New Delhi: India reported 174 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 4,46,80,583.
The country’s active caseload has now declined to 2,257.
India also recorded 5,30,725 Covid deaths so far, with one in Kerala and one in Maharashtra in the past 24 hours.
Srinagar, Jan 14: Kashmir and parts of Jammu division witnessed snowfall since Friday morning, affecting normal life even as the Meteorological Department predicted dry weather for next four days.
The precipitation and subsequent poor visibility led to cancellation of all flights at the Srinagar International Airport while Mughal Road and other roads leading to border towns remained closed for vehicular traffic.
The snowfall for third consecutive day started early Friday morning at most places in J&K and continued throughout the day intermittently.
MeT officials here said that snowfall started at most places including Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Bandipora, Baramulla, Kupwara, Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, and Kulgam in Kashmir as well as Banihal and Baderwah area of Jammu division Friday morning.
They said it was raining at most places in Jammu including the city since morning.
The MeT officials said that till 2:30 pm, Srinagar received 2 cm, Pahalgam 28 cm, Kokernag 23 cm, Qazigund 10 cm, Kupwara 5 cm, and Gulmarg received 6 cm of snowfall in the 24 hours till 8:30 am on Friday.
They said Qazigund received 3 cm, Pahalgam 3.5 cm, and Kupwara 5 cm of snowfall during this time.
The MeT officials said Bhaderwah received 2 cm rain, Batote 2.7 cm, Jammu 5.6 mm, and Katra 19 mm.
They said that it was likely to stop gradually in plains shortly whereas it may continue over the higher reaches.
“Heavy snow is not expected in the plains,” the MeT officials said.
They said that mainly dry weather is expected from January 14 to 18.
“From January 19 to 20, a fresh Western Disturbance (WD) is likely to affect J&K and adjoining areas. From January 19 to 20, a fresh WD is likely to affect J&K and the adjoining areas,” the MeT officials said.
The air quality in Delhi continued to be in the “very poor” category with the overall air quality index (AQI) at 337 on Saturday morning.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) data, the AQI in the Delhi University area was recorded at 357 while in Pusa, the AQI was 329. The AQI around Delhi airport was 326. In the area around IIT Delhi, the AQI was 337. In Mathura Road, the AQI was recorded at 349 and the Lodhi Road area recorded AQI at 327.
With a cold wave gripping the national capital, the city recorded a temperature of 11.6 degrees Celcius on Saturday morning.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the humidity was recorded at 97 per cent while the Southwesterly wind was breezing at 11.1 km/hour.
Cold wave conditions are likely to re-emerge over North-West India and peak around January 15-16 with minimum temperatures expected to dip, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
On January 15, the IMD expects dense to very dense fog likely in some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi; in isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh. Dense fog in isolated pockets over Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, north Madhya Pradesh and Bihar is also expected with cold day conditions likely in isolated pockets over Uttar Pradesh on January 15.
National Democratic Party Indian (NDPI) president Rajesh Gupta has demanded release of salaries to all employees including adhoc, daily wagers and all other temporary employees of Jammu and Kashmir UT.
In a statement, he said that a large number of adhoc, daily wagers and temporary/need base employees are without salaries thus it would be great injustice if their pending salaries which is a meagre amount is not paid. He urged administration to release their pay.
NDPI Chief expressed hope that J&K government will accede to this genuine and justified demand. Gupta said, “Every month they are made to beg for the release of their own salaries, wages. They are subjected to mental torture as their whole family suffers due to the delay in release of their salary, wages,” he said and added that these people do a lot of hard work without any returns.
NDPI leader urged upon the Lt Governor to release the payment of contractors, teachers and wages of these labourers. He urged upon the administrations to ensure that the people do not face any inconvenience on account of security, traffic management, other basic amenities.
He said that all the concerned departments should work in close coordination and proper measures should be put in place to ensure availability of essentials on reasonable rates in all the areas.
Rajesh Gupta appealed Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to regularize the services of all daily wagers and casual labourers working in different departments in J&K.
Member of Dogra Sadar Sabha and All Jammu Civil Society forum including senior citizens dressed up in their traditional attire assembled in DSS Bhawan Dogra Hall Jammu to celebrate Lohri festival and greet each other with affectionate hugs marking the traditional inter-community brotherhood.
The folk core of “Dulla Bhatti” relating the festival how a muslim elder protected hindu girls sundari, Mundari as his own daughters was repeated as reminder to the younger generation, in a climate where the nation is struggling with menace of atrocities on women by anti-social elements.
Th. Gulchain Singh Charak, former Minister and President of Dogra Sadar Sabha J&K (DSS) speaking on the occasion congratulated the members and exhorted all the people of this Duggar region to uphold these pious traditions and unite for noble cause and Dogriyat that impress upon communal harmony
and brotherhood. He further said that all festivals in our country of huge diversities are related to seasons and agriculture and are celebrated together jointly by all communites irrespective of caste, creed or colour.
All the participants joined the celebration around the bonfire and shared traditional Moongphali, Gazak & Rewari and jointly resolved to uphold the “Dulla Bhatti “ example and be vigilant for protection of women talk and young girls in the society.
Prominent among those who participated in the celebrations were Prem Sagar Gupta, Gambir Dev Singh, Syed Amanat Ali Shah, Ravi Singh Salathia , Rajinder Gupta, Pawan Sharma, Ishan Gupta, Amit Pathania, Manish Pathania , Vidiya Sagar, Gurmeet Singh and others.
The Congress announced on Friday that it will deliver a letter written by Rahul Gandhi to each house along with a charge sheet against the central government starting on January 26.
The programme will last for two months and reach 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats, six lakh villages, and 10 lakh booths. This is a massive outreach programme of the Congress to take its political message to the people.
Jairam Ramesh said, “This program, “hath se hath jodo,” will carry forward the Congress party symbol and the political message from the Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
However, he said that this is a tough task because in some states the organisation is weak, but it will be done.
In the letter, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “There is a palpable economic crisis brewing—joblessness among the youth, an unbearable price rise, severe farm distress, and a complete corporate capture of the country’s wealth.”
He wrote, “People are worried about losing their jobs, their incomes are falling further, their dreams of a better future are shattered, and there is a deep sense of hopelessness across the country.”
“Today, even our plurality is under threat.” Divisive forces are attempting to turn our diversity against us—different religions, communities, and regions are being pitted against each other. These forces, which are only a handful in number, know that only when people feel insecure and scared can they sow the seeds of hatred for the “other.”
He said he will fight to eradicate these evils—from the streets to Parliament—every single day.
“I am determined to create economic prosperity for everyone—the right price for farmers’ produce, jobs for our youth, fair distribution of the country’s wealth, an enabling environment for MSMEs and entrepreneurs, cheaper diesel, a stronger rupee, and a gas cylinder for Rs 500,” said Rahul Gandhi in the letter.
Udhampur, 13-01-2023: Strongly flaying the present dispensation for its failure to curb militancy and cross border terror being exported to J&K from across the border by the hostile neighbour, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh, Former Minister and Chairman AAP J&K SCC said that mere condemnation of Pakistan could no longer satisfy the people of erstwhile state. It was shocking that a hitherto peaceful Jammu region had also become vulnerable during BJPs proxy rule in the UT. The heart wrenching massacre of innocent civilians including children in Rajouri had shocked the conscience of society across the nation. Likewise the terror attacks in Sidhra, Udhampur, Katra, Samba and elsewhere in Jammu province had punctured the tall claims of helmsmen of having restored normalcy in the UT. He was speaking to Party workers during a Lohri Milan function organized at Udhampur today.
Holding the BJP regime responsible for the present crisis in J&K, Mr. Harsh Dev said that its imprudence and flawed policies had resulted in unabated bloodshed and mayhem claiming precious lives of innocents as well as security personnel. He said that militancy had almost died down in J&K during the popular govts but the reckless experimentation of the present rulers resulted in gradual deterioration of the security scenario creating early 90’s situation in the erstwhile state. Accusing the BJP govt of deflecting the blame on Pakistan every day and for every act of violence, Mr. Singh questioned the locus of the BJP for continuing in power. “You can’t abdicate your responsibility by merely cursing Pakistan. It is your primary duty and constitutional obligation to protect the lives of the citizens on which count you have miserably failed”, asserted Mr. Singh.
Charging the BJP govt with treating J&K as a workshop and conducting weird experimentation over it during the last few years, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that such a flawed approach of the centre had led to massive complications with an all-round disenchantment prevailing in the new UT as a consequence thereof. What was the rationale in breaking the oldest state and converting it into UTs?, questioned Mr. Singh. “Not only was the state demoted to the level of UT, but the people have been deprived of their right to have a democratically elected govt for the last more than four years. The Assembly having been suspended and consequently dissolved in 2018, the people are being subjected to proxy rule of the centre. The growing alienation amongst the youth in particular is being downplayed and dis-regarded. The entire focus of the BJP govt is on its political expansion deliriously oblivious of the growing tensions and escalation in militancy in the UT. And while the killings of innocents has become a routine affair in J&K, the BJP leadership continues to harp on formation of govt in J&K and winning 50 seats therein without uttering a word to save the erstwhile State from death and destruction. It seems that the BJP wants to keep the pot boiling in J&K so that it could exploit the present situation as political firecracker in other states for its vote bank politics, asserted Harsh adding further the normalcy shall never be achieved as long as centre continued to rule J&K by proxy.
Lucknow , January 13 : Hailing UP girl Sania Mirza for her selection to the National Defence Academy, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said Indian Armed Forces have opportunities for the youth of all castes and religions.
Addressing the convocation ceremony of a university here, Singh said, “Indian Armed Forces have opportunities for the youth of all castes and religions. A Muslim girl Sania Mirza will become India’s first female Muslim fighter pilot after successful completion of the course.” “There was a time when women were hardly represented in Defence forces but today women are deployed on warships and in extreme areas like Siachen,” added the Defence Minister.
Sania Mirza, daughter of a TV mechanic from Mirzapur, has cracked the entrance exam of National Defence Academy (NDA).
Sania Mirza, hailing from Jasovar village under the Mirzapur Dehat Kotwali Police Station, aspires to become a fighter pilot like the country’s first woman fighter pilot Avni Chaturvedi.
Sania, who studied in a Hindi medium school, said that Hindi medium students too can achieve success if they are determined. On December 27, she joined NDA Khadakwasla in Pune.
Sania’s schooling till class 10 was completed in her village itself. She studied from primary to Class 10 at Pandit Chintamani Dubey Inter College. After that, she went to Guru Nanak Girls Inter College in the city. She was the district topper in the 12th Uttar Pradesh (UP) Board and started her preparations for NDA.
On 12 January 2022, aspirants of nursing, paramedical, and various other courses approached Lawyer and Human Rights Activist Nikhil Padha to apprise him about their grievances. The students have been suffering for the last two consecutive sessions because of delays in the selection process by BOPEE every year.
In the matter, the students of B.Sc. nursing, who appeared for the examination in June 2022 and whose counselling was scheduled for September 2022 are still awaiting the selection list for the examination. This delay by JKBOPEE will have serious consequences on the students as the last date for admission stipulated by Indian Nursing Council, the regulatory body for nurses and nurse education in India was October 31, 2022.
The administrative failure on the part of BOPEE compels the students to either waste one year or opt for courses in other states. The students of J&K have been suffering the most because from all over India, J&K is the only place that has delayed the counselling process. This delay has put the careers of thousands of students at peril and has almost cost them years of hard work.
One more issue here is regarding the filling of vacant seats in Private institutions after the counselling process by BOPEE as per the eligibility criteria fixed by BOPEE. The BOPEE rejected the request of the association of colleges regarding the filling up of vacant seats at the institution level after BOPEE counselling. This has resulted in the wastage of seats and students who are eligible for these seats are still forced to go out of J&K. This will also lead to the mass unemployment of many persons working in these colleges and this will affect the survival of thousands of families across J&K. Students aspiring for these courses come from different backgrounds, with many of them coming from rural and hilly areas, and officials from BOPEE have known to be arrogant towards the students.
Other than the present issues faced by the students, one of the already existing issues is regarding the validity of the SRO 505, i.e. the SRO which resulted in giving powers regarding the admission to various M.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing, Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing and various other Para-Medical courses in government and private institutions of J&K to BOPEE. Before the enactment of the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, the Indian Nursing Council Act was not applicable in J&K, and admission in the colleges of Nursing and Paramedical courses was governed through the J&K Nursing Council Act, 2012, and admissions in government and private colleges for degree and diploma courses were made by University of Jammu under the supervision of Para Medical Council. But this was changed after the enactment of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Indian Nursing Council Act, of 1947 was made applicable in J&K after the enactment of the reorganization act and it envisaged the manner for admission in nursing colleges as per the mandate of the Nursing council act. But, according to SRO 505 issued by the government, the responsibility of conducting the admission process for the nursing colleges was given to BOPEE, which is against the provisions of the Indian Nursing Council Act. There was no need for giving the responsibility to conduct admissions to BOPPE when Indian Nursing Council was already in place. The monopoly which BOPEE has established over the admission process is on the basis of a SRO, which is without jurisdiction.
BOPEE has continuously violated various fundamental rights and various guidelines by the Supreme Court from time to time. It has violated Article 19 (1) (g) of the constitution of India by not
allowing the management to fill the vacant seats and admit students which is a part of their right under Article 19 (1) (g), i.e, the right to occupation. BOPEE by not carrying out its responsibilities has violated the right to education which is a fundamental right under the constitution of India, BOPEE is under a legal obligation to make sure that the rights of students not be affected by not providing them opportunities. The SRO, by not preventing institutions to fill vacant seats is violating Article 14 of the constitution, as it is detrimental to the public interest and also the students who wish to undergo various courses. The SRO has violated the judgment given by the Supreme Court regarding the right of the institution to admit the students in T.M.A Pai Foundation and others V. State of Karnataka. The SRO is also violative of Article 21 of the constitution by restricting the admissions of students from other states by prescribing unnecessary eligibility criteria of possession of domicile.
BOPEE has failed to carry out its duties and has proven to be an administrative failure, the responsibility regarding the conduct of admissions should be handed over to the respective universities and a fair judicial inquiry should be held to look into the violations and misconduct by JKBOPEE.
As a Human Rights Activist and a citizen of J&K, Nikhil Padha has decided to intervene in the matter and help the students fight the genuine cause of aspirants of J&K.
Srinagar, Jan 13 (PTI) Air traffic to and fro Kashmir was suspended on Friday and flights for the rest of the day cancelled due to snowfall across the valley, officials said here.
Flight operations had taken place in the morning, but had to be suspended due to continuous snowfall and low visibility, the officials said.
“All flights for today at our airport have been cancelled due to continuous bad weather,” the officials at the Srinagar airport said.
They said the passengers of the cancelled flights would be accommodated by the respective airlines in the next available flight “at no extra cost”.
The fresh snowfall, including in Srinagar and other plains, started early Friday and continued till last reports came in.
While the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir experienced moderate to heavy snowfall, the areas in the plains received light to moderate snowfall.
The inclement weather has also resulted in the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, the officials said.
The highway was closed for traffic due to landslides at Mehar, and slippery conditions of the road, they said.
The officials said road clearance operations were going on, but continuous snowfall and rain was making the job difficult.