SRINAGAR: The government on Sunday sealed almost 45 shops in Banihal and most of them were either pharmacies or diagnostic centres. The market existed on the state land in, what is being called “hospital gali” and has mostly been sealed and taken over by the local municipal committee.
Reports reaching from the highway town said that authorities demolished a shop and a ‘tin shed’ located n the same lane. All the shops we linked directly or indirectly with the health sector.
Authorities had informed the shopkeepers in anticipation that their shops are being sealed and they had removed their belongings enabling officials to seal the market. Local residents said the decision will seriously impact healthcare sector and will result in jobless of around 400 people. One report said the sealed shops include 22 pharmacies – shops were medicine are sold, nine clinical laboratories and five optical shops. One report said some of the facilities that were being provided by these shops are missing in the hospital.
Two political activists were taken into preventive custody before the start of the drive to retrieve state land along the sub-district hospital road amid tight security arrangements, they said.
Fearing disruptions, police had taken into custody two local activists, Mohammad Ilyas Wani of the Democratic Azad Party (DAP) and Qaiser Hamid Sheikh of the Congress party.
The anti-encroachment drive was a joint effort led by the civil administration and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. There were symbolic protests as well.
Officials said the market had come illegally on the state land on the banks of a stream. The encroachments that were undone include part of the premises taken over by a private school.
Local businesses believe that since the shops have been formally taken over by the Municipal Committee, these may, in the coming days, be reallocated to the shopkeepers who were running their business from these shops and did not own them. Authorities, however, are tight-lipped, making no promises. They left after sealing the shops and pasting a paper on every one of them suggesting the property belongs to the MC Banihal.
BARAMULLA: 21 years on, Jetty Bridge on river Jhelum in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district is yet to be completed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
Pertinent to mention that in 2002, the foundation stone was laid for the construction of the bridge and work was allotted to Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC)-a government undertaking construction agency.
This bridge was supposed to be an alternate crossing over the river Jhelum that will bypass the town of Baramulla, significantly reducing traffic through the main town. The bridge would connect Khoja Bagh to Rafiabad’s Janbazpora and Chakloo areas and provide an alternate route for traffic between Baramulla and Kupwara.
The bridge has been a source of much anticipation and frustration for locals, as the potential to improve transportation infrastructure in the region continues to remain unfulfilled.
“We’ve been waiting for the bridge to be finished for over two decades, but it appears that the administration is too busy elsewhere,” said Abdul Rashid, a resident of Baramulla.
“In the last two decades, the executing agency has been able to erect only one pillar of the bridge,” says another local, Irfan Ahmad.
“It would take only 10 minutes to reach Rafiabad if the jetty bridge becomes a reality. In the absence of this bridge, we have to take a longer route and travel through the main town to reach Rafiabad,” Ahmad said.
JKPCC could not construct the bridge in all these 2 decades and now the administration has handed over the project to the R&B Department.
When contacted, a top official from district administration, rues lack of required funds to complete the construction of bridge.
He said that the delay in the completion of the bridge resulted in the cost escalation of project as the project cost soured from Rs 2 crore to around Rs 18 crore.
Executive Engineer R&B Division Baramulla said, “As of now, no construction work is going on at the site.”
He also refused to comment about the work to be completed by the department.
When tried to contact Shiekh Javid Maqbool, Superintending Engineer R&B, Baramulla- Kupwara Circle, he didn’t respond to our repeated calls.
SRINAGAR: Modern science may take its time to establish the importance of herbal baths for postpartum women but Kashmir has used the bath for centuries is helping mothers to heal and bounce back to life. Rooted in tradition, the bath, after 40 days of the birth is a special occasion that honours a mother for giving birth to a life.
Loaseh Gasseh: The herbal mix that goes into the making of special fragrant and curative water that women use for bathing after 4 days of childbirth. KL Image
“A mother carries her baby for nine months during which she goes through a lot of changes mentally and physically,” Raja Begum, herself a mother, said. “The bath is part of a set of practices that have passed on across generations and it helps in rejuvenation and healing.”
In Kashmiri, a postpartum lady is called Loase or Loaseh. Exactly 40 days after childbirth – normal or C-section, a mother is supposed to take a bath with Loaseh Aab (aab means water). It is a special water that is prepared by boiling Loaseh Gasseh in water for an hour or two, usually in a copper pot.
Tradition treats a mother like a patient for 40 days. She is served specially and given a lot of nutritious food. Apart from Koshur Kokur (courtyard chicken), they used to be fed with a lot of Haund (dandelion leaves), Lisseh – in certain cases, Vopul Haakh, which are vegetations having medicinal properties.
Normal practice is that the husband or her in-law brings, Peaw, a special visit to her, which brings in a lot of food items, besides clothing, warmers, beddings and – in certain cases, gold. This is seen as an occasion of celebration. Traditionally, the mother stays with her parents after the delivery. It is almost mandatory in the case of first birth unless the situation dictates otherwise.
Forty days later, the family gets ready for the bath and it changes the status of the mother. Now she can move around, go home, and get into the routine.
Almost in every society, such cultural rituals exist but in the case of Kashmir, the tradition is mixed with serious curative and healing efforts of the mother.
“It was my first experience of being honoured as a new mother,” Maroofa Majeed, a first-time mom, said. “The process was amazingly restorative and for the second time in my adulthood, I felt important and honoured – the first time was when I got married and the second time when I gave birth to the child.”
“I remember my mother being very cautious and excited about the day preparing the bath, steeping the herbs mixed with water in a big traditional copper pot and left for boiling on a traditional mud burner outside the house and then pouring into a big tub,” Nasreena Trumboo, another first-time mother, said. “She took a fistful of herbs and scrubbed and massaged my whole body for 20 minutes.”
It is just not a bath, it is literally a procedure that induces healing and rejuvenates the body.
“The herbs used in the postpartum bath are part of Kashmiri folk medicines and not the Unani Tibb. It relaxes internal organs, balances the muscle tune, detoxifies and gives restoration to the body of postpartum women,” Dr Ayoub Sofi, Incharge Medical Officer Ayurveda, Yoga ad Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) unit SMHS said. “In fact, the tourists and foreigners who come from far distances also take this medicinal herbal bath in Kashmir for relaxation and rejuvenation.”
The Loaseh Gasseh is a huge mixture of herbs, shrubs, leaves, wild fruits and roots together. These are sourced from different areas. Some of the items are cultivated in Doda, Gurez and Kishtwar areas. Many others are sourced from mainland India.
Practitioners believe a function of herbal medicines in bathing is to increase the involution of the uterus.
Sofi, however, regrets that the people bring these herbs from Bohru shops, people selling the herbs or herbalists, and take a postpartum bath at home without having proper awareness regarding the usage and benefits of all herbs. The pouch of the Loaseh Gasseh must contain a balanced mix of all the items that have been used traditionally. It includes various antiseptics and astringents that help heal and rejuvenate.
Normally, the Loaseh Gasseh has the following items:
Calendula, (Marigold, Jaffer): Anti-inflammatory properties that soothe and heal tissues.
Comfrey, (Black Wort): Heals bruises and sprains.
Sage leaves (Tej patta, Bargi Tej): Anti-inflammatory properties and also relieves muscles.
Liquorice, (Shangar): Repairs and reduces the number of bacteria on the skin.
Curuma, (laedri Gandri): An antiseptic having antioxidant properties that soothe joints.
Taraxacum, (Dandelions, hand): It has detoxifying properties, reduces scars and heals skin.
Unab, (Bray Mewi, Jujube fruit, Chinese date): Reverses the effects of ageing, has antioxidant properties, and fights and prevents cell damage.
Sapistan, (Lasora): Helps in relieving and relaxing pain.
In certain cases, even sea salt is also added to the water for its therapeutic uses.
Tradition suggests that the water needs to be boiled in a copper utensil for one to two hours and used when it is lukewarm. The boiled herbs are also used to scrub the body.
The herb collection costs not even a fraction of what eventually goes into its preparation. Normally, after the bath, women are supposed to take rest in a warm bed and have good meals. Since the water they use for bathing is aromatic, these women feel scented for many days.
In certain cases, like that of Kashmiri Pandits, the bath would be performed after 11 days only.
SRINAGAR: Paramedics in the Keran area of north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district have managed a delivery of a baby without a gynaecologist, in a 3 Idiots style. Both mother and baby are safe.
Quoting Block Medical Officer (BMO) Kralpora Dr M Shafi news agency KNO reported that on Friday, an expecting mother from the Kalas Keran area with labour pain was brought to Primary Health Centre (PHC) Keran where there was no gynaecologist posted.
“We tried to shift the patient to Kralpora but the inclement weather didn’t allow us to do so,” he said. “Even due to continuous snowfall, we were unable to take the patient to any other hospital.”
Given the circumstances, the BMO said the gynaecologist of Kralpora PHC motivated the paramedical staff at PHC Keran through a WhatsApp call and asked them to manage her delivery.
The staff was earlier a bit reluctant; however, after motivating them, they managed the delivery quite normally, he said.
Both baby and mother are fine and have been discharged, the BMO said. “This is not the first time that we have managed the emergency patients in this way and Keran being at high altitude faces such issues frequently.”
SRINAGAR: The weather was dry in Jammu and inclement in the Kashmir valley in the last 24 hours. The MeT office said that there will likely be clear sky in Jammu and generally cloudy sky in the valley during next 24 hours.
Clear sky in Jammu and generally cloudy weather is likely in the valley during the next 24 hours,” an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar had minus 0.6, Pahalgam minus 4 and Gulmarg minus 3.5 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature today.
In Ladakh region, Drass town had minus 16.5 and Leh minus 11.2 as the minimum temperature.
Jammu had 5.8, Katra 5, Batote minus 0.7, Banihal minus 0.6 and Bhaderwah minus 2.2 as the minimum temperature. (IANS)
SRINAGAR: Amid the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that residents in the region have to face ‘Bhajpa ka bulldozer’.
Rahul alleged that the administration is snatching away land from people they have built through years of hard work.
Taking to social networking site Twitter, Rahul wrote: “Jammu and Kashmir needs employment, better business and love, but what did they get? Bulldozer of BJP! The land which the people there irrigated with hard work for many decades, is being snatched from them.Peace will be protected by uniting, not by dividing people.”
जम्मू-कश्मीर को चाहिए रोज़गार, बेहतर व्यापार और प्यार, मगर उन्हें मिला क्या? भाजपा का बुलडोज़र!
कई दशकों से जिस ज़मीन को वहां के लोगों ने मेहनत से सींचा, उसे उनसे छीना जा रहा है।
अमन और कश्मीरियत की रक्षा, जोड़ने से होगी, तोड़ने और लोगों को बांटने से नहीं। pic.twitter.com/K8kJAn20H7
SRINAGAR: Chief Justices were appointed to four high courts on Sunday. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the fresh appointments on Twitter.
Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh
Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani, Judge of the Gujarat High Court was appointed its chief justice.
She was appointed acting chief justice of the Gujarat High Court on Friday after its chief justice Aravind Kumar was elevated to the Supreme Court.
Justice Sandeep Mehta, Judge, Rajasthan High Court has been appointed as chief justice of the Gauhati High Court.
As per the relevant provisions under the Constitution of India, the following Judges are appointed as Chief Justices of different High Courts. I extend best wishes to all of them ! pic.twitter.com/44kst99EPs
SRINAGAR: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) innovator Sameena Lone has been selected for the Government of India’s BIRAC BIG grant worth Rs 50 lakh.
Sameena Lone Innovator
Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) is a flagship programme of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), which provides the right admixture of fuel and support to young startups and entrepreneurial individuals. BIG is the Department of Biotechnology (DBT)’s largest early-stage biotech funding programme in India. Funding grant of up to Rs 50 lakh (USD 60,500 approx) to best-in-class innovative ideas to build and refine the idea to proof-of-concept.
Sameena Lone, an innovator cum scholar in the SKUAST-K’s Division of Vegetable Science, supervised by Dr Khursheed Hussain, Assistant Professor, Division of vegetable science, SKUAST-K and mentored by Naveed Hamid, BDA, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cell of the university, submitted her innovative proposal on ‘Organic & Disease-Free Seed Potato Production through Tissue Culture in Kashmir’ under Industrial Biotechnology, Clean Energy & Environment category in Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Not-for-Profit Company’ of Government of India which supports technology innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue a promising technology idea, and establish and validate proof of concept (POC) for the idea under the BIG grant scheme a few months back. More than 500 innovators across the country had applied under the said scheme and only 26 got selected for the final pitching round before the panel committee from which only nine innovators were selected under the given category across the nation.
SKUAST-K innovator is the only one from Jammu and Kashmir to receive the BIRAC BIG grant in the present round.
Vice Chancellor SKUAST Kashmir Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai congratulated the innovator and her team of mentors for securing the BIRAC Grant. He appreciated the level of effort and dedication of the team and support from SKUASTK Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship Centre that brought laurels to the University. He further added that such achievements are so precious that they not only boost the morale of the innovators but help in developing the ecosystem for innovations, incubations & startups.
SRINAGAR: What is ChatGPT? A buzzword that is everywhere in the virtual world of social media giants and is being discussed everywhere from schools, colleges, corporates, multinationals, and news organizations. Is it really going to create an inflexion in jobs?
Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Robotics
ChatGPT is a sophisticated Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) tool that gives intelligent solutions upon giving a simple prompt. It became the fastest-growing consumer application by amassing 100 million active users within two months of its launch, surpassing TikTok (9 months) and Instagram (2.5 years).
In its own narration, ChatGPT is a text-based conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) model designed to generate natural language text that is relevant and appropriate in response to a given prompt, making it a powerful tool for conversational AI systems. It is based on the Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT) language model, i.e, it has been trained on a large data set of text from the internet to generate human-like responses to various types of questions.
ChatGPT is a Large Language Model (LLM) based AI platform integrated with the messaging platform. It can generate text with a simple query. It is developed by the San-Francisco based Start-up called “OpenAI”. Founded in 2015, the company is financially backed by hard-hitting entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley like Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Reid Hoffman along with Venture Capital (VC) firms like Khosla Ventures, Tiger Global, Andreessen Horowitz, and Microsoft.
ChatGPT has been fine-tuned on vast amounts of data and can produce comprehensive output much like human beings. It can also answer follow-up questions. From remedies to any disease to poetry in the John Keats style, to legal briefs, to bugs in a computer code, to simple scripts, it can generate almost anything you could ask for.
ChatGPT triggered a new race in the development of Artificial Intelligence. Many Tech giants are betting billions to create their own chatbots. Google announced its own AI Chabot called Bardu, powered by Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA). Famously known China’s Google Baidu is also launching its AI Chabot called Ernie Bot the next month.
ChatGPT is like other Generative AI tools trained algorithmically to collect and generate new data that resembles human-generated content, including code, images, text, and simulations.
The fourth Industrial Revolution is bound to create a fundamental change in the way we live, work, and relate to one another. Artificial Intelligence enabled technology has been at the forefront of this revolution. AI is simply defined as simulating the intelligent behaviour in machines and computers. AI is more than the behemoth creatures shown in Science fiction movies. It is like normally written software with exceptional capabilities like the human brain. Advanced AI programmes can learn new things by themselves when catered to large data sets and will execute the actions accordingly.
Although discussions about advanced Artificial intelligence tools have been going around for a decade or more, ChatGPT became the curtain raiser to AI for the world to understand it better. According to Statista, investment in AI reached 94 billion dollars from 2015-2021 and is expected to exceed the mark of US 135 billion dollars in 2023.
ChatGPT is still in its infancy stage, and the endgame of AI-based chatbots is difficult to predict, but tech prodigies all over the world believe that it will create a disruption in Big Tech, industries, and the future of work.
SRINAGAR: BD Mishra, a former brigadier of the Indian Army, and present Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, has been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor for the union territory of Ladakh.
BD Mishra
According to reports on Saturday, Lieutenant Governor Radha Krishna Mathur quietly left his office in Leh.
After that on Sunday a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that the President of India has accepted the resignation of Radha Krishnan Mathur as Lt. Governor of Ladakh.
Quoting sources reports said that on Saturday, Mathur packed his bags and informed the staff that he was leaving, without citing any reason for the sudden decision.
It’s unclear if Mathur was asked to resign by the Centre, or he has chosen to leave, said the reports.
Mathur, a former defence secretary, was appointed as the first Lt Governor of Ladakh after Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its statehood and divided into two union territories in August 2019.
