New Delhi, Aug 8: With 16,167 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,41,61,899, while the active cases have increased to 1,35,510, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
The death toll has climbed to 5,26,730, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.31 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.50 per cent, the ministry said.
An increase of 577 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)
Active Covid cases in country rise to 1,35,510
NIA Raids Underway At Multiple Locations In Jammu, Doda In Terror Funding Case
JAMMU, Aug 8: In a huge development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams have been carrying out multiple raids at several places in the Jammu and Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, in connection to the terror funding case ahead of Independence day.
Notably, on Monday, the NIA started raiding several places in the Jammu and Doda district pertaining to a terror funding case on how terror sympathisers aided terror and separatist activities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. J&K police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have cordoned off the area so that one is allowed to make in and out movement in the concerned areas where the raids are underway. They are also deployed to prevent the law and order situation in the region while the raids by the central agency are underway.
Ayush Jammu Organises Immunity Booster Kwath Distribution to CRPF BN-76
Jammu: Department of AYUSH Jammu organised a Ayush Kwath Distribution Camp in Collaboration with Assistant Commandant Geeta Mishra of BN CRPF C/76.
Under the Guidance of worthy director Ayush Dr Mohan Singh and Supervision of DAO Jammu Dr Suresh Sharma and in collaboration with Astt. Commandant Geeta Mishra Immunoboosting Ayush kwath was distributed among the officers and officials of the BN CRPF C/76 deputed in Amarnath duty by the evening staff of Bhagwati Nagar namely Dr. Himani Bhutyal (Medical officer)Sh Kamal Netar (Pharmacist) Ishan Mansotra,Jagandeep Singh and Malvi Gupta (Yoga Instructors) and Kamesh Sudan(Vice – President Bajrang Dal). Ayush Staff had provided them Ayush kwath also.
CRPF Officials thanked Ayush Department Jammu for organising the camp.
Chhari Mubarak leaves for Darshan of Swami Amarnath
Srinagar, Aug 7: Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the Charri-Mubarak of Swami Amarnath, the holy mace of Lord Shiva accompanied by a group of Sadhus leave in a bus from Dashnami Akhara Temple Srinagar for the cave shrine to conduct the final rituals of yatra amid tight security arrangements on Sunday.
“Chhari Mubarak” depicting – one Lord Shiva and another Goddess Parvati.. leave for Pahalgam from Dashnami Akhara Temple, Srinagar early today as per the age old traditions, rituals accompanied by group of Sadhus shouting “Bum Bum bole “ to Amarnath cave from the traditional route.
The “Charri Mubarak” on the way was taken to Shivji Mahraj Harishchandra Temple at Bijbehara and Shri Martanda temple where special pooja was performed amid tight security arrangements.
The “Charri Mubarak” will reach Pahalgam this evening and stay there for today and tomorrow before it would be taken to Chandanwari on August 9 for second halt, Sheshnag on August 11 and Panchtarni on August 12 respectively from where it will reach to the holy cave on August 13 for final pooja.
“This is the final ritual of this year’s Amarnath yatra”, Mahant Deependra Giri told media persons at Bijbehara temple.
Today is the shravan shukh prakash dashnami and we left from Shri Dashnami Akhara Srinagar for the yatra purpose to perform last rituals at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, Deepinder Giri said .
He said “we performed poojan at Pampore and in the old temple of Shivaji Maharaj Harishchandran temple at Bijbehara where for the past five years it could not have happened besides paid obeisance at Martand Surya Bhawan where poojan was also performed”.
He said “I have been serving for the past 30 years and the people of Jammu and Kashmir have always cooperated and provided a helping hand”.
Deepinder Giri said everybody knows, those who are coming from all across India for the yatra, have one goal to “Pray” the people of Jammu and Kashmir are believers in religion. They know these people are coming to pay obeisance at Amarnath Cave shrine and leave back to their homes…the people always wholeheartedly welcome the Pilgrims.
“I still remember the old days when people from all religions and all walks of life were visiting to see off the “Charri Mubarak” at Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar”, Mahant Deepinder Giri said.
The annual holy Amarnath Yatra commenced on June 30 and more than 3 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine in Kashmir. (Agencies)
Chugh exhorts J&K BJP to make PM’S vision of Har Ghar Tiranga a big success
Jammu, Aug 7: BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh today exhorted party workers in J&K to make prime minister Narendra Modi’s call for “har ghar tiranga ” a big success in the Union Territory.
Addressing a meeting of former MLAs, minister’s, district incharges and other senior BJP leaders here Chugh said Azadi ka Amritmahotsava would see every house unfurling national flag during the “har ghar tiranga” campaign between August 13 and 15. He said on 9th and 10th August the BJP workers will take out “Yatra” to distribute national flag in every corner of the UT, from 12th to 14th the party campaign would spread the message widely and on August 14 a special programme by POJK (Pakistan occupied J&K) would be held to pay tribute to those who fought against Pakistan invaders.
Those present in meeting included JK president Ravinder Rana, former Dy CM Nirmal Singh, ex-speaket Kavinder Gupta, former president Sat Sharma, Divinder Rana, Dr Divinder Manyal, Sunil Sharma, Vibodh Gupta, Priya Sethi.
Chugh said it was the prime minister’s vision to see national flag on every house in J&K and for this the BJP workers must work day and night.
“It is time that the Muftis and Abdullahs, whi have been surviving due to the support of anti-national forces are also shown their place in J&K,” he added.
HAL developing long-endurance drone for vigil over LAC
New Delhi, Aug 7: State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is working on an AI-driven multi-role, advanced and long-endurance drone for strategic missions in high-altitude areas including along the frontiers with China, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.
The rotary-wing drone will have the capability to carry a load of 40 kgs, including missiles and sensors, and it is being developed considering the requirement of the armed forces to keep a strong vigil over the mountainous areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), they said.
The HAL has set a target of conducting the maiden test-flying of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by the middle of next year and plans to produce 60 such platforms in the first phase of the project, the people in the know said.
They said the operating system of the long-endurance drone will feature applications of Artificial Intelligence and the armed forces will be able to use it for multiple purposes including transporting essential supplies.
“The drone is being developed in such a way that it can carry a wide range of vital military systems including sensors, missiles and various other weapons,” said one of the people cited above.
Separately, HAL is also looking at the possibility of producing the Israeli Heron TP drones in collaboration with its manufacturer under an ambitious project.
“This project is aimed at addressing the requirement of our armed forces as well as global supplies,” the person said.
The medium-altitude Heron drones are capable of operating for nearly 45 hours at an altitude of up to 35,000 feet.
The Heron TP drones are equipped with automatic taxi-takeoff and landing (ATOL) and satellite communication (SATCOM) systems for an extended range.
The HAL is also working on two separate drone projects with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The three services are planning to acquire a sizeable number of unmanned aerial platforms in the next few years to significantly ramp up their surveillance capability, particularly to monitor Chinese activities along the LAC and Indian Ocean Region.
Each of the three services has drawn up plans for the acquisition of the new-age platforms.
The armed forces have been focusing on procuring unmanned platforms including armed drones following the eastern Ladakh standoff with China and a drone strike on the Jammu airbase last year.
Explosives-laden drones were used to carry out the attack on the Jammu Air Force station in June last year in the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital military installations in India.
India is also planning to procure around 30 multi-mission armed Predator drones from the US for the three services at an estimated cost of over USD 3 billion.
In November 2020, the Navy got two non-weaponised MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from the US on lease. (Agencies)
Commonwealth Games 2022: Boxers Amit Panghal, Nitu Ghanghas strike gold
Birmingham, August 7: Indian boxers Nitu Ghanghas won the women’s 48kg Commonwealth Games title before Amit Panghal (men’s 51kg) joined her on the top of the podium, here on Sunday.
Panghal bettered his silver from the last edition as he out-punched European Championship silver medallist England’s Kiaran MacDonald by a 5-0 verdict in the men’s flyweight.
Nitu, on the other hand, upstaged 2019 world championships bronze medallist Demie-Jade Resztan of England by a 5-0 unanimous verdict.
Despite the height disadvantage, Asian Games gold medallist Panghal was the far better pugilist among the two.
But MacDonald upped the ante in the final round despite managing a nasty cut.
The first Indian boxer to take the ring, the 21-year-old Nitu, competing in her first CWG, looked completely in control throughout the nine minutes, giving the home boxer no chance.
The Southpaw continued to dazzle in the ring as she threw sharp, accurate combination of punches and controlled the pace of the contest. (AGENCIES)
Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian women’s hockey team wins bronze
BIRMINGHAM, AUGUST 7: The Indian women’s hockey team beat defending champions New Zealand 2-1 in shootout to win the bronze medal and finish its campaign at the Commonwealth Games on a high note in BIrmingham on August 7, 2022.
Leading 1-0, India conceded a penalty corner with less than 30 seconds to go for the final hooter, as the match went into shootout after Olivia Merry’s equaliser.
India though held their nerves in the shootout to emerge winners.
Coming off their heartbreaking loss to Australia in a controversial semifinal, India showed the intent to wrap up their campaign with a win and earn a podium finish.
Salima Tete’s goal gave India the lead and they led 1-0 at half time, paving the way for an entertaining second half.
Neha Goyal almost doubled the lead after the break, but good defending by New Zealand prevented the Indians from consolidating their position.
New Zealand have had to do a lot of defending and they’ve done quite well to remain disciplined until that Tete’s goal. (Agencies)
Amid decline in arrival of devotees, Amarnath yatra remains suspended from Jammu
JAMMU, Aug 7: The Amarnath yatra remained suspended from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here for the second day on Sunday owing to a sharp decline in the arrival of pilgrims, officials said.
However, a fresh batch of 378 pilgrims left the base camp to pay obeisance at the shrine of Buddha Amarnath in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, they added.
The 43-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine commenced on June 30 from the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter Baltal route in Ganderbal — and is scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of ”Shravan Purnima” coinciding with ”Raksha Bandhan”.
”The Amarnath yatra remained suspended from Jammu due to the non-availability of adequate number of pilgrims…. We might send one more batch before the culmination of the yatra, depending on the availability of pilgrims,” an official said.
The officials said the Bhagwati Nagar base camp is wearing a deserted look for the last few days, prompting the community kitchen operators to wind up their services.
On August 2, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had appealed to the pilgrims to visit the cave shrine before August 5 in view of a forecast of inclement weather and more rains after that.
Nearly three lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine, housing a naturally formed ice-shivling, this year.
Meanwhile, the 11-day Buddha Amarnath pilgrimage is scheduled to conclude on August 8 with the departure of the ”Chari Mubarak” from Shri Dashnami Akhara in Poonch.
There were 90 women and two children in the fresh batch of pilgrims that left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp on Sunday morning, the officials said.
They said the pilgrimage is progressing smoothly and thousands of devotees have so far visited the shrine since the commencement of the yatra on July 29. (Agencies)