BUDGAM
Soldier Sameer Ahmad Malla, a resident of Lokipora, remained missing for three days and then his corpse was recovered from Labran – Dawash belt in Khag forests. The body bore no firearm injury. A JAKLI recruit, he was posted in Jammu and had come home to see his second child, born recently. Poice said they are investigating the case from all angles including militancy. Malla came into scanner last time in May 2018, when he was caught by police along with his officer, Major Leetul Gogoi, for driving a young Kashmir girl and the Major to a Srinagar hotel. The hotelier did not permit them space and it triggered their arrest. Both of them were tried by a court-martial. The Major had earlier tied a villager to the bonnet of a jeep and paraded him during elections.
In 2021-22, Jammu and Kashmir government received Rs 128.8 crore for the up-gradation of infrastructure and healthcare for tackling the pandemic.
LONDON
Kashmir psychiatrist, working with a premier British hospital, was awarded the RCPsych South Eastern Award for 2022 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. An Oxford University postgraduate, Tarfarosh is the Specialist Registrar at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust in England. The young medico has developed impressive quality improvement projects, including animations showing real-life experiences of children and families using services for neuro-developmental conditions. This led BBC to showcase him in 2021. The Royal College of Psychiatry had also nominated him for four other awards including “Trainee peer of the year” and “Higher trainee of the year” besides being selected as Finalist for three awards.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Jammu and Kashmir Government for damaging the environment of Doodh Ganga and Mamath Khul in violation of provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
LAKHANPUR
Now Lakhanpur, the gateway town into Jammu and Kashmir, will have a 20 feet high statue of Maharaja Gulab Singh, the warlord who purchased Kashmir from the British in 1846 and evolved it into a state. The bronze statue will cost Rs 75 lakh and it will be made by Padamshri Ravinder Jamwal, a sculptor, who is already working on it for the last three years. The statue will show the Maharaja on a horse. The project cost is estimated to be around Rs 1.50 crore. Brief life history of Maharaja will be engraved on a stone. Besides, a 35 feet high National Flag will also be hoisted near the statue.
After amending All India Services (AIS) rules, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has formally allocated 189 posts – 65 IAS, 70 IPS and 58 IFoS, of AGMUT cadre to Jammu and Kashmir.
JAMMU
BJP broke into dance in Srinagar and in Jammu after the party got enough numbers to rule the UP, Manipur, Goa, and Uttarakhand. UP continues to be the major player in the Lok Sabha and key to the power structure in India. BJP leaders said the boost will help them repeat the UP success story in Jammu and Kashmir, later this year.
UDHAMPUR
A surprising IED explosion in Udhampur, the highway town and the headquarters of the Northern Command, led to one death as 16 others are recuperating in the hospitals. The case has now been taken over for investigations by the federal investigator, NIA. SIA also visited the spot on the very first day. Officials said it was a low-intensity blast. Tragically, the slain person, Jugal Kumar, 35, has his wife and son, injured and admitted to the hospital. The last militant attack in the town was on August 5, 2015, two BSF jawans were killed and eight others injured when two Pakistani militants attacked a bus in the Samroli area of Udhampur. One of the militants was gunned down while another was captured alive by the villagers. On May 11, 2011, a Major General rank officer had a narrow escape in the IED explosion that killed a milk vendor and left 10 others injured.
KULGAM
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind bestowed Nari Shakti Puraskar on Kashmir woman innovator, Nasira Akhter. In fact, three women from Jammu and Kashmir were honoured. Akhter was given the award for her grassroots innovation in environmental conservation. A resident of Kanipora (Kulgam), Nasira, dropped out at twelfth class, she got busy with herbs. Mother of a daughter, she lost her husband to cancer. She worked on a herb since 1999 and in 2008 she finally got an answer to her hard labour. Her solution converts polythene to ashes, thereby making polythene biodegradable. She has already tied up with a company under a non-disclosure agreement that is improving the product.
Sandhya Dhar, a disability rights activist Sandhya heads NGO, Jiger, also suffering from cerebral palsy, received the award while in a wheelchair. She was honoured for her contribution and dedication towards divyangjan rights. She has founded ‘Jammu Institute of General Education and Rehabilitation’ in 2015 that conducts classes for Divyangjan and underprivileged children. Right now, 75 children are undergoing education in the institute at Sector 4 Gangyal.
Ladakh’s Padma Yangchan was awarded for preserving and reviving the lost cuisine and hand-weaving techniques and promoting this art. She has a design studio and a café and owns a designer brand called Namza.
KUPWARA
Three weeks after going missing, the ill-fated minor, Talib Hussain, 8, from Awoora village was traced buried in a pit in forests. The case was solved after the police zeroed in on a mother-son and they spelt the beans. Initially, it was presumed that the boy might have been taken away by the wildlife but then the police had to act and make arrests. Shahnaza Begum and her 19-year-old son Amir Ahmad have admitted to the fact that they abducted the boy and killed him. It was the mother on whose behest the son committed the murder. The motive is yet unknown but Shahnaza has lost her teenage daughter in mysterious circumstances a few years back. Police said they are investigating the case from all angles.
BARZULLA
The Bones and Joints Hospital at Barzulla has resumed its OPD and foresees to start the emergency within 10 days after the devastating conflagration paralysed it. All its 100-odd admitted patients were driven to other hospitals. The gutted part of the building was the timber laced Old Block that had already been declared unsafe by the World Bank after the 2014 floods. However, what was disturbing was that the hospital management had not taken care of the fire safety measures even after they were listed after an inspection. Follow up reports suggested that most of the major hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir are not equipped with adequate fire safety equipment. “Around 70 per cent of Government, as well as private hospitals in the UT, do not have basic fire safety measures in place. They lack a smoke and fire management system and in many health institutions, unreliable fire management systems have been noticed,” one news report quoted an official saying. “Moreover, there are no water for fire-fighting measures, no emergency power supply and public address system is also dysfunctional.”
SAMBA
Accidents are quite often now. However, the one that took place in Samba was tragic because it killed four members of the same family. Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, 65, a resident of Rakhi-Brah-Ranipora (Shangus) was driving Zaina, 60, his wife back home from Amritsar where she was treated for an illness. The couple was accompanied by their daughter, Masrat Jan, 21, and son, Iqbal Ahmad, 26. Their SUV was being driven by Saqlin, another relative, who is battling for life in a Jammu hospital. The family had given a lift to Mohammad Akbar Chopan, from a Qazigund village; he also died in the accident when the car rolled down into a deep gorge at Jamoda near Mansar. Bhat’s son Mushtaq is the village Sarpanch.
SRINAGAR
Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested two teenagers from Khanyar in a grenade lobbing on a Sunday Market case that led two persons – including carpet weavers promising daughter, dead and more than 30 injured. They were identified as Mohammad Bariq Fazil Nabi Sofi. Their two-wheeler was also seized. Police said they have enough and adequate evidence against the duo. The target, police said, was a parked police vehicle but it missed the target.
JIND
Meghalaya foot-in-mouth governor, Satya Pal Malik, whose fax was dysfunctional when he controlled the Raj Bhawan in Srinagar, is always newsy. The recent is that he has been advised by his friends to keep quiet so that he becomes India’s next Vice President. “Some of my friends had advised me that I could become the President or Vice President so I should keep quiet. But, I told them I don’t care about these positions,” Malik was quoted saying.
GANDERBAL
Amir Hamid Shah, 27, a resident of Haran, who resorted to self-immolation on February 22, in protest against the demolition of his shop-line, died last week. He battled for life in the SKIMS for a fortnight. Police and the civil administration have launched investigations in the case. An official demolition squad had gone to undo the construction, already almost half ready, when the incident took place. Authorities said it was in violation of the rules but nobody in the government said what they were doing for almost a year when the building came up.
GULMARG
In collaboration with the Tourism Department, the Srinagar based 15 corps organised a Youth Festival that showcased the emerging singers and had winter sports elements as well. Bollywood’s yesteryear actress Neelam Kothari was also invited. Lt Gen DP Pandey, General officer commanding (GOC) Chinar Corps was also present who spoke about the importance of the festival.
SRINAGAR
At a time when the Kashmir trade is seeking a direct Srinagar-Jeddah flight, the only international flight connecting Srinagar with Sharjah is facing tensions. It witnessed a sharp decrease in passenger occupancy since January this year, triggering last moment cancellations. The flight was proving costly for the air carrier after Pakistan denied it air space thus pushing it to take a longer route. At one point in time, the government was planning to have a Dubai-Srinagar flight that would involve UAE with Pakistan directly.
