Dec 20: Sub-zero temperatures showed no signs of relenting on Tuesday as Kashmir Valley braces up for one of the harshest winter periods of 40 days called Chillai Kalan beginning December 21.
Quoting a meteorological department official, that Srinagar recorded a low of minus 3.4°C against the previous night’s minus 3.1°C.
While the mercury was 1.9°C below normal during this time of the year, it was only two notches less that than this season’s lowest of minus 3.6°C recorded on Friday last, the official said.
Jammu recorded a low of 6.7°C against 7.4°C on the previous night. It was 2.2°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of minus 1.2°C (below normal by 2.7°C), Batote 2.1°C (1.3°C below normal), Katra 7.5°C (0.1°C below normal) and Bhadarwah 0.3°C (0.1°C below normal).
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4.0°C against minus 2.5°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 0.8°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at minus 3.9°C against minus 3.5°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 1.5°C below normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.
He said that Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 5.4°C against minus 4.8°C on previous night and it was 1.0°C below normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 3.6°C against minus 3.2°C on the previous night. The temperature was 2.0°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 1.8°C, the same as on the previous night and it was 0.1°C below normal for the place, he said.
In Ladakh, Leh and Kargil recorded low of minus 11.8°C respectively, the official said.”The weather is expected to be dry till December 25,” the official said. (Agencies)
Kashmir Valley Braces For Chillai Kalan As Freezing Night Temperatures Continue
3 feared dead after car plunges into Chenab river in J&K’s Doda
JAMMU, Dec 20: At least three people were feared dead after a car plunged into the river Chenab in the Gaddoo area of Doda Tuesday early morning, officials said here.
An official said that the vehicle rolled down into the river Chenab near Gaddoo on Doda-Kishtwar road.
He said soon after the incident Police team of PP Bhalla and SDRF team reached to the spot for rescue operation.
The official said at least three persons, who were onboard, are feared dead, while rescue operation was underway.
India reports 112 new Covid-19 infections, active cases dip to 3,490
Dec 20: India recorded 112 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 3,490, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
The Covid tally stood at 4.46 crore (4,46,76,199).
The death toll stands at 5,30,677 with three fatalities, which includes two deaths reconciled by Kerala and one from Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, the ministry said.
A decrease of 69 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 4,41,42,032, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry’s website 220 crore doses of Covid vaccine 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, 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. (Agencies)
Director Poonch Campus distributes Certificates among Students
By King RJ
Poonch Dec 19 : Director Poonch Campus Prof Dipankar Sen Gupta distributed Certificates among the students of Poonch Campus for their Participantion in different events in and outside Poonch Campus.
A function was organized at Poonch Campus which was attended by the students, teaching and non teaching staff of the Campus.
After distribution of the Certificates among the students, Prof Dipankar Sen Gupta while speaking on the occasion congratulated the students for their best performance in co-curricular activities at Youth Festival SANGAM-2022 and Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Indian Army at Poonch.
He said that the co-curricular activities are important for the overall development of a person.
While discussing the activities of the Poonch Campus, Prof Dipankar said that the institute of science and technology will be established in the campus very soon. “Five departments including sericulture will be established, these courses will be started on priority in the campus which will prove to be important in providing employment to the people along with meeting the need of the region.
He said that the youth of the region (Rajouri -Poonch) go to the Gulf countries for work, but we are trying to start such courses here so that the youth can learn skills and serve their country and even if they go to foreign countries, they can at least get good jobs.
He further thanked the civil administration, Police and Army for their unconventional support for Poonch Campus and hoped that in future also Campus will get same support.
Poonch Campus Officer Dr Rubia Bukhari while speaking on the occasion welcomed the Director Poonch Campus and thanked him for starting new initiatives which will not only benifits Poonch Campus but people of twin border district Poonch and Rajouri. She further said that ” This programme has been organised for your welcome here and to celebrate the milestones which poonch campus have achieved under your leadership.”
She said that the Journey of Success which started with acquiring 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions in 15 days long activities under the urge of Independence day while celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mohotsav organised by Poonch campus.
After Sangam-22 at Bhadarwah, Poonch Campus organised a workshop cum awareness program in collaboration with health Department on a very important topic “Menstrual Health and Hygiene” “To make Poonch Campus and its adjoining areas neat and clean , a cleanliness drive under Swach Bharat Abhyan was carried out by the students and faculty members of Poonch Campus.
Besides this in the recently concluded Silver Jubilee celebrations of Indian Army, Students of Poonch Campus showcased their talent there also and bagged 1st and 2nd position in the cultural events.
Sumya Kapoor I/C cultural Activities in her addressed briefed the participants about the cultural events organised in and outside Poonch Campus. She further ensured to continue in making all the possible efforts for bringing more opportunities to students and campus as well.
She further said that students of Poonch Campus have given their best in different cultural events and have bagged prizes also.
Dr. Suraksha Chanotra Incharge department of Sericulture, Poonch Campus extended good wishes and congratulation to the students and awardees for their success.
Dr. Muzafar Ahmad Bhat Incharge Liaison enumerated the achievements of Poonch campus and congratulated all the recipients.
During the programme students namely, Sparshika Sharma, Malika Ferdouse, Ramanpreet Kour and Megha Shan shared their experiences about the exposure they got under the platform of Poonch campus.
Kalpana Sudan Incharge NSS presented formal vote of thanks to all the participants especially Director Poonch Campus to be part of this event.
SMVDU Conducted Students Model Exhibition on Transportation Engineering
Students of III-IV year of School of Civil Engineering, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University,
Katra showcased their models making talent through an exhibition as part of the curriculum,
called ‘Transportation Engineering (Highways, Railways and Airways)’ and ‘High-Speed
Railway Engineering’. The aim of this exhibition was to make students familiar, understand
and enjoy learning subjects easily as they put effort and make models with their own hands.
The students gave presentations during the exhibitions, and became familiar with public
speaking and developed self-confidence. The exhibition was conducted under the guidance
of Dr.V.K. Dogra (Head, SoCE) and there were a total of eighty-four students with thirty
model works and coordinated by Mr. Ponnurangam P (Assistant Professor, SoCE). The Head,
SoCE also distributed the participation certificate to all students. The model exhibition was a
roaring success and allowed students to learn beyond the boundaries of books.
Azad should be stripped of Padma award for ‘compromising national security’: JKPCC
Srinagar, Dec 19 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Vikar Rasool Wani on Monday said former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad should be stripped of his Padma award for “compromising national security.” Former Congress leader and Democratic Azad Party chief Azad had recently said that when he was the J-K chief minister, he had informed then Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the links of some leaders with terrorists.
“If there were people in his cabinet who were involved in militancy, his MLAs were involved, why did he not take action against them? It means he (Azad) compromised the national security and such a person does not deserve an (Padma) award,” Wani told reporters after a party convention in Kulgam district of south Kashmir.
Wani said the Azad should be stripped off his award and action should be taken against him.
“I demand that President of India should recall his award and initiate action against him,” Wani, who was minister of state in the government headed by Omar Abdullah, added.
Addressing the party workers, the PCC president without naming Azad said the former chief minister was the “biggest traitor” if he did not take action against his ministers involved in militancy.
Mughal Road reopens for traffic after shut for 12 hours
Jammu: Mughal Road, connecting twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri with Shopian, reopened after remaining closed for 12 hours due to stone-slide at Shakargah.
Official sources said that that the historic throughfare reopened for traffic a shortwhile ago. DySP Traffic Rajouri Poonch Range, Aftab Bukhari confirmed it to local news agency GNS.
Meanwhile Authorities said that traffic was plying on Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir Valley with outside world. SSG Road was through for the traffic, they added.
Devfest 2022 organised by Google Developer Group Jammu, J&K
Jammu 19 Dec :- J&K first ever Devfest 2022 was organised by Google Developer Group, Jammu, J&K in
collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institution (JKEDI), Jammu. Amit
Sharma, IAS, Secretary Department of Mining, Government of Jammu and Kashmir was the Chief guest
of this event and addressed the Devfest 2022. Sharma said GDG Jammu will play host to some of the
sharpest minds in the technology space today which will provide access and skills to Jammu tech and
student community.
The event provides local developers and students an opportunity to discuss
emerging tools and technologies.
The Guest of Honour Er. Ajaz Ahmed Bhat (IAS) Director,Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship
Development Institution (JKEDI), Special Guest, Surinder Choudhary JKPS Additional Superintendent of
Police Samba, Paryavaran Ratna Awardee, Chief Functionary, Sushil Singh Charak also present on the
occasion. A number of techno experts, speakers and participants from all over India were attended this
event.
Shikha Saxena, Customer Engineer, Google, started the session with their presentation and shared their
highly valuable knowledge with the students. Students were enlightened as she shared her working
experience at Google INDIA and also taught about the students opportunity as Google INDIA.
Pawan Kumar, Head of Engineering at Frontier, Ayush Shekhar, Engineering Manager at Frontrow,
Aman Saini Software Developer Engineer at Amazon, Abhishek Raj Software Developer Engineer at
Swiggy, Bhavyta Aggarwal GDSC IIT Jammu Lead’21, Harshita Jain GitHub Campus Exper, Kavach Chandra
CTO at FreeStand, Loveleen Kaur Google Android Educator, Co-organizer GDG Chandigarh, Akshay
Kumar, Tech Lead Sadhana BM Private Limited, Parth Verma Principal Engineer at C14 and Abhinandan
Trilokia, Android Engineer, Organizer, GDG Jammu were presented and shared their experiences.
Er. Ajaz Ahmed Bhat (IAS) Director, JKEDI said to build an inclusive technology-community taking care of
each other. The more diverse tech-community, more innovation and opportunities can evolve,”
At the end, Abhinandan Trilokia, the Organizer of the Google Developers Group Jammu said “Global
trends have shaped up in a way that developers are thinking, up-skilling themselves and focusing on
what’s next, particularly product management and designing for accessibility which are gaining interest
and popularity,”. He thanks all the dignitaries, experts, speakers, GDG Jammu community, participants,
volunteers for taking time out of their busy schedule and make this event successful by their presence.
People being killed in J&K, by terrorists, or by SFs: Cong demands debate in LS
JAMMU: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday demanded a debate on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha, saying innocent citizens were losing their lives in the valley, either at the hands of terrorists, or due to security forces’ mistakes.
Raising the matter as the House took up “issues of urgent public importance”, Chowdhury said, “Innocent civilians are losing lives in Jammu and Kashmir, and it is not stopping.”
“At times by the terrorists’ bullet, and at times due to the mistakes of the forces, innocent people are losing their lives.
“They had said in the House that after abrogation of Article 370, we will capture PoK, and Aksai Chin. But today, Pandits are being forced out of the valley, lists are being made by terrorists to eliminate Pandits,” Chowdhury said.
“We want a detailed discussion in Lok Sabha on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” the Congress leader said.
Bharat Jodo Yatra resumes from Dausa; Kharge, Rahul to address rally in Alwar
Dausa: The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from here on Monday with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior leader Sachin Pilot walking alongside the former Congress chief.
Gandhi and the Congress leaders and workers began their march from Bandikui in Dausa. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Gandhi will address a rally in Alwar this afternoon. The yatra will not have an evening session on Monday.
The yatra, which was launched on September 7 in Kanyakumari has traversed Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and now, Rajasthan. It completed 100 days on Friday last.
The yatra will enter Delhi on December 24, and after a break of about eight days, move on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and finally, Jammu and Kashmir.Besides participation from tinsel town celebrities, writers, military veterans, including former Navy chief admiral L Ramdas, Opposition leaders such as Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and the NCP’s Supriya Sule, and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, have also joined the march at various points. (Agencies)