SRINAGAR: Former minister and senior National Conference leader, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, has stated that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will not accept anything less than a complete withdrawal of property tax. Sadhotra today wondered over the parallels being drawn by the government between Jammu and Kashmir and other states of the country in a bid to justify its anti-people, illogical and authoritarian decision of levying property tax.
“The desperate attempts of launching a propaganda campaign through media and all its administrative apparatus is a candid admission of the government that it is on defensive in the wake of stiff resistance being given by the people to its unwarranted and provocative decisions, one after another “, Mr Sadhotra said in a statement.
He said the government cannot compare J&K with other states in respect of the civic facilities, which are reduced to the extent of filth all over, especially during the past few years. Instead of upgrading these facilities, the people in the urban and semi-urban areas are being punished by way of paying taxes. He referred to the filth and garbage in the Jammu City– the most thronged pilgrim destination in north India and said the conditions are worse in the areas like Bantalab, Muthi, Ploura, Durga Nagar and similar other localities, which stand testimony to the municipal apathy.
“Irony of the non governance is that instead of going for the course correction those holding the constitutional position are mocking the people by provocative gestures like their purchasing capacities”, he said, hoping that bare minimum sensitivity would be shown by responsible people at the helm. Such tantrums are against civility and good human behaviour, the former minister said.
Mr Sadhotra feared that the decision of imposing the property tax would be extended to the rural area once implemented in the urban pockets. The government is testing the public response as well as patience by imposing unjust decisions on them, he said.
Mr Ajay Sadhotra cautioned the double engine governments against taking policy decisions in J&K, which remain the domain of the democratically elected dispensations. Denying democracy to people is hallmark of the BJP model of governance. This might have worked for some time but can’t work all the time keeping in view democratic ethos of the country. He said the National Conference will fight anti people measures democratically, given its track record of fighting the just cause of all segments of J&K.
Mr Sadhotra recalled the waiving of tax on the rental of the properties in Jammu and Kashmir during the NC government, led by Dr Farooq Abdullah as Chief Minister between ¹996 and 2002, saying this is how people’s governments work in the larger public interest. Politically naive and insensitive BJP should learn lessons from the good governance and work for public welfare, he said. “Nothing short of the complete withdrawal of the property tax will be acceptable to people of J&K”, Mr Sadhotra maintained.
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government terminated three employees on Sunday under Article 311 of the Indian Constitution for their involvement in anti-national actions. Article 311 of the Indian Constitution provides for the removal of a person employed in civil capacities by the Union or a State.
The government, in a statement, said that as a result of their involvement in actions that were detrimental to the interests of the State, such as involvement in terrorism-related activities and drug trafficking, these employees’ activities had come to the attention of law enforcement and intelligence authorities.
Manzoor Ahmad Itoo, Junior Engineer (Public Works Department) in PMGSY, Bandipore, Syed Saleem Andrabi, Orderly in Social Welfare Department, Tehsil Handwara, District Kupwara, and Mohd. Aurif Sheikh, Teacher in Government Middle School, Pagihalla, Mahore, Reasi are the employees who have been dismissed.
Manzoor Ahmad Itoo was a key player in enlisting the public’s support for the terrorists and inspiring young people to do the same, endangering the security of the Indian State. Drug trafficking has been linked to Syed Saleem Andrabi. Moreover, Mohd. Aurif Sheikh was discovered to have planted IEDs under the direction of terrorists operating out of Pakistan, resulting in the loss of lives and destruction of public property.
The government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for anti-national elements who have abused their position in government. 44 government officials have already been fired using the provisions of Article 311 of the Indian Constitution prior to these three dismissals.
Srinagar: Sanjay Sharma, 40, a bank security guard by profession who was killed in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district was on his way to a local market, police said.
Sanjay Sharma was shot in the chest at point blank range in the Achan area of Pulwama on Sunday morning.He was quickly taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Condemnations of the killing poured in from all the sections of society. Cutting across the party lines , political parties unequivocally condemned the killing.
The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha,strongly condemned the killing of Kashmiri Pandit in Pulwama saying the administration has given a free hand to security forces to deal with the killers. He said the administration is standing strong with the breaved family.
“My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. The administration has given a free hand to the security forces to deal with the terrorists and we will continue to combat such acts of terrorism firmly and decisively,” he said.
A few hours after the incident, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah took to his twitter and wrote that he was deeply saddened to hear about the demise of Sanjay Pandith.
“Deeply saddened to hear of the demise of Sanjay Pandith of Achan in Pulwama district of South Kashmir. Sanjay was working as a bank security guard and was killed in a militant attack earlier today. I unequivocally condemn this attack and send my condolences to his loved ones,” tweeted Omar.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti lashed out at BJP for its “failure to protect minorities” in J&K and accused BJP of using these types of incidents to defame Muslims in the country.
“It is the government’s failure. The BJP government has failed to ensure safety of the minorities here. They (BJP) use minorities to show normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir. They use these incidents to defame Muslims across the country,” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief told reporters.
Blaming the BJP-led Centre for failing to protect Kashmiri Pandits, she said, “A few days ago, right-wing terrorists killed two Muslims in Rajasthan. Today, you have killed a Hindu. What is the difference between you and them?”
Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad condemned the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, saying it was a matter of grave concern.
“Any killing, especially a targeted killing, is a matter of grave concern and condemnable. We condemn it,” Azad told reporters.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said every targeted killing is condemnable, be that of a Kashmiri Pandit or a Muslim or a Sikh and whether the victim is from Jammu or Kashmir.
However, he said the most unfortunate part is that while many people were arrested in connection with such incidents over the last 30 years, “not one killer has been arrested for these targeted killings in the last two years”
NC’s chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq called the killing an unfortunate incident.
“ As a majority community, we have to ensure the protection of the minorities as the government has failed to do so,” he said.
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s borderland continues to be peaceful and tension free as the ceasefire between the rival armies entered the third year. There is no shelling from either side and life is near normal. Unlike past, people straddling the Line of Control are throwing big feasts on marriages, which are visible and noisy.
A sweets exchange between the two army officers from India and Pakistan on the bridge over Kishanganga in Teetwal. The sweets were exchanged on the the occasion of Eid on July 21, 2021.
The ceasefire is holding despite Islamabad and Delhi not seeing eye to eye and the diplomatic relationship continues to remain at the lowest ebb, ever. The two countries, however, continue to hit at each other in international forums, mostly on and around Kashmir. The security grid continues to maintain a strong counter-infiltration mechanism in place.
In the last two years, there were only three instances of breach of ceasefire and the officials insist they were of minor nature.
While the infiltration is by and large very difficult, the security grid is facing two different challenges. One is the use of drones in supplying arms and ammunition and another is the consistent supply of drugs. While the patches of the International Border falling in the Kathua and Jammu sector is usually in news for drone infiltrations, it is the Karnah (Tangdhar) sector of the LoC that is usually been as major source of drugs entry into Kashmir.
With the guns silent along the Line of Control (LoC), the residents who were earlier demanding bunkers and shelters to save from raining shells are now seeking better road and other basic infrastructure.
“The road stretches at Dardkote in Uri are dotted with potholes which speaks volumes about the tall claims of the government of improving road connectivity,” Faisal Khan, a Sarpanch in Uri, were quoted saying by a local news gatherer, KNO. “The road is dotted with huge potholes and has not been repaired for the last several years and the authorities concerned are least bothered about the sufferings of people. The road acts as an important link which connects several areas and thousands of commuters, transporters pass through potholes every day.”
The residents expressed concern over the condition of government schools. “Four classes are functioning in a single room at Dardkote,” they said, adding that similar conditions are in maximum government-based schools”.
Authorities, however, are not taking the bunker construction far granted. By the end of fiscal 2022-23, almost all the bunkers are expected to be ready. MHA is funding the construction of 14460 bunkers which includes 13029 Individual and 1431 community bunkers.
The bunker construction was not impacted by the February 25, 2021 ceasefire when the Director Generals of Military Operations of India and Pakistan announced the ceasefire after discussing it on hotline. The ceasefire was outcome of back-channel diplomacy between the two countries and took many months to happen. AK Doval, India’s National Security Adviser and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed are reported to have held a secret meeting in the United Arab Emirates in 2020, which led to the February 25 joint statement from the rival armies agreeing to strict adherence to the 2003 ceasefire understanding. This actually was revival and renewal of the ceasefire that came into force on November 26, 2003.
Both sides maintained a ceasefire for the first three years. However, in 2006, the breaches started and continued expanded with the hot talks in Delhi and Islamabad.
In 2017, 12 civilians and 19 security personnel were killed in border shelling incidents. 2018 saw 2140 instances of ceasefire violations, which peaked to 3479 in 2019. In 2020, 46 people lost their lives in 5133 incidents of ceasefire violations.
On February 3, 2021, MHA told the parliament that in three years – 2018, 2019 and 2020, 72 security personnel and 70 civilians were killed in 10,752 cases of ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir on LoC and IB. In these incidents, 364 security personnel and 341 civilians survived with injuries.
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has terminated the services of three of its employees under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution of India, over alleged terror links.
The terminated staffers are Mohammed Mir Andrabi, Syed Hameed Yatoo, Arif Sheikh dismissed from services for terror links in Jammu and Kashmir.
SRINAGAR: The Chief Coordinator of G20 India along with other top officials of ministry of tourism have arrived in Srinagar to take stock of preparations.
Quoting a top official news agency, KDC reported that Harish Vardhan Singla, Chief Coordinator G20, Ministry of External affairs, Arvind Singh, Secretary Ministry of Tourism, GOI, Rakesh Kumar Verma Addl. Secretary Ministry of Tourism, GOI, and other top officials, arrived from New Delhi by Air India flight.
Kashmir is all set to host the G20 meeting in the second week of May, 2023, Srinagar.
Hosting the event will be a “moment of pride” for Kashmir as this is the first G20 meeting to be held in the Union Territory, the official said.
“The G20 includes almost 70 per cent of the world population as well as economically. Holding the G20 meeting in Srinagar has its importance as it will help in boosting tourism and many misgivings, which our neighbouring country tries to portray, would also be clarified,” he added.
Kashmir neuroscientist, Dr Zahoor Shah, currently teaching at the University of Toledo, Ohio, is investigating the Gut-Brain axis in understanding various brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. His research sees the gut as a major player in various diseases as the key organ is a universe of good and bad bacteria, he reveals in a detailed interview
TheNewsCaravan (KL): Is it true that most of the innovations and discoveries are logical explanations of conventional wisdom that humans already know?
DR ZAHOOR SHAH (DZS): Yes, You said it right. There is a role of human beings behind all the advancements in the world, even if you talk about artificial intelligence. All the inventions and technologies in the present world are because of human effort. Even if we talk about genetics, it was not taken into consideration in the past, but now it has changed science to a whole new level. For example, in the last ten years, there has been a tremendous amount of research on microbiota (bacteria in human intestines), which were not previously distinguished that much. Then, with time, scientists were able to discover their importance.
Overall, science has moved from conventional to new inventions. Scientists were able to discover new signalling pathways and causes of diseases in the body. There is a substantial increase in knowledge about medical science and a lot of enhancement in human health with technological advancements. Technology has helped us a lot. Now, we can isolate a minute gene from a cell and amplify it. We have also learned about the causes of diseases and found a cure that humans suffered through. Earlier, people would die young and nobody could explain why. Now we have progressed, and conditions can be identified earlier, and lives can be saved. It has led to longer life spans and a concept of slowing the ageing process and identifying causes that accelerates ageing and related diseases.
KL:How has your journey been till now and what were the struggles and milestones that you encountered from Srinagar to Ohio?
DZS: I did my schooling up to tenth standard at Shaheen Public School, and then twelfth from MP Higher Secondary School, Srinagar. I graduated with a BSc from SP College and worked part-time as a medical representative, where I became interested in drug discovery and development. That curiosity led me to pursue a Master’s degree in Toxicology at Hamdard University, Delhi. While pursuing my master’s, I got interested in research as I saw PhD scholars performing research in different areas of pharmacology and toxicology.
Fortunately, I got a chance to do my research on Neurobehavioral systems under famous neuro-behaviourist Dr SB Vohra, who is not unfortunately with us now. After finishing my PhD, I got an opportunity to do my first postdoctoral training with Dr David Gozal at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, for two and a half years. I studied sleep apnoea and identified biomarkers in the urine sample of children. The idea was to develop a diagnostic kit in which we could use a child’s urine sample to detect whether the child is suffering from sleep apnoea instead of a child going through excruciating overnight sleep studies. We identified a few biomarkers, and my mentor, David Gozal, patented the concept.
It is essential to mention that my PhD was on finding neuroprotective agents for ischemic brain injury. I was intrigued by the beneficial effects of natural plant products like green tea and Ginkgo biloba on human health. So I wanted to research whether these two natural products can help prevent stroke. Stroke is a leading cause of death and is caused by a clot that stops blood flow to the parts of the brain.
This was a game changer in my career as this concept helped me to receive a grant award when I moved to Johns Hopkins University for my second postdoctoral training. My mentor at Johns Hopkins, Dr Sylvain Dore, suggested writing a grant proposal on a novel natural product that could help in stroke prevention. Since I had already studied Ginkgo Biloba, I proposed the concept and received a highly competitive grant award from the National Institute of Health, Pathway to Independence. We fed Ginkgo biloba to animals and experimentally induced a stroke to examine whether it could show protective effects. After receiving the grant, I moved to the University of Toledo in 2009, where I got an independent position as Assistant Professor. There, I developed new research ideas as my interest grew in understanding the proteins or genes that are beneficial or harmful during a stroke. My team, including PhD students and postdocs, identified a protein crucial in stroke pathology. As the study progressed, we discovered its role in increasing inflammation in the brain in other conditions.
Here at the University of Toledo, I am in the Medicinal Chemistry Department and collaborated with a medicinal chemist. We synthesized a chemical molecule (drug molecule) against the gene we identified playing a crucial role in stroke pathology. We did preliminary studies using cell models of human haemorrhagic stroke and found the drug molecule is preventing neurons from the toxic effects of blood. Haemorrhagic stroke occurs when a brain blood vessel ruptures and causes bleeding. As a result, widespread neuro-inflammation ensues after the initial impact of bleeding. This is considered a debilitating disease, and around 50 per cent of patients remain immobilized for the rest of their lives.
Dr Zahoor Shah (University of Toledo, Ohio)
Since there is no drug available to treat haemorrhagic strokes, our idea was to make a drug molecule for reducing neuroinflammation. First, we developed a concept and sent the proposal to the National Institute of Health for funding. Fortunately, we received approximately US 2 million dollars for the research and development of the drug molecule. This research is ongoing, and we have received a US patent on this invention.
Our continuing efforts led my PhD students to research other conditions like age-related diseases and neuro-degenerative diseases that usually occur after the ’60s, such as Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or Alzheimer’s disease. Most of these diseases have a single common component which is neuroinflammation. Therefore, we want to stop neuroinflammation so that old people become less prone to neurodegenerative diseases.
Besides, we also saw that neuroinflammation might have origins in other organs of the body. Certain diseases like Obesity, Diabetes, or Rheumatoid Arthritis have inflammation spread throughout the body. These inflammatory compounds do not enter the brain because the Blood Brain Barrier keeps harmful substances from entering the brain. But with age, this barrier also gets groggy and all the harmful inflammatory components cross into the brain resulting in neuroinflammation. This led to another intriguing question on gut microbiota and whether it has any role in neuroinflammation. Our intestines provide a conducive environment for essential bacteria that thrive on the fermentation of non-digestible fibres.
Conversely, people nowadays eat a lot of unhealthy Western food and fast food, which increases bad bacteria and decreases good bacteria in our gut, causing dysbiosis (an imbalance in the gut microbial community). Thus, we studied what effect gut dysbiosis will have on the brain, as it is well connected to the brain. For example, whenever we have to write an examination or make a presentation, we get nervous and anxious, which gives us a sense of butterflies in our stomach and results in a stomach ache or nausea. So, there is a bi-directional connection between our brain and gut. Therefore, we looked into what interchanges occur in the gut with ageing and its impact on our brain health.
For the last 12 years, I have been studying peripheral inflammation and now got interested to learn the microbiota-brain-axis in ageing. We performed experiments on aged mice and induced experimental inflammation to see whether it would change the microbiota. So, it came to be true and we observed an increase in the bad bacteria which caused the inflammation. We also observed markers of other neurodegenerative diseases in the brain. With this, we figured out that people with Diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis, Obesity, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s may have microbiota dysfunction. Along with this, we also observed female animals having higher Alzheimer’s Disease markers. Females are known to have a higher risk of Dementia related to Alzheimer’s disease than men.
We are currently working on the drug molecule, as I mentioned before and we are at an advanced stage of developing it.
KL: What were the different takeaways from your research and is there anything as such that is available and in practice on the ground level?
DZS: As I enunciated about my PhD research earlier, that was on Ginkgo Biloba. It is known to increase our memory. There have been many clinical trials in that aspect, but they didn’t prove successful. Patients above 70 years were recruited to see whether Ginkgo Biloba supplements would help enhance memory. I was at John Hopkins during this clinical trial, and our proposal of using a natural product for stroke prevention was fascinating and resulted in receiving the grant award. So, it was an outstanding achievement for me, as Gingko Biloba is already available in the market and has no side effects. If taken in minimal amounts has good health benefits. If at least 120 mg is taken daily, it can have good results and has no toxicity. This ground-breaking finding can benefit stroke prevention and help enhance memory in older people.
The other important achievement is the drug we are developing for neuroinflammation. I stated before the drug received the US patent and is ready to proceed in clinical trials and get FDA approval for clinical use.
KL:Subjecting to gut feeling or gut-brain axis, is it relevant to say that the brain has outsourced some of its functions to the gut?
DZS: That is an interesting question and an interesting idea to investigate. Our gut has major roles to play and is also considered a second brain because of its neural connections to the brain. The oesophagus and lining of the intestines to the rectum all have neural circuits that are controlled by the enteric nervous system (ENS), which is responsible for gastrointestinal behaviour. So, there is a bi-directional connection between the brain and the gut. Gut-brain-axis has many essential functions, including hormonal connections, and manage the immune system to some extent
For example, if we talk about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it has been found that the root cause is gut dysbiosis. Other disorders like Anxiety, Depression, or weight gain have also been seen to occur because of gut bacteria dysbiosis. There have also been experiments on weight gain in which faecal samples of overweight patients were taken and then implanted in mice. It was observed that the mice also gained weight due to bad microbiota. With that observation, it was observed that gut microbiota not only deals with gastrointestinal behaviour but also increases weight. So, it denotes that if we have a healthy gut, it can also control our weight. There are also a lot of clinical trials and research going on faecal implantation from healthy persons to patients with gut dysbiosis and syndromes like inflammatory bowel syndrome or irritable bowel syndrome.
KL: How sooner will we be able to see a shift in our routine toward something that is based on your path-breaking study?
DZS: For now, there has already been awareness, and people are moving towards a healthy lifestyle. The major takeaway is to take healthy foods that are rich in fibre. Usually, when we have fibrous food, it does not get digested in the upper colon but gets assimilated in the lower colon. After the assimilation, the material is left for the good bacteria to maintain equilibrium in the gut.
The drug molecule that I have invented may take time to come out. The least we can do now is change our unhealthy diet to a nutritious one, eat less red meat, and have more fibrous foods like green or leafy vegetables, onions, and garlic. We can also take supplements such as prebiotics and probiotics as well. Adding healthy habits in our daily life can help us keep our gut health, which will eventually positively impact our brain health.
KL:How true is the claim that if viruses and bacterial species will be eliminated from human existence, human survival won’t be the same?
DZS: That is true to reality. We have millions of bacteria and viruses in our bodies, which have a beneficial role to play. While alive or dead, bacteria are a very valuable assistance to our body. The good bacteria should not be eliminated and the bad ones must also be kept in check.
After death, the bacteria help decompose the corpse, and while living, it gives aid to our (GI Tract) gastrointestinal system. They release good products like short-chain fatty acids that help in weight loss and gut-related issues. It depends on us to manage the healthy bacteria in our bodies. They are a very important component of our lives.
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Police along with Army on Sunday recovered a huge quantity of high-valued narcotics and has arrested three smugglers believed to be running a cross LoC narcotics peddling racket in the district.
Quoting officials KNO reported that an operation was launched jointly by Army and police in Poonch and three narcotics peddlders have been intercepted.
The trio was running a cross LoC smuggling racket, said officials.
Around three kilograms of high-valued narcotics worth crores has been recovered so far in Noorkote village, on LoC in Poonch sector, officials said.
The operation is going on and more arrests are expected.
SRINAGAR: J&K experienced dry weather throughout the past 24 hours. The MeT office predicted scattered to moderately widespread light rain/snow for the following day on Sunday.
“In J&K over the next 24 hours, light rain/snow is expected to be scattered to fairly widespread,” an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar had 7.3, Pahalgam 3.2 and Gulmarg minus 1.6 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature today.
In Ladakh region, Drass town had minus 10.1, Kargil minus 8.2 and Leh minus 6.6 as the minimum temperature.
Jammu had 12.5, Katra 13.1, Batote 9, Banihal 7.4 and Bhaderwah 5.5 as the minimum temperature.(IANS)
SRINAGAR: Cracking the whip on drug peddlers, District Magistrate Shopian on Saturday ordered seizure/ freezing of illegally acquired properties of two more drug traffickers in the district.
The action has been taken under the provisions of Chapter VA of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotic Substances Act, 1985.
The order reads that the said properties shall not be transferred or any other use undertaken on it without the permission of the District Magistrate.
The Competent Authority under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Shopian, accorded a seal of approval to freezing of ill-gotten properties of two more drug peddlers who were given reasonable time period to prove credentials and produce the requisite documents that substantiate the property as legal.
The frozen property includes illegally acquired buildings and land from the proceeds of narcotics trade. The properties were purchased from ill-gotten money of drug trafficking within the last six years in the name of accused persons as well as in the name of their kith and kin.
The district administration has issued notices to several persons involved in the drug trafficking in the recent past and asked all of them to disclose the source of the acquisition of the properties and has in previous week frozen assets of 05 drug traffickers in the first instance.
