Tag: coronavirus

National Lok Adalat held across courts of J&K, Ladakh; 4628 cases settled
Asia

National Lok Adalat held across courts of J&K, Ladakh; 4628 cases settled

National Lok Adalat was held across the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh with settlement of a total of 4,628 cases in which Rs. 47.70 crore was awarded as compensation amount.As the entire population, including the litigants, are in deep mental stress due to outbreak of covid-19, J&K Legal Services Authority and Ladakh Legal Services Authority, under the stewardship of patron-in-chief and executive chairman, J&K Legal Services Authority, Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice (A), High Court of J&K and under the guidance of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, Executive Chairman, Ladakh Legal Services Authority organized National Lok Adalats throughout the union territories of J&K and Ladakh.This National Lok Adalat was organized in all the districts of UTs o...
Over 3.65 lakh J&K accounts benefited under business revival package
Asia

Over 3.65 lakh J&K accounts benefited under business revival package

Over 3.65 lakh accounts in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have benefited from the first tranche of relief released by the government under its ‘Business Revival Package’ for eligible businesses affected by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and the restructured accounts of 2014-floods and 2016-disruption.In a statement, the J&K bank said, “As the leading bank, J&K Bank alone has received Rs 222 crores out of the Rs 250 crores released by the government in its first tranche so far out of Rs 950 crores sanctioned for the banking sector. The bank has already passed the amount of Rs 222 crores as relief to 2.61 lakh eligible beneficiary accounts. Meanwhile, other banks operating in the region have released over Rs 27 crore to 1.04 lakh beneficiary accounts.”The J&...
J&K govt withdraws 30% fare hike on public transport
Asia, Singapore

J&K govt withdraws 30% fare hike on public transport

The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government has withdrawn 30 per cent fare hike on public transport in the union territory which was earlier imposed in view of the coronavirus pandemic.Government has accorded sanction to the withdrawal of “30 percent of fare hike on authorized fare” ordered vide government order no: 30 JK (TR) of 2020 dated 22-06-2020 in view of restrictions imposed on seat capacity of stage carriage passenger vehicles due to covid-19 pandemic, an order said.“Only authorized fare (charged prior to the issuance of government order number 31: JK (TR) of 2020 dated 22-06-2020) shall be charged from the passengers by the operators of stage carriage passenger vehicles in the Union Territory,” the order read.“Any violation of this order shall strictly be dealt with under the prov...
India’s Cabinet Secretary reviews arrangements for COVID vaccine roll-out
Asia, USA, World

India’s Cabinet Secretary reviews arrangements for COVID vaccine roll-out

In a high-level meeting, Cabinet Secretary of India, Rajiv Gauba asked all the states and union territories to prepare and maintain a database of the prioritized group of people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine during the initial stages.Chief Secretary of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, BVR Subrahmanyam, and Director General of J&K Police, Dilbag Singh along with Chief Secretaries of all the states/UTs participated in the meeting.While reviewing the public health response to COVID-19, the Cabinet Secretary said that at present, three companies are frontrunners in developing COVID-19 vaccines in India, which are currently in the third phase of clinical trials and will be shortly available for usage.He asked the States/UTs to “develop respective databases to prioritize various g...
J&K: Snowfall unlocks Kashmir tourism
Asia, World

J&K: Snowfall unlocks Kashmir tourism

After witnessing a slump for more than seven months due to outbreak of Covid-19 in Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, there is a ray of hope for the valley’s ailing tourism sector as the fresh snowfall in higher reaches is attracting tourists once again.Gulmarg in Baramulla district, which recorded almost two feet of snowfall, has come to life as tourists have started thronging this popular ski-resort. On November 15, as many as 574 tourists arrived at the Srinagar International Airport from different cities, mostly Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai to spend their ongoing Diwali vacations here, officials said.As per J&K Tourism department officials, November 15’s tourist arrivals are the “highest single-day visitor arrivals to the Valley registered during the last seven ...
J&K launches relief drive for 1.45 lakh workers to tide over COVID crisis
Asia

J&K launches relief drive for 1.45 lakh workers to tide over COVID crisis

The Jammu and Kashmir government has registered 2.4 lakh building and other construction workers so that they can be provided social benefits amid the covid-19 pandemic.According to government sources, on the direction of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Rs 70 crore was disbursed among the registered workers as welfare measures in October this year.Besides, rules have been formulated and processes have been sped up under his direction and marriage assistance scheme has also been approved for the registered labourers.“The registered workers shall be eligible for marriage assistance of Rs 25,000 for his or her marriage and the marriage of his/her dependent daughter,” sources said.Around 1.45 lakh workers will be eligible to receive the benefits. The transport workers who have migrated to the...
Covid-19 lockdown: 221 people stranded in Pakistan return to India
Asia

Covid-19 lockdown: 221 people stranded in Pakistan return to India

A total of 221 people, who were stranded in Pakistan for almost eight months due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown returned to India on Monday."Out of the total passengers, 135 are NORI (No Obligation to Return to India) visa holders, 11 are Pakistan nationals and 75 Indians. These people were stranded due to the lockdown," an officer at the Attari border said.He added that a medical team from a local hospital would conduct COVID-19 test of all the people arriving in India.A returnee, who had gone to Pakistan to attend the last rights of her mother, said that she was unable to return home because of the lockdown."I had gone to Pakistan because my mother had passed away, but due to the lockdown, we could not return home. With great difficulty, after eight months, I have come back home," H...
Pakistan’s Covid-19 situation worsens; 2,443 new cases
Asia

Pakistan’s Covid-19 situation worsens; 2,443 new cases

For the third consecutive day, Pakistan has reported over 2,000 new covid-19 positive cases on Sunday, taking the national tally of Covid-19 cases to 356,904.“Another 2,443 people tested positive for the deadly virus during the last 24 hours, as the number of total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Sunday were reached 26,538,” Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services said in a tweet.32 people have succumbed to the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 7,141.1,377 of the patients currently under treatment are said to be in critical condition. A total of 323,225 people have recovered from the deadly disease while 49,210,50 samples have been tested thus far.According to media reports, since the Covid-19 outbreak began, Sindh has reported 154,738 cases, while Punjab re...
China will import over $22 trillion worth of goods over the next decade: Xi Jinping
Asia, China

China will import over $22 trillion worth of goods over the next decade: Xi Jinping

China is now shifting its focus to expand its imports in order to balance out its inbound and outbound shipments, and internationalize its currency.According to a senior official from a state-affiliated think tank, “China will no longer aim at achieving trade surpluses and solely expanding exports, but will pivot to moderately expanding imports for a balance between inbound and outbound shipments”.“This will not only help China to take the initiative in the new round of economic and trade negotiations, but also help promote the internationalisation of yuan,” said Huang Qifan, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, during a financial forum.Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping had said that China will import over $22 trillion worth of goods over the next ...
Indian researchers find new mutation in Covid genome for testing
Asia

Indian researchers find new mutation in Covid genome for testing

In Indian state of Karnataka’s Nitte University, a team of researchers have found a new mutation in the Covid-19 genome for testing its virus strain, a top varsity official said on Wednesday."The novel mutation will have implications for the diagnostic RT-PCR-based detection of the Covid-19 virus, which uses screening test," said Nitte senior director Iddya Karunasagar.In a paper submitted for publication in the Elsevier Journal "Virus Research", researchers at Nitte said they detected partial deletions in the gene encoding the viral envelope protein (E-gene) in the genomes across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi and Odisha.The research was initiated after Anusha Rohit of tertiary care hospital Madras Medical Mission in Chennai alerted the Nitte team on the observation of ...