Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was restored for traffic on Monday evening after remaining blocked for over 12 hours due to mudslides and landslides triggered by heavy rains at Mehar and Cafeteria Morh stretch ahead of Ramban.
Traffic officials said that heavy rain since Sunday midnight triggered mudslides and landslides besides shooting stones at several places, particularly at Mehar and Cafeteria Morh, and halted traffic movement in the wee hours of Monday on the highway.
Jammu and Kashmir on Monday recorded two covid deaths and 273 fresh cases of Covid-19 out of which 87 percent cases were reported from Kashmir alone.
Also, two deaths- one each from Jammu and Kashmir division were also reported in the last 24 hours.
As per the official figures, out of all cases 239 cases were reported from Kashmir and 34 cases were reported from Jammu division, taking the tally to 474055.
Notably, the daily count of cases in Kashmir has witnessed a major spike from the past few weeks which has raised concern over strict implementation of Covid-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB).
However, the number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir has seen a dwindling trend for the past few days. The number of active cases has gone down to 4154– 693 in Jammu and 3461 in Kashmir as compared to 4463 active cases reported a day before.
The two fresh deaths have taken the toll to 4779-2347 in Jammu division and 2432 in Kashmir division in the last 24 hours.
Moreover, 580 more Covid-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from various hospitals including 62 from Jammu division and 518 from Kashmir division thereby taking the total recoveries to 464542.
Over the past few weeks there is no let up in the surge in the Covid-19 cases in Kashmir which made the situation worrisome. The Kashmir region is showing a spike in daily count of cases despite the government directives in place to combat the spread of the infection.
In wake of the continuous spike in daily count of cases, wearing face masks was made mandatory in all the districts by the concerned administration.
As per the district wise breakup, Baramulla district has recorded 96 cases, highest among all the districts across J&K while the number of active cases has reached 1509 from the last 24 hours.
Srinagar district has reported 60 cases while the number of active cases in the district is 1076. The Jammu district has reported 11 cases.
Meanwhile Kupwara district reported 16 cases, Budgam 29, Anantnag reported 23 cases, Kulgam district reported one case while five cases were reported from Bandipora and nine cases were reported from Pulwama district.
However, no fresh cases were reported from Ganderbal and Shopian districts.
Three cases each were reported from Udhampur and Rajouri districts while 14 cases were reported from Ramban district.
One case was reported from Samba district while two cases were reported from Kathua district. However no fresh cases were reported from Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch and Reasi districts.
Notably, the J&K government has cautioned the heads of the health institutions and have directed the concerned to speed up testing as well.
The Covid experts have raised concern over the continuous surge in Covid and urged people to adopt preventive measures besides adhering to Covid-19 protocol which are already in place.
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University celebrated Independence Day with patriotic fervour and gaiety. The flag hoisting ceremony was held on the lawn of the Vice-Chancellor’s Secretariat.
Prof. Akbar Masood, Vice Chancellor BGSBU received the guard of honour and unfurled the National flag. Prof. Akbar congratulated his fellow citizens on the eve of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Independence Day. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Akbar paid rich tributes to the freedom fighters who laid their lives in the struggle for India’s Independence. Prof. Akbar said that this day reminds every Indian about the dawn of a new beginning, the beginning of an era of deliverance from the clutches of British colonialism for more than 200 years.
In his address, Prof. Akbar said that India is a great country and every Indian should be proud of this great nation. Prof. Akbar urged his fellow citizens to make the nation strong and vibrant. Prof. Akbar said that during 75 years of Independence, India has achieved a distinctive position on the globe and has emerged as one of the fastest economies in the world. He said that the India of today is much stronger and more vibrant and is on the path to becoming Vishav Guru.
Prof. Akbar said that on the 75th year of independence, under the leadership of PM Modi, we are celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. This Amrit Mahotsav is a pledge to build a vibrant and self-reliant India. Prof. Akbar mentioned that on the occasion of the 75th year of Independence, the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign has become the largest festival on earth.
He also urged the audience that we should always value our freedom and should have respect for our soldiers who are guarding the frontiers for our safety and security.
Dean Academic Affairs, Registrar, Deans of Various Schools, Heads of various departments, Faculty members, officers and staff of the university was present on the occasion.
“76th INDEPENDENCE DAY was celebrated by all the colleges under Shri Sain Charitable Trust For Higher Education & Research in the campus of JAMMU INSTITUTE of AYURVEDA & RESEARCH,Jammu. The Flag was Hoisted by Honorable Chief Guest Smt. Suman Sharma,Chairperson of the Trust. She was accompanied by Managment, All Principals, Teaching, Non Teaching Staffs and students. Mr Ishvanku BAMS student and Shallu Devi from physical education college delivered patriotic poem and speech speech on Struggle of Independence.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday hoisted the Tricolour at the Vidhan Bhawan for the sixth consecutive year.
In his address on the occasion, the chief minister said that Uttar Pradesh has become the most preferred destination for investors in the past five and a half years.
He said that the state had moved ahead with the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas’.
“Service, safety and good governance are our priority. For the first time in the history of UP, any government has been repeated. The government is moving ahead with inclusive development,” he said.
Yogi Adityanath further said that during the corona pandemic, 15 crore families were given free ration. Uttar Pradesh is the state with the highest number of vaccinations.
Other schemes, including Ayushman Bharat have reached the people and nearly 1.70 crore families have got the benefit of Ujjwala Yojana.
“We have succeeded in doubling the GDP of UP within five years. We have also worked to give the benefit of houses to 34 lakh families of the state. Women and sisters have moved forward by joining 10 lakh volunteer groups in the state. Uttar Pradesh has become the leading state to implement the National Education Policy,” he said.
He further said that the government has worked to realize the dream of village self-government in rural areas.
“We have done the work of providing electricity to the villages of Uttar Pradesh. The government has given the benefit of Kanya Sumangala Yojana to the daughters. We have implemented Har Ghar Nal Yojana,” he added.
A 48-year-old man was arrested in the national capital and 170 bundles of illegal Chinese manjha were found in his possession, an official said on Monday.
The accused was identified as Ashok Kumar, a resident of Delhi.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Sameer Sharma said the beat staff of Nihal Vihar police station were present in the area for patrolling and at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, they noticed illegal Chinese manjha kept in a shop.
“During the search, a total of 170 bundles of illegal Chinese manjha (Mono kite) were recovered from one Ashok Kumar’s shop,” the DCP said.
Accordingly, the police, after registering an FIR under section 88 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7 and 15 of the Environment Protection Act, arrested the accused.
During sustained interrogation, he disclosed that he runs a tea shop and in greed of earning more money he deals in selling illegal Chinese manjha in the Nihal Vihar area.
The security grid is hunting for militants in forests after a recent Fidayeen attack led to the killing of four soldiers in Parghal area of Rajouri on Augu11. Reports said some contact was made but not any details are available.
Reports appearing in the media said contact was established between a group of militants and a joint posse of police and army at Sujan Hill – a location in between Targain and Samot. The area falls in Budhal police station jurisdiction. Troops from 60-RR and cops from Udham police station were part of the combing team.
The firing exchange at around 7:30 pm on Sunday, however, did not have any casualties. Militants have managed to escape after the fire exchange. Reports said the attacking militants were a group comprising three to four militants. No follow-up details were immediately known.
The encounter preceded the visit of Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi to Pargal army post and Line of Control (LoC). While visiting the army base, reports said Gen Dwivedi was briefed about the operation by GoC Romeo Force.
Poonch, Aug 15: A mysterious blast happened during August 15 function in Nar Balakote area of Mendhar area of Poonch district on Monday, officials said.
A parked vehicle suffered damage in the blast but there was hardly any disturbance in the functioning with local sarpanch Aftab Khan unfurling tricolor at Panchayat Ghar, they said. There was no loss of life in the blast which took place some distance away from the venue, they said.
A police officer said that investigations have been launched into the incident. “It was a mysterious blast. Nature and other technical details are been investigated.” (Agencies)
Centre accords sanction to Village Defence Guards Scheme for J&K
New Delhi, Aug 15: With 14,917 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s case tally rose to 4,42,68,381, while the active cases have increased to 1,17,508, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Monday.
The death toll has climbed to 5,27,069 with 32 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. In the latest figure, Kerala has reconciled four earlier fatalities.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 7.52 per cent. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.65 per cent, according to the ministry.
The active cases account for 0.27 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.54 per cent, the ministry said.
An increase of 647 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,36,23,804, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry, 208.25 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide 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; 80 lakh on October 29; and 90 lakh on November 20. It surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore cases on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year.
The 28 new fatalities included five from Delhi, three each from Karnataka and Maharashtra and two each from Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and one each from Assam, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Uttarakhand. (Agencies)