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Amarnath Yatra: J&K LG’s Advisor reviews preparedness, security arrangements

Amarnath Yatra
File pic of Amarnath Yatra

Srinagar (NVI): Even though there is no final word from the J&K government over the time frame of this year’s Amarnath Yatra, J&K LG’s Advisor, Bashir Ahmed Khan today reviewed the pilgrimage arrangements with the officials from the administration and security top brass.

Officials told NVI that given the way administration is ensuring preparedness for the annual pilgrimage, it seems that the annual Yatra which is otherwise scheduled to be held in the month of July, is likely to be allowed amid certain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place. Earlier, the J&K administration was in a dilemma whether to allow this year’s pilgrimage in the wake of deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

Officials said that the LG’s Advisor asked each department to rise up to the occasion and make foolproof arrangements for the smooth conduct of the yatra. He asked the Divisional Commissioners to physically take stock of all the arrangements much before the commencement of yatra.

“Khan advised them to complete all the arrangements like clearing of track, installation of lights, water tanks, toilets, generators, PSPs, Public Address System, communication towers and road signage’s before the scheduled date,” official spokesman said in a statement here, adding that the Advisor enjoined upon the officers that medical teams, fire tenders, temporary ration depots and service providers like tents, beddings, ponies and Palkiwalas should be deployed days before the initiation of the yatra.

As per the official spokesman, Advisor Khan stressed that no dearth of essentials should be felt either by yatris (pilgrims) or administrative facilitators deployed there.

According to the official spokesman, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir PK Pole gave a detailed brief of the arrangements made at the holy cave and en route for the yatra.

He informed the meeting that most of the arrangements have already been made and the Deputy Commissioners are now giving finishing touches to the arrangements as per the standard practices.

He further informed the meeting that all the service providers and facilities to be created have been finalised. He informed that most of the works to be carried out have been completed or are at the final stages of completion.

The concerned DCs informed the meeting that all the camp locations and facilities required there have already been finalized and worked upon. Moreover, the required men and machinery of all the concerned line departments are ready to move to the locations where they are scheduled to reach along with necessary supplies.

The official spokesman said that later, the Advisor also held a meeting with the security agencies to inoculate them about the security-related arrangements to be made at their end.

“He asked them to extend helping hand to the yatris especially in higher reaches as the forces have required set of skills and training for doing the same,” the spokesman said, adding that “the security officers informed the meeting that they are abreast with the requirements and are going to make requisite arrangements as per ground situation.”

Yesterday, J&K LG GC Murmu, who is also chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), reviewed the preparedness for the yatra at a high-level meeting. This year, the annual Amarnath pilgrimage is likely to be held for a shorter duration from a shorter Baltal route from July 23 to August 3.

-ARK

Baby born on Secunderabad-Howrah special train in Odisha

Subrat Kumar Sarangi

Bhubaneswar (NVI): A 32-year-old lady gave birth to a baby boy on Secunderabad-Howrah Special train at Khurda Road station today, as Railway doctors and a medical team sprung into action after getting information and helped in safe delivery.

Saira Fatima gave birth to the baby in Coach Number S-7 of 02074 Secunderabad-Howrah Special train at about 11:30 am, officials said.

“On getting information about the labor pain by the lady, Railways acted quickly and train was detained at Khurda Road where Railway doctors and medical team attended the lady to deliver the baby,” they said.

Later, the Railways arranged an ambulance and sent both mother and newborn baby to a local hospital. Both the newborn and mother are in good condition.

-ARK

Taiwan stepping up military preparedness as China increases activity

Representational Image (Twitter)

New Delhi (NVI): Chinese military has increased its activity around Taiwan recently, prompting a wary Taiwan to step up its military preparedness, including through deployment of assets to prevent Chinese troops from entering by sea.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND), Chinese military aircraft have flown into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone eight times this month only.

As part of the preparedness, the Taiwan Navy has held an exercise to hone its skills in naval mine warfare. Its Minesweeper Fleet conducted drills on deploying, detecting and sweeping for sea mines in strategic waters around Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), which quoted the Navy.

At least one of the mines used in the drills was indigenously-developed WSM-II, it said.

The exercise, aimed at improving the Navy’s capabilities in deterring hostile naval vessels from invading Taiwan, came at a time when the Chinese military is becoming more active around Taiwan, the CNA report said.

Quoting an unnamed high-ranking military officer, CNA reported that the MND has made the acquisition of new-generation smart mines and fast minelayers a priority.

This is to increase the Navy’s ability to block Chinese troops from landing in Taiwan by sea during war, said the officer, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

A smart mine is capable of distinguishing and selecting its target through sophisticated sensors, posing a threat to enemies but keeping Taiwan’s troops safe, he said.

On the other hand, a fast minelayer can shorten the time needed to deploy mines, effectively disrupting enemies’ pace of attack and operation plans, he said.

The officer said Taiwan needs to develop more smart mines that fit the country’s needs, especially in shallow water areas, as the existing mines are mostly designed against deepwater vessels but not shallow water ones, such as amphibious vehicles and hovercraft.

He also suggested that Taiwan should build more fast minelayers or equip all Navy ships under construction with build-in mine tracking to enable them to lay mines in times of emergency, as the present practice of commissioning fishing boats to do the job is unreliable.

India, China hold diplomatic level talks on border stand-off in Ladakh

New Delhi (NVI): India and China today discussed the way forward in normalising the situation on the border along Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, as both the sides agreed to strictly observe and respect LAC during the diplomatic level talks.

The 15th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held through video-conference, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary (East Asia), while Director General of the Department of Boundary & Oceanic Affairs of the Chinese MFA led the Chinese delegation, MEA said.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed in detail the developments in the India-China border areas in particular the situation in Eastern Ladakh. The Indian side conveyed its concerns on the recent developments in Eastern Ladakh, including on the violent face-off in Galwan Valley area on 15th June that had resulted in casualties, the external affairs ministry said.

“In this regard, it was emphasised that both sides should strictly respect and observe the line of actual control,” it said.

The two sides recalled the conversation last week between the Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and reaffirmed that both sides should sincerely implement the understanding on disengagement and de-escalation that was reached by the Senior Commanders on June 6.

“The two delegations agreed that implementation of this understanding expeditiously, in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols, would help ensure peace and tranquillity in border areas and the development of broader relationship between the two countries,” the MEA said in a statement.

In this context, they also took note of the discussions in the second meeting of the Senior Commanders held on 22 June, it added

The two sides also agreed to maintain communication both at diplomatic and military level including under the framework of WMCC to resolve the existing situation peacefully.

-ARK

Odisha: Pvt hsptl in Bhubaneswar sealed after 27 Covid cases found, including staff

Subrat Kumar Sarangi

Bhubaneswar (NVI): A private hospital in the city has been sealed by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation after 27 fresh Covid-19 positive cases were found, a maximum of them being the staff members.

According to sources, Blue wheel Hospital in Mancheswar Industrial Estate has been sealed after fresh cases were found.

The municipal corporation has issued a show-cause notice to the hospital for violation of COVID-19 guidelines by the government.


After detection of the positive cases, all direct contacts of the cases have been quarantined and premises of the hospital have been sanitised to avoid the further possibility of spread of infection.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Odisha touched 5,752 today after 290 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to Odisha State Information and Public Relations Department data.

-ARK

Bangladesh COVID-19 tally tops 1.22 lakh; 1,582 dead

Bangladesh lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): As Bangladesh is witnessing a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths, 37 new fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total death toll to 1,582.

In addition to this, 3,462 new cases were also detected during this period, taking the total number of Covid-19 patients in the country to 1,22,660, according to United News of Bangladesh.

So far, 49,666 people have recovered in the country after 2,031 more patients were recovered during this period.

The detection rate of new patients was recorded at 21.07 percent today in the country, according to media reports.

Against the total number of detected cases, the recovery rate is 40.49 percent while the mortality rate is 1.29 percent.

-CHK

Coronavirus cases exceed 1.88 lakh in Pakistan

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan has been witnessing a daily surge in the number of coronavirus cases as the tally crossed 1,88,926 today with more than 3,892 deaths.

Looking at the breakdown of cases, Sindh province has reported 72,656 coronavirus cases, highest among all the provinces, while Punjab has 69,536 positive cases.

On the other hand, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 23,388 cases, Balochistan is at 9,634, Gilgit-Baltistan at 1,337, Islamabad at 11,483 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is at 892 cases so far, according to media reports.

So far, nearly 77,754 people have recovered from the deadly contagion in the country.

In addition to this, as many as 3,337 patients are in critical condition across the country, the Health Ministry said.

-CHK

Afghanistan COVID-19 cases climb to 29,715 with 639 deaths

New Delhi (NVI): Afghanistan today witnessed a rise in coronavirus cases with 234 new infections, taking the overall tally to 29,715 across the country, according to Afghan media reports.

The death toll due to the virus rose to 639 with 21 new fatalities being reported in the last 24 hours.

Among the fresh cases reported, Kabul once again was on top of the list with 124 cases followed by Herat with 34 positive cases.

Other provinces which reported cases are Nangarhar (10), Bamiyan (24), Badghis (8), Logar (3), Parwan (2), Badakhshan (6), Laghman (2), Kunar (7), Panjshir (3), Kapisa (7) and Daikundi (4), as per the reports.

In terms of fatalities, 11 Covid-19 deaths were reported in Herat, 5 in Baghlan, 4 in Kabul and 1 in Balkh, in the past 24 hours.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said 9,869 people have recovered from the respiratory disease across the country.

So far, 67,451 people have been tested for coronavirus in the government’s testing centres in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the MoPH announced yesterday that they had spent USD 36.7 million so far in their COVID-19 response.

-RJV

Nepal Covid-19 tally crosses 10,700; death toll 24

New Delhi (NVI): 629 new positive coronavirus cases have been reported from Nepal, taking the toll in the Himalayan nation to 10,728, according to local media reports.

The country’s Ministry of Health and Population said, Of the newly infected, 519 are males and 110 females.

At present, the virus has been confirmed in 76 districts while Rasuwa in Bagmati Province is the only district without a single case so far.

Rautahat has a total of 1,203 cases, the highest for a district, followed by Dailekh with 752 infections while Kapilvastu has 706 COVID-19 patients.

The ministry also said that, 457,920 samples have been tested for coronavirus in Nepal till now. Of these, 193,194 samples were tested through the PCR and 2,83,696 through the RDT.

Apart from this, 114 persons have been cured or discharged from the hospitals in last 24 hours. With this total recovery cases stands at 2,338, of which 2,141 are males while 197 females.

So far, 24 people died from the pandemic in Nepal as no coronavirus related death was reported today in the country.

-RJV

Cabinet approves private sector participation in space activities

Union Minister Jitendra Singh (file pic)

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved far reaching reforms in the Space sector aimed at boosting private sector participation in the entire range of space activities.

Private sectors will participate in the entire range of space activities, including planetary exploration missions, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said.

India is among a handful of countries with advanced capabilities in the space sector. With these reforms, the sector will receive new energy and dynamism, to help the country leapfrog to the next stages of space activities.

PM Narendra Modi also tweeted in this regard and stated, “The reform trajectory continues. The Union Cabinet’s approval to reforms in the space sector is yet another step towards making our nation self-reliant and technologically advanced. The reforms will boost private sector participation as well.”

The newly created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) will provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure. It will also hand-hold, promote and guide the private industries in space activities through encouraging policies and a friendly regulatory environment, a statement from Prime Minister’s Office stated.

Furthermore, New Space India Limited (NSIL) will endeavour to re-orient space activities from a ‘supply driven’ model to a ‘demand driven’ model, thereby ensuring optimum utilization of our space assets.

In addition to this, these reforms will allow ISRO to focus more on research and development activities, new technologies, exploration missions and human spaceflight programme. Some of the planetary exploration missions will also be opened up to private sector through an ‘announcement of opportunity’ mechanism, the statement added.

-CHK

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