New Delhi, June 17: Talks between Major Generals of India and China in Galwan Valley in Ladakh, the site of a huge clash on Monday in which 20 soldiers were killed, were inconclusive, army sources said today.

“The talks have remained inconclusive as there is no immediate disengagement or change in the ground,” sources told NDTV. “More talks to take place in the coming days,” they added.

In a clash involving hundreds of troops from both sides, Indian soldiers were attacked with iron rods, clubs studded with nails and stones wrapped with barbed wire. They were even thrown off the ridge into the freezing Galwan river.

Earlier today, India delivered a strong message to China and said the “unprecedented” incident in Galwan Valley will have a “serious impact” on the bilateral relationship. Chinese soldiers took “pre-meditated and planned action” that was directly responsible for the clash, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told his China counterpart Wang Yi on the phone, the highest interaction between the countries since the massive escalation in border hostilities.

Both ministers agreed that “neither side would take any action to escalate matters and instead, ensure peace and tranquility as per bilateral agreements and protocols.”

Jammu, June 17: A day after 20 Army men including a Colonel were killed in Ladakh Union Territory, the people in Jammu division on Wednesday took to streets and protested against China.

The protests were organized by many social organizations, who as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Correspondent expressed anger against China and appealed people to boycott Chinese goods completely.

In Rajouri district, International Hindu Council and National Bajrang Dal staged a protest in which a large number of youth were present. The protesters raised slogans against China and its Army.

“Amid de-escalation process, the Chinese attacked Indian troops, which is a clear sign of back stabbing,” Vivek Gupta, an activist said.

They added that it is the time to stand united and to boycott Chinese products.

Similarly, in Jammu’s Akhnoor, a similar protest was held in which local youth under the banner of various organisations participated and raised anti-China slogans.

The protesters demanded befitting reply to Chinese aggression along Line of Actual Control (LAC)

The protesters in Akhnoor also called for boycotting the Chinese products.

Similar protests were held in other areas of Jammu including in Jammu city.

Nadeem Nadu

Srinagar, June 17: Jammu and Kashmir recorded six more COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, taking the fatality count due to the virus in J&K to 69, while as 108 more people tested positive for the deadly pathogen. Number of people who have tested positive for the virus in the Union Territory has risen to 5406.

Two deaths took place in Jammu, four were reported from Kashmir. Medical Superintendent GMC Dr Dara Singh told GNS a 65-year-old COVID-19 patient from Tallab Tillo died in isolation ward due “respiratory failure.”

Another patient was from Aknoor, a 68-year-old man, and died at the same facility, sources said.

“The man died on Wednesday afternoon. He was suffering from high fever. His swab sample returned positive tonight,” said a senior doctor at GMC.

Professor Farooq Jan, Medical Superintendent SKIMS, said that the sexagenarian from Feripora area of Shopian was admitted on June 15 with complains of fever, shortness of breath with a diagnosis of Acute exacerbration of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

A 70-year-old resident of Khanpora Baramulla died of the disease at SMHS hospital here.  Confirming it, Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Dr G N Itoo said that the septuagenarian had bilateral pneumonia. “He was admitted to SMHS hospital on June 15 and died today,” he added.

The other two deaths include that of a 65-year-old woman from Batamaloo here and Wadvan Budgam..

Deputy Commissioner Budgam Shahbaz Ahmad Mirza while confirming death of the 70-year-old man from Wadvan area of the central Kashmir district said that he was suffering from pneumonia.

Regarding the woman, sources said she had bilateral pneumonia. A resident of Tengpora Batamaloo, she was admitted to SMHS hospital on June 16 and died a day later.

So far, 69 people have succumbed to the virus in J&K—nine from Jammu and 60 from Valley.  Srinagar district with 16 deaths has the highest fatalities followed by Baramulla 12, Kulgam (eight), Shopian (seven), six each in Anantnag and Jammu, Kupwara (five),  Budgam (three ), Pulwama (two) while one death each has been reported from Bandipora, Doda, Udhampur and Rajouri.

J&K reports 108 fresh cases, tally rises to 5406

Meanwhile, 108 more people tested positive for the COVID-19 across J&K on Tuesday. The fresh cases include three paramilitary CRPF men, two policemen and an army personnel besides 3 three pregnant women and six minors including a 15-day-old baby. The fresh cases which include 22 travelers have taken the overall case tally of COVID-19 patients in the J&K to 5406.

Giving district wise breakup, officials said that 27 cases were reported from Shopian followed by seventeen each in Srinagar and Udhampur, Kupwara (9), seven each in Kulgam and Baramulla, Budgam(5), Anantnag (4), three each in Rajouri and Reasi, two each in Bandipora, Pulwama and Ramban besides one each in Kathua and Samba.

Dr. G H Yatoo, Nodal Officer Coronavirus Control Measures at SKIMS told GNS that out of the 2144 samples processed at the viral diagnostic lab today, 58 returned positive for the virus.

Professor Farooq Jan, Medical Superintendent SKIMS Soura, said that among them 32 were reported from Shopian, six from Kulgam, five from Srinagar, four from Anantnag, five from Baramulla, two each from Bandipora and Kupwara besides one each from Pulwama and Ganderbal.

He said the cases from Srinagar include three CRPF men from 79 and 144 battalions besides a 15 days old baby from Bemina and one woman (38) from Ishber Nishat.

One case reported from Pulwama pertains to a soldier 42 R R Satura while four cases from Anantnag include one male (70) from Veer, one male (55) from Hiller Arhama, a female (30) Akoora Mattan and one Male (40) from Mirmaidan Dooru.

The two cases Bandipora are: A female (36) from Bonakoot and a 6-year-old boy from Baduab.

The Kulgam cases include Gadiharna: 01 female (30); Dingowari: female (28); Khargund: 01 female (29); Kishgund: 01 female (30); Kulgam: 01 Male (80) and 01 female (32).

The four cases Baramulla include Zainpora: 01 Male (36); Panjipora Sopore: 01 female (30), 01 male (14); Chinkipora Sopore: 01 Male (45)

The two 02 cases Kupwara include 01 Male (28) from main Kupwara and 01 Male (51) from Nowgam.

The 32 cases from Shopian include: DK pora Shopian: 01 Male (55); Reshipora: 02 females (35, 15), 01 male (07); Therin kandi: 01 Male (70), 03 females (67, 33, 14); DPL Shopian: 02 males (32,34); Nowpora: 01 female (30); Shopian: 01 Male (35); Shahlatoo: 01 female(50), 03 males (50, 11, 40); Kadgam: 03 males (68, 28, 53) ; DC Shopian: 01 Male (54), K-Ullar: 03 males( 25, 25, 35), 03 females (30, 18, 30); Gaddipora: 03 males (30, 35, 35)and Sedow Shopian: 03 females (10, 05, 04).

Eighteen cases were reported from CD hospital’s lab and include CD: Awantipora: 01 Male (48); Mirgund Srinagar: 01 Male (70); Sakidafar Srg: 02 females (40, 02), 01 male (04); Kupwara: 01 Male (85); Baramulla: 02 Males (70, 50) Shopian: 01 female (55); Okey: 01 female (29); Hayan: 01 female (25); Tangdar Karnah: 02 males (34, 06) and 02 females (33, 60); Handwara: 01 Male (40); Mandigam Langate: 01 female (25) and Sultanpora: 01 Male (33).

Dr Riyaz Untoo, Principal SKIMS Bemina said that out of 565 samples processed at the hospital’s lab, 13 tested positive for COVID-19 and include seven from Srinagar and six from Budgam.

The Srinagar cases include two male (66) from Mujgund, a female (25) from Khanyar, two male– (63 & 26) and two females (38 and 56) from Mandibal Nowshera besides  an 18-year-old youth from Bemina.

The Budgam cases include:  male (23) from Kawasoo, female (26) from Attini Beerwah, female (28) from Gomboora, male (28) from Hardsursh, male (4) from Panditpora Tangmarg and a male (4) from CISF Airport.

Meanwhile, the government said 133 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and discharged from various hospitals.

Kupwara, June 17: Doctors at District Hospital Handwara allegedly refused to treat a pregnant lady. The family members of the lady after spending night under sky staged a protest in main town Handwara, after which doctors shifted her to maternity Lal Ded Hospital Srinagar.

The poor pregnant lady from Pakhribal Kralgund area of North Kashmir’s Handwara town was brought in the hospital in a police vehicle after she developed labour pain in the middle of the night. Her relatives told news agency KNT that they produced Covid-19 negative certificate vide Lab Id number: KUP-HAND-549 in the hospital but doctors didn’t believe, saying that she may be Covid positive.

  “The lady had already been declared negative for Covid-19 on 14 June but the doctors rejected this report and didn’t agree to attend her. We spent whole night outside Handwara hospital under open sky and next day, doctors showed the same attitude, forcing us to stage a protest in Handwara chowk,” they said.

   Ironically, when the news spread and pressure started building on doctors, a doctor in the hospital, cajoled and coaxed the lady asking her to say on the camera that doctors treated her in the hospital. In the video it is clearly seen that the said doctor is trying to put her words into the mouth of lady.

   “We are poor and nobody listened to us. Instead of taking action against guilty doctors, the Medical Superintendent asked us to take her to LD Hospital as her condition according to him is critical. We were forced to shift her to LD Hospital and right now we are moving towards Srinagar,” Muhammad Hussain Gazi, the husband of the lady told KNT.

   Instead of fixing responsibility, the Medical Superintendent rebutted the reports saying that doctors treated her in the hospital.

 Medical Superintendent, District Hospital Handwara, Dr Ajaz said doctors asked the lady to get her USG done, but instead, they went to Handwara Chowk and staged protest, a claim refuted by the husband of the lady. “When my wife was critical and bleeding and writhing with pain, how it was possible for her to go for USG or protest in main Chowk. We were forced to protest, otherwise we had no intention to make a fun of ourselves,” he said.

  Additional Development Commissioner Handwara, Nazir Ahmed said that he has taken the cognizance of the matter and responsibility will surely be fixed. (KNT)

New Delhi, Jun 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday underlined the emotional aspect of the battle against the virus, including battling fear of being afflicted and the stigma attached by making people aware of the high number of those who have defeated the virus and recovered.

‘Our priority must remain to help and support our corona warriors, doctors and health care workers,’ he said in the second part of two-day interaction with Chief Ministers via video conferencing to discuss the situation post Unlock 1.0 and plan for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

PM Modi emphasised that Jan Bhagidari is essential in this fight and said that people must be constantly reminded to use masks, face cover, and maintain physical distancing.

As many as 15 States and UTs including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana and Odisha participated in the interaction.

PM Modi asked the States to take steps to boost infrastructure and construction related work. He listed steps taken under Atmanirbhar Bharat to provide a fillip to MSMEs, farming and agriculture marketing. He also underscored the need to remain alert to effectively tackle the challenges faced by the migrant labourers in the coming months.

The Chief Ministers thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership and briefed him about the ground situation in the states and their preparedness to tackle the impact of the virus.

They talked about health infrastructure available to meet the challenge and steps taken to strengthen it further, support provided to frontline workers, monitoring in containment zones, campaigns to encourage usage of masks and other safety precautions, increase in testing, and providing gainful employment opportunities to the migrants who have returned.

The Prime Minister mentioned that the collective commitment to fight against the virus will lead the country to victory, while also talking about the need to speed up economic activities with due precautions in place.

Srinagar, June 17: Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a notice to government over the cancellation of the selection process for filling up the posts of probationary officers and banking associates in the J&K Bank.

A bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey also ordered the J&K Bank to postpone till further orders the date of availability of the link for online registration of candidature by the prospective candidates pursuant to a fresh notification, issued on June 1 this year, for 350 probationary officers and 1500 banking associates vacancies.

The court was hearing a petition filed by as many as 288 aspiring candidates who had participated in the selection process pursuant to a notification on 6 October 2018. The candidates have challenged the notification issued earlier this year by the Bank whereby it notified that the selection process conducted for the posts stands canceled. They have also challenged the fresh recruitment notice.

As soon as the petition came up for the hearing, Khan Roshan Khayal, an Officer of the J&K Bank, working in its Legal Section, appeared before the court and raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the plea. He submitted that the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited is not a State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution. He, in this regard, invited the attention of the Court to the Full Bench Decision of the Court in Firdous Ahmad Tanki v the J&K Bank Ltd (2006), wherein the majority view taken was that the Bank was neither the State nor an authority or instrumentality of the State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India. He submitted that the bank was not amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

However, senior advocate Jahangir Iqbal Ganai on behalf of the petitioners submitted that the judgment of the Full Bench was distinguishable as the factors which formed the basis for such declaration have changed so much so the judgment was based on the fact that the share capital of the Bank was only 53% which is now 68.18%.

He submitted that in view of the “changed circumstances”, the financial and Administrative control of Bank is now with the Government.

He also referred to the impugned notice by President-HR of the Bank, cancelling the selection process conducted for the posts by the Bank. “This notice reads that approval to the cancellation of the selection process was accorded by the Board of Directors of the Bank on 15.4.2020 in pursuance of directions of the J&K’s Administrative Council,” he said, according to Global News Service.

After hearing both the parties, the court issued notice to the government, observing the impugned notice (dated 15.04.2020) reveal that the decision has actually been taken by the Administrative Council of the J&K.

“Since the petition is to be heard on an important question of law of general public importance, the Advocate General is requested to render his valuable assistance to the Court in determining the question,” the court said and ordered listing of the petition on June 26.

“….It is seen that the fresh advertisement notification dated 01.06.2020 has notified the availability of the link for online registration of candidates as from 20.06.2020. The Court is of the opinion that since the matter is under consideration of the Court on an important question of general public importance, with a view to securing the interests of the petitioners as well as to ensure that the prospective candidates are not put to any inconvenience later on, it would be appropriate for the Bank to issue a notice postponing the date of availability of the link for registration of candidature by the prospective candidates till further orders from the Court,” the court said and ordered it accordingly. (GNS)

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, June 17: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu today chaired a meeting, through video conferencing, to review the functioning of Housing and Urban Development Department with focus on the working of Jammu Development Authority and Jammu Municipal Corporation.

The Lt Governor took stock of the overall working and progress made under several developmental works being executed at different sites by the JMC and JDA.

Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor; Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Government, Housing and Urban Development Department; Avny Lavasa, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation and Babila Rakwal, Vice-Chairperson, Jammu Development Authority attended the meeting.

Principal Secretary to the Government, H&UDD, Dheeraj Gupta, gave a detailed presentation on the Civic issues of Jammu including strengthening the legal framework, Sanitation & Solid Waste Management, Control of Building Operations, IT Initiatives, Revenues & Resources, Street Lighting, Green-scaping- Parks & Gardens, Urban Transport – Mechanised & Non mechanized Parkings, Transfer of State Land/Nazool Land to JDA, New Projects etc. Initiatives, action taken and achievements under COVID-19 management were also briefed to the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor stressed on taking comprehensive measures as per the needs of the local population and directed for mobilizing resources to ensure completion of the projects at the earliest. He entrusted upon the officers to ensure the distribution of ration in slums and other backward pockets. He also took stock of the water supply, sewerage network and garbage collection, besides emphasizing on maintenance of Electronic Asset Registers for Urban Local Bodies and activating interactive public grievance cells to redress the public issues.

The Lt Governor called for developing software for building permissions on the lines of Municipal Corporations of Delhi and Mumbai that would assist in improving the ranking in Ease of Doing Business. Besides, he stressed on minimizing the number of No Objection Certificates (NoCs) required for building permissions.

Proper waste disposal and ecological concerns were also addressed during the meeting. “Apart from promoting IEC activities to create awareness and disseminate information regarding conservation of water bodies, be firm and strict on the polluters of Tawi river, canals, and other water bodies and impose penalties for the same”, the Lt Governor asked the officers.

Directions were issued for creating good quality websites and highlighting the achievements of JMC, SMC, JDA and SDA in public domain for transparent functioning of the departments so that public could know the updated status on the developmental front. On recruitments, the Lt Governor directed for strict adherence and implementation of the new Recruitment Rules, Reservation Policy, and Domicile Rules during the recruitment process.

Instructions were also issued pertaining to installation of high mast lights at prominent places, landscaping and beautification of public places, fencing of parks, gardens and other properties which are prone to encroachments, besides securing JDA lands and fixing responsibilities for its up-keeping.

Precious Kashmir News

JAMMU, JUNE 17: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu today chaired a meeting to discuss the future management and containment strategy of COVID-19 pandemic in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Sh. Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam Chief Secretary; Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Education; Sh. Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police and Sh. Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department.

The meeting was convened on the sidelines of interaction of Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers and Heads of the States/UTs to discuss situation emerging post Unlock 1.0.

The Lt Governor stressed on conducting aggressive awareness campaign by District Administrations led by Deputy Commissioners, SSPs, Health Officers, especially in districts with fresh spurt of COVID cases.

For effectively combating the spread of COVID-19, the Lt Governor called for scaling up of testing and advised the officers to use the data available with ‘Swasthya Nidhi’ application for mapping and identifying the vulnerable population and the potential spreaders. He emphasized on extending the coverage of Aarogya Setu app and encouraging the people to download the said app.

He further sought details of the distribution of PPE kits to Private hospitals and directed for conducting online training of the technicians and staff of the private testing labs and clinics to eliminate laxity in the containment of the deadly virus. He also directed for expediting construction activities across the UT and engage more and more labourers while following all SOP’s.

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, June 17: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu, Chancellor of the Kashmir University, has congratulated the faculty, staff and students of the University for entering the top 50 universities of India.

The University of Kashmir, in the recently announced National Institutional Ranking Framework-2020 rankings declared by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has jumped to rank 48, substantially improving last year’s NIRF ranking of 53 among the top 100 universities across India.

Expressing satisfaction over the performance of the University, the Lt Governor in his message called for making sustained efforts to improve quality and accessibility in the Higher education space.

The Lt Governor complimented Vice Chancellor, Prof. Talat Ahmad for achieving this feat and hoped that this achievement will rekindle the spirit to strive for higher goals in future and gain prominence at national as well as international levels.

Jammu, June 17: Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu today approved financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1 lakh in favour of 15-year-old boy namely Muhammad Asif Wani S/o Ghulam Hussain Wani who was injured in a blast at Tosamaidan and is presently undergoing treatment at SKIMS.
The financial assistance was approved to meet the treatment expenses of the boy injured in the unfortunate incident.