Jammu & Kashmir

Srinagar, Mar 28 : Jammu and Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Tuesday said that Shab-e-Qadr will be observed on April 17 while as Eid moon will be sighted on April 20 and in case moon is sighted on April 20, people will have to offer Qaza fasting of a day.

Talking to reporters after marathon meeting of Ulema that include Moulana Rahmatullah Qasmi, Ghulam Rasool Hami and Prof Muhammad Tayib Kamili, Moulana Aga Syed Al Hassan Mousivi, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat, Moulana Fayaz Ahmed Rizivi, Masroor Abbas Ansari and others, the Grand Mufti as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said: “Shab-e-Qadr will be observed on April 17. Moon sighting will be done on April 20 and if moon is sighted, people will have to offer one day Qaza fasting after Eid.”

He said any decision regarding Eid will be made public after thorough consultation with Ulema. “MeT department will also be consulted before any announcement,” he said.

Pertinently, earlier, there was a controversy over fasting as Grand Mufti had stated that the people should fast from Friday while the majority of the people in Kashmir had started fasting from Thursday. Grand Mufti had stated he had received no witness about sighting of Ramadhan crescent on Wednesday night. Grand Mufti also demanded release of Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, Moulana Abdur Rashid Dawodi and other Ulema who are serving detention in various jails—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz

Sopore, Mar 27 : Illegal sand mining alongside River Jehlum in north Kashmir’s Sopore is going on unabated even as the authorities has miserably failed to act over the matter with the locals allege field and supervisory staff of the concerned department nexus with the dealers.

Locals while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that sand extraction violations are rampant even as due to the illegal mining they are now facing the threat of their orchards while adding that the excessive mining has already damaged the embankments along the Jhelum, they alleged.

They said that the illegal mining is not confined to the Chakrode Khan, Ningli areas but the same is going on in various places while the administration has so far failed in taking any concrete action aiming at halting the violations.

The residents also said that the illegal extraction of sand is going unabated and in broad daylight with the tacit support of officials who failed to take any concrete action so far. They alleged hand-in-the glove of the department with the maafia.

“We fail to understand why authorities are shying to curb this illegal trade in the area. He said the illegal extraction is mostly being carried out during early hours but for a couple of months it is going unabated during the broad daylight”, said Ali Muhammad, a local who owns orchards at Charode Khan.

They, however, appealed to the lieutenant governor led government to direct the district administration to rein the elements involved in the illegal extraction of sand and bring the involved to the task.

Meanwhile, official at Irrigation and Flood control department when contacted told KNO that they are time and again taking action against them. “We have lodged a number of FIR’s against the involved, besides, equipment was seized,” the official said.

“We have been continuously informing the Police department for necessary action, however, yet to see any concrete,” the official said.

He, however, added that the geology and mining department plays an important role in curbing the menace. “The royalty procedure too has been stopped as of now,” the official said—(KNO)

Handwara March 26 : A student of class 12 died of a cardiac arrest in Bakihakra village of Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara soon after she returned from exams.

An official told Kashmir News Service (KNS) said that the girl (18) identified as Ulfat died of cardiac arrest after she returned from class 12th exams today afternoon.

He said the girl was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, a pale of gloom descended on the village as news of her death spread in the area. (KNS)

Srinagar, Mar 27: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday said to have arrested a group of youths alleged of harrassing and attacking a family on road in central Kashmir’s Srinagar district.

Taking to microblogging site Twitter, District Police Srinagar wrote; “…Police took cognisance of a video wherein a group of youths on bikes are seen harassing & attacking a family on road. Midnight raids were conducted by teams led by SDPO West & SHO Parimpora.”

“All 9 accused are arrested & 4 Bikes seized. FIR registered in Parimpora PS”, the tweet reads further. (GNS)

Baramulla, March 26: Aarifeen School of Excellence in Baramulla, in collaboration with its curriculum partner NatureNurture from Delhi,organized a day-long parent orientation program on Sunday.

The event focused on new pedagogical practices and domains with futuristic approaches to prepare learners for the challenges of the 21st century and make them future ready.

Ms. Shivani Verma, Vice President of Curriculum Facilitation, and Ms. Anubha Banerjee, Vice President of Content and Educational Philosophy at NatureNurture, were the keynote speakers at the event.

Ms. Verma spoke about the insights gained during the pandemic and the need to prepare learners for an uncertain future. She emphasized the importance of a child’s foundational years, responsible and happy parenting, and the use of a transdisciplinary approach to education.

Ms. Banerjee informed parents about the futuristic domains added to the NatureNurture curriculum, including financial literacy, digital citizenship, global dimension, gender equality, character building, design and technology, and many more.

The trainers provided hands-on training to parents on how educators will teach their children at the school and the pedagogies they will apply in the classroom.

The session involved various teaching-learning processes and activities, engaging the parents in the event.

During her speech, Ms. Verma emphasized that being a happy parent is more important than being a perfect parent. The event concluded with a vote of thanks and positive feedback from the parents about the informative and engaging program.

At the end of the program, around 30 learners from Aarifeen School of Excellence, who secured top positions in International Olympiad 2022, were felicitated with gold medals and certificates of appreciation for their exemplary achievement in front of the audience.

The learners were bestowed with felicitation from their respective parents, signifying a robust home-school connection that emphasizes the equitable participation of both educators and parents in the developmental voyage of young learners.

Waris Fayaz

Sopore, Mar 26 : A non-local girl died by suicide just after 20 days of her marriage at a rented accommodation in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said here in Sunday.

An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the girl from Bangladesh was married to a Kupwara man around 20 days ago and last evening she hanged herself to death.

She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival, he said.

He said she was living with her husband at a rented accommodation in Badam Bagh area of Sopore.

Meanwhile, police have taken cognizance of the incident and started investigation—(KNO)

Waris Fayaz

Baramulla, Mar 25 : Unscheduled power cuts in Tangmarg and its adjacent areas of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district are giving a tough time to the residents in Ramadhan.

Speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) on phone, locals said their lives and businesses have been severely affected due to pesky power cuts.

“These frequent power cuts have become a daily affair. To demand 24×7 electricity is a dream. We just demand regular and scheduled power supply,” said Umer, a local.

He said that the power department should follow the curtailment schedule.

The areas facing the outages since last week include Tangmarg, Warapora, Hajibal, Waniloo and other adjacent areas.

The residents also said that they brought the issue into the notice of the concerned officers several times to no avail.

They urged the administration to look into the matter and solve the issue at the earliest.

“I am in a meeting”, Assistant Executive Engineer, Power Development Department, Tangmarg said, when contacted—(KNO)

BARAMULLA, MARCH 25: In order to encourage the beneficiaries of Baramulla district, Agriculture Department Baramulla today organised a distribution camp of Beehives and colonies among Self Help Groups and FPOs under Capex Budget 2022-23 at Khawjabagh here.

The distribution camp was kick started by District Development Commissioner Baramulla, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar in presence of Joint Director Planning, Chief Agriculture officer and other concerned functionaries.

On the occasion, Dr Sehrish Asgar distributed 300 Beehives and colonies among the unemployed youth of the district. It was informed that the total number of Beekeepers in the district stands 210 and Number of colonies are 7810 in which 730 Quantils are yielded annually.

In her address at the event, the DDC stated that beekeeping as an enterprise can be a significant step for boosting the income and livelihood opportunities for the youth including landless farmers.

Considering the huge area under horticultural crops like apple and other fruit crops in the UT, keeping bee hives in the crop fields can increase pollination efficiency and improve the crop yield and quality, Dr Sehrish added.

Moreover, the DDC also stressed on expanding agriculture activities by cultivation of mushroom produce and beehives to increase the income of local people under the Model Tribal Village programme.

Later, She also distributed the registration certificate of National Beeboard among farmers.

BARAMULLA, MARCH 25: To give impetus to the progress towards Measles-Rubella Elimination in the district, a meeting of District Task Force (DTF) was held today at DC Office here under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar.

During the meeting, a detailed discussion was held regarding implementation of road map formulated by the Government for Measles, Rubella elimination from the country by 2023.

On the occasion, the DC said that our district has adequate healthcare infrastructure to manage the universal immunization programme and surveillance activities to achieve the target.

The DC urged upon the Health functionaries of the district to take all possible measures and give focused attention towards the Measles, Rubella elimination in the District.

Dr Syed Sehrish stressed on active participation of educational institutions in spreading awareness and sensitizing students about the infection of Measles and Rubella. She urged the officers to adopt the multi pronged interventions to identify the target at the right time to arrest the disease at the right time.

The DC also highlighted the importance of acquiring complete knowledge about the preventive measures of Measles-Rubella disease, and asked the officers to identify the target groups, conduct surveys and prepare separate plans for vulnerable groups.

She further asked them to put in a committed effort in order to achieve the objective of the campaign i.e to rapidly build up immunity for both Measles and Rubella diseases and ensure that all the children should receive MR vaccine during the campaign.

Meanwhile, the DC also reviewed the quarterly performance of District Quality Assurance committee. She asked for disseminating the quality assurance guidelines and tools and methodology to be followed at District and sub district level.

Joint Director Planning M Yousuf Rather, Chief Medical officer Baramulla Dr Bashir Ahmad Malik, Chief Education officer Baramulla Balbir Singh Raina, Dy CMO Dr Jozy Bashir, Block Medical officers, Senior Doctors were present in the meeting.

Baramulla, Mar 25: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday Jammu and Kashmir will have Vande Bharat trains next year as Jammu-Srinagar rail link will be opened this year only.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), he also said that Kupwara and other two destinations in the Kashmir Valley will be connected with the Indian railways soon.

He said that railways across Jammu and Kashmir will be improved and the improvement will be witnessed by the year end.

“Telephone connectivity, double lines, parcel services, cement and pharmaceutical trade via Indian railways would be ensured by year end, besides, facilities for apple trade would also be considered,” he said—(KNO)