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‘A lot has changed in these 232 days’: Omar after his release

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who walked free out of Hari Niwas here today, said that a lot has changed since he was placed under detention on August 5 last year.

The National Conference (NV) leader’s PSA detention was revoked earlier today by the J&K Government.

“In these 232 days, a lot has happened, a lot has changed, for my period of detention, I had though a lot about what I say, the moment I walk out.” These were the first words of the former CM when he left Hari Niwas after near about eight-month detention period.

Omar, who has grown a long beard, said that during detention, he was thinking about the way the erstwhile state of J&K was divided into two UTs. “During these months, students didn’t attend schools, shopkeepers, hotels, all other establishments were shut. I was locked at only one place but the problems faced by the people of J&K during that period can’t be compensated,” he said.

The NC leader also commented on the coronavirus pandemic saying that at this time, “we are fighting a war of life and death.”

“I won’t talk about Article 370, 35A or bifurcation of state into two UTs. At present, I will speak about how we can get rid of Covid-19. Government has asked us to maintain social distancing, here we are together violating the very orders,” Omar said.

He also urged the Centre to releases all prisoners from detention keeping in view the current situation.

Talking to reporters at his Gupkar residence soon after his release, he said that all those persons detained after August 5 last year should be released. “Be it Mehbooba Mufti, or any other leaders irrespective of their affiliations, GoI should have some mercy on them and release them as soon as possible keeping in view the present situation,” he said.

Omar also requested Centre to restore 4G internet services as soon as possible. “How would people learn things to fight COVID19, when the internet speed is so slow,” he said.

COVID: Kashmir authorities tracking foreign returnees

Srinagar (NVI): The administration in Kashmir, where the number of coronavirus cases increased to three today, has been making efforts to track down those who recently returned from abroad, particularly the disease-affected countries, and it has detected scores of those who had dodged medical screening at the incoming ports.

These people, including highly educated ones, had come from countries like UK, Thailand, UAE, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan.

“Team lead by colleague Mr Masarat Hashim KAS and involving brilliant professionals tracked more than 65 people who returned from affected countries skipping screening & changing routes. Amazing job. Srinagar thankful to all for inputs,” Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Shahid Choudhary tweeted.

Earlier, yesterday, he said “Medical, IT & Surveillance teams today were able to track 29 people coming from Bangkok, UK, Dubai, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan etc who skipped medical teams by changing routes or avoiding travel history…”

The authorities also traced a Kashmiri man who came from Italy, landed in New Delhi, travelled to Jammu by train and took a cab from there to reach his home in Srinagar.

A Kashmiri, who came from Bangladesh but dodged medical screening in New Delhi, was also traced after he reached his home in Srinagar, thanks to the tip-off provided by his neighbours, officials said.

In a similar case, four Ph.D students, hailing from Kashmir, fled from a quarantine facility in AMU and returned home. The authorities have traced three of them but one is still missing.

While these people were traced, there might be many more undetected people, who could be posing a threat to the society at large.

In view of such cases, Choudhary tweeted, “Srinagar residents returning from other states are requested to report at airport for screening by medical teams. Road points as well. Control room may be contacted for any help.”

Rlys working 24X7 to ensure supply of essential commodities

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Railways has suspended the operations of its passenger trains till March 31 in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

Currently, the state-transported is operating only freight trains across the country and making all efforts to ensure the availability of essential commodities.

“During the situation of lockdown in various States, Indian Railways Staff deployed at various good sheds, stations and control offices is working on 24/7 basis to ensure that the supply of essential items for the nation does not gets affected,” the Ministry of Railways said in a statement.

On March 23, total 474 rakes were loaded for the supply of essential commodities like food grain, milk, fruits & vegetables, sugar, edible oil, petroleum products and coal across the country, it said.

During the day, total 891 rakes were loaded by Indian Railways which also includes other important commodities like rakes of Iron ore, rakes of steel, cement, rakes of fertilizer, rakes of container etc.

The Ministry also said it was working in close coordination with the state governments for smooth handling of rakes of essential commodities without any delay, amidst various restrictions imposed in the wake of COVID-19.

Indian Railways has slashed the demurrage and wharfage rates for goods and parcels by half of the prescribed rates till March 31, it said.

The validity of the rate policies pertaining to goods/container traffic has also been extended by one month i.e. up to April 30.

Whereas, no haulage charge shall be levied for movement of empty containers/empty flat wagons from March 24 to April 30, the statement said.

Free time for loading or unloading of wagons, and for removal of consignment from the railway premises has been increased to double of the prescribed free time till March 31.

Indian Railways staff, deployed in control rooms for operation of freight trains, line staff, maintenance staff, security personnel and medical staff in railway hospitals are working 24X7.

“The Indian Railways understands its crucial role during this difficult time and requests all to support in ensuring faster loading and unloading of essential supplies,” the ministry said.

Govt bans export of Ventilators, Sanitisers

New Delhi (NVI): India has banned the export of all ventilators, sanitisers and other ICU equipment with immediate effect in the view of rising coronavirus cases across the country.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry today issued an order regarding the amendment in export policy of ventilators including any artificial respiratory apparatus or oxygen therapy apparatus or any other breathing appliance/device and sanitisers.

”The export of all ventilators including any artificial respiratory apparatus or oxygen therapy apparatus or any other breathing appliance/device falling under any ITCHS code is prohibited with immediate effect, ” it said.

”The export of all sanitisers falling under any ITCHS code, including the ITCHS codes mentioned above, is prohibited, with immediate effect, ” it added.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India neared the 500 mark today, as a tenth death from the disease was reported from Mumbai in Maharashtra.

Northeast also reported its first positive COVID-19 case today from Manipur.

J&K: Two CRPF men killed in fratricide incident

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men killed each other in a fratricide incident in Srinagar today.

The incident took place inside the water wing of CRPF at Dalgate area of Srinagar, when the two soldiers shot at each other with their service rifles.

The deceased have been identified as Constable Siju and Constable Jala Vijay.

PRO CRPF, Neeraj Rathore confirmed the death of the two CRPF men in the fratricidal incident. “We are ascertaining the reasons behind their act,” he said.

On March 21, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, who was ailing and under treatment committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in Srinagar.

He was identified as HC Dilbagh Singh of 23 Battalion, posted at Srinagar civil secretariat.

China to lift travel curbs on Hubei after months of lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): China today announced that it will lift travel restrictions from Hubei Province, which emerged as the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak in December last year.

According to reports in foreign media, healthy residents will be allowed to leave the province from Tuesday midnight.

However, the travel ban in Wuhan, the provincial capital and the epicenter of the outbreak, will be lifted from April 8, according to media reports. The city has been on lockdown since January 23.

China has reported a drastic fall in the number of fresh COVID-19 cases even as the disease has spread to other parts of the world in the form of a pandemic.

In the United States, Monday appeared to be the deadliest day caused by the outbreak, with more than 100 deaths reported in a single day.

New York state confirmed 20,000 infections, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

More governors have imposed rules and shutdowns in their cities in order to curb the outbreak. At least 15 states have issued stay-at-home orders that are either in effect or will take effect this week.

So far, More than 42,000 people in the United States have been infected with coronavirus, and at least 515 people have died.

In addition to this, Italy has reported more than 600 fatalities today, taking the total number of fatalities to 6,077 with the total cases rising to more than 63,000 in the country, according to media reports.

In the UK, the total number of deaths from the disease COVID-19, increased by 54, bringing the toll in the country to 335 among 6,650 cases. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered residents across the country to stay at home.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned “the pandemic is accelerating” with it taking 67 days for cases to reach the 100,000 mark globally, 11 days for cases to reach 200,000 and just four days for cases to reach 300,000.

More than 15,400 people have died from COVID-19 globally. An estimated 100,000 of the 362,000 people who have been diagnosed with the disease across the world have recovered, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

World Tuberculosis Day: TB claims over 4,000 lives every day

New Delhi (NVI): TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer, says WHO, as the World Tuberculosis Day 2020 is being observed across the globe today.

Each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease, says the global health organisation.

Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 58 million lives since the year 2000, says WHO.

World Tuberculosis Day (TB) Day is commemorated on March 24 every year to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.

On this day in 1882, Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.

WHO has also called Tuberculosis India’s biggest killer. A large number of people lose their lives due to the disease in the country.

Tuberculosis claimed a total of 1.5 million lives worldwide in the year 2018, thereby proving that it is still extremely prevalent and challenging to fight. It is one of the top 10 causes of death across the world.

This year’s theme for World TB Day is- ‘It’s Time’, under which WHO is motivating global leaders to scale up access to prevention and treatment.

TB is one of the deadliest and most infectious diseases in the world. But the biggest attribute that we have is the fact that it is preventable and curable.

To accelerate the TB response in countries to reach targets – Heads of State came together and made strong commitments to end TB at the first-ever UN High Level Meeting in September 2018, WHO said in its report.

COVID-19: 2 more test positive in Srinagar, 1 in Baramulla

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Two more persons have been tested positive for coronavirus in Srinagar today, while Baramulla reported its first case, taking the total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir to seven.

“Two more cases reported positive in Srinagar. One has confirmed travel history outside India while full details regarding the second being ascertained,” JK Government Spokesperson Rohit Kansal said in a tweet.

On March 17, a woman from Khanyar area of Srinagar, who had a travel history to Saudi Arabia was tested positive for COVID-19 and is undergoing treatment at SKIMS, Soura. Till now, three cases have been tested positive in Jammu. With two more cases in Srinagar and one in Baramulla now, Kashmir has a total of four positive cases. The COVID-19 affected person in Baramulla has been admitted at GMC Hospital there.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary tweeted: “Srinagar update. 2 more positive. Teams are on ground as per SOP. We need to be more alert and cooperative. Pl cooperate”.

 

Last date for filing I-T return for FY18-19 extended to Jun 30

New Delhi (NVI): The deadline for filing Income Tax return for Financial Year 2018-19 has been extended from March 31 to June 30, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today, as the country is facing a lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

The pandemic situation has called for a restriction on movements and lockdown in most parts of the country.

With regard to ITR, the interest rate for delayed payment cut has also been reduced to 9 % from 12 %, Sitharamman said. She added that Vivad se Vishwas scheme has been extended to June 30, in the wake of the pandemic.

Apart from ITR, GST returns have also been extended to June 30, the Finance Minister informed media via a video conference. She was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur, who also talked about the steps taken by the government to deal with ITR and other financial deadlines.

Thakur informed that the deadline for linking Aadhaar to PAN card has also been extended to June 30, 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the nation at 8 PM tonight on coronavirus situation in the country and steps being taken to deal with the crisis.

EC postpones Rajya Sabha elections

Opposition parties
File Photo

New Delhi (NVI): The Election Commission of India has deferred the Rajya Sabha elections that were scheduled to be held on March 26. The decision was taken by the election body amid the coronavirus outbreak as 10 people have died from the disease. The total COVID-19 positive cases in the country are also nearing the 500 mark.

Delhi has been put under lockdown till March 31 as the number of cases in the country surge.

Election to fill 55 vacant seats were to be held, out of which 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest. Elections for the remaining 18 seats will be done based on the prevailing situations.

Earlier the Election Commission had declared polls to 55 Rajya Sabha seats on February 25, 2020.

Currently, elections are due for four seats each from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from Meghalaya and Manipur.

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