Situation in Kashmir not conducive for polls: Omar

Agencies
July 9, 2018

Jammu, Jul 9: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah today reiterated his demand for dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and said the situation in Kashmir is not conducive for polls.

His party, however, would take part in the democratic exercise whenever it is held, he added.

“The National Conference has gone on record to demand the dissolution of the assembly. It is the cure for all the rumours about horse trading, splitting of political parties and government formation," Abdullah told reporters here.

“We will contest the elections whenever they are held. The reality is that the situation in Jammu may be conducive for polls but the situation in Kashmir is very grave,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister added.

The NC, Abdullah said, does not demand immediate elections as it understands that it will take time to create a conducive climate.

When asked whether the NC would move the Supreme Court for dissolution of the assembly, he said it is something that the party has not yet decided.

Speaking about the speculations about the BJP trying to form the government in the state again with rebel PDP MLAs, Abdullah said he would go by senior BJP leader Ram Madhav's tweet wherein he denied the reports.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Saturday said his party was for continuing with governor's rule in the state in the interest of peace, governance and development.

His comments came after Abdullah tweeted a news report that claimed "a big chunk of PDP MLAs are in touch with the BJP high command."

Abdullah said the BJP's state unit, however, was telling people otherwise.

"Let us see who is right and who is wrong,” he said.

When asked if the BJP had reached out to him for government formation, the NC leader replied in the negative.

He asserted his party was not indulging in horse trading and would not have any role in disintegration of the PDP.

Abdullah rejected the BJP's claim that the situation in the Valley had improved since the imposition of the governor's rule.

"A few days ago, three civilians were killed in the Kulgam district. I don't see any improvement in the situation. The militant activities too haven't gone down," he said.

"May be sitting in Delhi they feel that the situation is improving, but I don't think so sitting here in Kashmir," he added.

He refused to comment on media speculation about the Islamic State gaining a foothold in Kashmir.

The NC leader said Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra should work to restore the peace that prevailed in the state during the tenure of his government.

“The atmosphere of brotherhood in the Jammu region, for which my government worked between 2009 and 2014, needs to be restored. There is a world of difference between the prevailing situation and that of 2014," Abdullah said.

The situation, he added, had only worsened.

The NC leader blamed the erstwhile PDP-BJP government for the mess in the state.

“Today they are admitting that the government and Mehbooba Mufti as chief minister failed. This is what we were saying for three years. It was an inept government run by inefficient people,” he said.

The former chief minister said allegations of corruption against the ministers of the PDP-BJP government had come to light and his party would take them up with Vohra.

“Many people have reached out to us and levelled allegations of corruption against ministers of the previous government. All these will be taken up with the governor and we hope there will be a fair probe," he said.

Abdullah asked the NC leaders and workers to reach out to the people across the state.

He asked them to generate awareness about the NC's mission, which, he said, is not to come to power in the state but to steer it out of its problems, ensure equitable development in all regions and maintain brotherhood.

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News Network
April 10,2020

Kochi, Apr 10: Kerala government is winning accolades for saving the life of eight foreigners including a very serious UK citizen who had been undergoing critical care for COVID-19 at a hospital here.

All the persons have been completely cured with the declaration of the test result of four persons. The persons, Roberto Tonozo (57) of Italy, Lanson (76) of UK, Elizabeth Lance (76), Brial Neil (57), Janet Layi (83), Steeven Hankok (61), Annie Wilson (61) and Jan Jackson (63) were completely cured and preparing to go for their countries, an official statement said on Thursday.

The last four persons who were cured expressed their desire to undergo treatment at a private hospital here.

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News Network
July 5,2020

New Delhi, Jul 5: World's largest, 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital (SPCCCH) at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Chhatarpur area of the national capital has made operational on Sunday.

Inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, the facility has been created on an emergency basis by the South Delhi District Administration with support of the Ministry of Home Affairs in a record time of 10 days.
Notably, this coronavirus treatment centre which is set up in Chhatarpur area of the national capital is said to be the "largest" of its kind in the world.
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"The Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital has been developed to help the citizens of Delhi and NCR who are affected by the coronavirus. Our team of doctors and medical staffs will take care of this facility. Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital will have 10 per cent of beds with oxygen facility," the Delhi LG said after the inaugural.
Talking about the facilities at the new coronavirus centre, Baijal further stated, "We have counsellors for mentally traumatised patients. We have a team of good psychiatrists and specialists in medicine."

The facility will function as an isolation centre for mild and asymptomatic COVID positive patients. 10 per cent of the beds will have oxygen facility in case the patient develops severe breathlessness and requires tertiary hospital care, read a statement.

Operationally, the facility has been linked to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital. The referral tertiary care hospitals are Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital.

ITBP will be running the first 2,000 beds with their 170 doctors/specialists and more than 700 nurses and paramedics, the statement added.
Most of the basic infrastructure such as beds, mattresses and linen has been donated by various civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations. 

A recreational centre has been made available to the patients along with a library, board games and skipping ropes. People admitted to the facility will be provided five healthy meals a day along with immunity-boosting chawanprash, juices and hot kadha, the statement added.

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News Network
June 15,2020

Sitamarhi, Jun 15: Eyewitness accounts from locals in Bihar's Sitamarhi district recount the brutality and intimidation by Nepal's security personnel who on June 12 had resorted to unprovoked firing on a group of people at the international border, which left one Indian dead and two others injured.

"18-20 shots were fired for over one hour and everyone is in shock even now," said Nitish Kumar, a resident of Jankinagar recalling the incident that took place early on Friday morning.

Nepal's Armed Police Force (APF) opened fire at the Lalbandi-Jankinagar border in which three men - Vikesh Yadav, Umesh Ram and Uday Thakur - suffered gunshot injuries. Vikash Yadav succumbed to his injuries on Friday itself.

Another person Lagan Kishore, who was at the border with his family to meet his daughter-in-law, a Nepali national and her family, said he was detained by the APF personnel who dragged him to the other side of the border.

Lagan Kishore said that the Nepali personnel abused and hit him with rifle butts and even abused his son and later resorted to firing.

Several residents of Jankinagar, who spoke to media, termed the incident as "unfortunate and shocking".

Nitish Kumar recalled: "A family was here to meet their in-laws (Nepali nationals). The daughter-in-law was talking to her family while her husband and her father-in-law sat a little distance away. Suddenly I saw Nepali personnel abusing her husband who complained about it to his father. All of a sudden the Nepali forces started thrashing them and then opened fire. They also took the father into custody."

"We were all shocked. I could hear about 18-20 gunshots fired over a period of one hour," Kumar said.

Another local, Ajit Kumar, said he was perplexed with the behaviour of the Nepali Police.

"There used to be no problems earlier. We don't understand what happened to the Nepal Police that day. The firing is unfortunate. If this continues, how will people in the border area live?" he questioned.

Ajit Kumar stated that such an incident has taken place for the first time. "People from here go to work in fields in Nepal and their people come to work in our fields. Such a thing has happened for the first time. About 80 per cent of our people are married to Nepalis," he said.

Many people who live in the adjoining districts of Bihar, which shares over 600 kilometres of border with Nepal, have relatives on either side of the border.

Meanwhile, Nepali police have claimed that Lagan Kishore, who was taken into custody following the firing by APF and handed over to Indian Security Forces at no man's land on June 13, was detained for trying to snatch a weapon from one of their personnel during an altercation.

However, both Kishore and his family have denied the claims and said he was "dragged" across the border and was beaten.

Kishore said that during the firing he had rushed towards the Indian side but Nepalese personnel hit him with rifle butt and took him to Nepal's Sangrampur. He was also asked to confess that he was taken into custody from the Nepali side.

"We ran to return to India when they started firing, but they dragged me from the Indian side, hit me with a rifle butt and took me to Nepal's Sangrampur. They told me to confess that I was brought there from Nepal. I told them you can kill me but I was brought there from India," said Kishore.

Kishore's son also said that Nepali personnel started abusing them and hit him and his father.

Speaking to ANI, Kishore's son said, "We went to meet my brother-in-law. Security personnel started abusing me but I could not understand their language. However, my brother's wife asked them to not abuse. After that, they came to the Indian side and hit me. I told my father about the incident and he confronted them."

"They started beating him and called fellow personnel who started firing and dragged my father from the Indian side, hit him with a rifle butt and took him to Nepal''s Sangrampur," he said.

Relations have become strained between India and Nepal after the latter released a map showing parts of Indian Territory-Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its own.

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