperimmune response of the infected person to the virus,” Dr Nisar said.

“Mortality in Covid-19 patients has been linked to the presence of the cytokine storm induced by the virus,” he said adding that “excessive production of cytokines leads to respiratory failure and widespread tissue damage resulting in multiorgan failure and death.”

Dr Nisar said Tocilizumab suppresses the hyperimmune response by blocking receptor for a key cytokine known as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and improves survival rates and reduces mortality among Covid patients.

“Recently Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in its revised protocol has allowed usage of the drug for patients with progressively increasing oxygen requirements and in mechanically ventilated patients not improving despite the use of steroids,” he said.

Dr Nisar said it is vitally important to know that there is no single magic bullet to treat the novel coronavirus and several drugs in combination are needed to tackle the virus.

“With the approval of several therapies, combination of them given at the right time gives a good result,” he said.

“Apart from oxygen, moderate to severe patients are given steroids, remdesivir, convalescent plasma and Tocilizumab in various combinations,” he added.

“Initially it was believed that deaths were happening because of poor oxygenation. Now we know that intravascular clotting can also lead to lung dysfunction and death. So heparin is given in Covid patients to prevent clotting,” said Dr Nisar.(KINS)

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, July 28: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Tuesday launched a Forest protection Mobile Application “Pahredar” to commemorate ceremony of Van Mahotsav here at the Raj Bhawan premises by planting a sapling of Golden Cypress.

Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Department of Forests, Ecology & Environment, Sarita Chauhan, Dr Mohit Gera, PCCF & HoFF, J&K and other senior officers of the Forest Department attended the event.

On the occasion, the Lt Governor released a documentary film and booklet on the “Green J&K Drive” which concluded in March 2020.

He launched Mobile Application “Pahredar” for encouraging public participation for effective protection of forest from illegal felling, encroachments, forest fires, human-animal conflict and natural calamities.

It was further informed that the Forest Protection Mobile Application facilitates real-time recording by which any person can record an event that is detrimental for the forests of UT and the same could be reported to the concerned DFO with photographs.

The mobile app also uses GPS to send the location of the incident to the concerned official.

It has a time-bound response system which can be tracked by higher officials as well as Registered User.

The Lt Governor stressed the need for protecting the green gold of Jammu and Kashmir.

He further appealed the public for the wide use of the innovative Mobile Application “Pahredar” for real-time reporting & response on forest protection.

He directed the Forest department to work relentlessly in rapid restoration of degraded and open forests.

The Lt Governor while acknowledging the importance of ‘Van Mahotsav’ encouraged everyone to plant more trees and reaffirm our commitment to a greener and sustainable planet.

Pertinently, “Vana Mahotsav” means “tree-plantation ceremony” which is celebrated as a festival of plantation every year in the month of July all over the country.

In Jammu and Kashmir, it was organized by the Department of Forests, Ecology, and Environment during this week following SOPs of COVID 19.

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, July 28: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu Tuesday called for expediting the execution of developmental projects and speedy implementation of welfare programmes so that their benefits percolate seamlessly across the board. The Lt Governor was chairing a high-level meeting of Administrative Secretaries here at the Civil Secretariat.

BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education; besides Administrative Secretaries of various departments and senior officers attended the meeting.

At the outset, the Lt Governor directed concerned authorities to augment the physical infrastructure and medical capacity in border areas in the backdrop of the feedback received during the recent public outreach program. He called for the time-bound ramping up of essential equipment and availability of medical professionals in these areas.

Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo apprised the Lt Governor about the latest status of COVID-19 containment and management progress across the UT.

The Lt Governor called for ensuring the availability of requisite resources and evolving dynamic strategies to counter the evolving situation due to Covid-19.

The Lt Governor issued explicit directions for capping the rates of Covid-19 testing and related medicines immediately. Further, the progress of the under-construction new medical colleges was also reviewed and directions were issued to ensure time-bound completion of these projects.

While reviewing the progress of the Rural Development department, the Lt Governor called for immediately identifying land for construction of BDC offices complexes across the UT and transferring the same within a time period of one month. He also directed for making a standardized type-design for the proposed complexes.

In order to mitigate the hardships of the general public living in areas prone to snowstorms and avalanches in winter, the Lt Governor directed the Power Development department to procure vehicle bound heavy-duty gensets as a pre-emptive measure and place them accordingly at strategic locations across the UT for immediate deployment.

While reviewing the process of digitization of land records, the Lt Governor expressed his displeasure about the pace of work and directed the concerned to speed up the digitization process by identifying possible lacunas and resolving the same immediately.

The Lt Governor observed that the government is committed to the holistic development of the UT and called for coordinated efforts at all levels of the administrative setup in this direction.

He asked the Administrative Secretaries to closely monitor and ensure prompt redressal of all difficulties and grievances related to the needs of people and take all the requisite measures for improving public delivery mechanism for ensuring better results on the ground.

New Delhi, July 27: India raced towards the second spot in the list of nations hit worst by the COVID-19 pandemic, crossing the 1.5 million mark this evening. Brazil is currently in the second spot with 2.4 million cases, preceded by the US, which has 4.2 million cases. Overall, 16.5 million people contracted the disease around the world, with 654,860 fatalities.

Reports say India has the world’s fastest growth rate. The World Health Organization has said that pandemic is “still accelerating” in India. Over the last few days, the country has been reporting nearly 50,000 fresh infections every day. From the 1 lakh mark on May 16, it took India just 181 days to cross the 15 lakh mark.

A seven-day moving average of the fresh coronavirus figures indicated today that India is increasing its tally at a rate of 3.6 per cent — significantly higher than US at 1.7 per cent and Brazil at 2.4 per cent. If the rate is not brought down, India risks surpassing the US in a little over two months.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is in a “better position than other countries” because of the “right decision at the right time”.

The data in India has mostly been fed by the increasing numbers from southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and the western state of Maharashtra. The number of fatalities from the disease stands at 33,425 with another 654 deaths reported today.

Ishtiyaq Ahmad

Srinagar, July 28: Though there are several laws on the illegal conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural, all what is seen is that their implementation is poor.

Sources told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) that there has been rapid conversion of agricultural land in almost all the Districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources said that large scale conversion of agricultural land into horticulture, unplanned construction including residential colonies, factories, brick kilns, shopping complexes and other commercial infrastructure have come across as prime reasons for the damage of agricultural land.

As per official figures of the Agriculture Department, Kashmir had 4,67,700-hectares of agriculture land in 2015 which has shrunk to 3,89,000 hectares till 2019.

This shows Kashmir has lost around 80,000 hectares of agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes since 2015.

Data shows that land under paddy cultivation in Kashmir region shrank from 1,48,000 hectares in 2015 to 1,40,000 in 2018.

The data further shows that cultivation of pulses has declined from 14,600 hectares to 12,767 hectares.

An official told KINS that there are several laws on the illegal conversion of agricultural land use into non-agricultural purposes but the implementation is “poor”.

“For instance, Section 133-A of the J&K Land Revenue Act says ‘No land growing Shali crops, vegetables or saffron Lullis can be put to any use other than the purposes mentioned above, without obtaining prior permission of the revenue minister or an officer duly authorized by him in this behalf is required for conversion of agriculture land,” he said.

He said, “Similarly, Section 13 of the J&K Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 also prevents the conversion of agricultural land. A high court judgment of 2013 also banned the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.”

A senior official at the Agricultural Department said that the agricultural land is shrinking fast.

“People are also converting agricultural land into horticulture as it gives them good economic returns,” he said.

He asserted, “To make the matters worse, the government seems keen on promoting the horticulture sector only. However, there is no strong agricultural policy which can help save the agricultural land”.(KINS)

Srinagar, July 28: Three-time legislator and powerful Shia leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi on Tuesday resigned from the post of chief spokesman of National Conference (NC).

Ruhullah tendered his resignation after an article written by former J&K Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah,  stated that he won’t contest the assembly elections till Jammu and Kashmir remains a Union Territory.

“I have sent across my resignation from the post of Chief Spokesperson of @JKNC_ . From here on none of my statements should be considered as such,” Ruhullah tweeted. , who is a

In May this year, Ruhullah had said silence of all the political parties on abrogation of the Article 370 is injustice with the people of Jammu & Kashmir. “It is not only the National Conference which is silent. Every other political party is silent. Honestly speaking, unfortunately the entire society is silent after August 5. This silence is proving counter-productive,” he had said.

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, July 28: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan, Tuesday sanctioned a financial assistance worth Rs 3 crore in favour of construction workers and dependents belonging to various districts of Jammu and Kashmir under Death-Cum-Funeral Assistance and Chronic Diseases Financial Assistance scheme.

The sanctioned amount would be released soon under the scheme being run by J&K Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (JKBOCWWB),

Advisor sanctioned the amount in a meeting attended by Commissioner Secretary Labour and Employment, Saurabh Bhagat and other concerned officers.

Under Death-Cum-Funeral Assistance Scheme, Advisor gave approval to 173 cases including 110 for death cases and 63 for chronic diseases and injury cases.

Pertinently, JKBOCWWB provides financial assistance of rupees two lakh to the dependents of construction workers on their death along with Rs 5000 as funeral assistance.

Besides, the Board also provides rupees one lakh per year to those construction workers and their dependents registered with the Board who suffer from life consuming chronic disease for their treatment. The cases which were approved today pertained to all the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking on the occasion, Advisor directed the concerned officers to strictly adhere to the timelines fixed under Public Service Guarantee Act while dealing with such sensitive and welfare measures. He directed that all the cases pertaining to death or chronic diseases should be put up before him within a month so that financial assistance would be sanctioned at the earliest.

In last two months  around Rs. 11 crore have been sanctioned in favour of 648 cases pertaining to death-cum-funeral, chronic diseases and injuries.

Jammu, July 28: A militant was killed when a group of five militants tried to sneak into this side of the fence opposite to Kalal area of Nowshehra sector of Rajouri district, security officials said Tuesday.

The official sources told news agency KNO that a movement of five militants was seen in Samhani Bagsar area opposite to Kalal in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.

“The movement was well intercepted before militants could have managed to reach LoC and were engaged,” official sources said.

They divulged that amid engagement of militants, an explosion took place in the area after one of the infiltrators stepped over a land mine or an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and died on the spot.

“The body of the killed militant was taken along by his four associates who returned back to the launch pad,” the sources said. They said that the group of militants was possibly a fidayeen squad and were heavily armed.

“Since the incident, searches are going on in the area for to ensure proper area dominance,” the sources said.

‘All you lazy journalists & commentators please show me where I’ve demanded statehood be restored’

Srinagar, July 28: Asserting that he may not contest Assembly elections even if statehood was restored, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that impression is being created that only statehood is required and all other aspects of August 5 have been washed away.

However, Omar, who is the National Conference (NC) Vice-President, said the party will chart its own course when all the leaders are set free and given a chance to talk.

He said that he has simply stated that having been chief minister of the state of J&K, he will not fight an assembly election to the assembly of the UT of J&K. “That’s it. No more, no less! That’s a far cry from saying I’m demanding statehood be restored,” he wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.

“I may not, but the party will chart its own course when all the leaders are set free and given a chance to talk. I’ve made it clear that these are ONLY my thoughts, I am not speaking for the party. The party and its leaders will formulate our policy, not me as an individual,” he wrote in response to a tweet asking if he would contest Assembly polls if only statehood of J&K was restored.

“Not forgotten. The impression is being created that only statehood is required & all other aspects of 5th Aug have been washed away. That’s lazy & misleading. I’m have never placed statehood restoration above the fight for J&K’s special status yet the 370 comments get wiped out,” he said.

Responding to a tweet which read, ‘chief spokesperson of JKNC resigns from his post as Omar Abdullah demands statehood’, Omar Abdullah said, “Please show me where in my piece or in the interview I’ve demanded statehood.”

“I have no problem being disagreed with for what I say or do but when you invent things & put words in my mouth to attack me then that’s more about you than about me. All you lazy journalists & commentators please show me where I’ve demanded statehood be restored,” he said.

“Haters will hate & nothing will change that. There are a few people from whom I expected better but disappointment is part of politics & one has learnt to live with it. Life goes on,” he added.

Srinagar, July 28: A sitting judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High court Sanjay Gupta has passed away.

He breathed his last due to an illness on Monday late night.

He was 59 and is survived by wife, a son and daughter.

Meanwhile, Lt Governor (LG), Girish Chandra Murmu has expressed grief over the sad demise of Justice Gupta.

In his message, the Lt Governor described him as an eminent jurist who served the bench with outmost dedication and made valuable contributions in the field of law. His death is a great loss to Judiciary and the legal fraternity, he said. LG has prayed for peace to the departed soul and conveyed his deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family.

He was born in 1961, did his matriculation from Jammu’s Oriental Academy in 1976, graduated from GGM Science College in 1982 and had a bachelor of law degree from University of Jammu.

Justice Gupta enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1986, joined the Jammu bar in the chamber of senior advocate SS Lehar and practised in all fields including criminal, civil, revenue, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) etc in subordinate courts and before the joining the high court.

He was selected as a direct recruit in higher judicial service as district and sessions judge in 2004 and was posted as the additional district and sessions judge in Doda.

He served as the district and sessions judge in various courts in Jammu, including as the 1st additional, 2nd additional, 3rd additional, additional district and sessions judge and principal district and sessions judge Jammu.

Justice Gupta also remained posted as the 3rd and 4th additional district and sessions judge Srinagar as well as a judicial member of the special tribunal, J-K, in Jammu.

He was also the part of the one-man forest tribunal of Jammu and Kashmir, principal district and sessions judge in Leh and principal district and sessions judge in Rajouri.

Justice Gupta was posted as Jammu’s principal district and sessions judge and was then elevated as a permanent judge of Jammu and Kashmir High Court in June 2017.