SRINAGAR: The authorities demolished an outer wall of a former bureaucrat’s house near the Srinagar Airport on Saturday, officials said.
Quoting an official, news agency KDC reported that a team of the Revenue Department led a demolition drive to reclaim state land, measuring around 10 marlas from the “encroacher”.
He said that the outer wall, the main gate of the former bureaucrat Farooq Renzu Shah’s residence, was demolished in Friends enclave, near the airport as part of the government’s demolition drive against the “land grabbers”.
Officials said that Renzu Shah’s Humhama home was allegedly registered in his wife’s name.
Farooq Renzu Shah was formerly DC Budgam, Director Department of Information and is currently serving as Chairman Jamaat-e-Aitqaad International.
Pertinently, the authorities have reiterated that the main target of the anti-encroachment drive was to bring down “high-profile land grabbers”.
SRINAGAR: A Junior Commanding Officer of Assam Rifles posted in North Kashmir’s Bandipora died of ‘cardiac arrest’, sources said.
Quoting sources news agency KNT reported that a JCO of 26 Assam Rifles posted at Paribal Thikri army camp complained of chest pain after which he was evacuated to 92 Base Hospital Badamibagh where doctors declared him brought dead.
The deceased has been identified as Vivekanandu Daniyal, a native of Uttarakhand state of India.
Police Post Aloosa Bandipra has started proceeding under CrPc 174 in this regard.
They may all be boatmen but they have a lot of divisions dictated by the services they deliver and the professions they adopt. Insha Shirazi reports about the newer challenges to the people living in Dal lake
“Houseboats were founded at the end of the eighties by Colonel R Sartorius, vc; and Sir H Harvey, Bart, and Martyn Kennard, I think, owned the first two crafts,” Lt Col Joshua Duke, the British Residency surgeon in Srinagar for many years, wrote in 1900. “Mr Kennard’s boat cost a great deal of money and is still on the river.”
Duke’s series of guidebooks, a huge collection of graphic descriptions of the nineteenth and twentieth-century Kashmir, however, acknowledges the fact that the boats existed in Kashmir prior to the intervention as well. “Since then they have multiplied in variety, shape, size, cost, etc, to a certain extent they take the place of houses, still very deficient in Srinagar.” The Doonga boat, however, existed.
Those were the days when the boatmen (Heanz) were the key drivers of life. They were the main transporters within the twin Kashmir lakes and managed most of the cargo between South and North Kashmir. Movement within Srinagar was only because of them. Given this advantage over others, they were close to any visitor that came to Kashmir. Most of the Kashmir travelogues are based on their interaction with the boatmen.
Divisions
Since then, diversity among the boatmen existed. There were different types of boatmen and that sub-division still exists. The divisions are based strictly on the type of professions the particular family was engaged with.
Fishing is a major economy for the communities living on the Wullar lake shores. Off late, however, the fishermen said the government is contributing negatively to the sub-sector putting them to losses. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
Fisherman: These are the Gadeh–haenz’s whose main source of income is fishing. They live within and around the lake of Dal and Wular. Their men catch fish and their women sell it in the market.
Lotus Growers: They are called Gaer Haenz. These people are primarily farmers who grow Lotus and chestnuts. Though both grow naturally, they harvest the nadroo (Nilumbium) and the chestnut and market them. Water chestnuts mostly grow in Wular. Some of them, off late, have lost their access to water areas where the plant grows rendering them jobless. Now, they work for others during harvesting. Lotus stem apart, they also harvest green and black trapa, fodder, and other plants.
Vegetable Growers: In their own parlance, they are known as demb-heanz. They are the main cultivators of the Dal lake and most of the vegetables marketed in Srinagar city come from them.
Boatmen: Despite the fact that Doonga’s no longer exist but a major section of the boatmen who own houseboats and shikara taxis are locally known as Dungehhaenz. They offer accommodation to tourists in their luxurious houseboats and have decent careers doing so. This category of boatmen is the most advanced and economically sound. They are cosmopolitan in nature as they have relations across the world. Some of them have retained their houseboats and are living in plush homes. A number of them, now own good hotels as well.
Hunters: Though they do not exist, there has been a sub-group called Ayer-heanz, who made a living by hunting. It is said they used to live in or around forests.
Transporters: Kashmir’s transportation and cargo were managed by horsemen or boatmen. Boatmen who owned huge barges for moving cargo were locally known as Bahatsi–heanz. Interestingly, the section of these transporters who were transporting timber was called Mata-heanz.
Challenges
All these people have been under pressure for one or the other reason. The last 100 years saw the complete disappearance of the transportation dungas as the roads were built even within the Dal Lake. Hundreds of families were relocated off the lake under the Dal restoration plan. They have homes far away from the ecosystem they were brought up in.
Now, newer tensions have cropped up. “I have been running a Shikara boat in the Dal Lake for 40 years. I pick up customers from various ghats to the houseboats,” Ghulam Rasool said. “Our boats have problems but we are not being permitted to repair them.”
Official records suggest there were 1103 houseboats and Dunga boats in 2000 and 157 of them were decommissioned in 2007-08, reducing their number to 910. With repairs being denied the numbers will go down further as fires and routine wear and tear are taking their toll. Insiders in the lake said the number of working houseboats could be much lower as no new houseboat was built in the last more than two decades.
Tariq Ahmad Pingloo a houseboat owner in Dal Lake said they have been squeezed into the lake. “It is rare to see hanjis in the Jhelum River. Quite a few houseboats are left in the river now,” he asserted.
Caught in Kashmir’s age-old peculiar casteism – that sees them as a clan apart, the boatmen are regretting a peculiar stereotyping of the community. “We are being accused of polluting the lakes,” Tariq said. “Why do not people understand the fact that the lake is our universe and we cannot pollute it because it is linked to our survival?” The government has gone to court, more than once, accusing the community living in the lake of polluting the water body. This is the key factor for rejecting the repair request by owners.
SRINAGAR: Democratic Azad Party (DAP) Chairman and former J&K chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said that those who have grabbed a huge chunk of land must not be spared in the ongoing anti-encroachment drive across the Union Territory.
Quoting Ghulam Nabi Azad news agency KNO reported that in democracy, nobody can suppress the voices of people.
While welcoming the statement of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he asked his party workers to end their agitation as LG has assured that poor will not be touched.
“We are in favour of the government’s step against those who have grabbed a huge chunk of land illegally. We urge the government not to touch people who have set up their business units or shops on just one or two marlas of land so that they are not forced to starve,” he said.
He added such measures are certainly not aimed at getting political benefits, but would go against the incumbent government that has done a tremendous job on ground by putting an end to stone pelting, giving a boost to tourism sector and other related things.
SRINAGAR: An army man was injured in a landmine blast along Line of Control in Kerni sector of Poonch district on Saturday, official sources said.
Quoting official sources news agency GNS reported that the blast, apparently occurring accidentally, occurred at around 11:15 a.m., leaving the soldier identified as A Rawat injured who was immediately airlifted to army’s command hospital in Udhampur.
Confirming it, an official said that the status of the soldier’s condition was not immediately known.
SRINAGAR: Indian firm Global Pharma Healthcare is voluntarily recalling all lots of its artificial tears and lubricant eye drops after 55 adverse events, including one death and cases of permanent blindness, were reported in the US, American drug regulator USFDA said in a statement on Friday.
Brand named EziCare and Delsam Pharma, the eye drops in question — Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops —are being distributed by EzriCare, LLC and Delsam Pharma. The recall has been attributed to possible microbial contamination.
In its product recall update today, the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the country’s apex drug regulator, said the development followed an alert by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US, about an investigation of a multi-state cluster of a potential drug resistant microbial infection linked to the eye drops manufactured by Chennai-based Global Pharma Healthcare.
“To date, there are 55 reports of adverse events, including eye infections, permanent loss of vision and a death with a bloodstream infection,” the USFDA said. In a warning, the FDA also cautioned consumers saying the use of contaminated artificial tears could result in the risk of eye infections that could lead to blindness.
“Artificial Tears (carboxymethylcellulose sodium) Lubricant Eye Drops, 10 mg in 1 mL, ½ fl oz (15 ml bottle), are used as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye for the temporary relief of discomfort due to minor irritations of the eye, or to exposure to wind or sun. The product was distributed nationwide in the US over the Internet,” the FDA said. Global Pharma Healthcare is notifying the distributors of this product, Aru Pharma and Delsam Pharma, and is requesting that wholesalers, retailers and customers who had the recalled product should stop use, the FDA added.
A CDC probe, meanwhile, involves a multi-state cluster of Verona Integron-mediated Metallo-ß-lactamase (VIM)- and Guiana-Extended Spectrum-ß-Lactamase (GES)-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections possibly associated with the use of the artificial tears manufactured by Global Pharma Healthcare.
Drug resistant microbial contamination could be lethal in the wake of microbes in question becoming resistant to the treatment.
On October 5, 2022, the WHO had issued a global alert about potential links between sold and cough syrups manufactured by Maiden Pharma in Haryana’s Sonepat with over 66 child deaths in Gambia. On January 11 this year, the WHO issued a medical product alert on two substandard (contaminated) products, identified in Uzbekistan. The two products—AMBRONOL syrup and DOK-1 Max syrup—were being manufactured for exports to Uzbekistan by Noida-based Marion Biotech. The production at both Maiden Pharma and Marion Biotech remains halted. Sources said the eye drops in question were not sold in India.
Meanwhile, teams from the Central Drug Standards Control Organisation and the Tamil Nadu drug controller office would be inspecting the firm in Chennai tonight. In the past, the CDSCO acted quickly to shut operations at Maiden Pharma and Marion Biotech pending probe, even though the products were meant only for exports.
SRINAGAR: Four days after an avalanche killed two Polish nationals, another avalanche hit the Afarwat Peak at famoud ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday.
Quoting an official the news agency KNO reported that an avalanche hit the area today morning, however, no casualty has been reported in the incident.
He said the area was already declared as Red Zone and as a precautionary measure teams have been sent to the spot.
“Medical teams have been kept on standby near the avalanche area,” he said.
Notably, on February 01 two Polish Skiers were killed and 19 others were rescued after an avalanches hit the Afarwat peak.
SRINAGAR: Weather department on Saturday forecast mainly dry weather for next 24 hours in J&K with very light rain and snow at one or two places of north Kashmir.
Quoting a meteorological department official news agency GNS reported that there was a possibility of scattered light rain and snow during the subsequent two days.
Meanwhile amid cloud cover, the minimum temperature saw an increase except at a few places with Srinagar recording a low of 0.4°C against minus 0.6°C on the previous night. Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was above normal by 1.1°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of minus 3.0°C against minus 2.6°C on the previous night and it was 0.9°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of 0.9°C against minus 1.5°C on the previous night and it was 5.2°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 1.8°C against minus 2.7°C on the previous night and it was 0.6°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5.5°C against minus 7.0°C on the previous night and it was 2.1°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at 1.8°C against minus 0.8°C on the previous night and it was 4.1°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 8.9°C against 7.2°C °C on the previous night. It was 0.5°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 1.8°C (above normal by 1.0°C), Batote 5.8°C (above normal by 3.7°C), Katra 9.5°C (2.5°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 2.4°C (3.0°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 8.0°C and minus 13.2°C respectively, the official said. While Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period that started on December 21 has ended, Kashmir is under the grip of a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’. It will be followed by a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 1.
SRINAGAR: Two avalanches hit Gurez and Tulail tehsils of the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, said, officials.
However, no damage to property or loss of life was reported.
“Two minor avalanches were observed in Gurez and Tulail tehsil today; no damage to property or loss of life occurred,” news agency ANI quoted District Magistrate Bandipora as having said.
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Police have registered an FIR against a police sub-inspector at whose house Mohammad Arif Sheikh, a serving government school teacher-turned-LeT militant, was allegedly living as a tenant. The house is located in Sunjawan’s Peerbagh Colony on the outskirts of Jammu city, reported The Indian Express.
Posted in Kashmir Valley, police sub-inspector Mohammad Haneef has been booked on charges of not verifying Arif Sheikh’s antecedents with the local police, newspaper The Indian Express quoted a senior police officer as having said, adding that the FIR against Haneef has been registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.
The police had on Thursday said that they arrested Arif Sheikh, a school teacher posted in Government Middle School at Phagilla in Reasi district’s Mahore tehsil, for planting two IEDs in the Narwal area of Jammu city which injured nine people on January 21. A “perfume IED” seized from him – an explosive packed inside a perfume bottle, set up to explode when the nozzle is pressed or the lid turned – was the first such device seized by the J&K Police in three decades of militancy.
The provision under which PSI Haneef has been booked provides for punishment to a person who disobeys an order duly promulgated by a public servant, saying that if the disobedience causes or tends to cause danger to human life, health or safety, or causes or tends to cause a riot of affray, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine up to Rs 1,000 or both.
The police in Jammu and Kashmir have from time to time been asking people to submit information about tenants, if any, living in their houses for verification of their antecedents. In Jammu district, the police have conducted such verification for 25,000 tenants and their family members in the past one month, a senior police officer said.
Arif Sheikh owed allegiance to the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the report quoted the police as having said, adding that he has also confessed to his involvement in IED explosions in Jammu’s Shastri Nagar area in February 2022 and in a passenger bus near Katra on May 13 last year. While there was no casualty in the Shastri Nagar blast, four people were killed and over 20 injured in explosions inside a passenger bus near Katra.
