In a statement Social activist and AAP Leader Gurmeet Singh Baaghi said that the dilapidated condition of roads in Jammu and Kashmir is giving tough time to the commuters. The bad condition of roads due to which many accidents take place every year. A poor condition of roads is one of the major causes of road accidents. Though not all accidents are caused by poor roads, however poor roads play quite a significant role in these accidents.
Baaghi added that almost all the interior roads of Baba Ajit Singh Nagar (Ward No. 73) are in dilapidated condition, resulting into most inconvenience to people. The roads leading to Gurudwara Sahib (Baba Ajit Singh Nagar) and other areas of Baba Ajit Singh Nagar (Ward no. 73) in worst condition as they have developed large potholes and the roads of the areas are being neglected for a long time now. It has been years that the condition of roads is bad but authorities are taking no action in this regard. The people of the area are facing a huge inconvenience while traveling on the roads. The road is not fit for even pedestrians to walk. Potholes and bumpy roads are giving a hard time to people and it seems the government is least concerned. The officials of concerned department are not initiating process for the repair of this road. Due to the dilapidated condition of the road and lack of proper drainage system, the commuters are facing problems and the number of road accidents are also on the rise. This problem of poor roads is quite widespread in J&K. Especially during and after the monsoons the roads are badly damaged. Mostly after the monsoons the drains get damaged. Quite frequently these broken drains and uncovered manholes become the causes of the accidents.These accidents can be stopped by making quality roads and timely repair of the broken roads, poor drainage system and insanitary conditions of roads. The condition of the roads has gone from bad to worse in various parts of the JK (UT). It has become a herculean task for motorists, especially two-wheeler riders to commute on these roads.The maintenance of roads is poor. It was the result of a single heavy shower that almost all the roads have developed dangerous potholes, he added.
Baaghi, said that the worst condition of roads has made travel miserable and patients being ferried for treatment are the worst victims of this mess. Apart from other trouble, the wear and tear of vehicles has unduly gone up as the suspensions get damaged and also the tyres which burdens the pockets of common man.The bad roads have further damaged the state economy, Baaghi added.
Baaghi appealed the concerned authorities in the Union Territory of J&K to immediately repair the roads.
People suffer due to worst condition of roads : Baaghi
Rupee hits record low of 81.55 as dollar scales new two-decade peak
The Indian rupee fell to a new record low of 81.55 against the US dollar on Monday after a sharp uptick in dollar index, dealers said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, rupee was trading at 81.55 against 80.99 close on the previous trading session against the US dollar.
“Rupee falls to fresh all-time lows as the dollar strengthens across the board. Hawkish Fed outlook, political instability in China and sell-off in pound after the tax cut announcement is also disturbing the overall market sentiment. This week, RBI will release its policy statement and this is likely to influence the rupee that is currently falling sharply against the US dollar,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
The two-year US Treasury yield was at 4.2 per cent, its highest level since October 12, 2007.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced to 114.58, before easing to 113.513.
The Brent crude oil prices were trading at $85.08 per barrel.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as per reports, is selling dollar after the rupee hit an all time low for the third straight sessions.
Due to the RBI’s market intervention to protect the weakening rupee and for the country’s trade settlement, India’s foreign exchange reserves have been steadily declining for the past few months.
Another potential explanation for the rupee’s decline is this depletion.
Later in the week, the RBI is set to raise rates too.
Grenade found in Poonch
JAMMU : A grenade was found in Surankote area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Monday, officials said.
According to the officials, the grenade was found lying near a stream at Fazalabad village by some people who informed police about it.
A bomb disposal squad was rushed to the spot to safely defuse the explosive substance, they said. (AGENCIES)
Ghulam Nabi Azad launches his party in Jammu, names it ‘Democratic Azad Party’
Jammu, September 26
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday named his new political outfit as Democratic Azad Party, a month after breaking ties with the Congress.
He said that the party will be secular, democratic and independent from any influence. Azad announced the name during a press conference in Jammu.
Flag of the party was also launched that has three colours – mustard, white and blue.
Azad, in his first public meeting in Jammu after quitting Congress, had announced to launch of his own political outfit that will focus on the restoration of full statehood.
He had said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will decide the name and the flag for the party.
He was the chief minister of J-K from 2005 to 2008.
In his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi, he had targeted party leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, over the way the party has been run in the past nearly nine years.
3 IIT students among 7 killed as vehicle falls into gorge in Himachal’s Kullu
SHIMLA : Seven tourists, including three IIT Varanasi students, were killed and 10 sustained injuries as a tempo traveller fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on Sunday evening, officials said.
The accident took place at 8:30 pm near Ghiyaghi in Banjar subdivision, they said.
Five tourists died on the spot while two others succumbed to injuries at the hospital, they added.
The deceased were identified as Saurabh, Priyanka Gupta, Kiran, a resident of Delhi, Rishab Raj, and Anshika Jain, Aditya, and Ananmaya from Uttar Pradesh, Kullu superintendent of police Gurdev Sharma said.
The injured included Rahul Goswami, Kshitija Agarwal, Priyapal, Ishan Gupta from Haryana, driver Ajay Chauhan, Abhinav Singh, Nishtha Badoni from Uttar Pradesh, Rushav from New Delhi, Lakshaya from Rajasthan and Jai Aggarwal from Madhya Pradesh, he said.
BJP MLA from Banjar Surender Shourie streamed a video on Facebook at 12.45 am on Monday, informing people about the accident that occurred in his Assembly segment.
The injured were first taken to Banjar hospital from where they have been referred to Kullu regional hospital for treatment after being given first aid, the MLA said.
The Banjar MLA thanked the district administration and the locals for carrying out rescue operation despite darkness.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Union minister Anurag Thakur, who hails from the state, expressed grief over the incident.
“I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the death of seven people in a road accident in Kullu. May God give peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families. Wishing speedy recovery to the injured,” the chief minister said in a tweet in Hindi.
“The accident near Ghiyagi in Kullu is very sad. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. May God give place to the departed souls,” Anurag Thakur, the Union minister and Member of Parliament from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh tweeted in Hindi. (AGENCIES)
Active Covid cases decline to 43,415
NEW DELHI, Sept 26:With 4,129 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,45,72,243, while the active cases declined to 43,415, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday.
The death toll climbed to 5,28,530 with 20 fatalities, including 13 fatalities reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The active cases comprises 0.10 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.72 per cent, the health ministry said.
A decline of 579 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.51 per cent. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.61 per cent, according to the health ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,40,00,298, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry, 217.686 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.
The seven fatalities reported in the last 24 hours include two each from Maharashtra and Nagaland and one each from Karnataka, Kerala and West Bengal. (AGENCIES)
Security up for Amit Shah’s three-day J&K visit
Jammu:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who will be on a three-day UT visit from September 30, has chosen to visit Rajouri and Baramulla which have been neglected for many years, said BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh on Sunday.
After reaching Rajouri on September 30, Shah will hold a rally next day. On October 2, he will address a rally in Baramulla. He is expected to announce the scheduled tribe (ST) status for the Pahari community. Intelligence and security agencies are keeping a close eye on terror organisations’ activities. Security meetings of the police, the CRPF, the BSF, the Army and intelligence agencies are taking place on a regular basis in Jammu and Srinagar keeping in mind Shah’s rallies.
Party insiders say that after nominating Ghulam Ali Khatana (from Gujjar community) to the Rajya Sabha, the BJP now wants to woo the Pahari community which can turn the tables in many constituencies in the Assembly polls. BJP’s J&K chief Ravinder Raina said preparations had been made. BJP men are also seeing the rallies as the beginning of the party’s electioneering.
TN to accelerate campaign for free Covid booster dose
The Tamil Nadu health department is planning to accelerate a campaign across the state for people to take the Covid-19 booster dose vaccine.
The Tamil Nadu health minister, Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said, “We have already directed the district medical officers and district health departments to conduct campaigns so that a maximum number of eligible people are taking the booster dose of vaccine.”
He said that till September 30 the booster doses are free and that it will be available at 11,333 facilities of the state medical health department. The minister said that the people must take up the booster dose within the next five days as it is not known whether the booster dose vaccines would be available freely after the cut-off date of September 30.
Tamil Nadu has vaccinated 96.55 per cent of its population with the first dose of Covid vaccine and 91.39 per cent of the people with the second dose of vaccine. Ma Subramanian said that these were made available due to the relentless efforts of the health department officers, including doctors, nurses, and other staff. The minister told IANS that people were still hesitant to take the booster dose and that there were still 3.40 crore people eligible for the vaccine.
The state on Sunday conducted the 38th mega vaccination drive in 50,000 camps across the state and the minister said that Tamil Nadu was the only state that conducted such mega vaccination camps in the country. The mega vaccination camps in the state commenced on September 12, 2021.
The state health department, it is learned, will conduct a door-to-door campaign using the services of primary health centres, which are situated across the state. The services of Anganwadi teachers and SC/ST promoters will also be used to reach out to yje maximum number of people for the booster dose of vaccine.
Partly cloudy sky, light rain likely in J&K: MeT
Jammu, Sep 26: Partly cloudy sky with light rain is likely in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours, the Meteorological (MeT) department said on Monday.
“Partly cloudy sky with chances of light rain is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours”, an official of the MeT department said.
Meanwhile, Srinagar recorded 14.6 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam 6.4 and Gulmarg 4 degrees as the minimum temperature this morning.
Kargil in Ladakh region clocked 8.2 degrees, while Jammu recorded 19.7, Katra 17.7, Batote 11.2, Banihal 10.8 and Bhaderwah 9.8 degrees.
IHRO J&K announce Akash Bhagat as youth President Jammu Province
Akash Bhagat a very active youth leader and social activist has been appointed as the Youth President (Jammu Province) of the International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO) Jammu Kashmir for the year 2022-2024.
“The IHRO Jammu Kashmir is confident that with your background, experience, expertise and keen interest, you would justify your job for the just cause of safeguarding human rights as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948,” IHRO J&K chairman Pardeepak Singh Chib said during occasion
Shubham Langer State Youth President J&K said we hope that he will exercise his responsibilities with honesty and dignity for the best interest of humanity. We welcome him to the IHRO family and look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with you,”
youth from many colleges and Jammu University namely Samarth bhatia,anish bhagat,nikhil parihar, rohit panshotra, arif khan, harsh singh, satyam pansotra,amit kunqr, anurag, manish bhagat, sourav, danish parihar also present on the occasion