Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today lauded J&K for proper and effective implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centre (AB-H&WC) program.

On the 4th anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centre which was celebrated throughout India including in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the gathering through video-conferencing and talked with the citizens of 8 States/UTs including beneficiary from Kupwara district who have received services through Health & Wellness Centres and teleconsultations.

The Health Minister praised the contribution of various stakeholders and stressed on proper implementation of the programs for the common and marginalized people.

Spokesperson Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, Dr Mir Mushtaq said the centre of focus was Health and Wellness Centre/Sub-Centre Shaloora Block Kralpora District Kupwara, near the Line of Control.

The celebration was attended by Mission Director National Health Mission J&K, Choudary Yasin, Director Health Services Kashmir Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Rather, Deputy Commissioner Kupwara Imamdin, Chief Medical Officer Kupwara, Dr Bashir Ahmad, Nodal Officer, Dr Muhammad Shafi Koka and other dignitaries of J&K.

From UT of Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare interacted with a beneficiary Gh Rasool Dar, 70, a hypertensive patient at HWC-SC belonging to Shaloora Block Kralpora District Kupwara, UT of J&K.

The beneficiary was quoted saying that Ayushman Bharat has revolutionized the health care system at the grass root level in the UT of J&K.

Under Ayushman Bharat H&WC program, a teleconsultation facility has been made available through which he is getting free consultations from the consultants posted in Medical College which is almost 150 KMs away from his house and specialists at District Hospital Kupwara which is around 15-20 KMs away from his village

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stone of Ratle and Kwar power projects in Kishtwar district, inaugurate Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel, launch groundbreaking ceremony of industrial investments which have reached around Rs 70,000 crore, issue passbooks to farmers of land mapping and visit Panchayat Ghar and exhibition at Palli Panchayat in Samba district during his one-day visit to Jammu on April 24.

The foundation stone laying ceremonies of two power projects and inauguration of Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel will be done virtually from Palli Panchayat.

The Prime Minister will also be addressing nearly one lakh people at Palli and around 700 Panchayats across the country virtually.

A helipad is being constructed at Palli which will be ready within next couple of days for trial run. Modi will land at the helipad from Jammu Airport and is expected to stay in the village for around two hours before returning to Jammu Airport and flying back to New Delhi.

The Prime Minister is visiting Jammu on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day. During past few years, he has been visiting different States on the occasion to address Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) representatives.

Sources said Narendra Modi will lay foundation stone of Ratle and Kwar power projects which will be constructed over river Chenab in Kishtwar district. The foundation stone of both the prestigious projects will be laid virtually by the Prime Minister.

The 850 MW Ratle power project will be constructed over river Chenab at village Drabshalla in Kishtwar district at approximately cost of around Rs 5000 crore while Kwar project of 540 MW will be constructed over the same river and the same district at village Padyarna at tentative cost of around Rs 4600 crore.

Kwar project envisaged construction of 109 metres high dam and an underground Power House with four units of 135 MW each.

Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel along Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

It is one of the longest tunnel in India, with a length of 8.45 km. The tunnel reduces the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 16 kilometers. It also reduces travel time from 2-3 hours to 15 minutes between the two towns.

It has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 2100 crore.

The industrial investments have already touched around Rs 70,000 crore and it will be formally launched by Modi on April 24 after which the results of investments will be visible on ground.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has taken personal initiative to bring industrial investments in Jammu and Kashmir by touring Saudi Arabia, visiting several States within the country and organizing summits in the Union Territory.

Sinha will receive and accompany the Prime Minister throughout his tour.

Sources said the Prime Minister will present books to the farmers which have been prepared after land mapping done through drones and geo tagging through Surveyor General of India and other agencies.

He will visit Panchayat Ghar at Palli and exhibition stall installed there.

one lakh people including nearly 30,000 representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions at Palli.

Representatives of nearly 700 Panchayats across the country will also join virtually.

A man from Jammu lost 3 lakh rupees to cyber fraud. The man came across an advertisement on Facebook it was regarding taking a loan via an app called ” Insta loan “.

While explaining the incident, the man said, ” I downloaded that application, and it was written that you’d be granted a loan of rupees 7,000. He further said that his loan got approved, and he received an amount of rupees 3,500 in his bank account.

The application had a rule that one has to repay the loan within one month with an interest rate of 3,000 rupees. However, after six days of taking the loan, the man said, ” a notification flashed on my screen which read today is the last date to repay the loan amount ” he said that he was taken aback when he read the notification as there was one month period available to him to repay the amount as per the rules of the application.

The fraudsters started blackmailing him by hacking his phone, including his gallery and contact list, and his data was shared with at least fifteen other locations. Succumbing to the fraudsters’ constant pressure, the man lost around 3 lakh rupees to this cyber fraud. Next, he narrated the entire incident to his family, which suggested that he lodge an FIR against those cyber fraudsters with the Cyber Police.

All the citizens have advised it to be aware of such frauds.

Aditi Tikku

The Railways has recaptured its land by removing illegal encroachments on land worth crores of rupees adjoining the Jammu railway station. If the railway officials agree, the said land will soon be walled so that it is not occupied again.

An illegal settlement by the name of Maratha Basti settled on railway land. There were 144 slums in the said settlement of about 25 kanals, in which Rohingya, migrant workers of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh were living. Although railways had put up notices outside the slums of these migrant workers asking them to remove the slums themselves, the railway removed the slums of those who did not. After this Railways order, all the workers removed their slums within just four to five days. The engineering wing of the Railways has started taking possession of the vacant land.

Illegal occupation of railway land has been done for the last 20 years. Not only residential slums but shops were also built there. Under the guise of settlement, there were also hoaxes there. Petrol and diesel reaching Jammu through railways were stolen and sold in this settlement. Apart from this, drug smuggling also takes place in this settlement.

Railway’s Senior Section Engineer Ashwani Kumar said that the illegal occupation of about 25 kanals of railway land had been removed. Adequate measures are being taken to ensure that this land is not occupied again, soon, four land walls will be done. The people living there have removed the encroachments on their own.

Amish Mahajan

On Saturday, at least four persons were injured in an LPG cylinder blast inside the Kitchen of a house in the Kupwara district of north Kashmir. Official sources told that all the injured suffered minor injuries in the blast at around 12:45 p.m.

They said that the LPG gas cylinder blast occurred in the house of one Ghulam Mohi-ud- Din Wani at Wani Mohalla in Mughalpora Kupwara, leading to minor injuries to four persons. They include Tufail Ahmad Wani (18), son of Ghulam Mohidin, Ghulam Mohidin Mir (60), son Mohammad Subhan (55), and Naseema Begum (45), wife of Ghalam Rasool Lone and Ghulam Hassan Wani, all residents.

Meanwhile, people and police, besides Fire & Emergency personnel, rushed to the spot and doused the flames, which ensued and griped the house.

The timely action, they said, prevented the fire from spreading further and was contained before it could cause severe damage to the house. As a result, they said that the rest of the house was saved, barring small damage to the Kitchen.

On Saturday, reports said, an Army trooper was killed in an ongoing gunfight between militants and security forces at Watnar Kokernag area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

Sources reported that the soldier of 19RR received a serious bullet wound in the initial exchange of fire.

He was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, however, he succumbed to his injuries, the officer added.

A fierce gunfight is underway after police and army, on a specific input generated by J&K Police, launched a cordon and search operation in the area following a tip-off about militants’ presence.

In a major setback to his chances of making it big, Kashmir pacer Rasikh Salam has been ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Rasikh Salam, who played for Kolkatta Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing IPL, was ruled out of the tournament on Friday due to injury.

In a statement issued by IPL, HarshitRana has been brought in as a replacement for Rasikh by the franchisee.

“HarshitRana as a replacement for pacer Rasikh Salam for the rest of the IPL 2022 season. Salam, who played two games for KKR this season, has been ruled out owing to a lower back injury and will take no further part in the tournament,” an IPL statement said.

It is a major setback for the young pacer who made his return to IPL after a two-year gap due to the BCCI ban.

Before the IPL Auction 2022, Rasikh had suffered an injury while playing for J&K in the Under-25 tournament. He had missed the last few matches for the team due to injury and then had gone into rehabilitation.

In the auction, Rasikh was picked up by KKR instead of Mumbai Indians, who everyone was expecting to.

In 2019, Rasikh rose into fame after getting picked by Mumbai Indians in the auction and then went on to play one match for the side that emerged as eventual champions that year. Rasikh’s name was included in India’s Under-19 side during the tournament. However, before he could make it big, Rasikh got involved in a faulty date of birth certificate case and eventually was banned for two years by BCCI. He recently made his comeback into domestic cricket after completing a ban.

Rasikh spent his time in the Mumbai Indians academy during the ban period in Mumbai.

According to the State Information and Public Relations Department, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab Saturday announced 300 units of free electricity for every household from July 1.

The announcement came when Bhagwant Mann-led government completed its one month in the office today.

Mann met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday to discuss the scheme of providing free electricity to the people of Punjab and indicated, in a press conference, that the State government could make a big announcement soon.

“On the 16th, we will give great good news to the people of Punjab,” Punjab CM said.

Providing free electricity to every household for up to 300 units is one of the major promises made by AAP in Punjab in the Assembly elections that concluded last month.

In Delhi, the AAP government provides 200 units of free electricity to the people.

Earlier, Mann rolled out a doorstep ration delivery scheme in the state last month which was also AAP’s key campaign agenda in the polls.

It will be mandatory to install Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips on the vehicles for the safety of the pilgrims coming on the Amarnath Yatra. Also, the cut off time will be issued for the passing of vehicles. After this time, no passenger will be allowed to come towards the Valley and go towards Jammu. On Friday, the decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Arvind Kumar. It is to be known that this year the Yatra will start on June 30 and will last for 43 days.

Also Read: PM Modi greets people on Hanuman Jayanti

According to sources, the preparations and security arrangements for Amarnath Yatra were reviewed in the meeting. This year emphasis was laid on making foolproof security covers to ensure smooth and incident-free pilgrimage. The security officials were instructed to watch the suspects closely and intensify the anti-militancy operation ahead of the pilgrimage. A multi-layered security grid has also been created for incident-free travel.

As part of the security plan, the pilgrims will travel in vehicles with RF-ID chips, which will enable the police to track their movement easily. The cutoff timings for vehicles carrying passengers will be released soon to remain on the radar of security agencies. Officials of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Administration, Police, Army, CRPF, BSF and other security agencies were present.

Amid preparations for the Amarnath Yatra of 2022, additional companies of security forces have started reaching Kashmir. These will be deployed for the smooth conduct of the Yatra this year. Officials said that at least four companies of additional security forces are reaching Kashmir every day.

The jawans will be deployed along highways, at base camps, at sensitive places, and on the routes leading to the holy cave – Pahalgam and Baltal Sonmarg. Additional companies reaching the Valley include companies of CRPF, ITBP, BSF and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). He said this process would continue until May, and deployment would be done accordingly.

The Jammu and Kashmir government is looking forward to a historic yatra this year in which a record number of travellers are expected to visit the Himling of Lord Shiva. The government expects six to eight lakh passengers this year. Hoteliers have started making a plan to accommodate the pilgrims. It is worth noting that March this year recorded the highest number of tourists at 1.80 lakh, a record in the last ten years. Seeing this, it seems that travellers will also reach here in large numbers, due to which the people associated with the tourism sector have high hopes.

Amish Mahajan