Normalcy in J&K, internet to be restored in due time: Amit Shah

News Network
November 20, 2019

New Delhi, Nov 20: Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said in Rajya Sabha that total normalcy prevails in Kashmir with government offices and educational institutions functioning fully, but Internet connection will be restored after the local administration feels it is fit to do so.

He also asserted that not a single person has died in police firing since August 5 when the Centre abrogated special status of the state although many feared there would be bloodshed and more killings.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 are prevalent only in certain areas from 8 pm to 6 am in the valley, he said.

Responding to a series of questions on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir during Question Hour, Shah said government offices, educational institutes, courts, health centres, banks and media outlets are functioning fully.

"As far as Internet service is concerned, an appropriate action will be taken on the recommendation of the local administration. Neighbouring country is still doing some mischief and we will restore the connection as soon as the local administration says it is fit to do so," he said. Internet is important in the present day world and it should be restored as early as possible. It is an effective means of communication, he said. "However when it comes to the security of Jammu and Kashmir and for waging war against terrorism, we have to fix our priorities," he said.

The Home Minister recalled that it was the BJP government which began Internet service in Kashmir way back in 2002 and the mobile service in 2003. To a supplementary on how much more time would be needed to bring normalcy in Kashmir, Shah said, "The situation there was always normal. There were many notions spread all over the world. There is total normalcy prevailing. After August 5, not a single person has died in police firing although many feared there would be bloodshed and more number of killings."

All restrictions imposed in Kashmir have been successful. Stone pelting incidents have come down to 544 so far in 2019 from 802 incidents in 2018, he said.

Highlighting the normal functioning of life in Kashmir, Shah said Urdu and English dailies and all TV channels are functioning and circulation of newspapers has increased. Courts are also functioning fully. They have heard 36,192 cases and delivered orders in as many as 500 cases, he said, adding that even the Block Development Council elections were held peacefully and successfully.

He further said as many as 20,114 schools have opened. Out of 50,537 students, 50,272 students comprising 99.48 per cent appeared for exams.

About 99.7 per cent of students have given Class 9 and 10 exams.

Hospitals are also functioning and the number of people visiting the Out Patient Department (OPD) has increased in Srinagar, he said, adding good quantity of medicines are being made available in the valley and there is no shortage.

Mobile vans and vending machines were also made available. "If any one has information that a particular person in a remote area is not getting medical facility, they can contact me directly. I will get it done in 24 hours," Shah told the House.

The sale of LPG, kerosene and rice has also gone up by by 8-16 per cent in the last ten years, he added.

To protect apple growers, Shah said the government has made all arrangements for sale of the fruit.

Cooperative NAFED has so far procured about 6,000 tonnes of apples from Kashmir. Apple production is estimated to be 22.58 lakh tonnes this year and the government is facilitating traders for sale of the fruit, he added.

As the Home Minister gave out figures supporting normalcy in the Valley, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "It looks like the Home Minister is referring to the report of some other state."

When Opposition members objected to the Chair giving more time to the Home Minister to reply on Kashmir during the Question Hour, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said, "It is a national security issue".

The Home Minister said, "there can be a discussion on this matter for an hour."

The Opposition insisted that there should a debate on the matter, to which Naidu said, "It will be done".  

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News Network
May 26,2020

New Delhi, May 26: With India now in the bracket of top 10 nations worst hit by the novel coronavirus, experts have attributed the surge in cases to easing of travel restrictions and movement of migrants besides enhanced testing capacity.

According to AIIMS Director, Randeep Guleria, the present rise in cases has been reported predominantly from hotspot areas but there is a possibility of further rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the coming few days due to increased travel.

"Those who are asymptomatic or are in presymptomatic stage will pass through screening mechanisms and may reach areas where there have been minimal or less cases," Guleria said.

He said there was a need for more intense surveillance and monitoring in areas where migrants have returned to contain the spread of the disease.

If proper social distancing and hand hygiene is not maintained at a time when people are out on roads, the coronavirus infection will transmit much faster, he said.

Guleria also noted that testing capacity has been significantly ramped up which is reflecting in the increasing number of cases being detected.

Commenting on the partial resumption of rail and road transport services and migrants returning to their native places, Dr Chandrakant S Pandav, former president of the Indian Public Health Association and Indian Association of Preventive and social medicine, said the floodgates have been opened.

"This is a classic case of creating an enabling environment for coronavirus to spread like wildfire. In the coming few days, the number will rise dramatically. While it is true that lockdown cannot go on forever, the opening up should have been in a measured, calibrated and informed manner," he said.

"Travelling leads to spread of the infection. Now, the government will have to ensure even stronger surveillance to curb the infection but if that will be done is something to be observed," he said.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,167 and the number of cases climbed to 1, 45,380 in the country, registering an increase of 146 deaths and 6,535 cases since Monday 8 am, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Dr K K Aggarwal, President of the Confederation of Medical Association of Asia and Oceania (CMAAO), and former IMA President, said there will be a further surge in cases in the coming days if migration continues without any proper social distancing.

"Within the next ten days, the cases will cross two lakh. The very fact that number of cases was rising before the end of the third lockdown and continuing during the fourth lockdown means that people are not following physical distancing as required," he said.

"Even in the last week of May when the temperature is very high, the rising number of cases would mean that human-to-human transmission is more important than surface-to-human transmission. Normally in heat the surface-to-human transmission should have reduced the new cases by half which has not happened," Aggarwal said.

However, Professor K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, said an increase in the number of cases reflects both an increase in testing rates and an increase in spread.

"What we need to see is the number of new tests performed per day and the number of new cases that were identified from them. That gives a better idea of the rate of spread than the total number of new cases alone.

"We also have to see if the testing criteria has remained the same between the two periods of comparison.We may open up gradually but will have to continue case detection, contact tracing and follow personal protection measures as vigorously as possible," he added.

A total of 31,26,119 samples have been tested as on May 26, 9 am and 92,528 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours, ICMR officials said.

India is the tenth most affected nation by the pandemic after the US, Russia, UK, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Turkey and France, as per the John Hopkins University data.

The country has recorded 6,088, 6,654, 6,767 and 6977 cases on May 22, 23, 24 and 25 respectively. Also, the number of RT-PCR tests for detection of COVID-19 in the country crossed the 30-lakh mark on Monday.

The first two phases of the lockdown led to 14-29 lakh COVID-19 cases being averted, while the number of lives saved in that period was between 37,000 and 78,000, the government said last Friday, citing various studies, and asserted that the unprecedented shutdown has paid "rich dividends" in the fight against the pandemic.

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Agencies
February 4,2020

Dirbrugarh, Feb 4: Three persons, including two BJP activists, have been arrested for allegedly attacking the residence of Union minister Rameswar Teli during anti-CAA protests in Assam, police said on Monday.

The house of Teli, Union Minister of State for Food Processing, in Upper Assam's Duliajan town was attacked on December 11 during the statewide stir against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

"Based on CCTV footages, Debajit Hazarika, Vicky Sonar and Arup Kahar were arrested. We had picked them up on Sunday," Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police, Sreejith T told PTI.

A total of 18 persons have been arrested so far for allegedly attacking Teli's house, he said.

"These three persons were also involved in pelting stones on a police party during protests in Duliajan," Sreejith said.

A BJP source confirmed that Debajit Hazarika and Vicky Sonar are party activists.

Family members of the accused have given statements to the police on the arrested persons' alleged role in violence and attacking Teli's house, sources said.

When contacted, Teli said, "I do not know for what reasons they were apprehended. But if police arrested them after proper investigation, then there must be some truth. The trio stays near my house. They always attended my programmes with their families."

A total of 88 people have been arrested so far from Dibrugarh district for their alleged involvement in violence during protests against the Act.

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News Network
July 10,2020

New Delhi, July 10: Hours before gangster Vikas Dubey was killed in an alleged police encounter on Friday, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court demanding urgent listing for action into his "possible killing" by Uttar Pradesh Police.

Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay had apprehended in his plea that there is a high possibility that Dubey will also be killed in a 'fake' encounter after his arrest from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh a day ago.

Upadhyay claimed that the UP Police was expected to "concoct the same story of encounter" for Dubey like it did when four of his associates were killed after the 2 July incident.

Dubey was the primary accused in the killing of eight policemen in Kanpur on July 2. He was arrested from Ujjain on Thursday. He was killed in a police encounter, when he allegedly tried to flee on Friday morning.

"During the hunt for Dubey and co-accused, five of his accused aides were arrested/caught and then killed by the police in the name of encounter...Thus, there is every possibility that even Dubey shall be killed by Uttar Pradesh Police like other co-accused once his custody is obtained," Upadhyay feared.

He submitted that the killing of the accused by the police in the name of encounter no matter how heinous the crime was "against the rule of law and serious violation of human rights and nothing sort of Talibanisation of the country". Upadhyay sought hearing in the matter on Friday itself, citing extreme urgency.

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