NEW DELHI, Aug 12: As the country continues to record an average of over 15,000 coronavirus cases daily, the Centre has asked States to ensure there are no large gatherings for Independence Day celebrations and that everyone follows Covid protocols.
The Union Home Ministry has also conveyed to all States and Union Territories to carry out a ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign at a prominent location of each district in the state and UT and carry out a fortnight and month-long campaign to keep it ‘Swachh’ through voluntary civil action.
In a communication, the ministry said, “As a precaution, against COVID-19, large congregations in the ceremony be avoided. It is imperative that Covid guidelines are followed”.
India added 16,561 new coronavirus cases taking the total tally of Covid cases to 4,42,23,557, while the active cases dipped to 1,23,535, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The death toll climbed to 5,26,928 with 49 fatalities which include 10 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The Home Ministry also asked Government departments and educational institutions to carry out tree plantation programmes to spread awareness for conservation of environment. (Agencies)
Avoid large gatherings while celebrating I-Day in view of Covid cases: Centre to States
LG Manoj Sinha flags off ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ rally at Dal Lake Srinagar
SRINAGAR, August 12: The Youth Services and Sports Department of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday organised a Tiranga Shikara rally at the Dal Lake in Srinagar.
The rally was flagged off by the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory, Manoj Sinha under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
As India celebrates its 75th year of Independence this year, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav has brought a wave of celebration to the country. ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is the campaign launched by the Government of India to encourage every citizen of our great nation to bring home the tricolour and hoist it with pride.
The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign’ under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav is a big hit in Jammu and Kashmir with a large number of people joining the celebrations to mark the 75 years of India’s Independence.
Various activities are being conducted by different departments and schools across the Kashmir Valley as part of this initiative.
Delhi government refuses to honour CWG 2022 winner Divya Kakran as she represents UP
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday said the Delhi government cannot give cash rewards to Commonwealth Games bronze medal winner Divya Kakran as she represents Uttar Pradesh. His statement came after Indian wrestler Kakran accused the Delhi government of not giving any kind of help because of which she was forced to move to Uttar Pradesh.
“Player lives in Delhi but has only played for the state till 2016-17. As for respect, CM called her in 2018 respectfully. We can’t give her cash rewards as she represents UP but we have always respected her,” said AAP MLA over allegations by Divya.
Addressing a press conference, Kakran said, “I moved to Delhi in 2001, and in 2006, I started practicing wrestling. I am putting up in Gokalpur for the last 22 years. My father somehow managed to provide me with wrestling training. I earned money by competing with boys but the Delhi government did not provide any assistance. I went to UP only when our family, suffered and cried a lot due to our financial condition.
Kakran further said she won numerous medals for Delhi. “In 2011 I won bronze for Delhi. Till 2017, I got 58 medals and all for Delhi. Only Manoj Tiwari came to us and gave me 3 lakh, That money helped me a lot,” she said. She received the Rani Lakshmi Bai award from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a cheque of Rs 3,11,000.
Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Shahzad Poonawalla said the verbal fight between the AAP government and wrestler Divya Kakran was an insult to athletes, youth, and the Tricolour. Addressing a press conference held by the BJP, Poonawalla said, “A topic has come to the fore in which the players of the country, the women of the country, the honor of our sisters have been insulted. The sisters of the country, the players of the country, and the national flag have been insulted. I am placing the subject in front of everyone on behalf of the party.”
The only mistake Kakran made was that she told the truth to Kejriwal. Our daughter, our sister, who made the country proud, if she spoke the truth, then the entire social media infrastructure of the Aam Aadmi Party got dominant,” he said. Poonawalla also slammed AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj saying, “Earlier AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj questioned the player, who brought laurels to our country, are you not from Delhi? I thought you are from Uttar Pradesh. The player plays under the name of a country’s flag and respects India. CWG people do not sit in the provinces, AAP leaders say that you are not from Delhi, you are from Uttar Pradesh. You show proof, this is the process of asking for proof as they had asked for proof from our jawan. When did the surgical strike happen, proof from the jawan who defended India’s flag.”
The controversy erupted after, Kakran won bronze in the women’s 68 kg freestyle category on August 6 and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated her. In a reply to Kejriwal’s tweet, she expressed disappointment with the Delhi Government highlighting that she didn’t receive any help from the state even after residing in the national capital for years.
Kashmir to get its first multiplex cinema in September
JAMMU, Aug 12: Kashmir will get its first multiplex cinema in September which will screen latest Bollywood and Hollywood movies for the entertainment-starved locals.
Designed by INOX, the multiplex with a seating capacity of 520, will be the first cinema theatre in Kashmir after three decades since separatist violence broke out here in 1989.
It will have many food courts to attract youth and children besides providing them the feel of the most modern cinema entertainment.
The decor of the multiplex includes the ‘Khatambandh’ ceiling which is part of Kashmir’s central Asia inspired architecture.
Vikas Dhar, the owner of the multiplex, is the son of Vijay Dhar who owned the iconic ‘Broadway’ theatre in Srinagar that was gutted in a fire incident in mid 1990s.
Vijay Dhar is the son of illustrious Kashmiri politician late D.P.Dhar who remained pivotal to power equations in Jammu and Kashmir because of his proximity to both late Prime Ministers — Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
D.P.Dhar as Indian ambassador in Russia played a vital role in consolidating Indo-Soviet relations. (AGENCIES)
WazirX episode reveals darker side of crypto, say Government sources
JAMMU, Aug 12: The ED probe into alleged money laundering by crypto exchange WazirX and the subsequent squabbling among its promoters has revealed the ‘darker side’ of cryptocurrencies, a top government source said on Thursday.
The source added that people should exercise caution in absence of a regulation to govern cryptocurrencies and so-called exchanges trading in them.
“Caution is the word that should be in the minds of the people dealing with crypto. In the episode of WazirX, people got to know many darker sides, caution is necessary in crypto transaction,” the source said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating allegations of money laundering against WazirX.
The agency has frozen Rs 64.67 crore worth bank deposits as part of an ongoing money laundering probe against some fraud smartphone-based loan apps “backed” by Chinese funds.
Within days of the ED action, a public spat broke out between global cryptocurrency platform Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty.
Binance CEO distanced himself from the operations at WazirX exchange, while the Indian entity said it was exploring legal action against Binance.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said in Parliament that a show-cause notice has been issued under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against WazirX for allowing outward remittance of crypto assets worth Rs 2,790 crore to unknown wallets.
Further, in another case, it was noticed that WazirX allowed the foreign users’ request to convert one crypto into another on its own platform as well as by using transfers from third-party exchanges, namely FTX, Binance, etc, he said.
Government sources said the WazirX episode has brought to fore a lot of issues and the ED is investigating the case.
India does not recognise cryptocurrencies, but levies a 30 per cent tax on income earned from such virtual digital assets.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been making a strong case for global regulation of cryptocurrencies to tackle the risks of money laundering and terror funding.
At the G20 Ministerial Symposium on Tax and Development in Bali, she had suggested that G20 should examine the feasibility of bringing non-financial assets like crypto into the ambit of automatic exchange of information among nations to check tax evasion. (Agencies)
Migrant Labourer Shot Dead By Terrorists In Jammu And Kashmir’s Bandipora
Srinagar, Aug 12: A migrant worker from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district, police said on Friday.
The attack took place around midnight, they said.
During intervening night, #terrorists fired upon & injured one outside #labourer Mohd Amrez S/O Mohd Jalil R/O Madhepura Besarh #Bihar at Soadnara Sumbal, #Bandipora,” the Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.
The police said Amrez was shifted to a hospital for treatment where he succumbed to injuries. (Agencies)
Active Covid cases in country decline to 1,23,535
New Delhi, Aug 12: India added 16,561 new coronavirus cases taking the total tally of Covid cases to 4,42,23,557, while the active cases dipped to 1,23,535, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The death toll climbed to 5,26,928 with 49 fatalities which include 10 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.28 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.53 per cent, the ministry said.
A decrease of 1,541 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
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.
The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
J&K Govt abolishes oral test, interview for various posts of Level-6
SRINAGAR, Aug 11: In a major decision aimed at increasing efficiency, transparency and timely conclusion of recruitment process, the Lieutenant Governor approved the proposal of the General Administration Department to exclude various Level-6 posts from the requirement of conduct of Interview/Oral Test.
The recruitment against these Level-6 posts shall now be made on the basis of Written Test only. The decision shall ensure that selections are objectively fair and merit based, and it paves the way for advertisement of more than 1000 posts including 855 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) which shall be filled up on a fast-track basis through the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board.
Further, the Lieutenant Governor has also directed the identification of posts of similar nature which can be considered for exclusion from the requirement of Oral Test/Interview, for which the process has also been initiated by the General Administration Department.
HDFC Bank starts Gold loan in Doda Branch
By King RJ
Bhadarwah, Aug 11:- With an aim to provide all facilities to it’s customers, HDFC Bank Doda branch inaugurated Gold Loan facility in the Branch.
The Gold Loan Desk established in Doda Branch was inaugurated by Cheif Guest Dr Khalid Muzaffar HoD Orthopedic GMC Doda along with Branch Manager(BM) Doda Nasir Mattoo, ASM Sameer Zarger and SM Irshad Ahmed.
ASM Gold Loan J&K Sameer Zarger said that HDFC is one of the world’s leading bank and now the big player of gold loan business.we have recently started gold loan in Jammu and Kashmir with today in Doda branch as well.
Zarger said that the bank fulfills the needs of customers and provides the fastest gold loan on lowest rate of interest, with zero valuation charges, minimum stamp duty and highest gold value.Nasir Mattoo BM HDFC Doda said that HDFC Bank is committed to provide the best ever facilities to customers at their door steps. The step taken by HDFC to start Gold loan in Doda Branch will cater the needs of people residing in this hilly area. Earlier people have to visit Jammu to avail the facility, but now they can avail here with minimum documentation.
BBM Randeep Kotwal, BOM Musarat Ali, Gold Loan Manger Amir Hamdani, SO Alyas Ahmed, BSM Nadeem Ahmed, PB Aamir Ganai, Teller Iqra Tabassum, SSE Raja Rehber (TW) , Javed Ahmed HDFC Life, Azhar Jameel and others.
Hundreds throng Shankaracharya hills
Srinagar, Aug 11: Hundreds of devotees paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at Jyeshtaeshwara temple on the hills of Shankaracharya in Srinagar on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Thursday.
Long queues of devotees including women and children were seen on the stairs of the temple at Shankaracharya hills waiting for their turn to pray.
Stalls selling prayer items came up in the temple area.