United News of India
Srinagar, May 1: Three soldiers and two girls were on Friday injured when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked heavy shelling and firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia told UNI that Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked shelling along the LOC in Rampur sector at around 1530 hrs, resulting in injuries to three soldiers. “Indian army is retaliating befittingly,” he said, adding the injured were hospitalized.

“Earlier in the day, Pakistani troops, violated the ceasefire by firing mortar shells on Friday at around 1230, targeting forward posts and civilian areas in Uri sector,” officials added.

They said Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of fire lasted for over an hour. “Two girls, identified as Shanaza Bano and Thaira Bano, were injured in the shelling,” they said, adding the wounded were rushed to a hospital.

United News of India
New Delhi, May 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a comprehensive meeting to review the strategies that could help in making India’s Civil Aviation sector more efficient.

At the meeting, attended by the Home Minister, the Finance Minister, MoS (Civil Aviation), MoS (Finance) and senior officials of the Government of India, it was decided that the Indian Air Space should be effectively used in such a manner that the flying time is reduced benefitting the traveling public and also helping the airlines to save costs in close co-operation with the Department of Military Affairs.

For generation of more revenue as well as to bring in more efficiency at the airports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has been asked to expedite the process of handing over of 6 more airports on PPP basis, by commencing the tender process within three months.

The e-DGCA project was also reviewed. This project would bring in more transparency in the DGCA’s office and help all stakeholders by reducing the processing time for various licenses/permissions.

It was also decided that all reform initiatives taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the organizations under it should proceed in a time bound manner.

KNO
Jammu, May 1: The Central Government has extended the provisions of Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladkah w.e.f. 31.10.2019 as per Sr. No. 52 of Table 1 of fifth schedule of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019.

Explaining further, Principal Secretary, Animal/Sheep Husbandry Department, Navin K. Choudhary, said that while the provisions of Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 were extended to the state through Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, the Government of UT of J&K had taken up the issue of date of applicability of the said act and now it has been clarified that the Act is applicable w.e.f. 30-10-2019.

556 in Kashmir, 58 in Jammu, J&K tally 614; 216  recover till date
Precious Kashmir News/UNI
Srinagar, Apr 30: The COVID-19 positive cases surpassed 600-mark in the Union Territory of J&K on Thursday as 33 more people tested positive for the infection in Kashmir.
An official said that 33 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Kashmir division while no new case was reported from Jammu. “Anantnag continued to remain at the top with 12 new COVID-19 cases, followed by Baramulla with 11 cases,” he said, adding four new cases were reported from Kulgam.

“Two cases each were reported from Srinagar and Pulwama,” he said, adding that Budgam and Shopian witnessed in new case each.

With this, he said the total number of infected persons has risen to 614. “Out of 614 positive cases, 556 are in Kashmir and 58 are in Jammu,” he said.

He said 24 COVID-19 patients, including 20 from Kashmir and four from Jammu, were discharged on Thursday after being treated successfully. “As many as 216 positive patients were treated and discharged successfully so far,” he said, adding there are 390 active positive cases.

Meanwhile, eight people have so far lost their lives latest being an 80-year-old woman who died in a hospital in Srinagar on Tuesday due to the infection.

Despite no new case being reports from last couple of days from the district, Bandipora continues to remain the worst COVID-19 hit district in the Union Territory of J&K with 127 positive cases and one death. Of these, over 36 per cent of positive cases have been reported from Dangerpora in Bandipora, prompting authorities to put about 150 people in hospital and administrative quarantine. The rest of the people from Dangerpora have been put in home quarantine.

As many as 91 people, including 90 from Kashmir and one from Jammu, have tested for the virus in the first four days of this week in J&K.

An alarming number of 168 people were tested positive for the infection last week. As many as 118 people, including 111 from Kashmir and seven from Jammu, were tested positive for COVID-19 between April 13 and April 19. Meanwhile, 138 people, mostly from Kashmir, were tested positive for COVID-19 in J&K between April 6 and April 12.

Thirty-three new positive cases, including 28 from Kashmir and three from Jammu, were reported on April 4 and April 5, making it one of the highest jumps in the COVID-19 infected persons in J&K.

Then, on March 29, a 50-year-old man, a resident of Tangmarg, passed away at CD hospital.

Earlier this month, a 54-year-old Bandipora resident, who was tested positive for the infection, died at SMHS hospital. Later on April 8, a 61-year-old woman from Udhampur died at Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu. A 70-year-old patient died on April 17 due to Coronavirus in Kashmir valley.

An elderly man, a resident of Baramulla, on April 18 died due to Coronavirus in Kashmir valley. A pregnant woman, who died at a hospital in Anantnag on Saturday, tested positive on Sunday

Death toll, 1075, recovery rate improves to 25.19 %

United News of India
New Delhi, Apr 30: Three days ahead of the proposed removal of nationwide lockdown, India reported 1,823 fresh coronavirus cases and 67 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 33,610 and fatalities to 1075, while the recovery rate improved to 25.19 per cent.

The country’s recovery rate has climbed from 13.06 per cent 14 days ago to 25.19 per cent by Thursday, the Ministry said, terming it as a “positive sign.”

‘If we look at the doubling time of COVID-19 cases, we find that the national average is 11 days now, compared to 3.4 days before lockdown,’ said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health.

On the topic of plasma therapy on for treatment of Covid-19, Agarwal clarified, “As far as testing and treatment protocol is concerned we have to use RT-PCR test only.”

‘RT-PCR testing facility has been progressively scaled up, now we have 292 government labs and 97 private laboratories across the country for COVID-19 testing. Yesterday, we did as many as 58,686 tests. On an average in last 5 days, 49,800 tests have been done per day,’ he added.

‘States, Union Territories having doubling rate between 11 days to 20 days include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Punjab,’ he said and added, ‘those having doubling rate between 20 days to 40 days are Karnataka, Ladakh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Kerala.’

Officials also said states like Assam, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have a doubling rate of more than 40 days.

Karnataka government has prepared a list of 10,823 people from the State, who are stranded in different parts of the world and is working on a comprehensive plan to fly them back.

Manipur government is giving financial assistance of Rs 2000 to every person from the state who were stranded in other states.

Chief Minister N Biren announced in a social network platform that Rs 7.07 cr were used from the CM Covid Fund to help the stranded people.