Shimla, Nov 5: India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi died on Saturday morning at his residence in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur. He was over 100 years old.
On November 3, Negi had cast his vote through postal ballot for the state’s Assembly polls, the Election Commission said.
The EC mourned Negi’s demise and said he had great faith in democracy.
“Not just first voter of Independent India, but a man with exceptional faith in democracy.
“ECI mourns the demise of Shri Shyam Saran Negi. We are eternally grateful for his service to the nation,” EC spokesperson said.
“He inspired millions to vote, even before his demise, he voted for Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 through postal ballot on November 2, 2022,” the poll panel said on Twitter.
The BJP and the Congress, too, sent condolences to the Negi family.
“The BJP expresses deep sadness and condolences on the demise of independent India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi. May God grant peace to the departed soul,” the BJP said.
After Negi cast his vote a couple of days ago, Kinnaur deputy commissioner had felicitated him at his residence. (Agencies)
Independent India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi, 106, dies after voting for Himachal polls
Twitter fires majority of employees in India, Musk says “No choice, Company losing over $4M/day”
Bringing the mass layoffs drive to India, Twitter has fired the majority of its over 200 employees in the country. The layoffs arrived after a order by the microblogging sites new owner Elon Musk who is looking to make his USD 44 billion acquisition work.
As per the reports the layoffs are taken across the field of engineering, sales and marketing, and communications teams. However, there is no clarity yet on the severance package to be reimbursed to employees laid off in India. The whole marketing and communications department in India has been sacked, the reports claimed.
Blaming activists for the critical drop in the company’s revenues Musk tweeted “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.
Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2022
Commenting upon the sacks after 24 hours of the company’s initial email notifying employees of forthcoming layoffs, Musk tweeted, “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day.”
Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day.
Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2022
The drive is part of Musk’s thrust to find ways to expend for the mammoth $44 billion deal for which he took on billions of dollars in debt and traded $15.5 billion worth of shares in Tesla, his electric car company.
Reportedly, the Tesla and SpaceX chief, owes $1 billion in annual interest alone to pay for a deal he attempted to wiggle out from almost as soon as he put together it in April.
Musk has been rushing to find new ways for Twitter to make money after his mammoth buyout, comprising an idea to charge users $8 a month for verified accounts.
Reports aim that company sources said that Musk’s teams were inflicting a furious pace on the surviving employees, bringing in Tesla developers to supervise the work of “Tweeps,” the inhouse name for Twitter workers.
Light to moderate rain, snowfall forecast in J&K from Nov 5 to 7
Jammu: Fairly to widespread light to moderate rain, snow and thunders are expected in Jammu and Kashmir this weekend. A meteorological department official here said that while “mainly dry weather, although cloudy at most places,” was expected to continue, “fairly to widespread light to moderate rain, snow and thunders” are expected from Nov 5 to 7.
The weather department also issued yellow warning for “isolated rain/thunder/lightning” on November 5 and “isolated heavy rain, thunder and snow disruption in surface traffic on higher reaches” in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions on November 6 and 7.
There are four types of colour codes signifying the level of caution: green which means no action, yellow—situation to be watched, orange–government agencies need to be prepared for severe weather and red –action needed by the agencies.
Srinagar min temp 5°C
Srinagar recorded a low of 5.0°C against 5.6°C on the previous night. The temperature was 2.5°C above normal for the summer capital during this time of the year, he said.
Qazigund recorded a low of 3.6°C against 3.4°C on the previous night. The temperature was 1.1°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
In Pahalgam, the mercury settled at 1.3°C against 1.5°C on the previous night and it was 1.5°C above normal for the south Kashmir resort, he said.
Kokernag recorded a low of 4.6°C against 5.0°C on the previous night and it was 2.0°C above normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 0.5°C against 1.7°C on the previous night and it was 1.2°C below normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district
In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at 4.6°C against 5.1°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 2.7°C above normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.
Jammu recorded a low of 15.8°C against 14.6°C on the previous night. It was 0.4°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of 6.6°C (Above normal by 2.0°C), Batote 9.7°C (2.2°C above normal), Katra 14.8°C (above normal by 2.2°C) and Bhadarwah 6.2°C (above normal by 1.8°C).
Two LeT Terrorists Arrested With Arms And Ammunition In Sopore: J&K Police
SRINAGAR, Nov 5: Police on Saturday said that they have apprehended two LeT terrorists along with arms and ammunition in the Sopore area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir.
In a statement, a police spokesman said that on 04th of November 2022, during evening hours a CASO was launched by PC sopore alongwith 22 RR at Shah Faisal Market here in Sopore.
“During that suspicious movement of a person coming from Bus Stand Sopore towards Shah Faisal Market having a bag in his hand was noted and was subsequently asked to stop, but he tried to flee from the spot. However, he was tactfully apprehended by the security forces,” read the statement.
“Upon search of the said bag, 01 Pistol, 01 Pistol magazine, some pistol rounds and an Improvised Explosive Device were recovered. During preliminary questioning he revealed his identity as, Rizwan Mushtaq Wani Son of Mushtaq Ahmad Wani of Hamray Pattan.”
“Preliminary investigation has revealed the arrested person is a hybrid terrorist of proscribed organization LeT and was in search of an opportunity to carry out attacks on non locals, minorities, security forces and peaceful citizens.”
Accordingly FIR No. 250/2022 has been registered at Police station sopore under relevant sections of law.
On further questioning, he revealed the name of his one more accomplice/hybrid terrorist, Jameel Ahmad Parra son of Habibullah Parra of Tapper Pattan, who too was later arrested alongwith Baramulla police during late hours with further recoveries.
The questioning of the duo is going on and further disclosures as well as recoveries are expected, read the statement further. (Agencies)
COVID-19: India reports 1,082 fresh cases in last 24 hours, active cases come down to 15,200
New Delhi, Nov 5: India’s coronavirus tally climbed to 4,46,59,447 on Saturday with 1,082 fresh infections, while the number of active cases declined to 15,200, according to Union health ministry data.
The toll due to the viral infection climbed to 5,30,486 with seven fatalities, including two deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.78 per cent, according to the ministry’s website.
A decrease of 505 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 4,41,13,761 and the case fatality rate stood at 1.19 per cent.
So far, 219.71 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive, according to the ministry’s website.
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.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 last year, three crore on June 23 and four crore on January 25 this year.
Of the five deaths reported in the span of 24 hours, two were from Delhi and one each from Maharashtra, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh. (Agencies)
Shahr-e-khass traders’ body hails J&K Bank, seeks extension in scheme for NPA account holders
Srinagar, Nov 05: The Shahr-e-khass traders have thanked the CEO/MD and other officials of Jammu & Kashmir Bank for considering and accepting their request for settlement of NPA accounts.
“In this respect, the bank’s circular and scheme of settlement for the NPA accounts is highly appreciable as it will help a large number of traders settle their accounts and offer them a great relief,” read a statement, issued by the traders’ body.
The traders’ long struggle for such a scheme which has resulted in the waiver of full interest and almost 15 % discount on principal loan amount, it said.
“The JK Bank management’s granting almost 6 months for settlement of NPA accounts is welcome and Sheh re Khas traders are hopeful that the traders will take advantage of the scheme which is a golden chance for NPA account holders to settle their account and pursue their businesses with more vigour and vitality without stress,” added the statement, issued by the president of Shahe-e-Khaas traders, Bashir Ahmed Kenu.
“We request all the traders whose accounts were declared NPA by the bank should come forward and avail the benefit of the scheme. The Shah re khass traders will assist all the traders who approach it for settlement of their cases under this scheme. Moreover, we request JK Bank Management to extend the scheme for 6 more months beyond March, 2023 and make it available for NPA accounts above 10 crores to enable businesses avail of the scheme which are not covered under the scheme.”
Teen electrocuted to death in Humhama
Srinagar, Nov 05: An eighteen-year-old boy was electrocuted to death in the Humhama area of Budgam district on Saturday.
Quoting official sources, newsgathering agency KNA reported that a teen received an electric shock at his bakery shop following which he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
They identified the deceased as Suhail Ahmad Dar son of Mohd Shafi Dar of Eidgah Mohalla Humhama.
Police have taken the cognizance of this incident and after legal medical formalities, the body of the deceased was handed over to his family, sources added.
PM Modi meets Dera Radha Soami head Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon in Amritsar, Punjab
Adampur (Punjab), Nov 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the Radha Soami Satsang Beas dera in Punjab and met with its head Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon
Punjab Cabinet Minister Brahm Shankar Jimpa received the prime minister at the airport.
Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua and DGP Gaurav Yadav were also present on the occasion.
PM Modi had met the dera chief in Delhi early this year in February ahead of the Punjab assembly elections.
Earlier on Friday, PM Modi tweeted, “Tomorrow, 5th November I will have the honour of visiting the Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Under the leadership of Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon Ji, the RSSB is at the forefront of numerous community service efforts.”
Later in the day, PM Modi will also be in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh where he will address rallies in Sundar Nagar and Solan.
“I look forward to being in Himachal Pradesh tomorrow, 5th November. I would be addressing rallies in Sundar Nagar and Solan. @BJP4Himachal is going to the people with the proven track record of development and highlighting the pro-people efforts of the double engine governments,” PM Modi tweeted on Friday.
Elections to Himachal Pradesh are slated to be held on November 12. (Agencies)
J&K reports 900 dengue cases in one week, tally reached to 5998
JAMMU: 903 fresh cases of dengue have been reported in J&K in the last one week, taking the tally of total cases reported so far to 5,908.
As per the data available 5,908 dengue cases including 15 from other states and nine from Kashmir division have been reported so far in J&K UT.
A top health official told that around 1,9589 tests have been conducted so far and 5,908 have tested positive. Of 5,908 cases around 90 per cent of 4,539 cases are from Jammu district only.
They added that cases include 230 from Samba, 107 from Kathua, 568 from Udhampur, 94 from Reasi, 72 from Rajouri, 25 from Poonch, 194 from Doda, 35 from Ramban, 20 from Kishtwar and nine from Kashmir besides that 15 from other states.
As per data, cases reported in the ongoing month include 126 on 29th October, 106 on 30, 58 on 31, 134 on November 1, 173 on 2nd November, 159 on 3rd November and 147 on 4th November. According to official data, the highest number of cases 1,837 was reported in 2013 but this year has surpassed it
Notably, Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes species (Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus) mosquito. Almost half of the world’s population, about 4 billion people, live in areas with a risk of dengue. Dengue is often a leading cause of illness in areas with risk.
Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri shot dead in Amritsar
AMRITSAR, Nov 4: Firebrand Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri was shot dead at while he protesting in front of Gopal Mandir in Amritsar on Friday. He was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
As per the police reports, Suri, the president of Shiv Sena (Taksali) along with other leaders was staging a dharna when some unidentified person opened fire at him.
A transporter by profession, Suri had been vocal against anti-national elements. (Agencies)