CMYK

CMYK

SRINAGAR | VOL: 12 | ISSUE NO: 287 | WEDNESDAY | 08 DECEMBER 2021 | PAGES: 08 | PRICE: 1/-

P07

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South Africa names 21-member Test squad

for series against IndiaIFFCO Kisan team calls on Principal Secretary;

discusses modalities to provide technological

J&K Delimitation Commission Endeavours To Complete Exercise As Early As Possible: MHA

People Of J&K acceded to Mahatma Gandhi’s India, not

that of Godse: FarooqExpresses optimism about restoration of special status to J&K

JAMMU, DEC 7 (GNS): Stating that the people of J&K ‘state’ have acceded to Mahatma Gandhi’s India and not that of Nathuram Godse, National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said expressed optimism about restoration of special status under Article 370 to Jam-mu and Kashmir.

He said the people are resolute enough and steadfast in their resolve to stand for their rights.

“We will fight for our rights peacefully as we don’t believe in violence”, Dr Farooq Abdullah said while addressing the day-long convention of National Conference Central Zone at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan as per a statement sent to GNS.

The NC President referred to the repeal of three farm laws on the face of stiff re-sistance by the farmers together with 750 sacrifices and said the Centre was forced to announce rollback fearing poll debacle in five states. He said the farm laws were passed in huff, notwithstanding the demand for debate and discussion by the opposition ahead of their passage. Such was the ar-rogance of numbers that no plea of sending the farm bills to the select committee was

heeded to. He said ultimately the govern-ment had to bow down before the strong will of the farmers. He said democracy is all about discussion and creating impedi-ments in this process is against the demo-cratic ethos of the country.

Decrying the August 2019 political developments, Dr Farooq Abdullah de-scribed revocation of special status to J&K as snatching of their rights. The people of this state have acceded to Mahatma Gan-dhi’s India and not that of Nathuram Godse. He said the hate and communal politics is not in the interest of the nation and the BJP should better realise it.

“We are not anti-nationals' ', he said while assailing the communal forces

See Farooq...On Page 2

All primary schools to have Kindergartens by March 31School Education Department to rollout ‘Mentor teacher’ Initiative

to boost learning outcomes: CS

‘235 CCTV Cameras Installed At 12 Railway Stations’Make optimum use of technology for security: DGP to officers

Kashmir, Ladakh Reels Under Freezing Cold Conditions

SRINAGAR, DEC 7 (GNS): Amid clear skies, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh recorded freezing cold conditions with world famous skiing resort of Gulmarg recording minus minimum of 7.0°C while Drass in Ladakh had season’s coldest night at minus 18.4°C.

A meteorological department official here told GNS that Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, recorded minimum of minus 1.4°C against previous night’s 2.6°C. The temperature was below normal by minus 0.8°C. The mercury fell as low as minus 2.5°C on De-cember 1 which was lowest temperature recorded this season in Srinagar so far.

Qazigund recorded minimum temperature of mi-nus 0.2°C against 3.2°C on the previous night, he said. The temperature was 0.6 °C above normal for

See Cold...On Page 2

Prescribe generic medicine to patients: Drug Controller to Doctors

COVID claims four more lives; 132 fresh cases

Illegal appointments:

ACB produces chargesheet against 56 persons including

MC B’pora officialsSRINAGAR, DEC 07 (KNO):

Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Tues-day produced chargesheet against former Incharge Executive Officer, ex-President, Municipal Committee (MC) Bandipora and 54 other ben-eficiaries for their alleged involvement in illegal appointments.

ACB, as per a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), produced chargesheet against 56 accused persons including two public servants before the Court of Special Judge Anti-Corruption Baramulla in a case related to alleged misuse of official position and illegal appointments in Municipal Commit-tee of District Bandipora.

“The instant case was registered on 28-06-2013 against 56 accused persons including officers/officials of the MC Bandipora in pursuance to the verification conducted into the allegations of illegal appointments made by the officers/officials of the Municipal Committee Bandipora during the period 2009-2010 in which some of the close relatives of the of-ficials were also appointed illegally in brazen violation of rules and regulations and it was also alleged

See ACB...On Page 2

Fake SC certificate: CBJ files criminal case against Sarpanch, her

husband, 2 revenue officialsJAMMU, DEC 07 (KNO):

Crime Branch Jammu (CBJ) on Tuesday said that it has registered a criminal case against a Sarpanch from Nowshehra and others for al-legedly producing fake Scheduled Caste certificate in Panchayat elec-tions.

According to a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), CBJ registered a criminal case under the relevant sections of law against suspects including Sarpanch Santosh Kumari, wife of Bidhi Chand (D/o NandLal),

Bidhi Chand, son of Late Chatru Ram of Village Bhajnova Tehsil Nowshera district Rajouri, Akbar Hussain the then Tehsildar Nowshera and Balvinder Kumar the then Pat-wari Nowshera for their involvement in obtaining and facilitating Sched-uled Caste Category Certificate by fraudulent means and its use by the beneficiary as genuine during the Panchayat election of Sarpanch in Panchayat Halqa Bhajnow Nowh-shera Rajouri.

“A written complaint wasSee Fake...On Page 2

JAMMU, DEC 07: The Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Meh-ta today chaired a meeting to review the functioning of the School Education Department and progress achieved under various schemes during the ongo-ing financial year.

Administrative Secretaries of the departments of Finance, School Education, besides Direc-tors School Education, Jammu/Kashmir, and Director, Samagra Shiksha participated in the meet-ing.

It was informed that during this academic year, the Govern-ment and Private schools in the Union territory registered a cu-

mulative enrollment of 22,07,296 students with 80% of schools functioning in the Government

See Schools...On Page 2

JAMMU, DEC 7 (GNS): To review the se-curity of railways in Jammu and Kashmir a meeting of the State Level Security committee was held today under the chairmanship of Director General of Police J&K Dilbag Singh at the conference hall at Police Headquarters here.

The meeting was at-tended via video conferenc-ing by Spl DG CID J&K R. R. Swain and Principal Chief Security Commissioner/IGP

RPF Hqrs S. N. Pandey while ADGP Railways J&K Sunil Kumar who also conducted the proceedings of the meet-ing and Commandant RPF

Ferozepur division Rajnish attended the meeting at Conference Hall.

The meeting startedSee Cameras...On Page 2

BUDGAM, DEC 7 (GNS): A daylong aware-ness programme on Prad-han Mantri Bharatya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojna (PM-BJAP) was today held at a conference hall in Budgam.

The programme was organised by Chief Medical Office Budgam in collabora-tion with the Drug Control Organization.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Drug Controller J&K, Lotika Khajuria said that the generic medicines avail-able at Jan Aushadhi Ken-

dras across Jammu and Kashmir are not only cheap-er and affordable but at par with the branded name medicines when it comes to quality and efficacy.

In order to ensure ben-efits of the Jan Aushadhi, medicines are availed by

people at large, she urged upon the doctors to prescribe the same to the patients.

Emphasizing on dispel-ling the doubts about the quality of generic medicines, Khajuria said that there is no compromise on the

See Drug...On Page 2

SRINAGAR, DEC 07 (KNO): Jam-mu and Kashmir Tuesday reported four deaths and 132 fresh positive cases taking the number of total active cases in the Union Territory to 1,601.

With four more deaths, the death toll in the UT stands at 4,487 and 132 fresh positive cases re-ported on Tuesday have pushed the tally of positive cases to 338,047.

Of the exact number of 338,047 cases, 212,633 are from Kashmir division and 125,414 from Jammu division. Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that among 132 new cases, 103 belong to Kashmir division

while as 29 are from Jammu division, add-ing that the total number of positive cases

in Kashmir division have reached to 212,633 including 209,164 recov-

eries and 2,299 deaths while as total number of positive cas-

es in Jammu division have reached to 125,414 including 122,795 recoveries and 2,187 deaths

The officials said that the total number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir are 1,601

including 1,170 from Kashmir divi-sion and 431 from Jammu division.

With 188 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 331,959 which is 98.20 percent

See Covid...On Page 2

� Aqib Ahmad

SRINAGAR, DEC 7 (GNS): Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of In-dia, on Tuesday said that Delimitation Commission headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai endeavours to complete the exercise of redrawing boundaries of Assembly and parliamen-tary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir “as early as possible.”

Responding to a question in the ongoing winter ses-sion of the Lok Sabha by BJP parliamentarian Saty-adev Pachauri, Minister Of

State, MHA, Nityanand Rai however did not specify definite time-period for the completion of the exercise by the Commission which

also comprises of Election Commissioner Sushil Chan-dra and J&K State Election Commissioner K K Sharma.

“The Government has constituted a Delimitation Commission headed by Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai for the pur-pose of delimitation of As-sembly and Parliamentary constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” Rai said in a writ-ten reply to question

See MHA...On Page 2

If borders are safe, prosperity will follow in all the areas: LG

Visits border areas of Samba; reviews developmental scenarioSAMBA, DECEMBER 07: Lieu-

tenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today

visited the border areas of Samba

district and reviewed the develop-

mental scenario, besides interacting

with the brave BSF Jawans at the

Chamliyal BoP.

The Lt Governor also paid obei-

sance at the revered shrine of Baba

Chamliyal near international border,

where he prayed for the peace, pros-

perity and the well being of the

people of J&K.

At the BSF Border outpost, the

Lt Governor observed the Interna-

tional border and interacted with

Jawans of BSF and lauded their com-

mitment and devotion to the duty.

He remarked that if borders are

safe, prosperity will follow in all the

areas.

Later, addressing the gathering

of local people and PRI representa-

tives, the Lt Governor observed that

the J&K Administration is commit-

ted to ensure that the border vil-

lages have best infrastructure at par

with developed towns.

“J&K has started development

‘Utsav’ in bordering villages. Our aim

is to provide maximum resources to

the bordering villages”, he added.

The Lt Governor also launched

“Panchayat Darpan” App, first web portal in J&K UT designed and cre-

ated by NIC samba, which provides

information regarding Panchayats’

profiles, department wise Schemes, Social Security schemes, panchayat

wise data on development works,

grievances, financial achievements,

auditing, and other aspects of various

line departments.

Interacting with PRI representa-

tives and public of border area, the

Lt Governor took first hand apprais-

al of the impact of different govern-

ment schemes and welfare measures.

In order to give impetus to estab-

lishing good governance and accen-

tuating development in border areas

of UT, a separate provision will be

kept in the UT budget for Border Area

Development, the Lt Governor an-

nounced.

While addressing the gathering,

the Lt Governor said that under the

guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister,

the UT government is tirelessly work-

ing to ensure that benefits of social security and welfare schemes perco-

late to every citizen.

See LG...On Page 2

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2NEWS WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021SRINAGAR

Continue from Front Page.......................................................LG

Recalling the directions issued during LG

Mulaqat program last year, the Lt Governor

informed that the villages adjoining to the in-

ternational border are given the benefit of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act 2005,

which they were not getting earlier.

He added that taking cognizance of the issue

of inclusion of villages adjoining the interna-

tional border for benefits under J&K Reservation Act 2005, we decided to implement 3% reserva-

tion in 174 of those villages, this year.

The Lt Governor observed that specific thrust is being laid to extend all possible benefits to border population, besides continuously upgrad-

ing the health, education, electricity, and water

supply infrastructure in the border areas.

“It is our primary responsibility to provide

good roads, electricity, water, school facilities,

employment to youth, job opportunities to the

border villages and we are committed to it, he

added.

The Lt Governor also informed that the pi-

ous land of Baba Dilip Singh Ji, Chamliyal, has

recently been included in the Tourist Village

Network by Mission Youth, placing it on the

tourism map of the country. He observed that

the step will bring comprehensive Development

and new employment opportunities for the youth.

Terming youth as the builders of our present

and future, the Lt Governor said that youth have

significant role to play in making J&K a developed and prosperous region. The administration has

started many programs keeping youth, women,

farmers and deprived sections at the center of

government policies, making them partners in

the development journey of J&K, he added.

He appealed to youth and women of border

areas to connect with programs like Rise To-

gether, Mumkin, Hausal, Tejaswini, Saath, and

other entrepreneurial programs in tourism sec-

tor, under which along with financial assistance, necessary training is also provided by the UT

administration.Speaking on the problems faced

by the farmers of border belt, the Lt Governor

asked the BSF authorities to work in coordina-

tion with the District Administration in facilitat-

ing the farming activities along the fence.

Regarding the problem of irrigation in Kan-

di areas, the Lt Governor assured that the ad-

ministration is working towards providing suf-

ficient supply of water in the areas.“I am also aware of the canal water require-

ment for Kandi Belt and it will be resolved soon.

Every year a large part of the fertile land gets

washed away by the banks of the Basantar

river. A project report of Rs 25 crore has been

sent to the Central Water Commission for its

permanent protection and after getting the

technical approval, the Central Flood Control

Department will also be requested to start work

on that project soon”, he informed.

The Lt Governor said that various projects

under different programs of the border area development have been completed since 2019.

The Lt Governor reiterated that the govern-

ment is constantly making efforts to facilitate communication and speed up economic activi-

ties in the border villages.On the occasion, the

Lt Governor also presented the keys of com-

mercial vehicles to two local youth under the

‘Mumkin’ Scheme.Sh Keshav Sharma, DDC

Chairman; Members of DDC council Samba;

BDC Chairman Ramgarh Block; Sarpanchs and

Panchs were present on the occasion.Sh Muke-

sh Singh, ADGP Jammu; Dr Raghav Langer,

Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Ms Anu-

radha Gupta, Deputy Commissioner Samba; Sh

Rajesh Sharma, SSP Samba; Senior officers of BSF; District Officers along with people of bor-

der villages were also present on the occasion.

MHAby Pachauri, former Minister from Uttar

Pradesh who wanted to know whether any steps have been taken for completion of the work of delimitation at the earliest in Jammu Kashmir by the centre as a result of the meet-ing held with the “representatives of various political parties of Kashmir recently.”

“The Delimitation Commission has held extensive consultations with various stake-holders like State Election Commissioner of UT of J&K, Chief Secretary, Govt. of J&K, Registrar General of lndia, Surveyor Gen-eral of lndia, District Election Officers of all 20 districts of J&K,” he said as per the reply, a copy of which lies with GNS.

The Delimitation Commission visited various places in Jammu & Kashmir from 6th to 9th July this year to “receive inputs from the stakeholders”.

“The endeavour of Commission is to com-plete the said exercise as early as possible,” Rai said responding to specific query by the parliamentarian about the time by which the work delimitation was likely to be completed.

Recently Home Minister of India Amit Shah said that first delimitation will take place, then elections will be held and then the process to restore statehood will begin.

“I have said this many times. Now they know that this will be the chronology so they want to create political dispute by demanding the opposite,” Shah had said in response to question on the demand of J-K political par-ties that elections should take place after statehood is restored.

Under the constitutional scheme prior to 5 August 2019, the delimitation of assembly constituencies fell within powers of the erst-while state of J&K and under the second pro-viso to Section 47 of the Constitution of J&K, the redrawing boundaries of the assembly

was to be undertaken once the figures of the first census after the year 2026 are published, meaning thereby census of 2031.

However, as the things stand, the freeze on delimitation exercise brought in by the erstwhile government headed by then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and upheld by the Supreme Court, has been lifted under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the wires of which are under challenge before the top court of the country.

Under Part-V of the ‘Reorganisation Act, redrawing of the assembly constituencies has to be carried through a process defined in Delimitation Act, 2002.

Jammu and Kashmir saw the last delim-itation exercise in 1994-95, after 22 years, which resulted in an increase in the number of Assembly constituencies from 76 to 87. The Jammu region saw an increase of five seats (from 32 to 37 seats), the Kashmir Valley an increase of four seats (from 42 to 46) and Ladakh two seats (from two to four).

The erstwhile State as a whole had a total of 111 seats—24 reserved and vacant for Pak-istan administered Kashmir.

Post 5 August 2019 and the split of the State into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh—, the complexion of the legislative Assembly changed. Four Ladakh seats were declared void, reducing the strength of the J&K assembly to 83 from 87. At the same time, the new Act provided for increasing the number of seats to 90.

Section 60 of the Reorganisation Act deals with exercise and provides among others reservation of the seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative As-sembly having regard to the “relevant provi-sions of the Constitution”. Also, the constitu-encies in which seats are reserved for the SC and the ST shall, as far as practicable, are to be located in areas where the proportion of their population to the total population is the largest, according to the Act.

This exercise has been started and is being carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court. The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the 2011 Census) in a way so that the pop-ulation of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the J&K.

On March 6, 2020, the government of India set up the Delimitation Commission whose five associate members include Na-tional Conference MPs— Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi—besides Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, and Jugal Kishore Sharma of the BJP.

Although the Commission was tasked to finish delimitation in a year, on March 4 this year, it was granted a year’s extension. This was done on the request of the commission members since it couldn’t make much prog-ress due to the “Covid-19-induced shutdown across the country.” Moreover, J&K State Election Commissioner K K Sharma was ap-pointed only on October 30 last year, follow-ing which he was busy with the District De-velopment Council (DDC) polls in J&K that concluded last December . (GNS)

Farooqto see the compatriots through tainted

glasses. He said India belongs to all , irrespec-tive of region, religion or caste. The nation will flourish by remaining inclusive, he add-ed. Dr Farooq Abdullah also questioned the type of democracy being practised by the BJP and referred to the expulsion of 12 members from Rajya Sabha. He said the decision is prompted by the intention of seeking passage of bills as the numbers do not favour the gov-ernment.

On the reported appointment of candidates from outside, the NC President said this amounts to marginalizing the educated unemployed of Jammu and Kashmir and depriving them of the source of sustenance. He lashed out at policy planners for such decisions and said the day is not far when the outsiders appoint-ed here will have to go back and vacate the posts for the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Farooq Abdullah also dwelt upon the prevailing political situation across the coun-try and referred to extension of 50 kilometre jurisdiction to BSF in Punjab, saying this is reflection on the capability of the Punjab Po-lice. Such decisions could have been averted, he said and feared Nagaland like situation in the border neighbouring state.

The NC Chief also expressed concern over the state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, saying bureaucrats have become authority unto themselves, which has subjected the people to miseries and difficulties. This fact is being even acknowledged by the BJP lead-ers themselves, who are openly expressing concern. He said the anti-poor decisions are galore and referred to halting of Durbar Move, which had been consciously introduced by the Maharaja to ensure integration among the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He said the move has hugely impacted the Jammu businesses. He questioned the claims of normalcy and revival of tourism across the state.

Dr Farooq Abdullah also dwelt upon the problems being faced by the farmers in Jam-mu and Kashmir especially in the wake of recent hailstorm and damages caused to the standing crops.

Earlier, the Central Zone adopted five resolutions seeking restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A besides statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, effective measures to curb in-flation and rising prices, jobs to unemployed, repeal of decision with regard to Durbar Move and providing respite to farmers.

Prominent among those who addressed the Zonal Convention besides Zonal President Babu Ram Pal, included Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Provin-cial President Rattan Lal Gupta, former min-ister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, former MP Sharief ud Din Shariq, Mushtaq Bukhari, Mubarak Gul, Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, Brij Mohan Sharma and Surinder Singh Bunty.

Those present on the occasion included Jugal Mahajan, Mohinder Singh, Deepinder Kour, Bushan Lal Bhat, Dr. Shamshad Shan, Pardeep Bali, Vijay Lochan, Abdul Gani Teli, Vijay Laxami Dutta, Israr Khan, Rita Gupta, Dilshad Malik Rakesh Singh Raka, Ravi Dogra, Sandesh Shan, Mohinder Kumar Rana, Ashok Kumar Attri, Rashida Begum, Nar Singh, Rahul Mahajan, Raja Naveed, Ravi Mahajan, S. Peter, Som Raj Taroch, Waris Gill, Farman Ali, Ashwani Charak, Rohit Bali, S. Gurnam Singh, Dr. Bushan, Mohd Aslam, Chander Mohan Sharma, Naresh Bittu, Ragbir Singh Manhas, Ajeet Kumar Sharma, Sham Narian Mehta, Sudagar Chand Gupta, Ayub Malik, Amrish Sharma, Pinky Khalsa, Anoop Shar-ma, Subash Sharma,Vikas Sharma, Sat Paul Sagotra , Tariq Bhat, Dr. Y.P Singh, Har-minder Singh, Rajinder Chanyal, Om Dhal-motra, Bishan Dass, Sham Lal Mehra, Om Bali, Om Parkash, M.R Mandi, B.D Dalotra, Said Ali, Arvind Singh, Bagh Ali, Jogi, S. Nirmal Singh, Ankush Abrol, Updesh, D.S Kurana, Ashwani Abrol, Raja Rafiq, Adv. M. Singh, Mulk Raj, Raj Kumar, Kuldeep Verma, Sudesh Kumar and others. (GNS)

Fakelodged by Joginder Singh, son of Kasturi

Lal of Bhajnowa with Crime Branch Jammu, alleging inter-alia that his wife Sheetal Kour resident of village Bhajnowa had contested election as Sarpanch candidate in a reserve category (SC) constituency against a lady namely Santosh Kumari, wife of Bidhi Chand, who was having a false and forged SC cate-gory certificate on the basis of which she won the election as a Sarpanch, whereas she belong to Vashisht Rajput community as per the rev-enue record of her husband and her parents.”

“On receipt of this complaint, a preliminary verification was got conducted and during the course of probe revenue records were obtained from the concerned authorities and it has been prima-facie established that the SC Certificate has been managed by the ac-cused beneficiary in connivance with other co-accused persons viz Govt. officers/official. The omissions and commissions on the part of the accused is liable for the offences pun-ishable u/s 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B RPC r/w 5(2) PC Act. Svt. 2006. Accordingly, a formal case is registered in P/S Crime Branch, Jammu against the above mentioned accused persons and others for in-depth investiga-tion.”—(KNO)

ACBthat the illegal appointments were made

during the period 2009-10 by then President Mushtaq Ahmad Sofi and Incharge Executive Officer Municipal Committee Bandipora Ab. Rashid Shah in league with beneficiaries by abuse of their official position and in gross violation/ utter disregard of the standing Govt. order/rules without their having any competence to do so etc.”

“Investigation conducted has revealed that these appointees were lacking eligibility cri-teria as laid down in the recruitment rules/orders governing these appointments issued by Govt from time to time. By acting in such a manner, the officers/officials of Municipal Committee Bandipora by abuse of their of-ficial position conferred undue pecuniary advantage upon the above mentioned benefi-ciaries with corresponding loss to the state exchequer by gross abuse of their official position by illegally appointing them.”

On the basis of cogent and clinching evi-dence brought on record by the ACB, the in-vestigation established the commission of offences under section 5(1) (d) r/w 5 (2) J&K P.C Act Svt; 2006 and 120-B, 201 RPC against the above named two accused public servants including 54 beneficiaries.

After thorough investigation and after obtaining the sanction for prosecution of ac-cused public servant from the government as envisaged under law, ACB produced chargesheet in the case before the Court of Special Judge Anti-Corruption Baramulla for judicial de-termination against accused public servants Ab. Rashid Shah the then I/C Executive Of-ficer M.C Bandipora, Mushtaq Ahamd Sofi the then President M.C. Bandipora and 54 other accused beneficiaries for commission of offences under section 5(1) (d) r/w 5 (2) J&K P.C Act Svt; 2006 and 120-B, 201 RPC, the statement said, adding that the next date in the case has been fixed for hearing by court on 12-02-2022—(KNO)

Schoolssector. As per the educational indicators

on the revised population on the pattern of the UIDAI, the gross enrollment ratio in re-spect of Jammu and Kashmir at primary level, upper primary level, high school, and

higher secondary level is 111.65%, 80.53%, 72.52%, and 60.53%, respectively.

It was further informed that the Depart-ment has implemented several key reforms in the school education sector including the rollout of transparent and simplified transfer policy; implementation of KGBV guidelines; maintaining an affiliation and recognition portal; framing rules for fee fixation commit-tee, and ensuring PFMS based cashless trans-actions.

To boost gender parity in educational av-enues, the Department has laid special focus on tribal and backward areas and has con-structed 15 girls hostels in identified areas, whereas, 25 similar facilities will be com-pleted by the end of the current financial year.

Under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Department is ensuring distribution of dry ration and disbursement of the cash equiva-lent of cooking cost to all beneficiaries till the schools resume offline learning. The Chief Secretary directed the Department to verify the distribution of benefits under the scheme through respective Panchayats and ensure zero pilferage on this account.

The Chief Secretary emphasized the ear-ly implementation of the National Education Policy in Jammu and Kashmir and directed the Department to expeditiously open kin-dergartens across all 8,000 Government schools in a staggered manner with due con-vergence with sources under CAPEX and MGNREGA. The Department was asked to ensure the operationalization of kindergartens in schools of the winter zone within two months and the summer zone by 31st March 2022.

Under the scheme Talash, the Chief Sec-retary asked the School Education Department to rope in Panchayats and enroll all out-of-school children and ensure universal enrol-ment of students in Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking a serious note of the dropout rates in Government schools, the Chief Secretary directed the School Education Department to fix its responsibility on the teachers failing to provide avenues of quality education to these young minds. The Department was asked to reduce the dropout rates in higher classes to half of the existing figures.

Moreover, the Department was asked to roll out the mentor-teacher initiative by the end of this month, where one teacher will be entrusted with the learning responsibility of 10 pupils. Accordingly, the School Education Department will evolve an online portal to capture the performance of all teachers and generate their monthly performance reports based on the learning outcomes of their stu-dents.

Dr. Mehta further asked the Department to immediately install bio-metric attendance devices in all Government schools to keep a check on the attendance of teachers espe-cially in far-flung areas and take disciplinary action against habitual absentees.

Observing that the NEP provides for in-built vocational training in the school cur-riculum, Dr. Mehta directed the establishment of digital laboratories in all schools to promote vocational training among students of class VI and beyond, before 31st March 202.

The Chief Secretary also directed the De-partment to fully utilize the resources pro-vided under the School Development Fund and ensure the functioning of the basic fa-cilities of drinking water, electricity supply, and sanitation in all schools.

The Department was further asked to provide adequate avenues for extra-curricu-lar engagements to the students by proac-tively organizing events through eco-clubs, and various sporting events in collaboration with the Department of Youth Services and Sports.

Cameraswith the threadbare discussion on the

action taken report on the agenda points of the last meeting which included joint secu-rity audit of vital installation, experimental running of glass top rail bogies, availability of X-ray baggage scanners for their optimum utilization.

“During the meeting action taken report on the installation of CCTV cameras was also discussed and the committee was informed that 235 CCTV cameras are installed at 12 Railway stations besides there is need for more at some stations.”

Strengthening of manpower, deployment of dog squads and improving infrastructure for the officers and jawans of RPF and GRP was also discussed, a police spokesperson said in a statement issued here .

Speaking on the occasion the DGP ex-pressed his satisfaction over the coordination between GRP, RPF & other departments and impressed upon the officers that best of part-nership and performance by the agencies guarding the railways should be ensured on ground for the safety and security of the people. He said that in future security issues pertaining to the safety of railways will be more important as more and more stations will get connected and more and more people will use the services for travel & freight. He said there have been some elements in the past that were involved in damaging the prop-erty of railways. However, he stated that such incidents have gone down considerably.

The DGP impressed upon the officers to make optimum use of the technology for se-curity of the users, officials of the Railways and also for the hassle free services to pas-

sengers.At the outset of the meeting ADGP Railways

while welcoming all the committee members said that due to the pandemic COVID-19 this meeting is being held after a long time as the first meeting was held in February 2020. (GNS)

COVIDof the total cases.“Cases tested positive in J&K include 32

from Srinagar, 19 from Baramulla, 25 from Budgam, 05 from Pulwama, 08 from Kupwara, 01 from Anantnag, 06 from Bandipora, 06 from Ganderbal, 01 from Kulgam and 00 from Shopian in Kashmir division while as 29 from Jammu division include 14 from Jammu, 01 from Udhampur, 01 from Rajouri, 07 from Doda, 03 from Kathua, 00 from Samba, 00 from Kishtwar, 03 from Poonch, 00 from Ramban and 00 from Reasi,” officials disclosed.

Meanwhile, authorities on Tuesday said that no fresh cases of Mucormycosis popu-larly known as black fungus was reported in the UT and tally stands at 49.

As per officials figures, 77,657 positive cases including 870 deaths and 76,256 re-coveries are from Srinagar, 25,598 including 288 deaths and 25,038 recoveries are from Baramulla, 24,283 including 23,985 recover-ies and 211 deaths are from Budgam, 15,632 including 15,394 recoveries and 194 deaths are from Pulwama, 14,798 including 167 deaths and 14,571 recoveries are from Kupwara, 16,691 including 16,465 recoveries and 207 deaths are from Anantnag, 10,053 cases including 9,882 and 106 deaths are from Bandipora, 10,783 including 10,626 recoveries and 80 deaths are from Ganderbal, 11,524 including 11,394 recoveries and 117 deaths are from Kulgam and 5,614 including 5,553 recoveries and 59 deaths are from Shopian.

In Jammu division, 53,745 including 52,452 recoveries and 1,153 deaths are from Jammu district, 11,444 including 11,301 recoveries and 138 deaths are from Udhampur, 11,341 including 11,087 recoveries and 238 deaths are from Rajouri, 7,967 including 7,798 re-coveries and 133 deaths are from Doda, 9,359 including 9,200 recoveries and 152 deaths are from Kathua, 7,165 including 7,042 re-coveries and 120 deaths are from Samba, 4,835 including 4,787 recoveries and 44 deaths are from Kishtwar, 6,536 including 6,421 recoveries and 100 deaths are from Poonch, 6,057 including 5,990 recoveries and 67 deaths are from Ramban and 6,965 including 6,717 recoveries and 43 deaths are from Reasi.

As per the daily information bulletin 4,667,449 persons in Jammu and Kashmir are under observation while 4,181 persons have been kept under home quarantine besides that 1,601 persons are in isolation.

According to the bulletin, 4,227,370 per-sons have completed the surveillance period and 429,810 persons are under home surveil-lance besides that so far results of 17,993,958 samples are available. Out of 17,993,958 the number of samples tested negative stands at 17,655,911 while as 338,047 have tested pos-itive, among them 1,601 persons are active, 331,959 persons have recovered and 4,487 persons have died—(KNO)

Drugquality and the composition of the medi-

cine, they are up to the mark and all such medicines are only approved after testing at NABL accredited laboratory.

On the occasion, CMO Budgam, Dr. Tajam-ul Hussain Khan also highlighted the impor-tance of Jan Aushadi Kendra in providing medicines to the general public with cost effectiveness and efficacy. He emphasized that there is need of awareness among the masses as five Kendras are functional in the district while some more Kendras are in pipe-line.Dr. Zarka also spoke on the occasion and threw light on benefits of the programme and generic medicines.

Dr. Rifat Siddique also gave a detailed presentation regarding availability of medi-cines across the district. She informed the participants about the availability of generic medicines via online mode.

Other speakers for the day also included Dr. Irfana Dy. Drug Controller (K), Surinder Mohan Tickoo Dy. Drug Controller (J), Iqbal Palla Asstt. Drug Controller (J), Dr. Nishat Shaheen Divisional Nodal Officer Jan Aus-hadi (Asst. Director DHSK).

During the program, various Kendra own-ers also got an opportunity to express their viewpoint and share their experience. The beneficiaries of Jan Aushadhi Kendras also participated in the programme.

Among others, the program was also at-tended by representatives of DHSK, Dy. CMO Budgam, DNO, BMOs and other concerned officers and officials. (GNS)

Coldthe gateway town of Kashmir for this time

of the year, he said.Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 4.8°C against 0.6°C on previous night.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, record-ed a low of minus 1.2°C against 1.9°C on pre-vious night which is below normal (minus 0.7°C) by 0.5°C, the official said.Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.0°C against 1.0°C on the previous night, the official said.Gulmarg witnessed a minimum of minus 7.0°C which is minus 3.3°C for the world famous skiing resort.

CMYK

CMYK

3EDIT WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021SRINAGAR

EDITORIAL

DISCLAIMER: The content, information, research or whatsoever the matter in the articles that appear on the editorial pages of Kashmir Digest and are uploaded on its online edition, is strictly authors’ own work. Kashmir Digest does not take any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, originality, and not plagiarised, or validity of any information on these articles. The information, facts or opinions appearing in these articles in no way reflect the views of Kashmir

Digest, and Kashmir Digest does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. The responsibility of the content, in whatever manner, is solely, and totally, of authors’.

Ajaz Patel is the poster boy of New

Zealand’sWhen his parents told an eight-year

old Ajaz Patel that they would be moving to New Zealand, the first thought that came to his mind was, “Yay! More Choc-olates”. The boy would see his immigrant father slog hard as a refrigeration me-chanic, find mentors who saw in him what he himself didn’t see — that he wasn’t a fast bowler but a spinner in waiting — and would one day return to his hometown as a man to find Mumbai gift-wrapping an achievement that only a kid can dream of. All 10 wickets in an innings, only the third bowler ever to achieve the feat in 144 years of cricket history — a fairy-tale story if ever there was one.

Nothing has come easily. He was 19, and a few years into age-group cricket, when he realised he wasn’t going to make it as a fast bowler, and turned to spin. He was 30 when New Zealand selectors called him with good news. But since then, good tidings have come in a flood. On his Test debut, he picked a five-for to pull off a heist and picked another five in the third Test to enable New Zealand win their first away-series against Pakistan in 49 years. His tryst with history would continue in Mumbai.

As the first Muslim cricketer to repre-sent New Zealand, he has become a poster boy for the country’s multicul-tural ambitions — his views about Islam were highlighted after the 2019 terror strike in Christchurch. Once reluctant to discuss his faith, Patel warmed up to the attention and spoke about how the New Zealand rugby player, and a Muslim, Sonny Bill Williams, has raised the profile of 50,000 odd Muslims in the country. A fan of Indo-Chinese cuisine, he loves his chicken lollypops with Schezwan sauce, but on a memorable day in the city of his birth, he would feast on 10 Indians.

Why statues, parks celebrating Dalit icons matter

� Sameena Dalwai

Before I visited the Ambed-kar Park in Lucknow, all the criticism I had heard

over the years echoed in my ears: “What an obscene display of idols and elephants”, “Utter waste of money and space — could have opened a hospital instead”, “Everywhere May-awati statues with her purse — how tacky!” A few years ago, Supreme Court judges had even observed that former CM Mayawati should pay back the public funds used to build the statues.

With all this in my head, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. But when I entered the park, I was struck by its sheer expanse and magnitude. A huge open space with many struc-tures, a tall pillar with the Ashoka Chakra, rows of trees, an army of stone

elephants. The history of social reform comes alive with statues and stories of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Shahu Maharaj, Kabir, Ravidas, Buddha, Birsa Munda, and, lastly, Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram — visionaries who worked against caste or gender op-pression, who envisioned a radically different society. We see Phule and Savitribai teaching girls, Birsa Mun-da fighting the British, Kanshi Ram on a bicycle. Bahujan history, which is seldom taught in schools, is de-picted here through statues and pic-tures.

What is history? An effort to under-

stand where we come from, what heri-

tage we carry. But in the “his-story” of

kings and wars, we rarely get to know

how the oppressed, women, peasants

and artisans lived. We know about the

Harappan civilisation that existed in

India or the Incas in Peru from remnants

of their material culture. But what do

the enslaved African populations in

America possess to show for their his-

tory? Branding iron, shackles, neck

collars and whips — this is what the

slavery museums in the UK and US

display today.

In India, what can Dalits show as

their history? The Brahmins have their

temples, the Kshatriyas their forts,

Vaishyas their bazaars, even Shudras

their crafts, but Dalits? In some vil-

lages in Maharashtra, Mangira temples

speak of a cruel past. It is believed that

when villagers started building a new

boundary wall for the village or a new

well, they would sacrifice a Mang young man for good luck. A temple would be

built on the site. Dalits today are in-

heritors of this cruel history.

Each village is ordered by a “caste

geography”, with Dalits kept outside.

They are not allowed into the village

except for reasons of servitude; they

may not wear shoes or headgear, their

wedding processions may not pass

through the village, they may not build

cement houses or any structure above

a certain height. What heritage will they

claim?In January 2018, the annual pil-

grimage of Mahars to Bhima Koregaon

was attacked by the right wing. It was

the 200th anniversary of the battle of

Bhima Koregaon, when the British won

a decisive victory over the last Peshwas

of Pune. Upper caste Maharashtrians

bemoan it as a “defeat of Indians”, but

the Peshwa rule was repressive for Dalits.

Only Chitpawan Kokanastha Brahmins

held top military positions, wielded

financial and religious power as saukars and priests. They beggared the peas-

antry through exorbitant taxes and drove

“untouchables” to an inhuman existence.

Inside Pune city walls, Mahars were

bound by law to wear an earthen pot

around their neck to spit into and a zadu

around their waist, that would wipe off their footsteps after they walked on the

roads. Mahar women were sold off for prostitution and young Brahmin widows

— tonsured and raped within the fam-

ily — committed suicide routinely.

Every December 6, Ambedkar Jay-

anti, members of the Mahar commu-

nity who converted to Buddhism gath-

er at Dadar Chaityabhumi. Women,

children, elderly come from far corners.

Shivaji Park in Mumbai becomes a pil-

grimage site. But residents of the area

look at that gathering with distaste. No

one asks why the government does not

arrange for adequate facilities here,

when Ambarnath yatra, Pandharpur,

even Haj are subsidised and managed

for pilgrims?Scholars have noted that

Ambedkar statues outside villages are

an effort to claim a space in geography and a spot in history. Before Mayawati

became the first Dalit female Chief Minister, no one had the money or

power to build anything that Dalits can

call their own architecture. Are these

Ambedkar statues more of a burden on

taxpayers than the Sardar Patel or

Shivaji statues, or the Bal Thackeray

memorial?At the Lucknow park, I met

a group of Dalits from Nagpur, who

were on a long pilgrimage from Na-

landa University to Bodhgaya in Bihar

and Lumbini in Nepal. Ambedkar Park

was a spot on their itinerary that was

both religious and political. Their delight

at the park was infectious. They removed

their footwear and prayed to the statues,

then the women roamed around the

space hand in hand, carefree.

AFSPA Killed the Naga Coal Miners in Mon

� Dolly Kikon

On December 4, 2021, the In-dian armed forces ambushed and killed 17 coal miners in

Nagaland’s Mon district. An official report stated the killings as a case of mistaken identity during a counter-insurgency op-eration. The Union home minister, Amit Shah, described it as an unfortunate in-cident, while the chief minister of Nagaland offered his condolences to the bereaved families and assured justice according to the law of the land. What do the inhumane extra judicial killings of civilians followed by apologies tell us about the state of In-dia’s democracy?

The law of the land in Nagaland is the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act since 1958, an extra-constitutional regulation that declares the state as disturbed and dangerous. In June 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended the AF-SPA till December 31, 2021.

The Indian armed force in Nagaland has the power to override civic organs to maintain public order on the ground. The AFSPA (1958) gives excessive power to all Indian security personnel to use force any kill any person on grounds of mere sus-picion. In addition, the act also autho-rises all armed forces to make arrests and raid any premises without a warrant. Decades of alarming documentation of human rights violations across Northeast India suggest how security personnel operating under the AFSPA enjoy legal impunity. In response to the Supreme Court of India’s concerns about the exist-ing impunity, the Indian armed forces have argued that the civil courts should keep off from the military justice system.

Human rights activists observe that upholding the rights of victims who have undergone torture, extra-judicial killings, and disappearances under the AFSPA is extremely challenging.

The history of holding perpetrators of state violence accountable in Northeast India is appalling. As the theatre of con-dolences and assurance for justice flows from the lips of and Twitter feeds of pol-iticians, one will have to wait and see how the reality of the gory massacre plays out. The debates about prosecution and crim-inal charges will play out in the offices of the Indian government and its armed forces in New Delhi.

But what is happening on the ground in Nagaland? The immediate causality is the Hornbill Festival of 2021. “How can we dance when our people are getting killed?” The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) noted in an official statement and withdrew from the Horn-bill Festival 2021. The ENPO is the apex body of the Konyak, Chang, Sangtam, Khiamniungan, Yimchunger and Phom tribes in Nagaland.

Launched in 2000 to coincide with the celebration of Nagaland statehood day on December 1, the Hornbill Festival has become the go-to place to experience Naga culture for tourists. A festival jam packed with performances from December 1 to 10 every year, this event is the supermar-ket of Naga music, dance and food. How-ever, it is staged so be cautious. And like any staged production, the reality of Naga lives on the ground brought the show to a halt for 6 Naga tribes.

Since the start of the Hornbill Festival in 2000, the Konyak Naga performers from Mon district have been one of the most photographed and celebrated cul-tural troupes. In 2021, their head-hunting dance and the chanting curses attracted cheers and applause from the audience. The guest of honour for the day enjoying the performance was the General Com-manding officer of 4 Corps, stationed in Tezpur (Assam), Lt. Gen. Ravin Khosla. The following day, armed forces from the 3 Corps headquartered in Dimapur (Na-galand), killed 13 Naga coal miners in Mon district. The events unfolding on the ground is a reality of lives under the AF-SPA.

The shock and condemnation are mean-ingless unless the draconian AFSPA (1958) is repealed. This Act suspends the right to life, a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 of the Indian Constitu-tion, for the Naga people and its neigh-bouring states in Northeast India. Many extrajudicial killings were forgotten in the past. This one will be no different. Eventually, those who continue to remem-ber the 13 coal miners will be perceived as inconvenient commentators. To remem-ber our Naga past is often considered a burden. Yet, moments like this take away the dreaded fog of fantasy. The Naga past is filled with stories of weeping as our elders buried thousands of bodies with bullets marks. Our heartbreak and rage are not new. The beautiful Naga villages that adorn the covers of tourism brochures also hold tales of horrifying events carried out under AFSPA. The memories hang like mist even today.

At the opening ceremony of the 2021 Hornbill Festival, the Governor of Naga-land Jagdish Mukhi encouraged the young Naga generation to take pride in their traditions. The demand for the repeal of AFSPA is part of Naga tradition. The tes-timonies of torture and death of Naga elders at the hands of the Indian armed forces constitute an integral part of Naga past. If there is a time to reflect on the significance of our Naga tradition, it is now.

The Hornbill Festival, a manufactured state event that has grown cold for this year, helps us to see what we had almost forgotten. It reminds us that no amount of tribal dancing will deliver the Naga

people from the brutal reality of milita-risation. The romancing is suspended for the time being as Naga people across gen-erations wake up to the brutal reality on the ground. The Indian army will joy-fully fire at the Naga people across elec-toral party lines. Being a Bharatiya Jana-ta Party (BJP) member in Nagaland is not a get out of AFSPA card. Even the BJP flag, the current symbol of progress and power in Nagaland, has suddenly become an ineffective, disappointing rag that can-not offer protection.

As the news of death sweeps across the Naga homes, it calls us to tattoo a manifesto of justice in our hearts. But what is the roadmap for this journey of consciousness? And is there a language to translate the tears from the eyes of the dying? The last trail of the Naga coal min-ers from Tiru is the landscape for us to chart this plan. Official reports called the 13 Nagas killed as daily wage labourers who worked in the coal mines of Tiru.

Bordering the state of Assam, the foot-hills and upper elevations of Mon district are dotted with coal mines. During the dry winter months, known as the high season for coal extraction in Nagaland, thousands of Naga workers descend on the coal mines to earn a livelihood. Life in the neighbouring Konyak villages sur-rounding the mines is filled with chal-lenges. In 2013, a national survey high-lighted that Mon district reported the highest number of child labour and chil-dren trafficking cases in Nagaland. Major-ity of the children worked as maids in households across the districts of Kohima and Dimapur. In addition, many Konyak youths also migrate out of the state and work in low paying jobs like cashew fac-tories and as waiters in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

During my doctoral fieldwork along the Assam-Nagaland foothill border between

2009 and 2011, I visited the coal mines in

Mon district. The winters are cold and dusty.

The Konyak coal miners in the coal sites

were covered in soot and sweat. By Decem-

ber, the coal mining season coincided with

several social events. The Christmas month

and the festive spirit meant that the coal

miners planned to buy new clothes for their

families and spend time with their friends.

Although their earning was meagre as

daily wage labourers, they always planned

to share it with loved ones. It was also a time

to welcome the migrants who returned home

for the holidays. And then there were wed-

dings of family members, cousins and friends

to attend. Even in the deep dry cold coal

caves, the month of December invoked a

spirit of festivity. The exhaustion of the coal

miners left their faces when talked to me

about their village in the hills. They smiled.

Going back to the village always meant go-

ing back home.

In the backdrop of this horrible killing

of 17 Naga coal miners, Naga people must

decide the price of their silence against

militarisation and AFSPA. No musical note

or the dizzying cultural dance at the Horn-

bill Festival will protect us. We are remind-

ed of our traumas. The scars of torture of

loved ones at the hands of the armed forces,

the Naga factions’ blood thirsty fights that killed our elders, and our parent’s fears and

tears when we returned home late during

curfew. The Hornbill Festival of Nagaland

never promised to capture the reality of

Nagaland. It cannot whitewash a trauma

that has travelled across three generations

and will surely haunt the fourth for years to

come.

My grandparents, parents, and my gen-

eration have known the horrors of India’s

counterinsurgency campaigns in our an-

cestral domains. With the Indo-Naga cease-

fire in 1997, we were lulled into believing that the future generation of Nagas will

experience a different future. The events in Mon district hammer home the naïveté of

such hopes. AFSPA culture creeps up and

attacks us like the December 4 killings of

Naga coal miners.

Naga elders who witnessed the worst

counter-insurgency operations across the

Naga villages failed to describe the horrors

in words. They wept but were noiseless lest

the Indian intelligence spies reported them

as sympathisers. As we make sense of this

tragedy, we do not require any interpreters

to spin a story of justification. Nagas need to see the official notification from the In-

dian state that spells out the repeal of AF-

SPA from Nagaland and its neighbouring

states.The official deadline for the AFSPA in the state is December 31, 2021. May we

all have the courage to preserve our Naga

tradition that calls upon each of us to fight for justice. May we inherit the tongues of

those who died crying for justice, and cease

to be dual citizens of terror and hope.

CMYK

CMYK

4WORLD WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021SRINAGAR

Rohingya refugees sue Facebook for $150bn over Myanmar violenceRohingya refugees from Myanmar

are suing Meta Platforms Inc, for-

merly known as Facebook, for $150

billion over allegations that the social

media company did not take action

against anti-Rohingya hate speech

that contributed to violence.

A US class-action complaint, filed

in California on Monday by law firms

Edelson PC and Fields PLLC, argues

that the company’s failures to police

content and its platform’s design

contributed to real-world violence

faced by the Rohingya community.

In a coordinated action, British

lawyers also submitted a letter of

notice to Facebook’s London office.

Facebook did not immediately

respond to a Reuters request for com-

ment about the lawsuit.

The company has said it was “too

slow to prevent misinformation and

hate” in Myanmar and has said it

has since taken steps to crack down

on platform abuses in the region,

including banning the military from

Facebook and Instagram after Feb

1 coup.

Facebook has said it is protected

from liability over content posted by

users by a US internet law known as

Section 230, which holds that online

platforms are not liable for content

posted by third parties.

The complaint says it seeks to ap-

ply Myanmar law to the claims if

Section 230 is raised as a defence.

Although US courts can apply

foreign law to cases where the alleged

harms and activity by companies

took place in other countries, two

legal experts interviewed by Reuters

said they did not know of a successful

precedent for foreign law being in-

voked in lawsuits against social me-

dia companies where Section 230

protections could apply.

Anupam Chander, a professor at

Georgetown University Law Center,

said that invoking Myanmar law

wasn’t “inappropriate.” But he pre-

dicted that “it’s unlikely to be suc-

cessful,” saying that “it would be odd

for Congress to have foreclosed actions

under US law but permitted them to

proceed under foreign law.”

More than 730,000 Rohingya Mus-

lims fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state

in August 2017 after a military crack-

down that refugees said included

mass killings and rape.

Rights groups documented kill-

ings of civilians and the burning of

villages.

Myanmar authorities say they

were battling an insurgency and deny

carrying out systematic atrocities.

A Myanmar junta spokesman did

not answer phone calls from Reuters

seeking comment on the legal action

against Facebook.

In 2018, UN human rights inves-

tigators said the use of Facebook had

played a key role in spreading hate

speech that fueled the violence.

A Reuters investigation that year,

cited in the US complaint, found more

than 1,000 examples of posts, com-

ments and images attacking the Ro-

hingya and other Muslims on Face-

book.The International Criminal

Court has opened a case into the

accusations of crimes in the region.

In September, a US federal judge or-

dered Facebook to release records of

accounts connected to anti-Rohing-

ya violence in Myanmar that the

social media giant had shut down.

The new class-action lawsuit ref-

erences claims by Facebook whistle-

blower Frances Haugen, who leaked

a cache of internal documents this

year, that the company does not police

abusive content in countries where

such speech is likely to cause the

most harm.The complaint also cites

recent media reports, including a

Reuters report last month, that Myan-

mar’s military was using fake social

media accounts to engage in what is

widely referred to in the military as

“information combat.”

Mohammed Taher, a refugee liv-

ing in the sprawling Bangladesh

camps that are home to more than a

million Rohingya, said Facebook had

been widely used to spread anti-Ro-

hingya propaganda.

ICC prosecutor defends dropping US from Afghan probe

THE HAGUE: The Inter-

national Criminal Court’s

prosecutor on Monday de-

fended omitting the United

States from a probe in Af-

ghanistan, saying the “worst

crimes” were committed by

the Taliban and the militant

Islamic State group.

Rights groups criticised

Karim Khan’s decision in

September to “deprioritise”

the investigation into Amer-

ican forces, and focus instead

on Afghanistan’s new rulers

and the rival IS-Khorasan

outfit.“I made a decision, based

upon the evidence, that the

worst crimes in terms of grav-

ity and scale and extent seem

to be committed by the IS and

also the Taliban,” Khan told

a meeting of ICC countries in

The Hague.

“And I said I would pri-

oritise these and I have asked

the judges for authorisation

to carry out those investiga-

tions,” added the British pros-

ecutor.

The ICC’s Afghan probe

into US crimes had long en-

raged Washington, and

prompted the administration

of president Donald Trump

to impose sanctions on Khan’s

predecessor Fatou Bensouda.

The world’s only perma-

nent war crimes court

launched a preliminary in-

vestigation in Afghanistan in

2006, and Bensouda asked

judges to authorise a full probe

in 2017.

Bensouda said there was

“reasonable” suspicion of war

crimes by both the Taliban,

and by US forces in Afghan-

istan and the CIA in secret

detention centres abroad.

The now-deposed govern-

ment in Kabul then asked the

court early 2020 to pause its

inquiry while it probed war

crimes domestically.

But Khan in September

asked judges to relaunch the

probe, saying the Taliban’s

takeover in August meant war

crimes would no longer be

investigated properly.

Judges have asked for more

clarity over who is officially in charge in Afghanistan be-

fore deciding.

The British prosecutor

meanwhile said that while the

recent coup in Sudan had

“caused a bit of a hiatus”, he

expected his team to be able

to return soon to continue its

war crimes probe there.

Khan visited Khartoum

in August to sign a cooperation

deal to push through a geno-

cide trial for ex-dictator Omar

al-Bashir over the Darfur

conflict.He added that the “time

for change is ripe” at the ICC

in general, reiterating earlier

promises to focus on cases

with a likely chance of convic-

tion and drop those where

successful prosecution is

unlikely.

Malala urges US to do more for Afghan girls, womenWASHINGTON: Nobel

Laureate Malala Yousafzai

urged the United States on

Monday to do more to support

Afghan women and girls and

to ensure their right to educa-

tion and work.

Ms Yousafzai made the

plea in a meeting with Secre-

tary of State Antony Blinken

and other US officials in Wash-

ington on Monday.

Before their closed-door

meeting, Mr Blinken described

Ms Yousafzai before cameras

as “truly an inspiration — an

inspiration to us, an inspira-

tion to girls and women around

the world”.“The young activ-

ist from Pakistan,” he said,

was “making a real difference,” particularly when it comes to

education.

“I’m very much looking

forward to talking to her about

the work she’s doing, the work

that we’re doing, and to hear

from her how to be more ef-

fective at making sure … that

girls and women have equal

access to education,” he said.

Mr Blinken did not men-

tion Afghanistan in his brief

remarks, but Ms Yousafzai

did, immediately.

“You mentioned that we’re

here to talk about equality in

girls’ education, but we know

that Afghanistan right now

is the only country where girls

do not have access to second-

ary education,” she said.

“They are prohibited from

learning, and I have been

working together with Afghan

girls and women’s activists

and there’s this one message

from them — that they should

be given the right to work,

they should be able to go to

school.”

She demanded “more fo-

cus” on education and pay-

ments for teachers’ salaries.

To emphasise the urgen-

cy of the situation, Ms

Yousafzai read aloud a letter

from a 15-year-old Afghan

girl Sotodah, saying: “She has

written this to President Biden,

and I will pass it on to you to

pass it on to the president.”

Mr Blinken said he would.

Ms Sotodah wrote: “The

longer schools and universi-

ties remain closed to girls,

the more it will shadow hope

for our future. Girls’ education

is a powerful tool for bringing

peace and security. If girls

don’t learn, Afghanistan will

suffer, too.”Ms Sotodah reminded

President Biden that “as a girl

and as a human being, I need

you to know that I have rights.

Women and girls have rights”.

After reading the letter,

Ms Yousafzai said she and

other educated women “want

to see a world where all girls

can have access to safe and

quality education, and we hope

that the US, together with the

UN, will take immediate ac-

tions to ensure that girls are

allowed to go back to their

schools as soon as possible,

women are able to go back to

work.”

New York City poised to give voting rights to noncitizensNew York City, long a beacon for

immigrants, is on the cusp of becom-

ing the largest place in the United

States to give noncitizens the right

to vote in local elections.

Legally documented, voting-age

noncitizens comprise nearly one in

nine of the city’s seven million

voting-age inhabitants. Under a bill

nearing approval, some 800,000

noncitizens would be allowed to cast

ballots in elections to pick the may-

or, City Council members and oth-

er municipal officeholders.Noncitizens still wouldn’t be able

to vote for president or members of

Congress in federal races, or in the

state elections that pick the governor,

judges and legislators.

Little stands in the way of the

effort becoming law. The measure has broad support within the City

Council, which is expected to ratify

the proposal on Thursday. Mayor

Bill de Blasio has raised concerns

about the wisdom and legality of

the legislation but said he won’t veto

it.

The law would give an electoral

voice to the many New Yorkers who

love the city and have made it their

permanent home but can’t easily

become US citizens or would rather

remain citizens of their home nations

for various reasons.

It would also cover “Dreamers”

like Eva Santos, 32, who was brought

to the US by her parents at age 11 as

an unauthorised immigrant but

wasn’t able to vote like her friends

or go to college when she turned 18.

“It was really hard for me to see

how my other friends were able to

make decisions for their future, and

I couldn’t,” said Santos, now a com-

munity organiser.

More than a dozen communities

across the United States currently

allow noncitizens to vote, including

11 towns in Maryland and two in

Vermont.

San Francisco, through a ballot

initiative ratified by voters in 2016, began allowing noncitizens to vote

in school board elections — which

was also true in New York City un-

til it abolished its boards in 2002

and gave control of schools to the

mayor.

The move in Democrat-controlled

New York City is a counterpoint to

restrictions being enacted in some

states, where Republicans have es-

poused unsupported claims of ram-

pant fraud by noncitizens in fed-

eral elections.

Last year, voters in Alabama,

Colorado and Florida ratified mea-

sures specifying that only US citizens

can vote, joining Arizona and North

Dakota in adopting rules that would

preempt any attempts to pass laws

like the one being considered in New

York City.

“I think that there [are] people

in our society that go to sleep with

so much fear of immigrants that

they try to make an argument to

disqualify their right to elect their

local leaders,” said New York City

Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who

is originally from the Dominican

Republic and was unable to vote

until he became a naturalised US

citizen.

“This is about whether we are

living in New York City, we are con-

tributing to New York City and pay-

ing taxes in New York City,” said

Rodriguez, a Democrat.

De Blasio, though, has questioned

whether the measure would survive

a legal challenge. Federal law allows

states and local governments to

decide who can vote in their elec-

tions, but some, including the may-

or, have raised concerns about

whether state lawmakers must first act to grant the city the authority to

extend voting rights to noncitizens.

“Look, there’s obviously an argu-

ment: We want people involved, we

want to hear people’s voices,” de

Blasio recently said on the television

news program “Inside City Hall”.

“I still have a concern about it.

Citizenship has an extraordinary

value. People work so hard for it,”

he said. “We need people in every

good way to want to be citizens.”

The minority leader of the City

Council, Joseph Borelli, a Republi-

can from Staten Island, said the

measure will undoubtedly end up

in court.

“It devalues citizenship, and

citizenship is the standard by which

the state constitution issues or al-

lows for suffrage in New York state elections at all levels,” Borelli said.

‘Resounding yes’

The proposal would allow non-

citizens who have been lawful per-

manent residents of the city for at

least 30 days, as well as those au-

thorised to work in the US, includ-

ing so-called “Dreamers,” to help

select the city’s mayor, city council

members, borough presidents, comp-

troller and public advocate.

The law would direct the Board

of Elections to draw up an imple-

mentation plan by July, including

voter registration rules and provi-

sions that would create separate

ballots for municipal races to prevent

noncitizens from casting ballots in

federal and state contests. Nonciti-

zens wouldn’t be allowed to vote

until elections in 2023.

Giving nonresidents the right to

vote could empower them to become

a political force that can’t be easily

ignored, said Anu Joshi, the vice

president of policy of the New York

Immigration Coalition.

New York City, with more than

3m foreign-born residents, would

be a fitting place to anchor a na-

tional movement to expand immi-

grant voting rights, said Ron Hayduk,

now a professor of political science

at San Francisco State University

but who spent years in New York

steeped in the movement for non-

citizen voting rights.

“New York, the home of the

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island,

prides itself on being the place of

immigration,” he noted. “So there’s

this question of what’s the place of

immigrants in our city — are they

really New Yorkers, are they full

New Yorkers in the sense of qualify-

ing and deserving the power of the

vote and to shape its political future?”

The answer should be a “resound-

ing yes”, he said.

Nagaland chief minister urges Delhi to repeal army’s special powersNEW DELHI: A top elect-

ed official in India’s northeast region called on Monday for

the withdrawal of emergency

powers granted to Indian

troops, a day after soldiers

killed over a dozen civilians,

sparking violent protests in

the troubled state.

India’s remote northeast

region which includes eight

states is home to dozens of

separatist insurgencies led

by ethnic rebel groups.

Nagaland state’s Chief

Minister Neiphiu Rio said his

government wants the long-

standing Armed Forces Spe-

cial Powers Act, or AFSPA,

repealed.AFSPA is damaging

the image of our country which

is the world’s largest democ-

racy, Rio said at the funeral

services for the dead civilians,

in the district of Mon, the site

of the incidents.

Rio reiterated that au-

thorities would pursue justice

for those civilians killed. Rio

is an ally of Indian Prime

Minister Narendra Modis

ruling party, the far-right

Bharatiya Janata Party.

Fourteen civilians and a

soldier were killed in a series

of violent incidents over the

weekend in Nagaland state,

officials said. At least 28 civil-ians were also wounded in

the clashes and some of them

were in critical condition,

police said.

The killings prompted calls

from local residents and

politicians for the revocation

of the act that gives the mili-

tary in some parts of India’s

northeast sweeping powers

to search, seize and even shoot

suspects on sight without fear

of prosecution.Under the act,

local authorities need fed-

eral approval to prosecute

army or paramilitary soldiers

in civilian courts.

People in Nagaland for

years have accused security

forces of exceeding the pow-

ers granted to them under the

1958 AFSPA in their counter-

insurgency operations. Human

rights groups have called the

act draconian and pleaded

for its repeal for decades.

The Indian military said

soldiers fired at a pickup truck on Saturday after a tip about

a movement of insurgents in

the state’s remote Mon district

along the border with Myan-

mar. Six civilians were killed,

prompting violent protests

by angry villagers who torched

three army vehicles. The sol-

diers responded by firing at

them, killing seven more

people, officials said. One soldier was also killed in the

clash with protesters.

Locals said the victims

were miners returning home

to their village when soldiers

ambushed the truck carrying

them.The violence escalated

on Sunday when protesters

attacked an army camp and

set some residential quarters

on fire. Army soldiers used live ammunition at the crowd,

killing one more person.

Turkey, Qatar vow joint push to reopen Kabul airport

DOHA: Turkey and Qatar on Monday raised the pos-

sibility of jointly operating Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled

airport, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set off for two days of talks in Doha.“We are going to act together,” Turk-

ish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint press

briefing with his Qatari counterpart ahead of Erdogan’s arrival.

“Qatar and Turkey are continuously working with the

interim government in Afghanistan to reach an agreement

to open the airport (so it can function) normally,” Qatari

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman

Al-Thani added.

Erdogan’s visit comes as Turkey seeks to rebuild rela-

tions with former rivals in the energy-rich Gulf region,

including the United Arab Emirates, whose crown prince

last month visited Turkey for the first time since 2012.Simmering tensions between Ankara and its Gulf rivals

escalated after a Saudi Arabia-led blockade on Qatar by

Arab countries in 2017.

Ankara backed Qatar in the dispute, and the two coun-

tries have grown closer ever since.

Erdogan, whose country is reeling from a fresh eco-

nomic crisis and is searching foreign investment and trade,

said he wanted to use the trip to foster closer relations

with all Gulf states.

“We are in favour of strengthening our relations with

all the Gulf countries,” Erdogan told reporters at an Is-

tanbul airport before leaving for Doha.

“The blockade and sanctions imposed on Qatar have

been lifted as of the start of this year. Right now, solidar-

ity is being restored among Gulf countries,” Erdogan said.

The two countries will sign dozens of deals during a visit

to Qatar by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who also

sought to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

there, according to two people familiar with the plan.

Such a direct meeting appeared unlikely this week,

but could come soon, one of the sources said. It would be

the first between the two leaders after the killing of Sau-

di journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Erdogan arrived in Qatar, a key regional ally, as Turkey’s

economy is grappling with an historic currency crash and

soaring inflation following a series of interest rate cuts that he had sought despite widespread criticism.

At a news briefing in Doha, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had no plans to ask Doha for fi-

nancial assistance. His counterpart Sheikh Mohammed

bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Qatar was looking at

opportunities emerging from Turkey’s economic chal-

lenges.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed, widely known by

the initials MBS, was due to visit Doha on Wednesday.

There had been discussions to set up a meeting between

Erdogan and the Saudi prince in Qatar, said a Turkish

official and a Gulf official with knowledge of the visit plans.“The programmes didn’t align ... so it does not appear

like there will be a comprehensive meeting this week,”

said the Turkish official, who requested anonymity.

CMYK

CMYK

5NEWS WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021SRINAGAR

(GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR)

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (R&B) ELECTRIC DIVISION SRINAGAR

Tender Notice No.199 of 2021-22/R&B Dated: 04.12.2021For and on behalf of The Lt. Governor of Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir sealed tenders affixed with 5/- rupees revenue stamps are invited for the

below mentioned works from approved and eligible Electrical contractors registered with J&K Govt. CPWD, Railways and other state /Central Govt. as per specification and detailed mentioned in the BOQ.

S.No Name of Work Approx Cost (Rs.)

E a r n e s t Money (Rs).

Class Of Contractor Time of Completion

Cost of tender document

01 Urgent repairs for power break down in Ground floor /Separate AC wiring and installation of Security lights in DDC office /Residence at Baramulla

83000.00 2500/- “A” Class Electrical 05 days 200

02. Urgent repairs /Supply installation ,testing & Commissioning of inverter with Batteries and other allied accessories in old building of Court of Additional Session Judge (NIA) and Addl. Session judge residential quarter (Anti- corruption judge ) at Baramulla

85400.00 2562/- “A” Class Electrical 07 days 200

Position of Funds: - committed1. The tender should be addressed to the Executive Engineer (R&B) Electric Division Srinagar and should reach in the office by or before 10.12.2021

upto 4.00 PM. The tenders / bids will be opened on the same day or any other day convenient to tender opening authority in presence of the contractors who may like to be present. In case the last date of receipt of tenders happens to be a holiday /Hartal /curfew day the tenders will be received on next working day.

2. The tender document shall be issued by this office from 04.12.2021 upto 10.12.2021 against receipt of treasury challan received from the eligible Electrical contractor and should enclose following documents Viz: valid registration with latest renewal certificate, Pan Card, valid GST registration with latest GST clearance certificate, valid contact No/E-Mail ID in favour of Executive Engineer R&B Electric Division Srinagar. (Tender inviting authority).

3. The bidders shall be a liberty to send their bids either in person or through registered post but shall super scribe the following in front of the envelops.

4. i.) Name of work ii) cost of work iii) Full name of contractor with contact No .iv) Ref. to CDR No & Date v) Date of receipt of tenders vi) Ref. to NIT No.

5. The bidder Should enclose CDR/FDR6. The bidder should sign each page of tender document enclosed with their bid.7. All other Terms and conditions shall remain same as laid down in PWD form 25.

Sd/- DIPK NO: 14345/21 Executive Engineer

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER R&B ELECTRIC DIVISION SGR

NOTICE INVITING TENDERS NIT No: 198/e-tendering of 2021-22/R&B DATED: - 04.12.2021

For and on behalf of the LT Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, e-tenders (In Single cover system) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligible Electrical Contractors registered with J&K State Govt. CPWD, Railways and other State/Central Governments for the following works:-

S.No. Name of Work Est. Cost (In Ru-pees/lacs)

Cost of T/Doc. (In Rupees)

Time of comple-tion

Time & Date of Opening of Bid

Class of Contractor

1 Electrification of new (R & B ) Division Office at Kulgam 38.44 lacs 1100.00 30 days 14.12.2021 “A” class Electrical

1. The Bidding documents Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Drawings, bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other details can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in as per schedule of dates given below:-

1. Date of Issue of Tender Notice 06-12-2021

2. Period of downloading of bidding documents 06/12/2021 10.00 A.M

3. Bid submission Start Date 06/12/2021 from 10.00 A.M

4. Bid Submission End Date 14/12/2021 up to 4.00 P.M

5 Date & time of opening of Bids (Online) 14/12/2021 at 6.00 P.M in the Office of the Executive Engineer (R&B) Electric Division Sgr.

02. Bids must be accompanied with cost of Tender document in shape of Treasury Challan in favour of Executive Engineer R&B Electric Division , Srinagar (tender inviting authority) (The Date of Treasury Challan should be between the date of start of bid and Bid Submission End date) pledged to Executive Engineer R&B Electric Division , Srinagar (tender receiving authority).

03. All Bidders has to submit Bid Security Declaration Form instead of Earnest money as per the circular of Finance Department (Bid Security Dec-laration Form is as per Annexure “A” below) . The 1st lowest Bidder has to produce an amount equal to 3% of adv. Cost as performance security in shape of CDR/FDR/ within 02 Days before fixation of contract and shall be released after successful completion of work.

04. Bidder must read term/condition in tender document carefully.AAA/TS = AccordedPosition of Funds = committed

Sd/-DIPK NO: 14354/21 Executive Engineer

(GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR)

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (R&B) ELECTRIC DIVISION SRINAGARTender Notice No.200 of 2021-22/R&B Dated: 04.12.2021

For and on behalf of The Lt. Governor of Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir sealed tenders affixed with 5/- rupees revenue stamps are invited for the below mentioned works from approved and eligible Electrical contractors registered with J&K Govt. CPWD, Railways and other state /Central Govt. as per specification and detailed mentioned in the BOQ.

S.No Name of Work Approx Cost (Rs.)

Earnest Money (Rs).

Class Of Contractor Time of Completion

Cost of tender document

01 Repairs /Renovation of Electrification for change room with allied corridor and rooms in the Department of OMFS at Govt. Dental College Srinagar

25300.00 800/- “A” Class Electrical 05 days 200

02. Repairs /Renovation of Electrification for in the Department of Con-sevative denisty and oral surgery at Govt. dental college Srinagar

30400.00 1000/- “A” Class Electrical 07 days 200

03. Repairs /Renovation of Electrification for PF OMFS night room at Govt. Dental College Srinagar

27200.00 850/- “A” Class Electrical 05 days 200

Position of Funds: - committed1. The tender should be addressed to the Executive Engineer (R&B) Electric Division Srinagar and should reach in the office by or before 11.12.2021

upto 4.00 PM. The tenders / bids will be opened on the same day or any other day convenient to tender opening authority in presence of the contractors who may like to be present. In case the last date of receipt of tenders happens to be a holiday /Hartal /curfew day the tenders will be received on next working day.

2. The tender document shall be issued by this office from 04.12.2021 upto 11.12.2021 against receipt of treasury challan received from the eligible Electrical contractor and should enclose following documents Viz: valid registration with latest renewal certificate, Pan Card, valid GST registration with latest GST clearance certificate, valid contact No/E-Mail ID in favour of Executive Engineer R&B Electric Division Srinagar. (Tender inviting authority).

3. The bidders shall be a liberty to send their bids either in person or through registered post but shall super scribe the following in front of the en-velops.

4. i.) Name of work ii) cost of work iii) Full name of contractor with contact No .iv) Ref. to CDR No & Date v) Date of receipt of tenders vi) Ref. to NIT No.

5. The bidder Should enclose CDR/FDR6. The bidder should sign each page of tender document enclosed with their bid.7. All other Terms and conditions shall remain same as laid down in PWD form 25.

Sd/- DIPK NO: 14358/21 Executive Engineer

Navin Choudhary inaugurates mega awareness camp at remote village Budhwana, Samba

JAMMU, DECEMBER 7: Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production and Farmers' Welfare Department, Navin Choudhary, today inaugurated a mega awareness camp at remotest village Budhwana of Goran panchayat in Sumb block of Samba District.

The event, which was organized by the department of Horticulture, was attended by over 200 farmers of all horticulture zones of the district.

During the programme, Director Horticulture Jammu, Ram Sevak, briefed about the progress being made in respect of plantation and related works being executed in the district. He said that being a kandi belt, there is huge potential of fruit crops like Aonla (Amla), Citrus, Mango and most importantly plantation of Aloe-Vera.

While addressing farmers, Navin

Kumar Choudhary asked the farmers to adopt diversification of crops in their fields so that they can earn the whole year. He said that the camp was organized to generate awareness about various centrally sponsored schemes of the department in general and Aloe vera plantation in particular with a motive to enhance the farmer’s income. He urged upon the farmers to avail benefit of different farmer friendly schemes of the department by adopt-ing horticulture in particular and dairy farming, mushroom farming, honey-bee keeping, pulses and Aloe vera plantation in their fields in place of traditional farming which will help them in doubling their income.

Principal Secretary said that from traditional farming a farmer can earn less than 1 lakh while by adopting

Aloe vera plantation, he can earn 2-2.5 lakh per acre. He informed that Pashu

Dhan mela ia being organized on 1st Sunday of every month at Lakhanpur

wherein a farmer can purchase Milch animals of Haryana and Punjab states

with subsidies.Managing Director Axion Ayurve-

das, Rishab Gupta, while addressing the farmers, assured that they will buy back the aloevera production from which a farmer can earn more in com-parison to conventional farming.

Later, Navin Kumar Choudhary inaugurated a mega plantation drive in a cluster of 200 kanal by planting a sapling of Citrus and Aloe vera at village Budhwana of Goran panchay-at.

Director Horticulture Jammu, Joint Director Horticulture Jammu, District Development Council Vice Chairman, Balwan Singh, Block De-velopment Council Chairman Sumb, Ramesh Singh, Sarpanch Goran, Sardar Singh and other officers and farmers were present.

Armed Forces Flag Day observed at KupwaraCovid rally of Ex-servicemen flagged-off by DC Kupwara

KUPWARA, DECEM-BER 07: Zila Sainik Welfare Office Kupwara today or-ganized a series of events to commemorate the Armed Forces Flag Day (AFFD).

On the occasion, a rally was flagged off by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kup-wara, Imam Din who is also President Zila Sainik Wel-fare Office Kupwara from D.C. Office here today.

The Ex. Servicemen participated in the rally with placards in their hands de-picting Covid-19 preventive measures. The rally went through different markets of Kupwara town and cul-minated at Sub District Hospital Kupwara where 10 of Ex. Servicemen includ-ing spouses of Ex. Service-men donated blood pints.

The DC while flagging off the rally said that Ex. Servicemen are an impor-tant segment of our society and they are always on fore-front to support the society as and when required, be-sides, guarding the borders.

He appreciated the role of ex-servicemen in high-lighting the importance of Covid protocol during the

second wave COVID-19. He said today when the 3rd wave of Covid (Omicron) was spreading; the ex-ser-vicemen arranged an aware-ness rally on the occasion of Armed Forces Flag Day. He said this rally also aims to spread awareness regard-ing implementation of Co-vid-19 containment mea-sures. Later, Zila Sainik

Welfare Board (ZSWB) met under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Kup-wara who is also Chairman of the Board here at Zila Sainik Welfare Office Kup-wara.All designated mem-bers of the Board were pres-ent in the meeting.

The meeting, first of its kind in the district, held a threadbare discussion about the implementation of the constitution of the Board and welfare measures for ex-servicemen.

The DC gave overview of the duties and mandate of the Board and gave on spot instructions to the Zila Sainik Welfare Officer to further augment the mea-sures for welfare of the ex-servicemen and their de-pendents.

Income Tax, CGST departments conducts outreach initiative at Bla

SRINAGAR, DECEM-BER 07: Continuing the Outreach initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Govt of India, the Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST) De-partment, in collaboration with the Income Tax Depart-ment, has today conducted a programme at Dak Bun-galow Baramulla.

The initiative is aimed at reaching out to represen-tatives of small and medium industry, business profes-sionals, local business bod-ies and associations, start-ups, women entrepreneurs etc. to collect feedback on budget expectations and other aspirations. The pro-gramme witnessed large and enthusiastic participa-tion of the stakeholders.

The teams of CGST of-ficers who participated in these programmes were led by Neeraj Choubey, Addi-tional Commissioner and included other officers Va-run Soni, Deputy Commis-sioner, H. L. Koul, R. A. Wani, Ajay Sopori and Ash-ish Raina,

Superintendent Neeraj Choubey explained the sa-lient features of GST Act. He motivated the potential taxpayers to come into the

fold of GST compliance and briefed them about how inter-state and intra-state transactions conducted under the GST lead to pos-itive outcomes for the states.

He illustrated the prin-ciple of Destination based consumption tax. He gave a message of integration with the supply chain to the traders to reap the benefits of better tax compliance.

The CGST officers cir-culated feedback forms

among the participants. Soni explained the different parts of the feedback pro-forma and requested everyone to fill it up. The team guided the taxpayers in filling up relevant details in the form.

The officers replied at length to the questions and queries raised by the trade representatives and other stakeholders and informed them that the nearest CGST office is in Srinagar where they can approach the of-ficials for resolution of GST related issues.

The outreach pro-gramme ended with the vote of thanks to all the stake-holders present. CGST of-ficers shared contact details with the trade association representatives.

IUST organises Capacity Building Workshop for College Principals

AWANTIPORA, DE-CEMBER 06: Centre for Innovation and Entrepre-neurship Development (CIED) Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) organized a day-long capacity building workshop on "Innovation and Entre-preneurship” on Monday. The programme was at-tended by the Principals and faculty members from dif-ferent degree Colleges from across the Valley.

Vice Chancellor IUST, Prof. Shakil A. Romshoo who was the Chief Guest on

the occasion, in his address called on universities and colleges to implement the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) approved by the Union Cabinet of India on 29 July 2020, in letter and spirit as that outlines the vision of new education system of India which em-phasised the capacity build-ing and skill development significantly, and said, “it's our responsibility to imple-ment NEP 2020 in collabo-ration with degree colleges’.

He stressed on colleges to introduce a minimum 1

year or 6 months specific courses to train students in specific fields so that they would overcome the issue of unemployment as well as revenue generation. "We are always available to help such colleges in their pursuit of training the students", he said.Director Colleges (Higher Education Jammu and Kashmir) Prof Yasmeen Ashai in her address con-gratulated the university for holding this meaningful workshop. "I look forward to a support from the IUST administration to handhold

government Degree Col-leges in the achieving success in the mission of entrepre-neurship and innovation as the university has expertise in incubation and innovation centres which colleges can benefit from," she said.

She added that there were 14 colleges across J&K, including Degree College Bemina which are already into this process of entre-preneurship development.

Nuclear Physicist IIT Ropar and Life member Indian Physics Association Dr. Pushpendra P. Singh.

CMYK

CMYK

WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021 HEALTH6 SRINAGAR

Health benefits of Cardamom:

From fighting ulcersto lowering blood pressure

Queen of spices or cardamom is used in both sweet and savoury food items to enhance its flavours. This Indian-origin spice is basically a small aromatic seed pod that has been used for a long time in Asian food preparations.

Below are some amazing health benefits of cardamom.

1. Helps in managing blood pressure levels

Cardamoms are rich in antioxidants which help in lowering blood pressure. Cardamom also has a diuretic effect, which means it can promote urination to remove water that builds up in your body, thus aiding in lowering blood pressure levels.

2. Cardamom has anti-inflammatory effects

The high antioxidant levels in cardamom can help protect cells from damage and stop

inflammation from occurring.3. Cardamom is good for

UlcersAccording to the test-tube

research, cardamom can protect against Helicobacter

pylori, a bacteria linked to the development of most stomach ulcer issues.

4. Can improve breathingThe aroma of cardamom

can help your body better inhale oxygen during exercise. In one study, a group of participants was asked to inhale cardamom essential oil for one minute before walking on a treadmill for 15-minute intervals and another group was not. The group that inhaled cardamom essential oil had a significantly higher oxygen uptake compared to the other group.

5. It is a good mouth freshener

Chewing cardamom helps get you rid of bad breath and leaves behind a cooling effect in your mouth. It is used as a natural mouth freshener by many people.

Why sleeping naked

in sweltering summers

may NOT be good for

your health!As the temperatures soar, sleep pattern

changes for some. Even though we start ditching the heavy blankets, long pajamas and shift to comfy clothes, blazing heat makes sound sleep a distant dream.

Experts believe sleeping naked might not be the brightest idea to beat a hot summer night.

Cons of sleeping naked on warm nightsIn an interview with Cosmopolitan, Julius

Patrick, Lead Sleep Physiologist at Bupa’s Cromwell Hospital explains that this practice can worsen

your sleep. How? Well, for starters, it prevents sweat from evaporating from your body taking away the cooling effect of evaporation of sweat. So, essentially, you're left with a sweaty body and no cooling effect.

Instead of going with your birthday suit, sleep physiologist Julius Patrick advises to wear 'light bedclothes' such as cottons, linens while sleeping for absorption and evaporation of sweat.

Tips to sleep during a heatwaveSome other easy ways to ensure a comfortable

sleep when it's too warm include - opening the windows if the weather outside is cooler, opting for thin bedcovers and lastly, and taking a warm shower before sleeping as it will loosen your muscles and cool you down, helping you fall asleep faster.

Why getting proper sleep is importantApart from the refreshing feeling we get

after a good night's sleep, there are a plethora of benefits derived from sleeping well. It improves memory, ensures a longer life and healthy weight, spurs creativity, sharpens attention, and lowers stress.s

We hope you get good night's sleep this summer!

Impact of menopause on bone healthWomen are 40 per cent more likely

to develop knee osteoarthritis and 10 per cent more likely to develop hip osteoarthritis than men. Moreover, 46 million women in India are affected by osteoporosis.

This also contributes to significant morbidity and mortality to postmenopausal women. This is because women have a lower peak bone mass, which is compounded by the hormonal changes that occur at the time of menopause. It is a silent disease until fractures occur, which causes important secondary health problems and even death, says Manish Sontakke, Senior Consultant Orthopedic Surgery, Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi-A Fortis network Hospital.

"Especially, in the current pandemic situation, most of us are home bound, so nutritional levels, vitamin balance and physical activity has all been hampered. Plus, women tend to ignore their health or keep the health of their family before their own. Hence, the chance of deteriorating bone health among them is higher than before."

CAN MENOPAUSE TRIGGER OSTEOARTHRITIS AND OSTEOPOROSIS?

Sontakke says,"When a woman reaches menopause, her estrogen levels drop and this can lead to bone loss. For some women, this bone loss is rapid and severe."

TWO MAJOR FACTORS THAT AFFECT BONE HEALTH AMONG WOMEN

The amount of bone you have when you reach menopause. The greater your bone density to begin with, the lower your chance of developing any bone related problems. If you had low peak bone mass or other risk factors that

caused you to lose bone, your chance of getting osteoporosis and/or osteoarthritis is higher.

HOW FAST CAN YOU LOSE BONE AFTER YOU REACH MENOPAUSE?

For some women, bone loss happens faster than for others. In fact, a woman can lose up to 20 percent of her bone density during the five-seven years following menopause. If you lose bone quickly, you have a greater chance of developing these ailments."

OSTEOPOROSIS CAN AFFECT YOUNGER WOMEN TOO

While Osteoporosis is most common in older women, it sometimes affects young women in their 20s, 30s and 40s having pre-menopausal conditions. The term ‘premenopausal’ refers to women who are still having regular menstrual periods, and have not yet reached

menopause. While it is uncommon for pre-menopausal women to have osteoporosis, some young women have low bone density which increases their chance of getting Osteoporosis later in life, he says.

"People usually think that osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are an inevitable part of aging. However, you are never too young or old to take care of your bones. Today, we know a lot more about how to prevent, detect, and treat the disease. Good lifestyle habits can help you protect your bones and decrease your chance of getting osteoporosis and osteoarthritis."

The recipe for bone health is simple � Get enough calcium and Vitamin D � Eat a well-balanced diet � Exercise regularly � Get your bone density test done at

least once in two years � Don't smoke or drink

All women over the age of 45 years should have a bone density test done. Always remember that screening is an important prevention strategy to prevent bone loss and keep your bones strong. It will lead to early intervention and result in a better quality of life. The frequency for a bone density test depends on a number of factors such as your age, your bone density results and whether you are taking any osteoporosis or arthritis treatment.

If your healthcare provider hasn't spoken to you about your bone health, it's time for you to bring it up! Especially, if you have elderly women in the family, who are now confined to their homes due to the present lockdown and pandemic situation, screening for bone health becomes crucial.

Top brain-boosting food for kids

Right food can help you improve your memory, concentration, and brain function. The brain, like the rest of the body, absorbs nutrients from the food we eat. Therefore, it is very important for kids to consume highly-nutritious food which are brain-boosters. Dietician Vidhi Chawla suggests some:

EGGSFilling your child's breakfast plate with a

combination of carbs, protein, and a small amount of healthy fat will help him or her stay energised throughout the day. Eggs are high in protein

and as an added bonus they contain choline, which aids memory.

OILY FISHOily fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids and

beneficial for brain development and health. Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary components of the cell's building blocks. Fish such as salmon, mackerel, fresh tuna, trout, sardines, and herring are high in omega-3 fatty acids and should be consumed once a week.

OATS/OATMEALOatmeal and oats are excellent sources of

energy and "fuel" for the brain. They are high in fibre, which keeps kids satisfied and prevents them from snacking on junk food. They're also high in vitamins E, B complex, and zinc, which help kids' brains function at their best. Use any topping, such as apples, bananas, blueberries, or even almonds over it.

COLOURFUL VEGGIESColoured vegetables are rich in anti-oxidants,

which help to keep brain cells healthy. Tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, or spinach are some vegetables to include in your child's diet. It's simple to incorporate vegetables into spaghetti sauces or soups.

MILK, YOGURT AND CHEESEMilk, yoghurt, and cheese are high in protein

and B vitamins, which are necessary for the growth of brain tissue, neurotransmitters, and enzymes, all of which play important roles in the brain. These foods are also high in calcium, which is necessary for the development of strong and healthy teeth and bones. Children's calcium requirements vary depending on their age, but two to three calcium-rich sources should be consumed each day. Don't worry if your child doesn't like milk; there are other ways to include dairy in his or her diet: When making porridge, puddings, or pancakes, use milk instead of water.

BEANSBeans are a great source of protein and

vitamins and minerals for your children. Kidney and pinto beans contain Omega 3 more than any other beans. Sprinkle mixed beans on salad, mash them and spread them on pita pockets, or combine them with shredded lettuce and cheese to make the perfect sandwich filler.

COVID stress increased suicidal thoughts: StudyThe COVID-19 pandemic has not

only hit physical health and the economy but has also impacted mental health with the possibility of increased rates of suicide, according to a study.

Led by a team of researchers at Swansea University, Cardiff University, and the NHS in Wales, the study probed exactly which COVID-related stressors were most likely to trigger suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

The survey was conducted on more than 12,000 people, which asked volunteers to share their experiences during the first UK lockdown.

The results, published in the journal Archives of Suicide Research, show that several stressors such as social isolation, domestic abuse, relationship problems, redundancy, and financial problems were strongly linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

However, not everyone enduring these issues reported having suicidal thoughts. Those individuals with high levels of resilience and hope for the future were less affected by these pressures.

"We can use these findings to

target which stressors are the most toxic in terms of driving people towards thoughts of suicide. While some of these may ease as we come out of lockdown, others may persist well into the future," said Professor Nicola Gray, from Swansea University.

"Many of these stressors are difficult to avoid, so we also need to instill hope for the future in our communities to help people get through these difficult times," added Professor Robert Snowden from Cardiff University.

The researchers also discovered the important role that hope for the

future can play -- along with individuals' levels of resilience -- when it comes to coping with these stressors.

"People's responses to a traumatic crisis do not follow a simple path of depression then recovery. It is currently unclear as to whether people simply have got worse as the crisis has continued or whether they are becoming more immune to the situation and are developing increased resilience. Only by understanding this can we be in a position to make an effective response and help people who might be suffering," said James Knowles, from Swansea University.

CMYK

CMYK

7 WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021 NEWS SRINAGAR

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IFFCO Kisan team calls on Principal Secretary; discusses modalities to provide technological interventions to JK farmers

J&K holds third rank in average farmers’ household income: Navin ChoudharyJAMMU, DECEMBER 7: Manag-

ing Director, Indian Farmers Fertil-izer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) Kisan, Sandeep Malhotra, today called on Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare, Navin K Choudhary.

The MD was here to discuss mo-dalities for providing technological interventions to farmers and horti-culturists of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pertinently, IFFCO Kisan is a sub-sidiary of Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the largest farmer cooperative in India.

The team from IFFCO Kisan gave a detailed presentation to the Princi-pal Secretary explaining various technological interventions in their expertise. The team explained how technological methods, or ‘agritech’, like remote sensing, hyperspectral imagery, digital profiling, portable soil testing facilities could help give hyperlocal solutions most suited to a particular farmland and its respective crop. The IFFCO Kisan would also

work in partnership with NABARD to give a fillip to agriculture and allied sectors in J&K, the team further in-formed.

Principal Secretary asked the IF-FCO Kisan representatives to submit a detailed proposal and subsequent-ly start implementing their technolo-gies in specified spots on pilot basis.

It was informed that crops like almonds, walnuts, olives, turmeric and few others among medicinal plants would be tested initially.

Principal Secretary informed the IFFCO Kisan team that according to a recent NITI Aayog survey, Jammu & Kashmir has jumped to overall fifth rank, in agriculture and allied sectors within a year. He added that the UT now holds third rank in average farm-ers’ household income.

Sharing his aim of boosting hor-ticulture in previously untapped regions of the UT, Principal Secretary informed that the Horticulture department has planted 10 lakh plants in the last year and thrice the number is expected to

be planted this year. The department aims to promote cultivation of Aloe vera and lemongrass in water deficient areas of the UT, he added. He said we are trying to give end-to-end solutions to the local farmers, so as to ensure

that they are assisted from planting to marketing.

Elucidating various handholding schemes for farmers’ welfare being run by the J&K government, Principal Secretary informed that under the

Integrated Dairy Development Scheme, the UT is going to become 30 percent surplus in milk production. Simi-larly, under Parvaz, farmers are being given 50 percent subsidy on air cargo, thereby helping their produce reach

international markets in Sharjah and Dubai and eight major cities across India. It was revealed that the depart-ment is going to push towards making the UT self sufficient in cattle feed requirement as well.

Those present in the meeting in-cluded Director General Horticulture Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat; MD J&K Agro Industries Development Cor-poration, Dr Arun Kumar Manhas; Director Horticulture Jammu, Ram Sevak; Director Horticulture, P&M J&K, Vishesh Paul Mahajan; Director Agriculture Jammu, KK Sharma; Director Agriculture Kashmir, Mo-hammad Iqbal Chowdhary and Gen-eral Manager, NABARD Jammu.

Meanwhile, in another meeting between officers from FCI and the Principal Secretary, it was decided that procurement of paddy, at MSP, in mandis would be extended till De-cember 31, this year.

The concerned officers were di-rected to resolve payment issues within a week’s time.

KVK Samba organises In-service-Training for Agriculture

officers on IPM/IDM package for major Rabi cropsSAMBA, DECEMBER

07: Krishi Vigyan Kendra Samba, under the aegis of Directorate of Extension, Sher-e-Kashmir Univer-sity of Agricultural Sci-ences and Technologies Jammu, organized one day in-service Training for Ag-riculture Officers on “IPM/IDM package for major Rabi crops. The programme was conducted for field func-tionaries, under the dy-namic leadership of Profes-sor. J.P. Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-Jam-mu and the direct supervi-sion of Dr. S.K. Gupta Direc-tor Extension SKUAST-Jammu.

Dr. Vinod Gupta, Senior

Scientist & Head, KVK Samba welcomed the par-ticipants and discussed the mandates and functions of KVK. He underlined the need to explore new ways and methods for the ben-efit of the farming commu-nity by improving coordina-tion between officers of development departments and KrishiVigyan Kendra Samba. He also stressed upon the safe and judicious use of pesticides.

Dr. Saurav Gupta, the training coordinator of the programme discussed in detail various control mea-sures of insect pests and diseases through IPM and IDM modules in the major

field, vegetable and fruit crops. He also discussed different ways to control various insects –pests and diseases of vegetables by traditional as well as through modern techniques.

He also stressed upon the need for adoption of IPM techniques to increase the agriculture production and doubling of farmer income. Dr. Sanjay Khajuria, laid stress on intercropping of

vegetables in the existing orchards of the district for getting extra benefits from the existing system.

Dr. Neerja Sharma de-livered the lecture on or-ganic crop production of

Rabi Vegetables. She em-phasized upon the use of various organic sources like FYM, Vermicompost, ver-miwash, biofertilizers etc.

Dr.Vijay Kumar Sharma, SMS (Animal Sciences)also sensitized about the differ-ent parasitic diseases of livestock, their prevention and control strategies. The programme was attended by officers of the Agriculture Department. They also vis-ited the farm of KVK, Sam-ba, where the vegetables are growing organically. Dr Amit Mahajan and Sahil Talgotra supported the programme.

Vote of thanks was pre-sented by Dr. Shalini Kha-juria.

Kishtwar: DLIC approves 28 start-up proposals under women centric

Tejaswani schemeKISHTWAR DECEMBER 07: District Level Imple-

mentation Committee (DLIC) for Women centric Tejaswani scheme today approved 28 start up propos-als here at its meeting chaired by District Development Commissioner(DDC) Ashok Sharma held in the VC Hall of the DC office.

The meeting held threadbare deliberations on the implementation of Tejaswani scheme and after scru-tiny of the project proposals approved 28 start up plans found completed in all respects.

Highlighting the importance of the scheme, the Chairman DLIC said “TEJASWINI” scheme is aimed to provide financial assistance to young women en-trepreneurs for setting up profitable self-employment ventures suited to their skill and training aptitude. He said the purpose of the scheme is also to empow-er and encourage young women in the age group of 18 to 35 to start their business for income generation activities either in manufacturing, service, trading or small business.

The Employment Officer DECC informed that the beneficiaries under the TEJASWANI scheme of Mis-sion Youth initiative are provided financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to start their business. The beneficiaries are also provided 10% of the project cost by Mission Youth.

Among others, the meeting was attended GM DIC Khalid Hussain Malik; DSWO Tariq Parveaz Qazi; AD Employment Amit Kumar; LDM Nasir Bhat and DNO JKEDI Kishtwar alongwith Tejaswini applicants.

Ramban: Enforcement teams recover Rs 27,400 fine from

Covid SOP violatorsRAMBAN, DECEMBER 07: Continuing the enforce-

ment drive to implement Covid protocol across the dis-

trict Ramban, the Enforcement teams today fined scores of violators for roaming without wearing face masks and

not maintaining physical distance.

The enforcement teams, during the inspection in

their respective jurisdictions, recovered a fine of Rs 27,400 Taking the total amount fined since April 1, 2021 to Rs. 70, 68, 200.

The Enforcement officers urged the people to wear face masks and maintain physical distance besides tak-

ing Covid vaccination doses at their nearest CVC.

DC Ramban flags off trekking expedition to Sanasar

RAMBAN DECEMBER 07: Deputy Commission-er, Ramban, Mussarat Islam today flagged off a group of 48 students for a trekking expedition to Sanasar.

The five day Trekking expedition camp has been organised by the Department of Youth Services & Sports and the participating students have been drawn from six different education zones of the district.

Additional Deputy Commissioner, Harbans Lal; Assistant SP, Rajni Sharma; CPO, Dr. Kasturi Lal; DYSSO, Dharamveer Singh, CEO, besides other senior officers were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the DC said that such types of events would provide the students an op-portunity to realize their ability, patience and weak-nesses and skills which would help them in their future.

Interacting with the participants, the DC impressed upon them to avail this opportunity to shape their personality as a good sportsman as well as respon-sible citizen able to lead the society. He impressed upon the participants to collect littered waste en-route to promote Swachh Bharat Mission among the people of the areas. He directed the DYSSO to provide adequate facilities to the participants besides imparting.

Forest department organise Plantation

drive under "One beat guard in one village" program in Mawer

H a n d w a r a December 07: Plantation drive was carried out in Government High School Nowgam. Today following the directions of DFO Langate Range officer Mawer Moham-mad Shafi and Block officer Nas-eee Ahmad with his team carried out Plantation drive under

"One beat guard in one village" program in Govt High school Nowgam Mawer. Head Master Gh Hassan, Sar-panch Nowgam Nayeem u Rehman, Panchs, and other respected citizens was present on the occasion.

The initiative and participation of the people was appreciative. School children took a special interest in the event and their similes reflected the happiness and joy of participation.

The forester Naseer Ahmad while speaking on the occasion said that trees are vital for the survival of our planet as trees give oxygen, improve air quality, store carbon, preserve soil, support wildlife and give life to our environment. He also urged students and locals to come forward and obtain saplings from the concerned depart-ments and plant and nurture them for a clean and green environment.

Teachers, Sarpanchs, Panchs and people of Nowgam expressed their gratitude and appreciation the efforts of forest department to achieve the goal of "Har Gawoon Haryali".

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER ELECTRIC KPDCL O&M DIVISION SHOPIAN ,

Contact No/ Fax: - 01932-261246 E-mail:- ELECTRICDIVISIONSHOPIAN@GMAIL.COM

NOTICE INVITING TENDERNIT: - EDS/e-tender/95 of 2021-22 Dated:-06-12-2021

For and on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Executive Engineer, Electric KPDCL Division-Shopian invites online e-bids from registered A-Class Contractors registered with Inspection Agency of KPDCL or any other relevant Government agency enlisted with CPWD, MES, Railway, DGBRO of appropriate class for the IMPROVEMENT OF ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE BY WAY OF CREATION/ /REPLACEMENT/RENOVATION/ OF SUB-STAIONS AND IMPROVE-MENT OF HT/LT NETWORK AT VARIOUS VILLAGES IN DISTRICT SHOPIAN AS PER ENCLOSED SBD UNDER BACK TO VILLAGE 3rd & PRI GRANTS ON PARTIAL TURNKEY BASIS as per terms, conditions, technical specifications and schedules forming part of this tender document.

S.No Name of Work Estimated Cost Adv. Cost. ( Lacs) Earnest Money. Position of Funds.

1. IMPROVEMENT OF ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE BY WAY OF CREATION/ /REPLACEMENT/RENOVATION/ OF SUB-STAIONS AND IMPROVEMENT OF HT/LT NETWORK AT VARIOUS VILLAGES IN DISTRICT SHOPIAN AS PER ENCLOSED SBD UNDER BACK TO VILLAGE 3rd & PRI GRANTS ON PARTIAL TURNKEY BASIS

46.28 46.28 2%of adv. Cost AUTHORIZED

1 Cost of e-Bid/ tender document Rs. 2800.00 (Payable to Executive Engineer ED Shopian vide Treasury Receipt or Echallan Only)

2 Amount of Earnest Money Deposit @ 2 % of Adv. Cost. All bidders have to submit Bid security declaration form instead of EMD and L1 bidder has to produce an amount equal to 3% of contract as performance security in the Shape of CDR/FDR

3 Publishing Date & Time The Standard tender Document can be downloaded Over http://jktenders.gov.infrom 06-12-2021 (16.00Hrs)

4 Date & Time of downloading of Standard Bidding Document 06-12-2021 (17.00 Hrs)

5 Seek Clarification Start Date & Time 07-12-2021 (10.00 Hrs)

6 Seek Clarification End Date & Time 09-12-2021 (16.00 Hrs)

7 Bid Submission Start Date & Time 09-12-2021 (17.00 Hrs)

8 Bid Submission End Date & Time 16-12-2021 (14.00 Hrs)

10 Technical Bid Opening date & Time 17-12-2021 (14.00 Hrs)

Please Read Date & Time CarefullyThe rates Quoted shall be Firm, inclusive of all taxes and duties, transportation up to working sites. The rates shall include costs, if any attracted towards manda-

tory inspections /testing by the designated agencies and the department will not be required to pay / reimburse anything over and above the price quoted. Further contractor shall be bound to utilize the material available in Divisional Stores/ECSD Pampore and cost of the same shall be deducted which framing the allotment order. The Executive engineer reserves the right to reject any tender at any stage of contract without assigning any reasons thereof

Sd/-DIPK NB: 5679/21 Executive Engineer

DC Ramban asks line departments to meet Good Governance targetsRAMBAN, DECEMBER 07:

Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam today asked the line departments to strive for meeting the Good Governance targets and benchmarks.

He was chairing a meeting to discuss the modalities for evolv-ing better inter-departmental coordination to resolve the issues

of public in a time bound manner and achieve the Good Governance benchmarks.

Additional Deputy Commis-sioner, Harbans Lal; Addl SP, Rajni Sharma; CPO, Dr. Kasturi Lal; ACR, Dhirendra Sharma; DSEO, Ganesh Kumar and all district and sectoral officers at-tended the meeting.

Threadbare discussion was held on the initiatives required to further synergize the working of departments for resolving the public issues in a time bound man-ner.The DC asked the departments to revisit their figures and submit reports highlighting achievements and shortfalls recorded during the year 2016-17, 2017-18 and

2018-19 against the 58 indicators set by the agencies responsible to evaluate the ranking of the district on Good Governance Index.

The DC described various measures to improve ranking of the district in Good Governance on UT and national parameters. He also reviewed the District Statistical handbook and District

Good Governance index for 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

The DC directed the officers to switch over to the e-office sys-tem to improve interdepartmen-tal coordination and come forward voluntarily to resolve the confront-ing issues. He asked them to extend assistance to each other so that no issue of department.

CMYK

CMYK

WEDNESDAY | 08-DECEMBER-2021SRINAGAR

‘Climate of fear’: Ajaz Patel speaks on Christchurch mosque attack in HindiIt was a Friday. Ajaz Patel had just

returned home from the mosque when the news broke out. Two consecutive mass shootings occurred at mosques in terrorist attacks in Christchurch, resulting in the death of more than 50 people.

Calling it a ‘climate of fear’, the left-arm spinner narrated what went through their minds and how the Kiwi community came together to make them feel included post the terrorist attacks. Speaking in Hindi at a media interaction on Tuesday, Ajaz said, “Jo terrorist attack hua tha usmei obvi-ously humari Muslim community pe impact hua tha. Kaafi ghabrahat wala mausam tha. Jumma ka din tha, hum namaz padhkar aaye the ghar par. Fer news nikla. Jis tarah se humare New Zealanders aur Prime Minister ne response di, aur jis tarah se puri community ne jo response diya, uss wajah se mai bolta hu ki jo humei pyar, mohobbat aur jis tarah se humari puri community ko include kiya. (The terrorist attack had a huge impact on the Muslim community living there. It was a climate of fear. We found out the news just after returning home from the mosque on Friday. But the way our New Zealanders, Prime Min-ister as well as thee whole commu-nity responded – with love – we felt included.”

“Jaise meri mummy agar ghar se burkha pehenke nikleingi, toh usmei koi problem nahi hai, woh bindass ghum sakte hain, koi kuch bolega nahi. Jo padosi hain, jab terrorist attack hua tha aur humara naya ghar bann rha tha, toh humare naye padosi, jo shift bhi nahi hua, unhone humei aate jaate dekha burkha mei toh soche Musalmaan honge. Jab attack hua, woh ek paudha laakar rakhe stairs pe jabki hum wahan rehte nahi. Aur un-hone humko chithi likhke rakha ki hum aapke support mei hai. Toh jaise wahan log rehte hain miljulke, uss tarah se mereko dil mei yehi hai ki ek community hai. (For example, there is no problem when my mother leaves the house wearing a burkha. No one will say anything. When the terrorist attack hapened, our new house was getting constructed. We used to vis-it it often. So our neighbours must have seen us and realised we are Mus-lims from the burkha. After the attack happened, they got a plant for us and kept it on our stairs, even when we weren’t living there. They even wrote us a letter to show their support. So people have a strong sense of belong-ing there and they live together as one big community.)”

Ajaz Patel smashed records left, right

and centre as he added to his tally of 10

wickets from the first innings with 4

more scalps in the second against India

in Wankhede on Sunday, taking his

figures to 14/225. With a match haul of 14/225, Ajaz now has the best bowling figures in a Test against India.

But that still did not land him with

the ‘Man of the Match’ award, which

went to Mayank Agarwal, who scored

his fourth century and fifth half-cen-

tury in this match, instead while Ravi-

chandran Ashwin bagged the ‘Man of

the Series’ award.

Asked if he was expecting the ‘Man

of the Match’ award for his historic feat,

he said, “Not at alll. To be honest with

you, acolades are another thing alto-

gether. I have no real passion or drive

towards these things. Whoever gets it

is obviously most deserving. Ashwin

bowled perfectly throught the series

and definitely put us under pressure. He deserves that award as well. For me

it is about putting my best foot forward.

To be honest, I don’t think any award

is going to make it more special. These

conditions are challenging for everyone.

In Mumbai, it really wasn’t to be. We

have taking back a lot of learnings from

this series and will work on them once

we return back home.”

“It was a very special week for me

in terms of individual achievements.

But from team’s perspective, we didn’t

finish the series the way we would have liked. We took a lot of learnings out of

them. When we return back, it will be

a challenge,” he added. “The support

has been very humbling. There are so

many messages that I haven’t even got-

ten back to. Got a lot of support back

home in New Zealand from friends and

family. It has been very special. It is

humbling but sometimes overwhelming.

Because it is not something you are used

to but it is very special.”

Speaking on the making of ‘pic-

ture perfect’ Axar, Patel, Ravindra,

Jadeja, the 33-year old said, “That

photo speaks a lot about the sporting

world and what sports can do. Sports

has the ability to bring people togeth-

er, not only here but all around the

world. There is rivalry on the field

but off it, it’s a gentleman’s sport, it

adds value to each other’s games. We

were having a conversation since they

had played in various Indian condid-

tions. The beauty of that photo came

thanks to a lot of people. A lot of us

thought on the same page, we thought

it would be a really cool photo.”

With friends and family watching

from the Wankhede stand, Ajaz’

historic feat became all the more

special. “I have got a lot of friends

and family in Mumbai. A lot of my

extended family is here and my wife’s

family as well. At the same time, I

have got my immediate family back

in New Zealand. So for me, it was

very special to play in Mumbai in

front of friends and family,” he said.

He, however, missed out on his

favourite Indian foods during the

tour but plans to get back to them

when he returns to India on a vaca-

tion. “Yeh tour mei sabse badi cheez

yeh thi ki meko cricket khelna tha

aur uske liye important tha ki mai

apni body ka dhyan rakhu. Humei

body recovery ke hisaab se dekhna

padta hai ki hum kya kha sakte hain

kya nahi. Toh jab chutti pe aaunga

toh zarur khaunga. (The most im-

portant thing during the tour was

that I had to play cricket. And for

that, it was essential that I take care

of my body. We have to see what we

eat according to our body recovery.

So when I return on a holiday to In-

dia, then I will definitely indulge in

my favourite foods.)

“There are so many stakeholders

in my journey and it would be injus-

tice to leave out anyone. There are

so many people who have contribu-

teed but the biggest support has come

from my family – my mom, dad, wife,

my extended family – aunties, uncles,

cousins – both in New Zealand and

India. It’s not easy what we do spend-

ing so much time away from family.

I have got a young daughter now and

she has to sacrifice the time with

her father. I have had numerous

coaches and they have all been amaz-

ing. So it would be injustice if I leave

anybody out,” he said.

South Africa names 21-member Test squad for series against India

On Tuesday, the Cricket

South Africa (CSA) team se-

lection picked a 21-member

squad for three-match Test

series against India, starting

from December 26.

Speedster Duanne Ol-

ivier has been included in the

Test squad after a gap of two

years. Duanne Olivier has

returned to the South African

domestic set-up following a

prolonged Kolpak stint in the

United Kingdom. He will

bolster South Africa’s bowl-

ing attack with Kagiso Raba-

da and Anrich Nortje.

The 29-year-old pacer has

played 10 Tests and 2 ODIs

for South Africa. Olivier has

bagged 48 wickets in 10 Test

matches; he has played for

South Africa.

Olivier’s last Test appear-

ance for South Africa was in

Gqeberha against Sri Lanka

in February 2019. However,

the pacer has made a loud

return to the CSA Four-Day

Series, ending this year as

the leading wicket-taker, eight

scalps clear of number two,

Simon Harmer. Olivier

claimed 28 wickets in eight

innings at an average of 11.14

and best innings bowling

figures of 5/53.“We as the Selectors are

excited for the return of Test

cricket. This format is very

important to CSA, and keep-

ing it relevant and alive is

one of the organisation’s

priorities,” said CSA Conve-

nor of Selectors, Victor Mpit-

sang.

“This Test series is also

important in terms of get-

ting some points in the Test

Championship table, and

we are confident that this

group will pick up from

where they left off and give

us a good show on home

soil.

“On behalf of the Selec-

tors, I would like to wish

Dean Elgar, Mark Bouch-

er, and the team all of the

best for the next few weeks

of what I’m certain will be

really entertaining cricket.”

South Africa’s Test

squad

Dean Elgar (captain),

Temba Bavuma (vice-

captain), Quinton de Kock

(wicket-keeper), Kagiso

Rabada, Sarel Erwee,

Beuran Hendricks, George

Linde, Keshav Maharaj,

Lungi Ngidi, Aiden

Markram, Wiaan Mulder,

Anrich Nortje, Keegan

Petersen, Rassie van der

Dussen, Kyle Verreynne,

Marco Jansen, Glenton

Stuurman, Prenelan Sub-

rayen, Sisanda Magala,

Ryan Rickelton, Duanne

Olivier

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Punjab pacer Sandeep Sharma to play for ChandigarhHaving been overlooked

by the Punjab selectors for

the upcoming Vijay Hazare

Trophy, medium-pacer Sand-

eep Sharma has decided to

switch to Chandigarh.

The 28-year-old fast

bowler secured a no-objection

certificate from his parent state, Punjab, and will play

his first match for his new team in the Vijay Hazare

Trophy against Kerala (Elite

Group D) at the Madhav Rao

Scindia Cricket Ground, Ra-

jkot, on Wednesday.

Sharma, talking to The

Indian Express, says he

decided to make the switch

because his office (Bharat

Petroleum) is in Chandi-

garh.

“I moved to Chandigarh

because my office is here.

It was just a personal deci-

sion,” says Sharma, who

has played 2 T20Is for India

against Zimbabwe in 2015.

However, this paper

understands that there was

no guarantee he would be

selected for the Vijay Haz-

are Trophy and the Ranji

Trophy. He was not part of

the team for the Syed Mush-

taq Ali Trophy.

“He wanted to play all

the three formats, but in

the pace department, he

was fourth in the pecking

order after Siddharth Kaul,

Arshdeep Singh, and Baltej

Singh,” a PCA official says.

Since making his senior

debut for Punjab in the

2011-12 season, the wiry

pacer has played 44 first-

class, 49 List A matches,

and 48 T20s matches.

Chandigarh got affili-

ation a couple of years ago

and are playing in the Elite

Group in the white-ball

tournaments. However, in

the Ranji Trophy, they are

in the Plate Division.

“My focus is on white-

ball cricket for now, and

Chandigarh are playing

with Elite teams in the

Vijay Hazare Trophy. Yes,

in the Ranji Trophy, they

will be in the Plate Group,

but this is a group of tal-

ented players, and I am sure

we will earn the promotion

this season,” says Sharma.

He is known to swing

the ball both ways and

played a pivotal role in

India’s 2012 Under-19 World

Cup triumph in Australia.

He bagged 12 wickets in

the tournament.

His 39 wickets in the

first three Indian Premier

League (IPL) seasons for

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

earned him an India cap

for a two-match series

against Zimbabwe in 2015.

But, thereafter, he had in-

jury issues.

A stress fracture fol-

lowed by shoulder injury

kept him out of the game

for 18 months.

From 2013 to 2017, Shar-

ma played for Kings XI

Punjab. For the last three

seasons, he has represent-

ed Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sharma has a fine re-

cord in the IPL. In 99 IPL

games, Sharma has picked

112 wickets at an average

of 25.43 and strike rate of

19.62. His economy is 7.77.

Sharma has made a

name for himself as an ef-

fective new-ball bowler and

has picked up wickets in

the Powerplay overs against

top-order batters.

He has dismissed Virat

Kohli seven times in the

IPL, the most by a bowler

in the IPL.

In fact, in 12 innings

against Sharma, Kohli has

managed to score just 68

runs. He has also dismissed

Rohit Sharma and Chris

Gayle four times each in

the IPL.Sharma is confi-

dent that SRH will bid for

him in the upcoming mega

auction. He says, “I am sure

Sunrisers will go for me

in the auction.

How an incredible bench strength has fuelled India’s

golden era in cricketThe Wankhede Test against New Zealand was only

Jayant Yadav’s fifth Test match, and his first in almost five years. The last time he had been needed was on a dustbowl in Pune against Australia in February 2017 as

third spinner alongside R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

At Wankhede, he was drafted in as third spinner behind

Ashwin and Axar Patel only because Ravindra Jadeja

wasn’t available.

The last time the Ranji Trophy was played was in the

2019-20 season, so Jayant Yadav hadn’t played a first-class match since February 2020 coming into the Mum-

bai Test. With no red-ball rhythm to speak of, he then

got a grand total of two overs in the New Zealand first innings, which itself lasted just 28.1 overs.

The rustiness showed in how he often dragged the

ball short or sent it right under the bat in the second in-

nings on the third afternoon. The turn had gone slower,

and it was going to take a bit more work to break through.

On the fourth morning, he got the ball ahead of

Axar Patel because the last specialist batting pair

in the middle was left-handed – Henry Nicholls and

Rachin Ravindra. Again, he served up a few half-

trackers to be punched for fours and overcompen-

sated with very full ones to be swept to the boundary

again.

But as head coach Rahul Dravid would say later,

Jayant improved his lengths soon. And the moment

he strung a few deliveries on target, New Zealand

had nowhere to escape. After a spell of 8-2-30-0 on

Day Three, Jayant’s figures on Day Four read 6-2-

19-4.He beat the left-handers so regularly on both

front and back foot it became a matter of not turning

the ball too much. And that happened eventually in

the seventh over of the morning, when Rachin Ra-

vindra edged a forward defensive to second slip.

Jayant ripped through the tail in minutes thereafter.

The big turn became a bigger weapon against the

right-handers, and he also lured Tim Southee to his

downfall with lots of teasing flight.Jayant’s home

ground in domestic cricket is Lahli near Rohtak,

where the water table is so high blades of grass.

Novak Djokovic named in Serbia team for 2022 ATP Cup in Sydney

Novak Djokovic was named in the

Serbian team for the men’s season-

opening ATP Cup in January in Sydney,

although the world number one was yet

to commit to the Australian Open fol-

lowing the organisers’ mandate for

COVID-19 vaccinations.

The draw for the third edition of the

ATP Cup was held in Sydney on Tuesday

and the organisers said top seed Serbia,

headlined by Djokovic, will lead Group

A, which will also feature Norway, Chile

and Spain.Djokovic has repeatedly de-

clined to reveal whether he has been

vaccinated against COVID-19, with

Australian Open organisers Tennis

Australia confirming that all players would have to be vaccinated to compete

in Melbourne.To play without being

vaccinated in Sydney, the capital of

New South Wales state, the state

government would have to apply for

an exemption for Djokovic and the

34-year-old would have to undergo

14 days quarantine upon arrival.

That same option was also open to

the Australian Open organisers, but

the government in Victoria, of which

Melbourne is the capital, has said

it would not apply for exemptions.

Bianca Andreescu takes time off for mental breakBianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, will

take a mental break from tennis and sit out the start of

next season, including the Australian Open, saying she

wants to “re-set, recover, and grow” after a challenging

two years that included getting COVID-19.

The 21-year-old from Canada wrote in a posting on

Twitter that she was affected mentally and physically by “multiple weeks in isolation quarantining” and that her

grandmother’s stay for several weeks in a hospital’s in-

tensive care unit because of the coronavirus really hit

me hard.”“A lot of days, I did not feel like myself, espe-

cially while I was training and/or playing matches. I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders,” An-

dreescu said.

“I could not detach myself from everything that was

going on off the court; was feeling the collective sadness and turmoil around and it took its toll on me.”

Andreescu joins other professional athletes who

have cited the need for time away from competition

to gather themselves mentally including, for ex-

ample, Naomi Osaka, a four-time major title winner

and former No. 1-ranked player in tennis. Osaka

took a break after pulling out of the French Open in

May and again after her loss at the U.S. Open in

September, sitting out the remainder of the season.

Andreescu was 19 when she capped a breakthrough

season by upsetting her idol, Serena Williams, in

the U.S. Open final two years ago. Soon after, An-

dreescu rose to a career-best No. 4 in the WTA rank-

ings.But in October 2019, she tore the meniscus in

her left knee and was gone from the tour for about

15 months. Andreescu returned to action at this

year’s Australian Open, where Williams offered

this assessment: She has a bright future.

She’s really young; rather incredibly mature.

I’ve always said I think her light burns brightly. She

really has a great game to continue to win more

Grand Slams.”Andreescu won her opening match

in Melbourne, then lost in the second round. She

wound up going 4-4 in Grand Slam tournaments in

2021, including a fourth-round run at the U.S. Open

and first-round exits at the French Open and Wim-

bledon.That was part of an overall 17-12 mark on

tour with no titles this season, leaving her ranking

at No. 46 entering 2022. She said in April that she

had tested positive for COVID-19. In June, she an-

nounced that she would no longer be coached by

Sylvain Bruneau after four years together.