News Analysis India

Tag: Jammu and Kashmir

  • Two cops, as many civilians killed as militants open fire in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore town

    By PTI
    RINAGAR: Two policemen and as many civilians were killed and at least three others injured on Saturday when militants opened fire targeting security forces in Sopore town of Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

    Militants fired upon a joint party of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and police near Main Chowk Sopore in north Kashmir district around noon, they said.

    The officials said in the firing, two police personnel and two civilians were killed.

    At least three others, including a policeman, were injured in the attack, they said.

    The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital from where the injured policeman was taken to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital here, the officials added.

    The security forces have cordoned off the area and further details are awaited, they said.

    #UPDATE | Jammu & Kashmir | Two policemen and two civilians lost their lives in a terrorist attack in Sopore. Two other police personnel are injured. Lashkar-e-Taiba is behind this attack: Kashmir IG Vijay Kumar to ANI(Visual deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/rWQIGiTX0a
    — ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2021

    Omar Abdullah condemns militant attack

    National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday condemned the militant attack on security forces in Sopore town of Baramulla district.

    “Terrible news coming in from Sopore. Such attacks must be condemned without reservation. Prayers for the injured & condolences to the families of the deceased,” Abdullah said in a tweet.

    The former chief minister was reacting to the militant attack on security forces in Sopore that has left two police personnel and two civilians dead and several others injured.

  • Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s comment on ‘relook’ at Article 370 revocation in J&K draws ire of BJP

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s comments in a clubhouse conversation that the revocation of Article 370 and stripping Jammu and Kashmir of statehood was an “extremely sad” decision and his party will have a “relook” at the issue have triggered a row, with the BJP accusing him of speaking against India and in agreement with Pakistan.

    Singh’s remarks to a person, who the BJP said was a journalist of Pakistani origin, was seized by the saffron party leaders to hit out at the opposition party with its spokesperson Sambit Patra demanding statements from Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi on the issue.

    “The decision of revoking Article 370 and reducing the statehood of J&K is extremely, I would say, sad decision, and the Congress party would certainly have a relook on the issue,” Singh said, according to bits of conversation available on social media.

    He was responding to a question about the “way forward” on the issue once the Modi government is gone.

    As the BJP attacked him, Singh posted a tweet in Hindi in an apparent jibe at the ruling party.

    “This bunch of illiterate people cannot probably differentiate between ‘shall’ and ‘consider’,” the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.

    Attacking him, Patra told reporters, “We have all seen how Digvijay Singh is spitting venom on India and speaking in agreement with Pakistan. This is the same person who had dubbed the Pulwama attack as an accident and described the 26/11 Mumabi attack as RSS conspiracy.”

    The BJP leader cited old comments of other Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mani Shankar Aiyar, to allege that Singh’s remarks were part of a larger pattern of the party being “hand in glove” with Pakistan.

    “This is all part of the toolkit which the BJP had exposed,” Patra said in a reference to a controversial document rejected as fake by the Congress.

    The Congress would go to the extent of collaborating with China and Pakistan to spread “hate” against Modi and India, he alleged.

    “The Congress should change its name from INC (Indian National Congress) to ANC, Anti-national Clubhouse. This is such a clubhouse whose members have begun hating India while hating Modi,” he alleged.

    Patra asked Sonia Gandhi and Rahul to make their party’s stand clear on the issue.

    He claimed that Rahul Gandhi is the leader of these Congress politicians, adding that Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had used his criticism of Article 370 as part of his country’s dossier against India on the issue in the UN.

    Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Kiren Rijiju were among other BJP leaders who targeted the Congress in their tweets over the issue.

    Singh alleged, “Congress’s first love is Pakistan. Digvijay Singh conveyed Rahul Gandhi’s message to Pakistan. Congress will help Pakistan in grabbing Kashmir.”

  • Delimitation exercise splits Jammu and Kashmir parties

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR:  With the Delimitation Commission writing to Deputy Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir, asking them to share data of voters in their districts and Assembly segments, a division has come to the fore between the BJP and some Jammu-based parties over the process. 

    The BJP strongly supports using the 2011 census as the basis for the delimitation exercise, while some Jammu-based parties are of the view that the process should not be based on the 2011 census. “Since the 2011 census is the latest census, the delimitation exercise has to be conducted as per it only,” a senior J&K BJP leader said.  

    Jammu-based leader and Dogra Saddar Sabha president Gurchain Singh Charak said the Delimitation Commission should carry out a proper delimitation exercises to carve out new Assembly and parliamentary constituencies. “Today Jammu is not the old Jammu. Half of Kashmir is living here. They have constructed permanent homes here. The commission should take note of it and not confine itself to 2011 census,” he said. 

    The Delimitation Commission headed by Justice (retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai was formed in March last year to carve out more Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in J&K. The commission’s term was extended by one year in March this year.

  • Covid: 25 more deaths, 1,117 new cases in Jammu and Kashmir

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: The COVID-19 death toll in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 4,143 on Thursday with 25 more fatalities, while 1,117 new cases pushed the infection count to 3,04,866, officials said.

    Out of the fresh cases, 332 were from Jammu division and 785 from the Kashmir division, they said. Srinagar district recorded the highest 194 cases followed by 121 in Budgam district, officials said.

    The number of active cases dropped to 18,581, while the overall recoveries have reached 2,82,142 so far, officials said. The death toll rose to 4,143 after 25 patients died in the past 24 hours, they said.

    Officials said there were 18 confirmed cases of Mucormycosis (black fungus) in the union territory and no fresh case has been reported since last evening.

  • Jammu and Kashmir gets technology that can supply oxygen to multiple patients at a time

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: The Primary Health Centre at Tukroo in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir has become the first PHC in the union territory to get multi-feed oxygen manifold system technology which can supply oxygen to multiple patients, an official said on Wednesday.

    “To cater to the requirements of oxygen supply for multiple patients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Tukroo Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Shopian district becomes the first in J&K to get multi-feed Oxygen Manifold System (OMS) technology,” an official spokesman said.

    The technology uses a multi-way redial header fitted to a single cylinder. This enables one oxygen bottle to cater to the needs of multiple patients concurrently thus enabling critical care management to a larger number of patients with existing limited resources, he said.

    It consists of a 24 cylinder system catering to 40 fully functional beds along with an ERC room which is fully equipped and functions round-the-clock, he added.

    Earlier, Covid patients from Shopian, which is a hilly and far-flung district, had to travel long distances to reach a hospital, but with this facility patients will be able to get oxygen at the nearest hospital.

  • Fire at Vaishno Devi shrine complex, cash counter damaged

    By PTI
    JAMMU: A fire broke out at Vaishno Devi shrine complex in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district on Tuesday, damaging a cash counter, officials said.

    No one was injured in the fire, which broke out from the structure adjoining the ‘Bhawan’ (sanctum sanctorum), the officials said.

    They said the fire started around 4.15 pm due to a short circuit and was completely controlled by 5 pm.

    Visuals from the scene showed thick smoke billowing out of the building as firefighters worked to douse the flames.

    Fire fighting squad of the shrine immediately swung into action after CRPF personnel raised an alarm, the officials said.

    Some cash and records were gutted in the fire, the officials said.

  • Jammu and Kashmir’s economy on brink of collapse: Omar Abdullah

    By PTI
    SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Monday said the economy of Jammu and Kashmir is on the ‘brink of collapse’ as every sector in the union territory has suffered losses in the last two years.

    Addressing a meeting of the party’s constituency in-charges of north Kashmir’s Baramulla District at party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha here, Abdullah expressed concern over ‘the soaring unemployment’ in Jammu and Kashmir and the alleged rising incidents of suicide among the youth.

    ‘The economy of J&K, it goes without saying, is at the brink of collapse. There is no sector of its economy — be it tourism, horticulture, transport, or trade — that hasn’t suffered losses in the past two years,’ Abdullah said.

    The NC leader said the UT’s local economy is already on its ‘deathbed’ due to the ravaging deluge of 2014 followed by demonetisation and the successive lockdowns. ‘The series of occurrences over the years also had a backbreaking impact on the people. The ongoing crisis has diminished all hopes of economic revival. The recently announced economic package is insufficient to bring the ailing economy of J&K back,’ he said.

    Referring to the recent cases of suicides in the valley, Abdullah said the ‘increased occurrence’ of suicides in Kashmir is a ‘physical manifestation of the sordid anti-youth policies’ of the government ‘pushing already aggrieved educated and skilled youth towards the wall’.

    “The successive clampdown and Covid-induced lockdowns have further compounded the woes of J&K youth by choking the already constrained job sector. There are thousands of unemployed medics, paramedics, engineers, graduates and post graduates waiting for job openings,” he said.

    “The situation has become much worse as the industrial sector, which is supposed to absorb the unemployed youths, continues to struggle,” he added.

    Abdullah said what little opportunities were provided by local tourism, manufacturing, handicraft and transportation sectors, have also been ‘clogged by the predatory impact’ of tumultuous situations since August 2019 — when the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status — in the shape of successive lockdowns and weather vagaries.

    The NC leader also exhorted the party functionaries to support the efforts of the administration in the battle against Covid and asked them to help people in whatever way they could.

    “We haven’t won the battle against Covid. We are half way towards eliminating it. It requires strengthening of testing, tracing and treatment mechanisms. Stepping up of vaccination drives also holds the key towards improving the herd immunity. Administration is doing its best in combating the virus, a lot needs to be done,” he said. “But people cannot absolve themselves of their duties. The best the people of J&K can do is to follow the required Covid protocols, government advisories and shun vaccine inhibition.

    I hope the party functionaries will take the lead in getting themselves and their families vaccinated,” he added.

  • Militant harbourer arrested 22 years after lodging of FIR in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi

    By PTI
    JAMMU: A man was arrested on Monday after a long hunt of 22 years on the charges of providing shelter and other logistics to militants in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

    Mohi-ud-din, a resident of Shikari village in Mahore area, went underground evading arrest after he was named in an FIR under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code for harbouring terrorists in 1999, a police spokesman said.

    He said a chargesheet was produced against the accused in a local court which issued a warrant under Section 512 of CrPC against him on February 18, 2002.

    “He (accused) neither participated in the investigation proceedings nor could be apprehended since the case was registered,” the spokesman said.

    He said the accused was finally arrested during a meticulously planned and coordinated effort by a team of Mahore police station based on inputs about his presence in the area.

    Mohi-ud-din is the 14th absconder arrested by Reasi police within a period of six weeks, the spokesman said.

  • Four killed as vehicle plunges into gorge in Jammu & Kashmir’s Ramban district

    By PTI
    BANIHAL/ JAMMU: Four people were killed on Saturday when a cab skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district, officials said.

    The SUV was on its way to Jammu from Srinagar and the accident took place near Khuni Nallah around 9.45 am when its driver lost control over the vehicle, the officials said.

    Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) PD Nitya said that rescuers, including police, Army and local volunteers, swung into action soon after the vehicle rolled down over 500 feet from the highway into Bishlari stream.

    Three people, including a woman, were found dead on the spot and two others were rescued in a critical condition, she said. One of the injured succumbed at the district hospital Ramban shortly after admission, the officials said.

    The SSP said the rescue operation is on as one more person is stated to be missing after the accident.

  • Srinagar diary: All that is happening at ‘Paradise on Earth’

    Express News Service
    Administrative secretaries told to listen to public

    The government has directed all administrative secretaries to fix time to meet the public and hear their grievances. A circular issued by the Commissioner Secretary to Government, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, stated that the government’s public outreach has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

    He stated that due to the restrictions on the movement of people, people who have grievances have not been able to visit the Civil Secretariat for their redressal. Therefore, it has been decided that all administrative secretaries shall daily meet the public and listen to their grievances

    Cap on daily online classes after girl’s viral video

    The School Education Department has decided to limit online classes for students of classes 1 to 8 to one and a half hours each day. It comes days after the video of a six-year-old girl complaining about the burden of homework went viral. Mairoo Irfan from Srinagar had put out a video on social media addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  

    “Why do teachers assign so much work to small children, Modi Saab? The older children, who are in Class 6 and 7, should be given more work,” she can be heard saying in the video. On the order of the Lieutenant Governor, the School Education Department has decided to limit online classes to a maximum of one and half hours each day for students of classes 1-8. 

    Campaign to spread awareness about jabs

    In a bid to ensure that everyone gets vaccinated, the administration of the border district of Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir launched an innovative “vaccination on the wheels” campaign to inoculate all, especially those above the age of 44, at their doorsteps.  

    The district’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Rajeev Sharma said the campaign was launched by the administration last week. The campaign was launched in all four blocks of the district. Each block has been given one vehicle. The campaign, which has evoked positive responses, also aims to spread awareness about vaccination. 

    Protectees told not to travel without security cover

    After BJP leader and councilor Rakesh Pandita was shot dead by militants in the Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Police have issued an advisory to protected persons, directing them not to travel without their Personal Security Officers (PSOs) in the militancy-hit Valley.

    According to the advisory issued by Inspector General of Police (IGP), no protectee should go anywhere without their PSOs. The visit of a protectee to any area will be allowed only after an assessment of the local threat situation.