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16 Shawal | 1439 Hijri | Vol:21 | Issue:157 | Pages:12 | Price: `3

SUNDAYJULY-2018SRINAGAR TODAY : PARTLY SUNNY01

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SUNDAY OBSERVER

P6

News Digest

Doubt is the father of invention.~ Ambrose Bierce

Highway Closed

Exams on time: PSC

Yatra suspended

1 Killed In Machil Mishap

Srinagar: Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended due to lurking threat of floods in the Valley, leav-ing hundreds of commuters stranded, officials said. P10

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (PSC) today said that Combined Com-petitive Examination (CCE) Mains examination 2016 shall be held as per the already notified P10

JAMMU : The Amarnath Yatra from Jammu was suspended today owing to frequent disrup-tions caused by heavy rains since the beginning of the annual pilgrimage, while the over 2,000 pilgrims who were P10

Srinagar: A person was killed while four others suffered injuries after a passenger vehicle rolled down into a deep gorge in Machil sector of north Kashmir's Kupwara district P10

P10

The book is a serious read and presents highly researched material on a narrative hitherto considered inviolable. It has opened a new debate on historiography of Kashmir. Significantly, the book has been spoken about as “one of the more important books to have come out of Kashmir in recent years” [Hindustan Times],

davp

331

04/1

3/00

03/1

819

July 4, 2018; 10:30 AM at

SKICC, Srinagar

Gracious Presence

Shri N. N. Vohra(Hon'ble Governor, J&K)

Prof. (Dr.) K. VijayRaghavan (Principal Scienti�c Advisor to Government of India)

Prof. (Dr.) S. K. Banerjee(Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission & Former Chancellor, CUK)

July 4, 2018; 10:30 AM at

SKICC, Srinagar

Gracious Presence




July 4, 2018; 10:30 AM at

SKICC, Srinagar

Gracious Presence




KASHMIR

EXPOSING THE MYTH BEHIND THE NARRATIVE - A REVIEWER’S PREJUDICE

Observer News Service

Srinagar: Many low lying areas were submerged in Srinagar and South Kashmir due to flooding from the river Jhelum which continues to flow over the danger mark despite im-provement in weather on Saturday.

After South, flood was declared in Central Kashmir as the water level of Jhelum crossed danger mark of 19-ft at Ram Munshibagh in the city at 12 a.m.

“The habitations along P10

Jhelum Overflows, Low Lying Areas SubmergedFlood Waters Enter Homes, People Asked To Remain Alert

Youth Drowns Rescuing Dog A teen drowned in flood channel while rescuing a dog from drowning in Bemina area of Srinagar on Saturday. P10

Observer News Service

Srinagar: Thousands of people on Saturday participated in the funer-al prayers of a militant and a civil-ian boy in Handwara and Pulwama areas despite inclement weather.

Reports said that people from the neighbouring villages reached Gund Chogal in Handwara area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district where they participated in the funeral of the slain militant Sajad Ahmad Shah son of Ali Mohammad Shah.

Thousands of mourners includ-ing men, women and youth shout-ed pro-freedom slogans while Sajad was being taken for final journey, they said adding that Sa-jad was laid to rest amid sobs and tears in martyrs’ graveyard.

A spontaneous shutdown was ob-served in Handwara and Kupwara areas. All business establishments establishment were closed while as transport remained off the roads.

In wake of the killing of a militant, all schools P10

Thousands Turn Up In Militant, Boy’s Funerals

‘All Out War’ Started: JRLSrinagar: Strongly denouncing the killing of a 15-year-old Faizan Ahmed of Ladhoo, Pampore in forces’ firing on Friday and inflicting of injuries to scores of people at Pulwama, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has said since the imposition of Governor’s rule in the State, an “all-out war” has been declared against the people. P10

Only 1 Militant Killed in PulwamaBody of only one militant was recovered from under the debris during a search operation at the encounter site in Thumna, Chatpora area of South Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday. P10

Shujaat’s killing: LeT Rejects Police Claims Srinagar: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Mehmood Shah on Saturday said the reports about “surgical strikes” by Indian army are “no less than a drama story” while as the claims made by J&K Police regarding the “martyr-dom” of Shujaat P10

Vohra Visits Flood Prone AreasIn a meeting held at the Raj Bhavan early in the morning, Governor N.N. Vohra reviewed the situation arising P10

Admin 'Fully Geared': VyasAdvisor to Governor, BB Vyas on Saturday said the administration is fully geared to tackle P10

FORECAST

More Rains From July 2Weatherman on Saturday said that there would be decrease in precipi-tation in Jammu and P10

PEOPLE OFFERING FUNERAL PRAYERS of Faizan Ahmad, the boy who was killed in firing by government forces in Pulwama on Friday. He was declared brought dead at the hospital by his father, a doctor at the Pulwama hospital. The doctor was heart-broken and devastated, but he responded to his call of duty.

Pics

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KO

DISCLAIMER: KASHMIR OBSERVER MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT THE INFORMATION CARRIED IN DISPLAY/ CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS, APPEARING IN THE NEWSPAPER IS CORRECT. HOWEVER THE NEWSPAPER TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY NOR DOES IT NECESSARILY ENDORSE THE CONTENTS OF THESE ADVERTS. THE READERS ARE THEREFORE REQUESTED TO VERIFY THE CONTENTS BEFORE ACTING THEREUPON. MANAGEMENT

CALL +91-194 2502327To place an advertisement

Government of Jammu & KashmirOFFICE OF THE EXECUTVE ENGINEER R&B DIVISION PULWAMA

NOTICE INVITING TENDERSe-NIT No. 68/EEP/RNB/2018-19/2158-68 Dated: 28/06/2018For and on behalf of the Governor, J&K State e-tenders are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligible Contractors/SHG registered with J&K State Government ,CPWD, Railways and other state/Central Governments for each of the following works’- S.No Name of Work Est.

Cost(Rs. in Lacs)

Cost ofT/Doc.(Rs.)

E/M (Rs.)

Time T&D of Openingof Bid

Class MH of Account

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 91. Repairs/Renovation of Bathroom

in office chamber of Assistant Executive Engineer Sub-division Pulwama by way of fixing digital tiles, sanitary and other allied items.

1.92 200/- 3900/- 10 Days

12/07/2018 DEE 2059-M&R

2. Construction of cement conc. Drain on Main road Chandhara from House of Haji Wali Mohd. Dar to ali Mohd Mukhdum (IR-Chandhara)

2.19 200/- 4400/- 15 Days

12/07/2018 DEE D/S

3. Painting and other repairs to central verge at main bazar Pulwama (from DC Officeto SBI 300 mtrs).

1.37 200/- 2800/- 10 Days

12/07/2018 DEE 3054-M&R

4. Painting and other repairs to central verge at main bazar Pulwama (from SBI to RnB 300 mtrs).

1.36 200/- 2800/- 10 Days

12/07/2018 DEE 3054-M&R

Position of AAA/TS = Submitted Position of funds = Demanded

The Bidding documents Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other details can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in as per Schedule of dates given below:-1 Date of Issue of tender Notice 29/06/20182 Period of downloading of bidding documents 29/06/2018 10:00 AM to 11/07/2018

04:00 PM 3 Bid submission Start date 29/06/2018 10:00 AM4 Bid submission End date 11/07/2018 04:00 PM5 Date and time of opening of Bids (online) 12/07/2018 11:00 AM

All other terms and conditions shall be available in website www.jktenders.gov.inHead Draftsman Technical Officer

Executive Engineer, DIPK-4463/18 R&B Division Pulwama

Scanned by CamScanner

NO:- MC/ANG/18/3173-77 Chief Executie Officer DIPK-NB-1432/18 Municipal Council Anantnag

Royal Springs Golf Course Cheshmashahi SrinagarE-Tender Notice No. 17 of 2018-19 Dated:- 30 / 0 6 /2018

For and on behalf of Secretary Royal Springs Golf Course, Cheshmashahi, Srinagar e-tenders (In single cover system) invited on item rate basis from approved /Registered Suppliers /Dealers Regd. with J&K State Government, for each of the following item /work. S. No Name of work Est. cost (Rs

in lacs). Earnest money/ Bid Security (In Rs)

Cost of tender document (in Rs

Time of Com-pletion

Class of con-tract

Major Head of Account

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 81. Supply of grass

seed for the year 2018-19.

3.15 Lacs 6300/=in Shpe of CDR/FDR

300/= Non Refundable in shape of Bank Receipt

30 work-ing days

Registered Suppliers /Dealers Regd. with J&K State Government

5452-Tour-sim

Position of funds= demanded1. The bidding documents consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Drawing, bill of quantities (B.O.Q) set of terms and conditions of contract and other details are ap-pended and is also available from the departmental website www.jktender.gov.in as per the scheduled date given below.1. Date of issue of tender notice 30.06.2018 4:00 PM 2. Period of downloading of bidding documents From 30.06.2018 to 10 .07.2018

(4.00PM on wards ) 3. Bid submission start date 30.06 .2018 4:00 Pm on wards 4. Bid submission end date 10 .07.2018 upto 4:00 PM5. Deadline for all uploaded documents including

original Bank Receipt /EMD/PAN Card ,GST Regis-tration , Agriculture License

10.07.2018 upto 03:00 PM in the office of Turf Manager RSGC Srinagar

6. Date and time of opening of bids (online) 12.07.2018 at 11:30 AM in the office of the Turf Manager RSGC Srinagar

1. Bids must be accompanied with the cost of tender documents in the shape of Bank Receipt shall be deposited in JK Bank Branch Brain Nishat Srinagar under Account No SB-0229040100012341 in favour Royal Springs Golf Course Cheshmashahi Srinagar and Earnest Money/Bid Security in Shape of CDR/FDR pledged to Turf Manager RSGC Cheshmashahi Srinagar (tender receiving authority) . 2. Payment shall be made to the agency as and when funds are available with the department. 3. The date and time of opening of bid shall be as above as notified on Web Site www.jk-tenders.gov.in and will be conveyed to the bidders automatically through an e-mail message on their e-mails addresses. The bids of responsive bidders shall be opened online on same website at the office of the Turf Manager RSGC Srinagar as per schedule. 4. The bids for the work shall remain valid for a period of 120 days from the date of opening of technical bids.5. The earnest money shall be forfeited if;-a. Any bidder /tenderer who withdraws his bid/tender during the period of bid validity or make any modification on the terms and conditions of the bid.b. Failure of successful bidder to furnish the required performance security within the speci-fied time limit.c. Failure of successful bidder to execute the agreement with 20 days after fixation of contract.d. Suppliers/Dealers/ Contractor who participates in bid should be registered for the respec-tive class of contract with document proof thereof.

Sd/DIPK-NB-1435/18 Turf Manager

Royal Springs Golf Course Srinagar.No:- RSGC/TM/2018-19/458-60 Dated: 30 .06 2018.

Sunday| 01-07-2018Monday - Saturday (9am - 6pm)No 1- Dal Lake Boulevard Srinagar, 190001, Kashmir

BAZAR OBSERVER

B.N

MG

WSM BU

Shabir Ahmad Sofi S/o Gh Ahmad Sofi R/o Batabagh Budgam

Petitioners/ Applicants)

1. Fatima Bano Wd/O Gh Ahmad Sofi 2. Ashiya , 3. Mema, 4. Zamrooda Daughters of Gh Ahmad SOfi Residents of Betabagh Budgam 5. Public at Large

(Non - applcants)

V/s

64,075

16-07-18

30-06-18

WSM BU

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER BUDGAM KASHMIR

NOTICEWhereas an application has been recieved from one.Shri : Gulzar Ahmad DarS/o: Ghulam Mohi ud din DarR/o: Badipora Chadoora Budgam owner of vehicle bearing Registration No: JK04D-1533 for cancellation of hire purchase agreement with M/S J & K Bank B/U Hafroo Batpora Chadoora. Now therefore it is notified for the information of the general public that objections if any to the proposed cancellation of hire purchase Agreement shall be filed in writing in the office of the Assistant Regional Transport office ARTO Budgam within a period of 12 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily newspaper . No. ARTO/ BUDGAM.9461 Dated 30/06/2018

Assistant Regional Transport officer Budgam Kashmir

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER BUDGAM KASHMIR

NOTICE

Where a application for transfer of ownership has been recieved from one.Shri : Simon Fayaz

S/o: Fayaz Ahmad MirR/o: Humhama New Airport Road Budgam (Transferor) of Alto 800. Vehicle bearing registration numberJK04C - 3305. Chasis number 321695 Engin0e no. 107525 Model 2013. in favour of Shri.. Hussamudin S/o. Roshan Din R/o Barnai Bantalab Jammu (Tranferee) Now therefore it is notified for the information of the general public that objections if any to the proposed transfer of ownership shall be filed in writing in the office of the Assistant Regional Transport office ARTO Budgam within a period of 12 days from the date of publication of this notice in the daily newspaper Srinagar Times. No. ARTO/ BUDGAM.9460 Dated 29/06/2018

Assistant Regional Transport officerBudgam Kashmir

Government of Jammu & KashmirOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PHE DIVISION QAZIGUND

E-mail : [email protected] Phone/Fax: 01931-235139NOTICE INVITING E-TENDERS

NIT No: 10/EE/PHED/Qazigund/ 877-88 of 2018-19 Dated 29.06.2018. For & on behalf of the Governor J&K State, e-tenders in single cover system are invited on item rate basis from registered PWD Contractors whose registration cards are valid in terms of standing rules for the following works:-

S.No. Name of work Advt.Cost (Rs.in lacs)

EarnestMoney (in Rs)

ClassTime forCompl.

Cost of tenderDocument

1 Up gradation of supply line of Cheechi mohalla/Takeed mohalla incl. laying of distb. System for WS Scheme Nagress (under STP cluster Model village)

2.50 5000.00 DEE 10 days `

200.00 Position of funds : DemandedPosition of AA : Accorded 1. The NIT consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, Bill of Quantities (BOQ), terms & condition of contract can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in as per the dates shown below:-

i Download start date 30.06.2018 from 10.00 AMii Download end date 07.07.2018 upto 04.00 PMiii Bid submission start date 30.06.2018 from 10.00 AMiv Bid submission end date 07.07. 2018 upto 04.00 PMv Bid opening date 09.07.2018 at 11.00 AM

2. Bids must be accompanied with cost of tender document in the shape of Treasury Challan shown against the each item advertized & credited to MH:0215-PHE Government Account as per the format devised / attached with this NIT & earnest money in the shape of CDR/FDR pledged to the Executive Engineer PHE Division Qazigund.3. It is mandatory upon the bidder to upload “Bidders Address Format” duly filled in with his seal and signature for future correspondence. which is attached with this NIT. 4. The bids shall be opened online in the office of the Executive Engineer PHE Division Qazigund on above mentioned date in presence of the bidders who may wish to be present. 5. Bidders must ensure to upload scanned copies (in black & white option on 100dpi) of all necessary documents like CDR/Cost of Tender document in the form of Treasury Challan/PAN/GST return/Bidders Address Format /Registration card duly renewed. The technical hard copies of bidding documents are not necessary to deposit in the Divisional office as per standing Govt. instructions. After opening of tenders online, the Ist. lowest bidder shall be asked to deposit the uploaded CDR & cost of tender document in the form of Treasury challan in physical form.6. The department will not be responsible for delay in online submission due to any reason.7. The tenders shall remain valid for 90 days.8. As soon as the contract is fixed with the successful bidder, he has to enter into an agreement with the department. However, non-drawl of agreement will not prevent the contract from being enforced upon him.9. Departmental material like pipe & pipe specials shall be supplied departmentally. However, cement & steel of sorts shall be issued as per the stock issue rates at the time of issuance of material. 10. The earnest money shall be forfeited if:-1) Any bidder withdraws his bid during the period of bid validity or makes any modification in terms & condition of the bid.2) The successful contractor fails to execute an agreement with the department within 10 days after fixation of contract.3) The successful bidder fails to start the work within one week from the date of fixation of contract.11. In case of bid of the lowest bidder is found unbalanced, he has to produce additional performance security in the shape of CDR/FDR/BG before fixation of contract as per following break up:-

S. No. %age of unbalanced bid viz. advertised cost on account of low rates

Additional performance security

i Upto & including 05% below Nilii Greater than 05% upto 20% below 5%iii Greater than 20% & upto 25% below 7%iv Greater than 25% upto 30% below 8%v Greater than 30% below 10%

12. The tender opening authority reserves the right to accept/reject the bid without assigning any reason thereof.13. Watch & ward of deptl. material issued for the work shall be exclusively the responsibility of the successful contractor/bidder & in the event of any loss/theft of the materials, the same shall be the responsibility of the bidder, the cost thereof shall be recovered from the bidder @ double the stock issue rates.14. Any kind of damage which may occur to any work during the course of execution due to natural calamities. shall be the responsibility of the bidder till the work is finally handed-over to the Department.15. The taxes viz. Income tax, Service tax/GST & Cess shall be deducted from the bidders claims as per standing govt. instructions.16. The bidders are advised not to make any change in BOQ (Bill of Quantities). In no case they should attempt to create similar BOQ manually. The BOQ downloaded should be used for filling item rate inclusive of all taxes & it should be saved with the same name as it contains.17. The unit rates & prices shall quoted by the bidder entirely in Indian Rupees and the rates quoted shall be deemed to include price escalation and all taxes upto completion of work unless otherwise specified.18. If the bidder does not quote rate for any item of the BOQ, such item/items shall be deemed to be the part of the overall/total contract value and no rate shall be allowed for such item/items.19. The date of start of work shall be reckoned within one week from the date of issuance of LOI/Contract allotment as the case may be.20. In case of delay in completion of work beyond stipulated period of completion, penalty of the maximum 10% of the contract value shall be imposed upon the agency.21. No mobilization advance/equipment advance shall be paid.22. Anything of historical/significant value unexpectedly discovered on the site during execution of work shall be the property of the Government. 23. It shall be mandatory for the executing agency/contractor to ensure safe and adequate supply of electricity required for all the workmen skilled/unskilled deployed at site of work. Besides, no labour below the age of 18 years should be engaged as per the Labour Law.24. Arrangements for sufficient sanitation facility at site be ensured by the executing agency/ contractor for all the workmen to be mobilized at site, besides, separate toilet facilities be provided for Female workers at the site of work.25. Suitable arrangements for supply of potable water at site for all the workmen skilled/unskilled be made by the agency/contractor just before the virtual start of execution at site.26. Insurance cover as admissible under rules shall be provided to all the workers skilled/unskilled deployed at site and the necessary premiums shall be borne by the executing agency/contractor itself.27. Other terms & conditions shall be the same as laid down in the PWD Form-25 double/Tender document.

Executive EngineerDIPK-4528/18 PHE Division Qazigund

Public NoticeI Bashir Ahmad Sofi S/o Ab Ahad Sofi R/o Arampora Sopore want to change the name On the Electric-ity bill of Kohinoor Metah Industries from Bashir Ahmad Sofi S/o Ab Ahad Sofi TO Hafeezulah Waza Slo Mohd Rajab Waza R/o Model Town Sopore A . If anybody has any objection in this regard he/she may file his/her objection in the office ofthe Con-cerned PDD within a period of seven days from the date of publication of this notice. After that no ob-jection shall be entertained.

AMN SPR

MQ BUD

MQ BUD

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE BOARD OF SCHOOL EDUCATION SUB OFFICE ANANTNAG

ATTENTION PLEASEThe candidate whose photograph is published in this notice is claiming to have lost his original Marks Certificate of class 10thCertificate issued by BOSE under registration No.NO9401470043with following particulars Name AZHAR NAZIR S/O NAZIR AHMAD SHAH R/O DONIPAWA ANANTNAG. 10th Roll No 158292 year & session Nov. 2010 Annual .Now the candidate has applied for its dupli-cate. Anybody if having any objection in this regard may please file the same before the Sub office Anantnagwithin 7days from the date of publication of this notice the above referred marks certificate be treated as cancelled.

Sd/Assistant Secretary Sub Office Ang.

Office of the Executive Engineer, Construction Division No. Ist, Srinagar

__

CANCELLATION Subject 1. Restoration of drainage system by way of construction of septic tanks , soakage pits and man holes at Government Dental College /Hospital Srinagar. 2. Upgradtion of damaged staircase flooring and walls by way of replacing present Kota flooring with Granite flooring and chips with wall tiles and granite in Block 3 at Government Dental College / Hospital. Reference: This office NIT No. 35/e-Tendering/ CD-Ist/3319-38 Dt:25-06-2018

*********** The above mentioned work at S.NO:01 & 4 advertised vide

this office NIT No. and Date quoted above may be treated as cancelled due

to some technical reasons.

Sd./ No:3656-66 Executive Engineer, Dated: 29.06.2018 Construction Division No. Ist. Srinagar Copy to the:-

1. Chief Engineer, PWD (R&B) Kashmir for favour of information. 2. Superintending Engineer, (R&B) Circle Srinagar/Budgam for favour

of information. 3. Joint Director, Information Srinagar for getting the same published in

any of the local Urdu/English daily under intimation to this office. 4. Executive Engineer, ______________________Division for information. 5. Assistant Executive Engineer, _______________Sub Division for

information. 6. President Contractors Association _____________________for

information. 7. Notice Board. 8. Head Draftsman 9. Head Assistant

10. Camp Clerk 11. Record Section 12. Office copy

Office of the Executive Engineer, Construction Division No 1st, Srinagar

Cancellation

No: 3656-66 DIPK-4530/18 Office of the Executive Engineer, Dated: 29-06-2018 Construction Division No 1st, Srinagar

HeritageStationers

Cell: 9906471067 | E-mail: [email protected] Floor Hyderiya Building Dalgate Near State Bank of India

Wholesaler of Stationers Products

From KO Archives

Sunday | 01-07-2018DIAL-EMMA

• TRAFFICPOLICE:9419993745,01998-266686• PCR:0194-2452092,2455883• PDD:0194-2450213• FIREANDEMERGENCYSERVICES: 2479488,2452222,2452155• CAPD:18001807011• SMCHEALTHOFFICER:9469409081

AIRPORTS

SHIEKULALAMAIRPORT:01942303311

RAILWAYS• SRINAGAR:0194-2103259• ANANTNAG:01932-228243• BARAMULLA:0194-102029• BIJBHERA:01932-228243• PAMPORE:01933-294132• PATTAN:01954-293507• QAZIGUND:01951-296153

HIGHWAY STATUS• SRINAGAR–JAMMU:OPEN• SRINAGAR-LEH:OPEN• MUGHALROAD:OPEN• SRINAGAR-MUZAFFARABAD:CLOSED

HIJRI CALENDAR 16SHAWWAL 1439PRAYERS

• FAJR---3:38• ZUHR---12:34• ASR---5:35• Magrib—7:50• ISHA---9:30

This Day in History• 1890-Great-Britain&GermanysignZanzibar-HelgolandTreaty.• 1907-World’s1stairforceestablished(USArmy).• 1913-Serbia&GreecedeclarewaronBulgaria.• 1920-SirHerbertSamueltakesoverashighcommissioneroverPalestine,where.• ArabresistancetotheBritishmandatecontinues.• 1921-TheCommunistPartyofChinaisfoundedandChenDuxiuelecteditsleader.• 1930-GreatBritainsignsaccordforIndependenceofIraq.• 1934-1stx-rayphotoofentirebody,Rochester,NY.• 1942-GermantroopsconquerSebastopol.• 1945-AlliestrooplandonBalikpapan.• 1946-USdropsatombombonBikiniatoll(4thatomicexplosion).• 1950-1st407USsoldiersflowntoSouthKorea.• 1957-InternationalGeophysicalYearbegins(untilDec31,1958)broadcasting.• 1959-WorldRefugeeYearbegins.

Srinagar Observer

Flood horror haunts City, people abandon homesSRINAGAR: Many residents who live along the Jhelum banks here are expe-riencing flooding from the river and several people have also evacuated to safety. While water seeped into many homes, flood and rainwater were pool-ing in backyards of many others.

Reports said dozens of residential houses got submerged at Kursu Ra-jbagh, Padshai Bagh, Shalteng, Shari-fabad, Pandrathen and Malik Sahab Safakadal.

Similarly, the reports of water pool-ing in backward of houses were re-ceived from Sonwar and Qamarwari.

SSP Srinagar district Imtiaz Ismail Parray told GNS that police deputed separate teams in all the low lying ar-eas and extended the helping hand to the needy.

He said that around nine families were evacuated to safety from Malik Sahab Safakadal and put up Higher Secondary School Nawakadal. Five families were also taken to safety from

Qamarwari after the area was inundat-ed with the flood water.

“The banks of river Jhelum got breached at various points in Sangam area due to rising water level. On the re-ceipt of this information, a team headed by Division Officer of Police Post San-gam rushed to various spots and started the preventive works,” SSP said.

He said sandbags already issued by district police to various subordinate units were put into use and repair works were taken up at almost all the points to prevent the water flow into civilian areas.

Station House Officer (SHO) Ra-jbagh, Ayaz Geelani said that from yesterday and from early morning hours people were requested to move towards safer places. He said that SDRF men and police personnel were doing their best to rescue and provide relief and rescue.

A teen drowned in flood channel while rescuing a dog from drowning in

Bemina area of Srinagar on Saturday.Reports said the boy, identified

as Asif Ahmad of Nagrota Jammu, drowned while saving a dog from drowning in Bemina flood channel. Ahmad, according to reports, was put-ting up in a makeshift tent along with his family at Tengpora.

Flood was already declared in the south and central Kashmir as the water level of Jhelum rose above 21 feet near Sangam in Anantnag district and danger mark of 19-ft at Rammunshibagh here.

According to an official of Irriga-tion and Flood Control Kashmir, the river Jhelum crossed 19-ft mark near Rammunshi bagh at 12 a.m.

“The habitation residing along the embankments of River Jhelum / Nallahs and in low lying areas of central Kashmir are advised to remain vigilant,” Chief En-gineer Irrigation and Flood Control said. Besides the staff deputed on flood duty in Central Kashmir is directed to report to their respective sectors/beats, he added.

Jama’at-e-Islami tells cadres be prepared to helpSRINAGAR: Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kash-mir Chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat on Saturday directed cadres to remain vigilant to the prevailing climatic situation and be prepared for any eventu-ality in order to help people.

JeI Spokesman said that keeping in view of the critical climatic situation created due to inces-sant rains that lashed valley since couple of days, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, Chief of Jama’at-e-Is-lami Jammu and Kashmir directed Basic Units, Tehsil and District Administration of Jama’at to be prepared for any eventuality as water level is constantly increasing in Lider, Vaishov, and Sangam. (GNS)

Boy drowns while saving dog in Srinagar SRINAGAR: A boy drowned in flood channel while rescuing a dog from drowning in Bemina area of Sri-nagar on Saturday . Reports said the boy, identified as Asif Ahmad of Nagrota Jammu, drowned while saving a dog from drowning in Bemina flood channel.

Ahmad, according to reports, was putting up in a makeshift tent along with his family at Tengpora

However there is no official confirmation of how the incident have occurred.

Protest in Barzullah, demand body of militant SRINAGAR: Police fired tear smoke shells and resorted to pellet guns to disperse protesters at Bar-zullah here on Saturday seeking the body of the local youth who ac-cording to them was killed in Kup-wara yesterday.

On Friday, the army claimed to have killed an unidentified mili-tant in an encounter at Tunga Top forest area of Kachama.

Reports said that family was in-formed by some anonymous caller that the youth killed in Tunga Top forest area of Kachama in Kup-wara was their kin identified as Mudasir Ahmad Bhat (31) son of Ghulam Ahmad Bhat of Nasti Mo-halla, Old Barzullah.

Mudasir went missing in 2016 and the family feigned ig-norance about him joining the militant ranks.

As soon as the family was in-formed three of its members went to Kupwara and met concerned po-lice officials enquiring about the man who was killed in the woods of Kachama on Friday.

One of the family members of Mudasir here told GNS that police informed them that the slain has been buried at NK Gali

area of Jumgund forests late last night after conducting the post-mortem and carrying out other legal formalities.

"We have been told to carry out legal formalities to seek exhuma-tion of the body and subsequent DNA test for identification pur-poses," the family member said.

A police officer concerned also confirmed to GNS that the slain was buried at NK Gali area of Jumgund forests along the Line of Control (LoC) late Friday night.

Soon after the news spread in the Barzullah locality, scores of youth took to streets and staged protests, seeking the body of the slain.

Soon police reached the spot in a bid to restore the traffic which was blocked by the protesting youth. At once, locals said that police resort-ed to teargas shelling to disperse the protesting youth. It also fired pellets leading to injuries to some of the protesting youths.

SSP Kupwara, Ambarkar ram Dinkar when contacted told GNS that search operation in the Ka-chama forests was going on and once it is completed only then he can speak about it.

Governor reviews the functioning of Grievance CellSRINAGAR: Governor N. N. Vohra reviewed the position in regard to all aspects of the re-dressal of grievances received by the J&K Grievance Cell through the web portal “jkgriev-ance.in”, e-mails, facebook, twit-ter handle, Whatsapp groups and by the Governor’s Secretar-iat through speed post, e-mail, fax, twitter handle etc.

Governor observed that any member of the public who has any complaint should register his grievance through on-line web-portal “Jkgrievance.in” (both at Jammu and Srinagar) for timely redressal of their problems.

Governor reiterated that the Grievance Cell shall continue to promptly redress public griev-ances and the functioning of this Cell is aimed at making the Administration accountable, responsive, transparent and effi-cient. He impressed upon all the concerned Nodal Officers in each Department of the State Govern-

ment to personally see to that the issues flagged by the Grievance Cell are urgently addressed. He also observed that for ensuring timely disposal of public griev-ances, the existing structure of the Grievance Cell shall be fur-ther strengthened and the Nodal Officers in the field need to be faster and pro-active in prioritiz-ing matters which are of imme-diate public concern.

Since the imposition of Gov-ernor’s Rule in the State, upto 30th June, 2018, the Grievance Cell received 868 grievances through the web-portal “jk-grievance.in”, of which 409 have been forwarded to the con-cerned departments/Nodal Of-ficers for immediate redressal and report; of the 339 griev-ances received through e-mail ([email protected]), 248 have been replied satisfactorily; 68 grievances received through Facebook have been responded; all the 18 grievances received

through Twitter Handle “@jk-grievance” have been replied; 11 grievances received through Whatsapp have been forwarded to the concerned Nodal Officers for redressal.

During 19th -30th June 2018 the Governor’s Secretariat re-ceived 490 grievances through e-mail, speed-post, fax etc. of which 315 have been forwarded to the concerned Administra-tive Secretaries/Div Coms/DCs for immediate redressal and report; 49 grievances received through Twitter Handle “@jandkgovernor” have been tak-en up with the concerned quar-ters for immediate redressal.

Governor appreciated the quick responses of the J&K Grievance Cell to the problems of the general public and urged even swifter action for ensur-ing that the interface between the State Administration and the public at large becomes far more satisfying to the latter.

GOVERNOR OBSERVED THAT ANY MEMBER ofthepublicwhohasanycomplaintshouldregisterhisgrievancethroughon-lineweb-portal“Jkgrievance.in”(bothatJammuandSrinagar)fortimelyredressaloftheirproblems.

Some elements in New Delhi biased towards Kashmir: Dr FarooqSRINAGAR: The chief minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, today charged 'some ele¬ments in New Delhi with pursuing wrong policies towards Kashmir. Talking to a group from the Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia led by Ms Nirmala Deshpande, which called on him here this evening, he referred to the moves of shifting the re¬gional engineering college on the pretext of an isolated skirmish between stu¬dents.

Dr Abdullah regretted that despite lapse of the first quar¬ter of the current financial year, the budget of the state had not been received-funds nor haven’t been released though, a consid-erable time for the working season is over. He asked New Delhi to appear to appreciate the magnitude of the people's suffer-ings which call for a special dispensation to miti¬gate.

On human rights, the chief minister said that his govern¬ment would not compromise with any sort of excesses with innocent people. While the se-curity forces appreciate the need for respecting human rights, im¬mediate action taken against erring personnel whenever any complaint is received. He said violations of these rights comes handy to malign the forces and bringing a bad name to the country.

The chief minister recalled the killing of a citizen in Srinagar recently allegedly by a security force jawan and said that he took up the matter with the BSF chief for immediate probe. He said the survivors of the citizen met him and they were assured of proper care. While the ex-gratia was released to the widow, the government also announced a monthly relief of Rs 2,000 per month and free education to the children.

Dr Abdullah regretted pre¬senting a one-sided picture by concealing the measures taken by the government in attending to complaints of the people or solving their problems. He said the government got approval of a retired judge in just 12 hours which must have never hap¬pened ever in the country, to get the firing incident on peaceful protesters, after the massacre of 35 Sikhs of Chattasinghpora, probed.

Dr. Abdullah asked Paki¬stan to create conducive atmos¬phere for talks with New Delhi by ending hostilities on borders and stopping infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Pakistani people might be keen to normalise relations with India but their government is not sincere in materialising this", he observed that one hand they talk of friendship in Lahore and on the other they engineer border incursions in Kargil, the chief minister added.

The CM said Pakistani government has not reconciled with realities arid unless they don't have understanding of the situ¬ation things cannot move towards normalcy and every effort of rapid transformation of sof¬tening of borders, exchange of trade and people to people contact would be a Car cry. He, however, felt that steps for achieving normalisation of re¬lations between the two neigh¬bours should continue. He agreed with the group that initiative taken by their Paki¬stani counterpart is appreci¬able and praised Asma Jehangir's efforts braving nu¬merous odd back home.

Dr. Abdullah dwelt on the migration of Kashmiri Pandits and wished that the peo-1 pie of Kashmir had risen to the occasion to stop them from leaving their homes and hearths in the valley as they did in the wake of Chattisinghpora, he said and hoped that Pundits would re^ turn to the valley. He said those desirous of returning home would enjoy' all those facilities which they are get¬ting as migrants in Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere.

Nirmala Deshapande, Dr Mohini Giri and Dr. Syeeda also spoke on the occasion and briefed the CM about their im¬pressions of the situation in Kashmir.

(Kashmir Observer, July 1, 2000)

Business

NEWS Sunday| 01-07-2018 4

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‘We are speechless’Reads otherwise empty edit page of tragedy affected US paper

WASHINGTON: A local news-paper targetted in a shooting that left five dead managed to publish on Friday, covering its own tragedy and leaving its editorial page blank in honour of those slain.

“We are speechless,” read a brief comment in the other-wise empty editorial page of The Capital, the print version of the digital newspaper the Capital Gazette.

It went on to name the vic-tims, and then said: “tomorrow this page will turn to its steady purpose of offering our readers informed opinion about the world around them, that they might be better citizens.”

The editorial page editor, Gerald Fischman, was among those killed. The front page headline about the killing in the Maryland state capital, Annapolis, was bare-bones -- bereft of even an adjective.

“Five shot dead at The Capital,” it read, below pic-tures of the five people killed -- four journalists and a sales assistant. Two other people were wounded.

Staff who survived the shooting -- by a man described as having a long-running grudge against the paper -- worked outside Thursday after the mas-sacre, in a car park or even from the back of a pickup truck.

“I don’t know what else to do except this,” reporter Chase Cook said Thursday.

“We’re putting out a paper tomorrow.”

They did.Inside, among the paper’s

blanket coverage of its own tragedy, were profiles of the five staffers gunned down in the latest spasm of America’s epidemic of gun violence.

‘100 migrants may have drowned near Tripoli’TRIPOLI: Around 100 people are thought to have drowned from a migrant boat off Libya’s western coast, a coastguard official said on Friday.

The coastguard picked up 14 survivors from the boat just east of the capital, Tripoli, the official said.

Separately, the coastguard said it had intercepted 200 mi-grants from two other migrant boats east of Tripoli.

Libya is one of the main departure points for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, usually in flimsy inflat-able boats provided by smug-glers that often get punctured or break down.

Some make it to interna-tional waters where they hope to be picked up by interna-tional vessels, but increasing numbers are intercepted by Libya’s EU-backed coastguard and returned to Libya.

Departures surged in 2014 when conflict in Libya wors-ened and more than 650,000 mi-grants have crossed the central Mediterranean since then.

Syrian Army Advances In Dara'a; Israel Raises Alert

AGENCIES

DAMASCUS-- The Syrian army has managed to wrest control over sever-al towns and villages in the strategic southern Dara'a Province, leading Israel to raise its alert level in the bordering Golan Heights.

Syria's official SANA news agen-cy reported on Friday that the army had retaken al-Herak, Rakham, al-Soura, Alma, al-Mliha al-Sharqia and al-Mliha al-Gharbia in Dara'a countryside following mass surren-der of rebels.

Rebels in other four towns have also accepted to hand over their weapons and embark on a reconcili-ation process with the Syrian gov-ernment forces, which have been on a wide-scale offensive in that area near the Jordanian and Israeli border, according to the state news agency SANA.

The towns that will witness the surrender of the rebels to the army are Taibeh, Saida, Um al-Mayathin, and Na-sib, where a border crossing with Jor-dan is located and named after the town.

This achievement comes as a result what the government refers to as recon-ciliation efforts, which goes in tandem with the military action against the reb-els in the countryside of Dara'a.

Meanwhile, the state TV aired a short video, showing people chant-ing for the Syrian army in the town of Ibta in the northern countryside of Dara'a.

The military option and the rec-onciliation attempts in Dara'a aim to have the province empty of rebels, particularly as the army secured the entire capital Damascus and its

countryside recently.Daraa is important as it's only 100

km south of Damascus and has border points with neighboring Jordan.

Calling it the battle of the south, the Syrian army is fighting the rebels in the countryside of Dara'a, Sweida and the Quneitra province near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Dara'a also has a symbolic sig-nificance as it was the birthplace of the Syrian war that erupted in 2011 and securing it will be a big victory for the Syrian army both symbolical-ly and militarily as the rebels have

used the Jordanian border to bring in arms and fighters throughout the Syrian war.

Ahead of the commencement of the military offensive in Dara'a, the Russians, the Syrian government's main international allies, attempted to establish reconciliation with the rebels in the southern region amid talks and coordination with Israel and the U.S.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed that as many as eight towns were in recon-ciliation negotiations.

"There are talks between the Russians on one side and opposition factions on the other, through lo-cal mediators, over the fate of eight towns in Dara'a's countryside," the UK-based monitoring group said.

SOHR head Rami Abdel-Rahman said Russia's military police were leading the discussions for each town separately. "Most of them ap-pear willing to reconcile" with the Syrian government and hand over their heavy weapons, he said.

The recapture of Dara'a is highly important because it borders the oc-

cupied Golan Heights which Israel has used to treat wounded militants for years.

The Israeli military Friday raised its alert level in the Golan Heights as the Syrian army edged closer to the occupied region.

The territory's return to the Syr-ian government control would cut the much-reported collaboration be-tween Israel and militants and deal a blow to Tel Aviv's plans to annex the Golan Heights.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and has continued to occupy two-thirds of the strategically-im-portant territory ever since, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

The Tel Aviv regime has built tens of illegal settlements in the area since its occupation and has used the region as a launch pad for conduct-ing airstrikes against Syrian mili-tary positions.

The Syrian government earlier accused Israel of thwarting talks for settling the situation in southern Syria and also accused the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front of preventing other rebel groups from accepting to reconcile with the government.

The government has repeatedly accused Israel of supporting the ul-tra-radical rebels in southern Syria and also charged that Jordan was aiding the rebels.

But it seems that the military ac-tion in Dara'a has pushed the rebels to be more practical in dealing with the situation and start to surrender to the army.

Turkey vows to keep Iran ties despite US pressures

AGENCIES

ANKARA: Turkey says it re-mains determined to maintain trade ties with Iran in an appar-ent defiance against a purported plan by the US to urge all na-tions to cut imports of Iranian oil from November.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mev-lut Cavusoglu was quoted by media as saying that Ankara would not cut off trade ties with Iran “at the behest of other countries” in a clear refer-ence to the US.

"If the United States' decisions are aimed at peace and stability, then we'll support them, but we don't have to follow every decision. Being allies doesn't mean following every decision word for word," Cavusoglu told the Turkish broadcaster NTV in an interview.

"Iran is a good neighbour and we have economic ties. We are not go-ing to cut off our trade ties with Iran because other countries told us so."

Earlier, Turkey's economy minis-ter had emphasized that Washington’s demand to stop purchasing oil from Iran will not be binding for Ankara.

Nihat Zeybekci told reporters on Wednesday that Turkey would only respect measures announced by the

United Nations toward its eastern neighbor.

“The decisions taken by the United States on this issue are not binding for us. Of course, we will follow the United Nations on its de-cision. Other than this, we will only follow our own national interests. In addition, we will pay attention so our friend Iran will not face any unfair actions,” Turkey’s Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci told report-ers on Wednesday.

Iran has been Turkey's leading supplier of crude oil for most of the past two decades, ceding first place to Iraq only for three years during the recent period of US sanctions.

Imports last year came to 11.493 million tonnes, or 44.6% of the total supply, at an average of 230,800 bar-rels per day (bpd), up 66% from the 6.939 million tonnes supplied in 2016, according to reports.

F-35 dramaThe Turkish top diplomat finally

said his country had conveyed to Trump its discomfort about a pur-ported decision by Washington to cancel delivery of F-35 jets to Ankara.

The US has warned Turkey against the purchase of S-400 air defense missile systems from Rus-sia, threatening to impose sanctions on Ankara and also stop delivery of F-35 fighter jets it is contracted to give to the country.

Cavusoglu, however, said Trump had told Ankara that neces-sary steps over the delivery of the advanced fighter jets would be tak-en. He said there were no problems over the delivery of the planes yet, adding that he did not think there would be any in future either.

EU to blame for refugee

deaths: MSF

AGENCIES

Doctors Without Borders has slammed the EU's new refugee deal, warning that the European governments will be responsible for putting the lives of the most vulnerable people at stake.

"The only thing European states appear to have agreed on is to block people at the doorstep of Europe regardless of how vul-nerable they are, or what horrors they are escaping," said Karline Kleijerthe, the chief of emergen-cies at the charity, known by its French acronym MSF.

Kleijer expressed deep con-cern on Friday about the likeli-hood of deportation of refugees to crisis-hit Libya, saying, "With-out batting an eyelid, they have formalized - through financing and training - the use of the Liby-an Coast Guard to intercept peo-ple and return them to Libya."

"European governments do this fully in the knowledge that these people will be sent to ar-bitrary detention and subject to extreme abuse," she added.

The top MSF official warned that the EU's "actions block and obstruct" the NGO "from doing the work EU governments are failing to do, all the while dehu-manizing people in need."

"Any deaths caused by this are now at their hands," she said.

Kleijer also accused the EU agreement of seeking to "demon-ize non-governmental search and rescue operations."

The remarks came after EU leaders reached an agreement following intensive negotiations overnight in Brussels and agreed to consider setting up "disem-barkation platforms" outside

the EU, most probably in North Africa, in an attempt to discour-age refugees from boarding EU-bound smuggler vessels.

Authorities are supposed to distinguish between irregular asylum seekers admissible into the EU in these reception centers, but no third country has so far of-fered to host such platforms.

Under the agreement, EU member states could also form migrant processing centers voluntarily to see if the asylum seekers returned home as eco-nomic migrants or they were admitted as refugees in the countries which are willing to take them.

Europe has faced its worst refugee crisis since World War II. The continent has been hit since 2014 by an unprecedented influx of refugees fleeing con-flict-ridden zones in North Af-rica and the Middle East, in par-ticular Syria.

Over the past five years, more than 600,000 refugees have reached Italy by risking their lives on rickety human smuggler boats in the sea. Some 500,000 of them are still staying in the country.

The only thing European states

appear to have agreed on is to block people at the doorstep of Europe regardless of how vulnerable they are, or what horrors they are escaping

Trump reportedly asked Macron to pull France out of EU

AGENCIES

WASHINGTON : US President Donald Trump has reportedly tried to persuade his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to pull his country out of the European Union in return for better bilateral trade terms.

According to a report by the Washington Post, Trump made the suggestion during a private meeting at the White House in late April, while he and Macron were discussing trade.

At one point, he asked Ma-cron, “Why don’t you leave the E.U.?” the Post cited two Euro-pean officials as saying.

Trump also said that if France exited the union, Washington would offer Paris a better trade deal than the EU, the paper added.

Meanwhile, the White House did not dispute the officials’ ac-count, but declined to comment.

Also, it is not clear whether Trump made the comment as a joke or as a serious attempt to under-mine the bloc.

Trump has also praised Britain

for its push to leave the EU and of-fered London a great transatlantic trade deal after Brexit.

The Trump administration is currently engaged in a deepening

trade dispute with the EU over multi-billion-dollar tariffs the US imposed on metal imports from the bloc.

According to a new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Trump’s protection-ist trade policies, including the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, Canada and Mexico “are likely to move the globe further away from an open, fair and rules-based trade system, with adverse effects for both the US economy and for trading partners."

The EU has taken the United States to the World Trade Orga-nization to challenge the legality of the new tariffs and the Trump administration’s national-securi-ty justification. Brussels has also lodged an eight-page list at the international trade body of goods it would hit with retaliatory measures.

State Sunday | 01-07-2018

No lessons learnt from 2014 floods: 24-hour rain brings Kashmir to its kneesKO NEWS DESK

SRINAGAR: The 24-hour rainfall was enough to bring low-lying areas in Kash-mir to their knees. People complained that authorities have failed to learn the lessons from the 2014 floods.

Residents of many areas in valley es-pecially in south Kashmir said that they have been regularly complaining to the authorities to take measures that could safeguard the valley from the destruction that is brought by floods, but they never pay any heed. “In Just two days of rain, see our condition. What if it rains harder in the days to come”? Abid a resident of Anantnag questioned.

After the devastation of the 2014 floods, the government belatedly woke to the need to dredge the river and the flood channel. These had filled with silt over many years.

Dredging contracts were negotiated through the summer of 2015, and finally awarded to a private company in autumn that year. For some reason, only some stretches were designated for dredging. Even on those, work has been painfully slow.

Governor NN Vohra had realized the urgency of the matter when the state was under Governor’s Rule two year ago. Af-ter inspecting the dredging operations, he ordered officials to keep regular tabs on the progress of the work. However, Gov-ernor’s Rule soon ended, the previous co-alition government lost thought and did nothing in this regard.

Sources said that merely few inches of dredging has been done after 2014, when the floods had brought huge additional silt.

Officials said that the least the present government can do now is make arrange-ments for efficient evacuation and rescue, just in case a flood does recur.

The Jhelum River on September 5, in full wrath burst through embankments submerging everything that came in its way roads, streets, buildings. The Tawi River in Jammu region showed no mercy either. The floods spared no one and re-sulted in massive casualties in the state besides a colossal loss to property.

People said that more than four year

has passed since the floods that claimed lost of huge lives but no lessons seem to have been learnt. “What emerges is a familiar story of agencies failing to com-municate, a lack of planning and aware-ness and the incompetence to tackle such disasters,” said Mohammad Aslam a resi-dent of Padshabagh.

He said now it is high time for the gov-ernment, both state and central, to work on proper counter mechanisms for such disasters. “One work the government needs to undertake and that would great-ly reduce the flood threat, especially to the capital, is massive systematic dredg-

ing of the Jhelum downstream from Sri-nagar,” he suggested.

Scientific dredging of the Jhelum downstream from Srinagar as well as the Wular and river basin wetlands will sig-nificantly reduce Kashmir’s vulnerabil-ity to moderate floods discharging up to 60,000 cusecs.

Experts believe that the much-talked about “alternate option” of a flood channel from Dogripora in South Kashmir to the Wular in the north needs to be evaluated as well, keeping in view the flat topogra-phy of the terrain, holding capacity of the Wular and feasibility of draining some

50,000 cusecs into an alternate channel.The floodwater in 2014 submerged over

600 square km of land, rising up to 25 feet at some places. In Srinagar, vast areas re-mained, on an average, under eight feet of water for over a week. The Jhelum over-flowed by 3-5 feet, breaching its embank-ments. As a result, great loss was caused to life and property.

People said that ideally, in the after-math of the disaster, introspection should have been done at every level govern-ment, public, individual about what went wrong in 2014 so as to develop a mitiga-tion plan for future, but nothing of the

sort happened. “Such a process has not even been initiated at the level of the state in the past three and a half years. And save for a few measures aimed at increas-ing the drainage capacity of the Jhelum, no concerted effort has been made to de-vise a strategy for minimizing flood risk to people and infrastructure, especially in the Jhelum basin,” Shabir Ahmad a resi-dent of Bemina said,

Soon after the 2014 flood, a distin-guished group of 40 experts and profes-sionals drawn from various state and cen-tral agencies, academia and civil society met and deliberated the “flood problem”

in Kashmir over two days. The fruit of the group’s labour was a comprehensive strategy for flood risk reduction.

One of the key recommendations was dredging of the Jhelum and its flood spill channel. Indeed, various major flood alerts have been sounded since 2014. For-tunately, none turned into a deluge.

However one of the senior leaders of the PDP told a news aggency that since 2014, the government had taken some engineering measures including patch dredging of the Jhelum and its flood channel, restoration of the breached embankments, repair of dam-aged irrigation infrastructure in the basin.

NOTICE

It is notified for information of all concerned that Tentative Merit lists (General / NRI Sponsored Quota) of the candidates who have applied for admission to various B.Tech Engineering programmes for academic session 2018 has been uploaded on the university website www.islamicuniversity.edu.in. The lists are based on the details in the application form submitted by applicants and supporting documents uploaded by them. The candidates who have been shown any pendency in the objection column are advised to immediately send the required documents to [email protected] or contact Admission Office of IUST. In case any discrepancy in the list is observed, it can be reported by sending an email to [email protected] or before 02-07-2018 (4 pm) beyond which no claim whatsoever will be entertained. The applicants should send their responses from the registered e-mail IDs mentioned in their application form. The selection list shall be notified subsequently.

Sd/ Deputy Registrar Academics No: IUST/Acad/Admissions/18/169 Dated: 30-06-2018

60-year-old man killed, 4 others injured as landslides hit residential tents in Anantnag forestsSRINAGAR: A 60-year-old man was killed and four members of a Bakerwal family suffered injuries after their temporary residential tents came under landslides, trig-gered by heavy rains at Thimdan Behak, a forest area in Utterso in Anantnag district of south Kash-mir on Saturday evening.

A police officer at Utterso Police Station told GNS that five persons of Bakerwal families got trapped after their temporary tents came under the landslide at Thimdan Behak.

Soon after receiving the infor-mation about the incident, a police team along with local volunteers immediately rushed to the spot and removed all the five trapped per-sons including a minor girl to Sub-District hospital Shangus, he said.

"It took ten hours by foot to and fro to the place of occurrence," he said.

Among them, the 60-year-old man namely Mohammad Shafi Paswal son of Late Kamal Din Pas-wal was declared brought dead on arrival, he said.

He said that the four other in-jured are being treated in the hos-pital and has been identified as Khalid Ahmad Paswal (12) son of Nazir Ahmad Paswal, Fhoola Be-

gium (55) wife of Late Doda Paswal , Nazia Akthar (3) daughter of Na-zir Ahmad Paswal , Nazira Begium (38) wife of Nazir Ahmad Paswal.

Moreover, their tents were dam-aged and 6 sheep also died in the incident, the officer said.

The officer said the Bakerwals put up in these shelters during summers. They are the permanent

residents of Jujbagli, Reasi district in Jammu region.

After conducting all legal for-malities, the body of the deceased was handed over to his family for last rites.

"A case under section 174 CrPc has been registered and further investigations initiated in this re-gard," the officer added. (GNS)

RAINS AFTERMATH

Admin fully geared to tackle situation: Vyas‘Multidisciplinary Control Rooms established at Divisional, District levels’; Situation under control: CSSRINAGAR: Advisor to Governor, BB Vyas today said the adminis-tration is fully geared to tackle the situation in view of the looming flood- threat in Kashmir following incessant rains and rising water levels in the rivers and Nallahs. He said while there is no need to panic, but people should take precautions.

“Jammu and Kashmir has wit-nessed heavy rainfall starting from 7:00 PM on 28 June 2018 resulting in rising water levels,” Vyas told media. He was flanked by Advisor, K Vijay Kumar and Chief Secre-tary BVR Subrahmanyam.

He informed that 53 mm of rain-fall has been recorded in three districts including Shopian and Anantnag and Srinagar. He said the people have been warned to re-main alert and be ready in case of any possibility of evacuation.

The Advisor said as the water level rose above the danger mark at Sangam in South Kashmir as

well the water level continues to rise at Ram Munshi Bagh in Sri-nagar; government has set up a round-the-clock multi-disciplin-ary monitoring system in various parts of the state.

“We have the reports that due the incessant rains from the last couple of days, a lot of damage is caused damage in Shopian and other south

Kashmir areas. The administration has alerted people to remain alert but don’t panic,” he said.

“Due to the heavy rainfall, the water flow in River Jhelum has gone up to 50000 cusecs against the carrying capacity of 35000 cusecs and the water level at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar till early morn-ing today was upto 20.82,” he said.

He said 7 teams of State Disas-ter Response Force and two teams of National Disaster Response Force are in place for rescue and relief operation beside this control rooms have been set up at district and divisional headquarters to meet any eventuality. He said that 140 NDRF and SDRF experts have been directed to remain vigilant to tackle the situation.

He informed that in Srinagar, the government has created 44 shelter sheds and relief teams are now in place. The Advisor said that the Chief Secretary has issued orders that all the essential servic-es including supply of rations are ensured to the people.

“The next challenge that we face now is heavy water logging in urban areas. 15 heavy duty and 40 small water pumps are in place in Srinagar city and SMC has been directed to monitor the function-ing of these pumps,” he said.

NIA, ED framing resistance leaders under false cases: Hurriyat (M)SRINAGAR: Taking strong note of the fresh wave of killing spree in Kashmir coupled with the detention and house confinement of pro-free-dom leaders and framing resistance leaders under “fake and fictitious” cases by NIA and ED, Hurriyat Conference (M) on Saturday said all these steps are being taken under a well-planned conspiracy to break the resolve of people of Kashmir and the resistance leadership.

The Hurriyat (M) in a state-ment issued to GNS termed these ploys as “nothing but a sheer and worst ever political vendetta”.

It said NIA has no moral justifi-cation for framing “fake” charges against senior resistance leader Aasiya Andrabi and her close side Fehmeeda Sofi as the duo are al-ready languishing in prison since long. “These steps are nothing but a mere frustration of New Delhi which has failed to break the re-solve of people of Kashmir,” it said.

The amalgam said that arresting resistance leaders and lodging them in jails to muzzle the movement for the right to self-determination was tried in the past but failed to yield results for Delhi and now same old methods are being employed which

are destined to fail.The Hurriyat (M) lauded the

patience and courage of resistance leaders lodged in Dehli’s notori-ous Tihar jail who include Shabir Ahmad Shah, Advocate Shahidul Islam, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat, Altaf Ahmed Shah, Peer Saifullah, Ayaz Akbar, Raja Mehrajudin Kalwal, Nayeem Khan, Shahid Yousuf, Muhammad Aslam Wani, Farooq Ahmed Dar and Zahoor Ahmed Watali while as others who are lodged in various other prisons that include Masrat Alam Bhat, Muzaffar Dar, Dr Muhammad Qa-sim Fakhtoo, Muhammad Shafi Sheraati, Ghulam Qadir Bhat, Nazir Ahmed Sheikh, Muham-mad Yousuf Mir, Tariq Ahmed Dar, Manzoor Ahmed, Muham-mad Yousuf Falahi, Abdul Gani Dar, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Shakeel Ahmed Itoo, Mir Hafizulah, Ameer Hamzah Shah, Abdul Rashid Mugloo, Sirajudin and Farooq Ahmed Towheedi.

“All these prisoners deserve all the appreciation for their courage and patience,” Hurriyat (M) said and strongly condemned “all the fake charges” against them and de-manded their immediate release.

Dr Mir Sammiullah performs a rare surgery for giant hiatus HerniaSRINAGAR: A young patient Shahid Qayoom of Pulwama was operated by Dr Mir Sammiullah at Star Hospital for GERD due to giant hiatus Hernia (upside down stomach). Upside-down stomach is a relatively rare type of a large par esophageal hernia characterized by the migration of the stomach into the posterior mediastinum. Upside-down stomach is prone to severe complica-tions and therefore surgery is recommended even in asymptomatic patients.

A 22year-old male presented with frequent abdominal pain with nau-sea and vomiting that persisted for one year. The patient was treated medically for gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) for 4 years.

On upper gastrointestinal CT study a level-IV paraesophageal hernia was detected with upside-down stomach, and he was referred for elective surgery. Laparoscopic surgery included reduction of the stomach into the abdominal cavity followed by dissection of the paraesophageal mem-brane and hernia sac. The hiatal defect was closed using nonabsorbable sutures. The defect closure was reinforced anteriorly and sutured poste-riorly to the diaphragm. Follow-up was uneventful and the patient is free of complaints. The results of this surgical intervention support previous reports that laparoscopic repair in the setting of large paraesophageal hernia should be favorably considered. This is rare feat in laparoscopic surgery and is performed in few centers of country.(CNS)

Current year to be historic in development of basic infrastructure in Education SectorSRINAGAR: Current year will be historic in the development of basic infrastructure in Education sector due the tripling of Capex Budget for Education and Rs 1000 Crores aid from Centre for School Education. This will help in further strengthening of the basic infrastructure in schools. These views were expressed by Secretary School Education Farooq Ah-mad Shah today during a function at SIE Kashmir. He said that disci-pline is of pivotal importance in Education sector and the development of every society, culture and a good image is dependent on its Education sector. He added that the future of the society lies in the hands of a teach-er and the teachers are the guarantee for a prosperous future. Calling the job of every person employed in Education sector as worship, Secretary Education said that every one of us is answerable before Allah for per-forming of our duties.

Sunday Observer

OPINION

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NO HOLDS BARRED ALL IN A DAYS WORK

Again the people are subjected to flood scare today. If the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) would have been in place for Jhelum, people would have exactly known when and which areas in the valley are getting flooded/inundate up to what depth. That is why I emphasize the need for putting in place a FEWS for Jhelum all the time. This is the least one would expect from the flood managers. However, I think that with significantly lower contribution to the streamflows from the melting snowpack this summer, the flooding might not peak this time even though it would definitely cross the danger mark, both at Sangam and Rammunshi bags. But the threat of flood shall significantly increase in the valley during the subsequent spells of precipitation in the coming weeks.

Shakil Romshoo

Kashmir valley is prone to various geographical disasters.so for the mitigation of consequences of these disasters in every district a disaster management cell should be established that would benifit the people pre and post meths of disasters.

Mohammad Rafiq

K A S H M I R

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Sunday| 01-07-2018

in ToI

Fallout In KashmirA.g. NoorANi

WHEN Mufti Mohammed Sayeed justified the unscrupulous coali-tion of his Valley-centred PDP with the Jammu-based BJP in

2014, as the meeting of the North Pole and the South Pole, he did not realise that this puer-ile metaphor would provide the best explana-tion for its break up. The two poles can never meet. The BJP quit the coalition on June 19, 2018. Each found its base, regional and reli-gious, shrinking. Next year, if not sooner, the BJP will go to the polls in a general election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity is on the decline. His first priority is to con-solidate his Hindu vote bank.

In 2014, the BJP sensed a rare, fleeting op-portunity to acquire a presence in the Valley. Parleys were begun with Mufti Mohammed Sayeed before the 2014 assembly elections. They yielded a fractured verdict for a house of 87–28 seats for the PDP; 25 for the BJP; 15 for the National Conference run by father and son Farooq and Omar Abdullah; and 12 for the Congress. The BJP’s seats came from Jammu alone. It did not win a single seat in the Valley or in Ladakh. The PDP won three seats from Jammu and 25 in the Valley; the NC won 12 seats in the Valley and three in Jammu; the Congress won five from Jammu, four from the Valley and three from Ladakh.

The PDP-BJP coalition was always an un-tenable alliance.

The BJP sought to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by itself, by winning all the seats in Jammu and the Bud-dhist-dominated Ladakh, and stealing the rest from others in the Valley. Sensing this, the PDP made an all-out effort to defeat the BJP. While Kashmir’s Muslims ignored the Hurriyat’s appeal to boycott the polls, they felt cheated when the PDP forged a coalition with the BJP.

The coalition’s Agenda of Alliance was deceptive, with the Rashtriya Swayamse-vak Sangh’s writ dominating its terms. The PDP had demanded ‘self-rule’, greater than

the NC’s demand for ‘autonomy’; plus an ex-ternal dimension. There must be an accord with Pakistan on mechanisms to link the two halves of Kashmir and, eventually, for a set-tlement of the Kashmir dispute. All this was omitted in the agenda. It recorded the two sides’ disagreement on Article 370, the In-dian constitution’s guarantee of ‘autonomy’, which has been completely hollowed out.

Modi made no secret of his agenda. When

he went to Srinagar for the Mufti’s swear-ing in as chief minister in March 2015, he snubbed the chief minister when he pleaded for efforts at a settlement with Pakistan. The coalition stumbled along even after Mehboo-ba became chief minister after her father’s death. The power upsurge after Bur han Wani’s killing in 2018 found her wanting. She stooped so low as even to justify the use of pellet guns against her own people.

Polls were due in 2020, but as the clock ticked away, she found her unpopularity in-crease. The BJP also found that its base in Jammu was shrinking. The tipping point was the rape-murder of an eight-year-old Muslim

girl in Jammu, whose body was found on Jan 17, 2018. Two of the BJP’s ministers in Jam-mu supported the perpetrators. The worm began to turn. Mehbooba secured their res-ignation on April 15. The BJP replaced them with more rabid Jammuites.

Mehbooba pressed the prime minister and home minister to initiate a process of conciliation within J&K, and with Pakistan. She knew that Kashmiris yearn for a settle-ment of the dispute. This was contrary to Modi’s policy. And in J&K, the Indian army launched Operation All Out in 2017, with the BJP’s strategic adviser stating that the gov-ernment would “eliminate all militants”.

In retrospect, it is clear that that what fol-lowed her entreaties was a charade to serve as a prelude to a crackdown. The rape case had expo sed the depths of the divide between Jammu and Kash mir. What shocked every-one was the spurt in local recruitment in the ranks of fighters. It was a response to the growing vandalism of the security forces.

In mid-May came the ‘unilateral’ cease-fire during Ramazan. The random cordon-and-search operations were stopped, but not those based on specific intelligence.

Nothing exposed New Delhi’s insincerity more than Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s ap-peal for talks in Srinagar on May 26, 2018. “If Hurriyat is ready to talk, we have no problem, we are ready to talk.” Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s response on May 29 was positive. If the gov-ernment “gives clarity on what it wants to talk about and speaks in one language [they] are ready to join the process”. India has noth-ing to offer to them. On June 17, the ceasefire was ended. On June 19, the BJP ended the co-alition, paving the way for governor’s rule.

The BJP has given contradictory reasons for the step. The real reasons are the polls in 2019 and the centre’s desire to get the PDP out of the way to crush the militancy in J&K. It will not work. The situation will get worse.

The writer is an author and lawyer based in Mumbai.

Dawn

For the sake of KashmirPritish NANdy

INDIA, Pakistan are joined at the hip and be-ing nuclear powers, neither can go to war. Ramzan ceasefire is a good beginning. It may be time to mute the rhetoric of hate.

Let’s get one thing right. Nothing in Kashmir will improve till our relations with Pakistan im-prove. And that is unlikely to happen as long as we keep pitching a hard, muscular line against them instead of sitting down and talking out our differences. There is far too much at stake when we are in conflict with neighbours. Neither side can win because we are joined at the hip. While we are on our hate-Pakistan trip, Pakistan is tit for tatting us with a hate-India trip. The conse-quences are there for all to see.

By our figures, there were 860 ceasefire vio-lations in 2017 with 15 soldiers killed. This year, there have already been 908 violations with a further 11soldiers killed. Pakistan’s figures are naturally different. By their count, there were 1,813 violations in 2017 and 1,321so far this year. Compare this with the 2014 figures, when the BJP came to power. As per official data, there were 583 and 315 ceasefire violations reported by India and Pakistan, respectively. Clearly, the re-lationship deteriorated over the past four years. This shows up most in Kashmir where things have gone from bad to worse.

The spike in violations in recent months has been explained as due to weather condi-tions, with snow levels being low last winter. So violations began in January this year instead of April, when the snow melts and infiltration becomes easier. But what may perhaps explain it better is politics, the fact that Pakistan is cur-rently heading towards an election and so is In-dia, a year from now. So both sides are adopting a tougher, meaner stance to impress their vote banks; instead of doing what is likely to make more sense — scaling down tensions, reducing the hostilities. But who wants to make sense in an election year when it’s easier to stoke the

rhetoric of hate? And, as we all know by now, both sides believe that votes are to be won by seeing the other as the enemy.

The problem in Kashmir is also that there are too many people saying too many different things at the same time. The BJP is part of the ruling al-liance there so there should be all the more rea-son for clarity. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tells a newspaper: “If Pakistan is ready to talk, why won’t we talk? We want to have good relations with our neighbour.” But External Af-fairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says exactly the opposite on television: “Talks and terror cannot go together.” J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Muf-ti is doing her best to keep the alliance going but she is having a rough time for the BJP is unable to reconcile its national idiom with what works best in Kashmir. The result is utter confusion. A section of Kashmiris is more annoyed with India than with Pakistan, who have actually brought matters to such a sorry state. And we vent more anger on the Kashmiris than on the infiltrators who cross the border to stoke trouble.

That is why it is such a delight to read The Spy Chronicles, a book co-authored by two of the most famous spymasters of our time: former RAW chief AS Dulat and former ISI head Asad Durrani. Their conversations, helped along by journalist Aditya Sinha, the third author, took place in Istanbul, Bangkok and Kathmandu, far away from the anxieties of the subcontinent and, voila, what you have is a charming insight into the dark and sinister politics of the two na-tions in conflict. Actually, they are not really as sinister as you may think. They are more about lost opportunities. The two spymasters are warm and frank with each other, often offering perspective into why our two nations continue to be in conflict with each other. Their chat shows that we could have, as easily, chosen to be at peace. What was perhaps needed was more imaginative political leadership on both sides.

Talking has always helped to resolve the most complex of conflicts. Unlike the Arabs and Israe-lis, Indians and Pakistanis have a strong cultural bond. We have a shared literature — a common

love for Manto, Sahir, Faiz Ahmed Faiz. A shared music — a common love for Lata, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen. A shared cinema — an undying love for Bollywood and its glittering stars who have survived many attempts at bans and censorship. A shared obsession with cricket — India-Pakistan matches (rare, very rare nowa-days) are the most widely watched games ever. And even a shared stand-up comedy scene in the US, where some of the best talents — Aziz Ansari, Hasan Minhaj, Kumail Nanjiani have roots in the subcontinent and are always reminding Ameri-cans about what being an immigrant means.

In fact, it is tough to tell Indians and Pakistanis apart in many parts of the world where they live in the same neighbourhood, eat at the same restau-rants, watch the same movies and whistle at the same item numbers — and yes, marry each other.

The Spy Chronicles tries to tell you what has gone wrong. The warmth of the engagement between the two spymasters makes you realise that there is still hope that future leaders may be able to bring the two nations closer and cre-ate an atmosphere where we can freely meet, share ideas and experiences and celebrate our common heritage without being seen as anti-na-tionals. After all, my parents and some of yours I am sure cherished memories of an undivided nation. If the two spymasters can break bread together and risk sharing memories, so can we. If for no other reason, for the sake of the most beautiful place on earth: Kashmir. Let’s take away our silly war from there.

The book begins with two quotes. One from my favourite storyteller, Saadat Hasan Manto whose life Nandita Das I am told has made into a charm-ing film. And the other from the poet Agha Shahid Ali, a Kashmiri who went to teach in the US. Both have passed away — Manto a long time back, Ali more recently. But their words remain to remind us that whatever happens, no one can break the bond that the people of our two nations share.

Note: The article was written before BJP pulled the rug beneath its partner PDP in J&K

Mumbai Mirror

Executive President Erdogan

MurtAzA shibli

IF we believed the so-called liberal Western media, from the US mainstream corporate houses to their smaller European cousins, in-cluding the officially funded networks like the British government-funded BBC or the German Deutsche Welle, the main contestant in

the presidential polls, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was increasingly vulner-able as his support base had significantly narrowed.

Many of the Euro-American news outlets – from BBC to CNN and Bloomberg to The Economist – passed off many a piece of unverified conjecture as news. According to a Turkish media report, they even tried to falsify news – in other words, produce fake news – to manipulate electorate reflexes.

For months, there were endless ‘experts’ flaunting their association with the posh-sounding think tanks predicting a defeat for Erdogan and how it was time for his downfall for he had lost the grassroots support of the masses. They even portrayed Muharrem Ince, the runner-up who was defeated by more than 11 million votes, as a new crowd-puller who was on a mission to redefine the will of the Turkish people.

Some of these media outlets even tried to portray Meral Aksener of the recently and hastily formed Good Party (IP), an ultranationalist political platform, as a potential candidate who could unseat Erdogan. However, Aksener was unsuccessful to produce an effective and a convincing narrative. She even failed to emerge as the main opposition candidate and lost to Muharrem Ince.

Even some European politicians openly broke from convention and diplomatic norms, and offered support to the opposition candidates with the full support of their pliable yet ‘independent’ media. According to Daily Sabah, a leading pro-Erdogan English newspaper, “the overwhelm-ing majority of international media outlets misled their audiences into thinking that the opposition could force a second round in the presiden-tial election and win the majority of seats in Turkish parliament”.

All these wishes from Erdogan’s mainly Euro-American adversar-ies were proved wrong. He became the first executive president of the Republic of Turkey and with such a large mandate that it could put any European politician to shame. Worse, The Atlantic claimed ruefully that in Erdogan’s election victory “Turks have voted away their democracy”.

The report quoted several anti-Erdogan ‘experts’ working in the government-funded or partisan think-tank. Dr Ziya Meral, a resident fel-low at the British Army’s Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, was mentioned claiming that “fault lines in the country are so clear”. God knows what that meant, but in the end, he did accept that “there was 87 percent voter turnout, and the people of Turkey displayed ownership of their electoral politics”.

Erdogan has been in power for more than 16 years, and with the lat-est victory, he could theoretically be in for another 15 years. In his time, he has economically transformed the country; created a new and affluent middle class; and improved education, health and other services. Moving from the uncertainties of fragile coalition governments of the 1990s, his AK Party has provided a stable government, thus improving political and security situation.

Besides, religious and ethnic freedoms have shown a marked im-provement. Not only has the government reinstated ownership rights of hundreds of wakf and historical properties of Jewish and Christian minorities, it has also acknowledged the rights of Alevis and Kurds. In 2012, the Kurdish language was reinstated in the schools after more than 20 years and in 2013 Turkish parliament voted to allow the use of the Kurdish language in courts. This has created a certain constituency of support for the AK Party in Kurdistan.

While the HDP, the Kurdish regional party, remains the main voice of the region, the AK Party has almost doubled its vote share in the latest elections, increasingly emerging as an alternative voice of Kurds with a say in Ankara. The AK Party has also expanded and recognised the rights of Alevis, a non-Muslim minority group that was born out of Shia Islam, but has since evolved as a separate religion, with distinct customs and rites. In 2015, the Turkish government granted legal recognition to their religious schools and houses of worship, known as cemevis.

A large number of Turks believe that ever since Erdogan showed his support for Palestinian rights, he has become a consistent target of Western propaganda and ridicule. First, in January 2009, Erdogan, as prime minister, walked off the stage at the World Economic Forum at Davos after an angry exchange with the then Israeli president Shimon Peres over the Israeli massacres in Gaza.

Later, in May-June 2010, the Turkish premier allowed the famous Gaza Freedom Flotilla to organise and garner support from the coun-try. The flotilla ended up in tragedy as the Israeli Army attacked it, killing several Turkish civilians. This led to a big standoff that was resolved only after Israel apologised and provided a large compensa-tion to the bereaved. In May this year, Erdogan once again slammed Israel for its lethal attacks on Gaza that killed scores of unarmed Palestinians, including medical professionals who were trying to save the victims of Israeli aggression.

Erdogan’s determination to punch above his weight and completely take his country out of the Euro-American dependency has, in the West-ern imagination, turned him into an undemocratic and autocratic mon-ster who must be consistently loathed – not only to remind the Turks of their ‘poor democratic choice’ but also to use him as one more tool to provoke and even justify new strands of Islamophobia and rampant anti-Muslim violence that is now entrenched within the body politic of Western societies and their popular culture.

Despite vilification and attempts to engineer the Turkish electorate, Erdogan, as the first elected executive president, is firmly in control. It is time for him as well as his Euro-American critics to show respect for the people’s mandate and work together for the prosperity and stabil-ity of the region and beyond. Turkey also needs to address its festering problems – from the unrest in the Kurdish region to threats of terrorism – both from within and outside.

Following the election victory, Erdogan’s first meeting with his coalition partner Devlet Bahceli, the chairman of the Nationalist Move-ment Party (MHP) was very positive. Both leaders agreed that the state of emergency imposed since the failed coup of July 2016 will not be extended. This shall bode well for the new era.

The News CNN

Mehbooba pressed the prime minister and home minister to initiate a process of conciliation within J&K, and with Pakistan. She knew that Kashmiris yearn for a settlement of the dispute. This was contrary to Modi’s policy. And in J&K, the Indian army launched Operation All Out in 2017, with the BJP’s strategic adviser stating that the government would “eliminate all militants”.

H I G H L I G H T S

Syed Imran ZIa

OF the several reviews of Khalid Bashir Ah-mad’s - by now - well-known book, KASH-MIR- Exposing the Myth Behind the Nar-rative that one had occasion to go through,

two [Chitralekha Zutshi: This book claims to expose the myths behind Kashmir’s history. It exposes its own biases instead, Scroll.in, October 24, 2017, and Reapan Tikoo: Building a Flawed and Divisive Nar-rative, Kashmir Times, June 3, 2018] invite immedi-ate attention for a poor analysis and writers’ preju-dice. While Zutshi looks more aggrieved by the book finding an international publisher, thus attaining credibility, Tikoo has exposed his failure to make an impartial comment on a work of meticulous re-search.

Zutshi, a US based academic and author, has chosen to mislead readers by pedaling a view that the book is an exercise in Kalhana-bashing, and al-most shouts angrily “Who is the author to challenge Kalhana? How can he do that? She accuses him of labeling the 12th century chronicler as a Kashmiri Pandit when the designation has 16th century origin. Curiously, the book nowhere mentions Kalhana as a Kashmiri Pandit.

Evident from her review, Zutshi’s outburst springs from her discomfort over the book finding a publishing house internationally reputed for bring-ing out highly academic titles. In view of the rigorous and exhaustive procedure of reviewing a manuscript at the SAGE before accepting it for publication, one can understand her unease, for the book does not conform to the position taken by her community on the Kashmiri Pandit Narrative. Criticising, without a single corroborating instance, the book for point-ing out instances of Kalhana’s imagination working behind his reconstruction of the earliest history of Kashmir, Zutshi fails to counter facts and sources given out by the author except through making vague comments like ‘Archival Sources’ quoted in the book are either not identified by primary source or the archive or library in which these are located. By all probability, she has not bothered to go through the exhaustive ‘Notes and References’ accompanied with each chapter of the book, for, she appears in an unusual hurry to discredit it as “dangerous”, “tendentious’ and “a polemic”. All archival sources quoted in the book are mentioned with location. Here are some to confront the allegation: chapter 5: 40, 106, 127, 194, 197, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 236; chapter 6: 41, 88, 92, 115, 117 to 123; chapter 7: 2; and chapter 9: 8. Commenting on Zutshi’s outburst, BBC Correspon-dent Riyaz Masroor, in fact, considers it as “a badge of honour” for the author of the book, and I cannot agree more with him.

Zutshi’s love and admiration for Kalhana is quite in place and understandable but what she would not concede is the fact that the chronicler is not a deity above criticism and Rajatarangini is not a scripture to be spared of critical analysis. If the two have es-caped scrutiny so for it does not mean no one must ever try. Having said that, Kashmir- Exposing the Myth Behind the Narrative is not about Kalhana or his much acclaimed work. It is about a community narrative on victimhood, its sharp political over-tones and its factual inaccuracies. Of the 11chapters, the shortest of all is related to the Rajatarangini where the author has pointed out many fictional and make-believe developments that Kalhana presents as historical facts. For instance, it highlights the fantas-tic description of the ancient city of Srinagar with, what Kalhana wants us to believe, “ninety-six lakh houses resplendent with wealth” or the 5th century ruler Mihirkula massacring three crore women of high birth with their husbands, sons and brothers or a ruler of Kashmir invading present Srilanka. Is this history or pure poetic imagination?

In highlighting these impossible-to-believe de-

velopments, the book seeks to argue that such ac-count of our earliest history cannot be relied upon, especially when it is sought to be presented in the 21st century as the cornerstone of a purely political (and patently communal) narrative. As regards the later period, the book gives due credit to Kalhana for his ‘graphic account’ of events and reckons the Ra-jatarangini as receiving “eminence of an inevitable reference on Kashmir and for its author an enviable position and such fame that refuses to fade with the passage of time.”

The book raises an important question about Kal-hana’s sources for reconstructing 4000 years of Kash-mir’s history preceding his own time. The chronicler admits having studied 11 earlier works but debunks them all for one or the other reason. So what is the source of his information on ancient Kashmir if it is not his poetic imagination of which he makes a boastful mention? Another important question seek-ing an answer is if these 11 works were available to Kalhana why have not these passed down to us? Did these contain details that did not go along with Kal-hana’s narrative?

Zutshi’s review is a sweeping criticism of the book without any substantiating reference. The fact that she has wholly and only focused on Kalhana is an academic dishonesty and a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the real subject matter of the book – a flawed community narrative. The well docu-mented and argued chapters on the so-called aborig-ine status of Kashmiri Pandits, their alleged forced conversion and mass destruction of temples, power and clout enjoyed by them throughout the history, propaganda about Muslim dominance, Pandit agita-tion of 1967, mass migration in 1990 and demand for a separate Hindu homeland do not seem to be of any significance for Zutshi.

Zutshi has a problem with the sources of the book of which more than 90% are not, what is now a fashion to label as, Islamist. These include works like the Nilmatapurana, the Rajatarangini, A History of Kashmiri Pandits, The Valley of Kashmir, The Kash-miri Pandits, The History of Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir, Hindu Rulers Muslim Subjects, Buddhism in Kashmir, Majmoo-e-Tawareekh, Kashmir Then and Now, Wail of the Vale, and so on. Among the quoted individuals are Kalhana, Jonaraja, Srivara, Birbal Kachru, Prem Nath Bazaz, Kashyap Bandhu, J. L. Bhan, J. N. Ganhar, Shyam Koul, Neerja Mat-too, Arjun Dev Majboor, K. M. Pannikar, Jogesh Chander Dutt, Balraj Madhok, B. K. Nehru, Ved Ku-mari Ghai, Jialal Kilam, R. K. Parimu, R. C. Kak, B. N. Mullik, P. N. K. Bamzai, Harinder Baweja, Jagmo-han, Devika Rangachari, Balraj Puri, Vijay Bakaya, B. G. Verghese, V. M. Tarkunde, Anuradha Bhasin, Krishan Dev Sethi, Sanjay Tikoo, Mridhu Rai, Jialal Koul, not to speak of M. A. Stein who brought to light Kalhana’s Rajatarangini by his English translation and exhaustive annotations, Tyndale Biscoe, Henny Sender, Victoria Schofield, Robert Thorp, Christof Heyns, and Walter Lawrence. Among faith-neutral sources are the Glancy Commission Report, Census Reports, official statistics and documents, academic studies, UNESCO literature and reports of human rights organizations. Which of these sources do Zut-shi have a problem with?

Coming to Reapan Tikoo’s review, it is a poor representation of the writer’s understanding of his-tory. By opening his review with characterization of a thoroughly researched and referenced work as ‘open propaganda and divisive’ speaks very poor of the writer and his capacity to read, let alone re-

view, a book on history. His knowledge of Kashmir history flows from tales told by community elders rather than taking the trouble of studying it himself. People like him feel offended by the viewpoint, even if deep rooted in logic, which runs counter to their carefully nurtured narrative. It is no surprise that Tikoo’s piece abounds in misconception and misrep-resentation. The name Takht-i-Sulaiman of a hill in Srinagar according to him is “an attempt to disasso-ciate Kashmir from its glorious past” that he alleges “is now part of the narrative in the Valley”. It takes a little effort, which he would not do, to go through his-tory and discover that the name Takht-i-Sulaiman precedes by many centuries its present name Shan-karacharya. Obviously, he has not read old texts on Kashmir like the Rajatarangini which although he sounds very emotional about. Kalhana, it may shock him, did not know of any shrine or hill by the name

of Shankaracharya. The hill has been known by dif-ferent names in different periods of time. During Kalhana’s time it was known as Gopadari. Its pres-ent name, Shankaracharya, is a later day develop-ment related to the post-Muslim rule.

Likewise, Tikoo is ignorant about the history of the south Kashmir district and town, Islamabad. I challenge him to produce a single ancient or medi-eval text mentioning the place as Anantnag. Khalid Bashir Ahmad’s book has elaborately dealt with this aspect and established that no place or shrine by the name Anantnag existed in ancient Kashmir and that the place was named as Islamabad in the 16th cen-tury after a Mughal Governor, Islam Khan laid out a garden here and Auranzeb, the ruler, named it after him. Aurel Stein who in depth studied old texts like the Nilamatapurana, Mahatayamas and the Rajata-rangini, writes, “Of the town [Islamabad], I cannot find any old notice, and it is in all probability, as its Mohammadan name implies, a later foundation”. By citing these instances, the reviewer has only ex-posed his pedestrian knowledge about the history

of Kashmir. What he describes as ‘brainwashing of Kashmiri children’ are facts of history subscribed to by his own community sources but conveniently brushed aside.

Tikoo has tried to play to the galleries by claim-ing that the book equates Sangrampura, Wandhama and Nadimarg massacres with those of “Gaw Kadal, Bijbehara etc.” That again shows the reviewer as a poor reader. Nowhere does the book equate the two sets of massacres. There can be no comparison be-tween the two sets, for in the one case the killers are known while in the other the mystery persists. The Chhitisinghpora Massacre has cast a serious doubt on all brutal mass killings by ‘unknown gunmen’. Why the book mentions the two sets of massacres to-gether is to bring home the point that alongside “a reference to Nadimarg, Wandhama and Sangrampo-ra (places where Kashmiri Pandits were massacred by suspected militants), a mention of Gawkadal, So-pore, Handwara and Islamia College (places where Kashmiri Muslims were massacred by government forces) is imperative to complete the picture of Kash-mir tragedy” and understand and recognize each other’s pain and suffering. What is ‘shameful’ and ‘divisive’ about it? The reviewer suffers from seri-ous imperfection to count Shias and Gujjars as other than Muslims of Kashmir. It reflects a mindset.

The reviewer describes the atrocities-driven mass migration of Kashmiri Muslims during the Dogra rule as “sequential natural catastrophe”. Where do deaths by famines, floods and epidemics fit in with the forced migration of a population? His claim that during the ‘pre-independence’ period, Kashmiri Pandits accounted for 19% of the total pop-ulation of Kashmir is, to say the least, bizarre and a fantastic revelation. It mocks at the documented sta-tistics and the successive Census Reports released under the Hindu Dogra rule over Kashmir. Such as-sertions make it easy for a reader to understand the reviewer’s shallow knowledge.

A community narrative need not be the actual history of a place or a people. It is one thing to pres-ent perceptions and myths as history and an alto-gether a different thing to prove these as actual his-tory. Kashmir history has long been burdened with a heavy load of fiction, myth and plain untruths. The fact that the book under review has bluntly, and for the first time, taken on long pedaled misconception and misrepresentation with a vast fund of uncontest-able sources and references has not gone down well with some people whose narration of Kashmir his-tory it reduces to a figment.

Notwithstanding Zutshi’s and Tikoo’s criti-cism, the book is a serious read and presents highly researched material on a narrative hitherto consid-ered inviolable. It has opened a new debate on his-toriography of Kashmir. Significantly, the book has been spoken about as “one of the more important books to have come out of Kashmir in recent years” [Hindustan Times], “a myth busting book” [Counter Currents], “a great contribution to Kashmir’s exist-ing literature demystifying mythical but traditional narrative about Kashmir” [South Asian Journal] a book attaining “significance in the list of contempo-rary history books [Frontline], a “protestant move-ment in Kashmir historiography”/ a “scholarly chase” forcing readers “to think critically”/ ‘an im-portant corrective to history handed down to us from the past several generations” [Wande Magazine], “the first scholarly critic of what has been told, re-told and packaged in the name of three millennia of “recorded history” [Kashmir Life], ‘a paradigm shift in Kashmir narrative’ [Greater Kashmir], and a book that “makes it difficult to accept the fairy tales about the creation of Kashmir” [Kashmir Ink].

__________________________I am an ardent reader of Kashmir history

and an occasional writer who can be reached at [email protected]).

Sunday| 01-07-2018Sunday Observer

Weekend Ob-

7Kashmir: Exposing the Myth Behind the Narrative

A Reviewer’s Prejudice

How Ibn al-Nafis Proved Galen Wrong

CLAUDIUS Galenus, known as Galen, was a Greek physician/surgeon in the Roman empire who was physician to several

Roman emperors. He, unfortunately, influenced the development of various scientific disciplines, including anato-my, physiology, pathology, pharmacol-ogy and neurology, in European medi-cal science for 1300 years, till proper scientists found that everything he said was “incorrect” or rubbish.

Galen's anatomical reports, based mainly on dissection of monkeys and pigs, remained uncontested until 1543, when printed descriptions and illustrations of human dissections were published in the seminal work De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Andreas Vesalius, who had conducted dissection on human cadavers which turned out to be completely dif-ferent. Galen's theory of the circulatory system remained unchallenged until ca. 1242, when Ibn al-Nafis published his book Sharh Tashrih al-Qanun li’ Ibn Sina (Com-mentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Can-on), in which he reported his discovery of pulmonary circulation, proving Galen completely wrong.

Galen's principal interest was in hu-man anatomy, but Roman law had prohib-ited the dissection of human cadavers. Be-cause of this restriction, Galen performed anatomical dissections on living and dead animals, as he believed that these were

the same as humans. His anatomical ex-periments on animal models led him to propound on the circulatory, nervous, respiratory systems and other structures- all of which turned out to be entirely in-correct. Galen killed thousands of people using the theories deduced from killing thousands of animals.

Unfortunately, while all these theo-ries, gleaned from killing animals, were proved wrong, his legacy of testing on animals remains prevalent till today, even though it has been proven again and again that animal-based experiments have not contributed to science, but rather have hindered scientific and medical progress. As a matter of fact, most of the major life saving devices and procedures came with-out anything to do with animals. Take the heart, for example:

Dogs’ coronary arteries differ from humans. They have smaller connections with one another and the left coronary artery dominates, while in the human the right artery dominates. The conduction system has a different pattern of blood supply. Dogs’ blood coagulates differently from humans. Their reaction to shock is different. After massive blood loss, a dog’s intestines are congested, while in the hu-man we see pallor and ischemia (lack of blood supply). But we continue to experi-ment on dogs.

Here is a list of major discoveries made without animal experimentation:

ANESTHESIA-Ether was discovered by Valerius Cor-

dus in 1540, when he mixed alcohol and sulphuric acid. Called “sweet oil of vitriol”, Medical students used ether to get high in “ether frolics”. Dr. Crawford Long, a sur-geon, noticed that people with bruises who had taken ether were insensitive to pain. He tried it on a patient during surgery.

HYPOTHERMIA- (cooling the body before surgery)-

In 1757 observation of persons exposed

to cold for long periods showed that they could survive, and was written about by the Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1798 Dr. James Currie had human volunteers take prolonged baths in cold water. He dis-covered that their heart rate was reduced. This information is now used to reduce the heart rate in patients before surgery.

POSITIVE PRESSURE VENTILATION- (blowing air into the lungs during surgery)-

Dr. Ferdinand Sauerbrach created posi-tive pressure ventilation to keep the lungs from collapsing during surgery, but with-drew the technique when it proved harm-ful to animals. In 1891 American surgeon George Fell decided to use it anyway, and used it successfully.

HEART LUNG MACHINE-Dr. Jack Gibbon tested it on cats, then

humans. The humans died. Then other doctors perfected it while using it on hu-man patients. Dr. Anthony Andreason cre-ated the low flow theory – that less blood would have to be used than the amount in the body, by observing that war injured soldiers could survive on less blood than originally thought.

HEART PACEMAKERS-Grew out of ventricular septal defect

surgery. To prevent deaths during heart surgery, due to stoppage of electrical ac-tivity, the pacemaker was developed to keep the electrical activity going and to keep the heart from giving out.

ARTIFICIAL HEART VALVES-The cage ball valve was almost with-

held from human patients because it killed dogs in the lab. Drs. A. Starr and L. Edwards found that it worked on humans.

BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS-

In 1667, Jean Dennis transfused blood from animals to humans and killed people. Blood typing was discovered by an Ameri-can scientist without animal experiments, and that led to successful blood transfusions.

CARDIAC CATHERIZATION- (for diagnostic purposes)-

First used by Dr. Forsmann on him-self. He put a catheter through his own arm and advanced the tip to his heart, ob-serving it through a fluoroscope.

BYPASS SURGERY-In 1961, in France, Dr. Kunlin used a por-

tion of a person’s vein to replace obstructed segments. This gave birth to bypass surgery for different parts of the body.

CALCIUM ANTAGONISTS- (used to treat high blood pressure)-

It was discovered to lower the blood pressure when given to patients to reduce heart pain (angina).

BUBBLE OXYGENATOR-C. Walton Lillehei developed it

through learning what happened to pa-tients during surgery when the heart lung machine was used and complications arose. He decided to use the disposable sheet oxygenator, so that blood would not become contaminated.

ANTI-FOAMING AGENTS- (used to stop blood from bubbling when oxygen is put into it)-

Was developed to stop milk from foam-ing, and adapted to use in open heart surgery.

COARCTATION OF THE AORTA- (twisting of the aorta that prevented blood flow)-

Clarence Crafford put a clamp on the ruptured aorta and discovered that he could still perform surgery on the aorta without the patient dying. He discovered this by accident on a patient.

MITRAL STENOSIS- (defective heart valve)-Dr. Henry S. Souttar, London Hospi-

tal, 1925, put his forefinger through the heart’s mitral valve and widened it. In 1949 Dr. Dwight E. Harking decided to use that same technique which is called finger fracture angioplasty.

BLUE BABIES- (Fallot’s Tetrology – Four heart defects that lead to blue baby syndrome)-

Dr. R. C. Brock of Guy’s Hospital developed a technique of surgery to overcome this problem, without any animal experiments (British Medical Journal 6/12/48). Another technique was developed by British surgeons N. R. Barrett and Raymond Daley of St. Thomas Hospital (British Medical Journal 4/23/49).

CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION-Kouwenhoven, Jude and Knicker-

bocker devised this technique through practice on cadavers.

CLOSED CHEST CARDIAC RESUSCITATION-Dr. Paul Zoll used this technique (elec-

tric shock) as early as 1956.

ELECTROCARDIOGRAM-Brown and Mac Millan, Toronto, be-

gan investigating arrhythmia disorders directly on patients. Converted an old en-cephalogram to an electrocardiogram to monitor heart rhythm disorders.

DIGITALIS-Dr. Thomas Lewis, Great Britain ---

“The most essential information, the pro-found effects which digitalis is capable of exerting in auricular fibrillation, could not have been won through observation on the frog or normal mammal, but only, as it was won, by observation on patients.”

Animal rights and environment activist, Maneka Gandhi writes weekly column ‘Heads & Tails’ for the Kashmir

Observer. She can be reached at: [email protected]

H e a d s & Ta i l s

maneka GandhI

Sunday | 01-07-2018 08Life & Times

Air pollution caused one in seven new cases of diabetes in 2016, accord-ing to a US study, which

found even low levels raised the chances of developing the chron-ic disease. Diabetes has primar-ily been associated with lifestyle factors like diet and a sedentary lifestyle, but research by the

Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis said pollu-tion also plays a major role. The study estimated that pollution contributed to 3.2 million new diabetes cases globally in 2016 - or around 14 per cent of all new diabetes cases globally that year.

"Our research shows a signif-icant link between air pollution

and diabetes globally," said Dr Ziyad Al-Aly, the study's senior author. Pollution is thought to reduce the body's insulin pro-duction, "preventing the body from converting blood glucose into energy that the body needs to maintain health," according to the research. Dr Al-Aly said the research, published in the

Lancet Planetary Health, found an increased risk even with levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the US En-vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Or-ganisation (WHO).

"This is important, because many industry lobbying groups argue that current levels are too

stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current lev-els are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened," he added. Researchers working with scientists at the Veterans Affairs' Clinical Epidemiology Centre ex-amined data from 1.7 million US veterans who did not have his-tories of diabetes and were fol-

lowed for a median of 8.5 years.Patient information from the

veterans was compared to air quality information to examine the relationship between pollu-tion and diabetes risk. The scien-tists found the risk of developing diabetes "exhibited a strong link to air pollution".

They then devised a model

to gauge diabetes risks over dif-ferent pollution levels and used data from the annual worldwide Global Burden of Disease study to estimate the prevalence of diabe-tes caused by bad air.

Diabetes affects more than 420 million people globally and is one of the world's fastest grow-ing diseases.

Air pollution CAUSES ONE IN SEVEN new cases of diabetes

Drivers with cataracts who get surgery to have them removed may lower their risk

of getting into traffic crashes, a recent study suggests.

Compared to their chances of a crash before surgery, driv-ers with cataracts were 9 per-cent less likely to be involved in collisions afterwards, the study found. Doctors would need to treat 4,564 patients to avoid one crash a year, researchers

report in JAMA Opthalmology.“Given the mortality and so-

cietal costs from traffic crashes, any reduction in these risks would be welcome,” said lead study author Dr. Matthew Schlenker of the Kensington Eye Institute in Toronto, Ontario. Cataracts often develop with age, making the lens inside the eye cloudy and more opaque and reducing the amount of light that enters the eye. Symptoms can include decreased visual acuity, impaired color vision, more glare, and less sense of brightness, contrast and depth perception in what people see. Surgery for cataracts typically involves two small incisions to remove the damaged lens and the insertion of a clear artificial lens. “Removing the opacified natural lens allows better light entry, reduces or eliminates refractive error, and reduces light scatter,” Schlenker said by email. “While overall the pro-cedure is well tolerated, there

are rare complications includ-ing infection, bleeding, swell-ing, or retinal detachment.”

The study included 559,456 patients who had cataract surgery between 2006 and 2016. They were 76 years old on average. Pa-tients were behind the wheel in a total of 6,482 serious crashes that landed them in the emergency room during the five years before their cataract surgery.

SPONSOREDDuring the 3.5 years before

surgery, 2.36 patients out of ev-ery 1,000 were drivers in traffic crashes. Over the course of the first year after surgery, 2.14 pa-tients out of every 1,000 were drivers involved in collisions.

Cataract surgery was not as-sociated with a lower risk of being involved in a crash as a passenger or pedestrian.

The study wasn’t a con-trolled experiment designed to prove whether or how cataract surgery might make crashes less likely, the authors note. An-other limitation is that it only included people with cataracts severe enough to justify op-erations, and many people with cataracts don’t get surgery.

Even so, the focus on people who got in traffic crashes serious enough to require emergency medical treatment offers high-quality evidence that cataract surgery may be one effective approach to reducing the risk of these collisions, said Dr. Justine Smith, a researcher at Flinders

University in Adelaide, Australia, who wasn’t involved in the study.

“We know that reduced vi-sion is a risk for driving - that is why the Department of Mo-tor Vehicles or equivalent takes your driving license when your vision drops below a set level, which varies with country,” Smith said by email.

“The investigators were able to associate cataract surgery with decreased risk of a serious traffic accident,” Smith added.

“This tells you that if you or an elderly relative develop a cata-ract that affects the vision, one good reason to have the cataract operated, is for road use (car, motorbike or bicycle) safety.”

Not everybody with a cata-ract needs surgery, and not ev-eryone with a cataract will have difficulty driving safely, noted Dr. Kevin Miller of the Stein Eye Institute and the David Geffen School of Medicine at the Uni-versity of California, Los Ange-les. Other people with cataracts clearly shouldn’t be driving at all because their vision is too im-paired to safely operate a vehi-cle, Miller, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

“The difficulty comes with everybody in between where they have some cataract and it’s creating some effect on their vision but it’s not to the point where they can’t pass a driver’s vision test,” Miller said. “There are many, many people that fall into that gray zone.” (Agencies)

Cataract surgery tied to lower risk of car crashes

Viruses are the most common cause of meningitis in adults and a cause of sub-

stantial long-term ill health, a study has found. The study conducted by researchers at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Glob-al Health studied the diagnosis and treatment of more than 1000 patients with suspected meningitis. Diagnosis of men-ingitis is often delayed due to unnecessary brain scans be-ing performed before lumbar puncture which is the essen-tial investigation to determine the cause of the illness.

Cases of bacterial meningi-tis - the life-threatening form of the disease have signifi-cantly reduced over the last

few decades following the in-troduction of vaccines against some of the most common types, and the study found that viral meningitis now accounts for the majority of cases.

A delay in diagnosis means that antibiotics are often inap-propriately used in patients with viral meningitis, resulting in a longer than necessary stay in a hospital.

Dr Mike Griffiths, senior investigator of the study, said, "Diagnosing a specific cause of meningitis quickly is key to getting patients on the right antibiotics if needed, or avoid-ing unnecessary antibiotics in those with viral meningitis."

"Meningitis can strike with-out warning and the bacterial form of the disease can kill in hours. Many survivors have long-term, disabling after ef-fects as serious as brain dam-age and deafness," said Vinny Smith, Chief Executive at MRF.

The full findings are pres-ent in the Journal- the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Meningitis, Brain, Virus, University of Liverpool, Insti-tute of Infection and Global Health. (Agencies)

Viruses most common cause of meningitis in adults: Study

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP, N.J.: Huge flocks of famished birds scour the sands of Delaware Bay for the tiny greenish eggs an army of horseshoe crabs lays every spring. It's a marvel of ecology as shorebirds migrating from South America to the Arctic time a stop critical to their survival to this mass crab spawning. It's also one of the world's hot spots for bird flu - a bonanza for scientists seeking clues about how influ-enza evolves so they just might better protect people.

"Eventually, we would like to be able to predict which would be the next pandemic," said flu pioneer Robert Web-ster of St. Jude Children's Re-search Hospital.

These humble beaches turn into a mixing bowl for influenza between mid-May and early June, as thousands of shorebirds and gulls crowd together and swap viruses. Researchers carefully step around the nesting crabs to scoop up the evidence - poten-tially flu-infected bird droppings.

"We have trained our eyes for this, that's for sure," said St. Jude researcher Pamela McKenzie as she bent over damp sand last month in search of the freshest samples to go on ice for later test-

ing. Not just any splat will do. Too dry, and tests might not be able to detect virus. Too big, and it's likely not from the species that carries the most flu here, the cali-co-patterned ruddy turnstone.

Why test birds? "That's where all flu viruses come from," said Richard Webby, who directs St. Jude's Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveil-lance, a program funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Aquatic birds, including wild ducks and migrating shorebirds, are considered nature's main reservoir for influenza. Whether it's the typical winter misery or a pandemic, every strain that in-fects humans "started off some-where along the family tree in the aquatic bird reservoirs," Webby said. Usually wild birds don't get sick, simply trading flu viruses they carry in the gut. But strains from wild birds can threaten domesticated chickens and turkeys, and every so often jump to pigs or even people. St. Jude's annual study at Delaware Bay offers a glimpse into little-known efforts around the world - including testing migrating ducks in China and Canada, and live poultry markets in Bangla-desh - to track how bird flu cir-

culates and changes, information that can help determine what vaccines to make for animals and people. And nowhere else in the world have scientists found so many shorebirds carrying diverse flu strains as when red knots, ruddy turnstones and oth-er species make their migratory stopover at this bay nestled be-tween New Jersey and Delaware.

Most bird flu isn't easily spread to people, stressed McKenzie, who doesn't even wear gloves as she pooper-scoops along a beach before the tide washes back.

Still, "it's amazing how the vi-rus can change so rapidly, what genes they inherit," added McK-enzie, who oversees St. Jude's global bird flu surveillance.

The U.S. stockpiles just-in-case vaccines against worrisome strains. "It only has to happen once," Webby said. "The right vi-rus comes and gets into the right population which happens to fly over the right farm of turkeys which happens at the right time of year where the right farmer picks up the wrong bird - and we're in trouble."

Webster, now an emeritus vi-rologist at St. Jude, made the con-nection between bird and human flu decades ago when he found

some seabirds in Australia carry-ing antibodies against the strain that caused the 1957 pandemic. In 1985, his continuing hunt for bird flu took him to Delaware Bay. Today, scientists know that if two different types of flu infect a single animal at the same time - say a pig catches both a chicken strain and a human strain - the genes can shuffle to produce a totally new virus.

But worry about bird flu as a threat to both poultry farms and humans has grown since a strain named H5N1 spread directly to people in the late 1990s in Hong Kong's crowded live-poultry markets. Cousins of that virus have cropped up, as has another flu named H7N9 that since 2013 has infected more than 1,500 people in China through close contact with infected chickens.

Those are very different vi-ruses than what St. Jude finds in shorebirds passing through Dela-ware Bay, Webby said. For some reason, viruses carried by Asian and European birds rarely make it to the Americas, he said, but it's important to look - and to under-stand the normal ebb and flow of different strains so it's more obvious when something new crops up.

Migrating birds help scientists study how influenza evolves

| Sunday | 01-07-2018

Rs 57 cr less to be paid to airlines for Haj pigrims, says NaqviPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI: Minority Affairs Min-ister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said Rs 57 crore less will be paid to air-lines this year for Haj pilgrims trav-elling through the Haj Committee of India even after the ending of subsidy for the pilgrimage.

He said that despite the removal of the Haj subsidy and various new taxes imposed in Saudi Arabia, Indi-ans were going for the pilgrimage without any additional financial burden. At a training camp for Haj Coordinators, Assistant Haj Officers or Haj Assistants here, the Union minister said that for the first time after the Independence, a record 1,75,025 Indians were going for Haj this year, of which 47 per cent are female, which is another record.

Last year, Rs 1,030 crore was paid to airlines as air fare for 1,24,852 Haj pilgrims, while this year, Rs 973 crore will be paid to airlines for 1,28,702 Haj pilgrims travelling through the Haj Com-mittee of India, Naqvi said.

"Rs 57 crore less will be paid to

airlines this year even after ending the Haj subsidy," a statement from his office quoted the minister as saying at the event. The govern-ment had in January announced that there would be no subsidy for Haj from this year and the funds saved will be used for providing

education to people belonging to minority communities.

The decision was in line with a 2012 Supreme Court order, asking the government to do away with the subsidy. Naqvi said in total 3,55,604 applications had been received for Haj, which included

1,89,217 male and 1,66,387 female. For the first time, Muslim women from India are going for Haj with-out 'Mehram' (male companion).

A total of 1,308 women are going for Haj this year without 'Mehram', he said, adding a large number of women Haj coordinators, Haj As-

sistants and 'Khadim Ul Hujjaj', doctors and para-medics have been deployed in Saudi Arabia. A total of 98 Assistant Haj Officers, Haj As-sistants, Haj Coordinators, doctors and para-medics have been de-ployed to assist the pilgrims.

This time, pilgrims were also given a choice of embarkation points, a step which has received an overwhelming response, Naqvi said. At the event today, repre-sentatives from the Minority Af-fairs Ministry, Health Ministry and Urban Development Ministry informed the attendees in detail, various issues concerning Haj pil-grims, such as their health, safety and accommodation.

Flights for Haj will start from July 14, when pilgrims from Delhi, Gaya, Guwahati, Lucknow and Srinagar will embark on pilgrimage. On July 17 pilgrims from Kolkata, on July 20 those from Varanasi, on July 21 from Mangalore, on July 26 from Goa and on July 29 pilgrims from Aurangabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Nagpur, will embark on Haj, a state-ment from the minister's office said.

THE DECISION WAS IN LINE WITH A 2012 Supreme Court order, asking the government to do away with the subsidy. Naqvi said in total 3,55,604 applications had been received for Haj, which included 1,89,217 male and 1,66,387 female. For the first time, Muslim women from India are going for Haj without 'Mehram' (male companion).

Finance Minister urges consumers to demand bill for purchases to check GST evasionNEW DELHI: Seeking consum-ers' participation in curbing tax evasion, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on the eve of completion of one year of GST rollout today ap-pealed to them to insist on bill for every purchase saying it would help the government check eva-sion and reduce tax rate on each item by as much as 4-5 per cent.

He further said the govern-ment would start a three-digit consumer helpline number to enable them to lodge complaint against erring traders or any oth-er kind of tax evasion.

Touted as the biggest indirect tax reform since Independence, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out last year on July 1.

"I want to appeal to the people that they should demand a bill whenever they go to purchase any goods. If you start asking for a bill if there's awareness about this, then we can reduce rates by 4-5 per cent for every item (under GST)," Goyal told reporters here.

He said if any shop says that they will sell at a lower price if the consumer does not demand a bill, then the consumer should imme-diately file a complaint, he said.

"We will soon provide a three-digit simple number which will work as a call centre where cus-tomers can complain. We will

ensure full confidentiality of the complainant," Goyal said.

The endeavour will be to start the helpline number within 15-20 days, he said.

A nationwide campaign too could be launched for creating consumer awareness about de-manding bills for purchases made.

"If everyone starts giving bill then competition will be on quality and customer service and not on ability to cheat the sys-tem," Goyal said.

He further said the govern-ment wants to reduce the burden of taxation on consumers but rev-enue needs to increase and sup-port of states is also needed to cut rates where it is essential. With formalisation of economy, the government will have more el-bow room to reduce rates, he said.

Goyal also assured small busi-nesses if they face any trouble, then they can write to him and it would be resolved. He said amendments would be introduced to the GST law in monsoon session to increase composition scheme threshold from the current Rs 1 crore.

The GST Council had last year decided to increase the thresh-old to Rs 1.5 crore and also de-cided to amend the law to in-crease the statutory threshold to Rs 2 crore. (PTI)

All Deposits By Indians In Swiss Banks Not Black Money: GovtNEW DELHI: The government to-day said all the deposits by Indians in Swiss bank accounts cannot be termed black money and action will be taken against persons parking illegal funds overseas after Swit-zerland starts sharing real-time ac-count details from January onwards.

Latest data from the Swiss National Bank showed that money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India's clamp-down on suspected black money stashed by its citizens overseas.

The revelations created a furore in political circles with Opposition leaders taking a swipe at the Naren-dra Modi-led government over the rise in Indian money in Swiss banks.

The government also said all the money in Swiss banks should not be termed illegal as past investigations by tax department (CBDT) have shown that it includes funds held by persons of Indian origin who now hold foreign passport, monies be-longing to non-resident Indians, as also funds belonging to resident In-

dians who have made legitimate in-vestments abroad, including trans-fer of money under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).

"A news item has appeared today indicating an increase of money by 'Indians' in the Swiss banking sys-tem. This has led to misinformed reaction in certain circles raising a query whether the government's anti-black money steps have yield-ed results," Jaitley said in a blog.

Noting that Switzerland in finan-cial disclosures was always a reluc-tant state, Jaitley said the Alpine na-tion has amended its domestic laws involving all disclosures and entered into a treaty even with India and real-time flow of information with regard to Indians would be made.

"The flow of information is start-ing in January, 2019. Any illegal de-positor knows that it is a matter of months before his name becomes public and he will be subjected to the harsh penal provisions of the black money law in India," said the senior BJP leader.

Earlier in the day while talking to reporters, Finance Minister Piyush

Goyal wondered how all of it can be assumed to be black money but said strong action would be taken against anyone found guilty of wrongdoing. Referring to the rise in Swiss bank deposits by Indians, Goyal said, "The data that you alluded to will come to us, so how are you assuming that this is black money or this is illegal transaction?"

Around 40 per cent of this mon-ey is because of the LRS, Goyal said, citing media reports.

The scheme was introduced by for-mer Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Under the LRS, an individual could re-mit up to USD 2,50,000 per year.

"We will have all information. If someone is found guilty, the gov-ernment will take strong action against them," Goyal said.

India has a treaty with Switzer-land under which the Swiss gov-ernment would provide all data from January 1, 2018, Goyal said.

In his blog, Jaitley also said that those who participate in a public discourse must understand the ba-sic facts before expressing an opin-ion which may be ill-informed.

"To assume that all the deposits are per se tax evaded money or that Switzerland in the matter of illegal deposits is what it was decades ago, is to start on a shaky presumption," he added in the blog titled 'The Im-pact of the Government Polices on Direct Tax Collections'.

Jaitley, who was holding finance portfolio, is currently a minister with-out any charge as he is recuperating after a kidney transplant operation.

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has a multi-pronged strategy to increase the tax base, Jaitley said, adding that a campaign involving various steps to flush out black-money was initiated.

"The first big news for this year is that the advance tax deposit dur-ing the first quarter of this year has seen a gross increase of 44 per cent in the personal income tax catego-ry and 17 per cent in the corporate tax category," Jaitley said.

Because of steps taken by the government, the total income tax collection for the year 2017-18 is Rs 10.02 lakh crore, 57 per cent in-crease in four years, he said. (PTI)

THE FLOW OF INFORMATION IS STARTING IN JANUARY, 2019. Any illegal depositor knows that it is a matter of months before his name becomes public and

he will be subjected to the harsh penal provisions of the black money law in India.”

‘IGI, Mumbai airports fare poorly in flight punctuality globally’NEW DELHI: The IGI airport in Del-hi, the 16th busiest in the world, ranked poorly in flight punctuality, securing the 451st position among the 513 airports worldwide, ac-cording to a study conducted by OAG, a global leader in providing flight information.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Interna-tional Airport in Mumbai, the second busiest in the country, fared much worse in flight punctuality as it was ranked fifth least punctual airport in the world, just ahead of airports such as Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Indonesia and Islamabad airport in Pakistan, the study said.

None of the major Indian airports figured among the top 200 in 'on-time performance' (OTP), but the small Port Blair airport in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands got the worldwide rank of 65, thanks to its punctuality rate of 84.6 per cent, it said.

The 'on-time performance' for Del-hi stood at 70.7 per cent in compari-son to Nagoya Komaki Airport in Ja-pan which topped the global ranking list with an OTP rate of 94.5 per cent. The OTP for Mumbai was 60 per cent.

The Hyderabad airport was ranked 246, Bengaluru airport 262 and Kolkata 270, the study said.

The OAG study had a reference period of about one year between June 2017 to May 2018 and focussed on delays arising out of arrivals. It

covered the OTP of airlines as well, giving Air India a low 131st position among the 137 airline worldwide.

An official in the Civil Aviation Ministry said infrastructure con-straints have been a major issue at big airports such as Delhi and Mumbai, compromising with the punctuality level to some extent.

But he felt that the situation could improve significantly once the proposed airports in the Na-tional Capital Region and in Navi Mumbai start functioning in the next four to five years.

A closer look at the monthly data provided by the Directorate Gen-eral of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sug-gested that more than 60 per cent of the flight delays were reaction-ary in nature, meaning late arrival of incoming flights.

During May, air traffic control-

related issues were also respon-sible for 13 per cent of flight delays. Airport-related issues led to nine per cent of the flight getting de-layed while technical reasons led to four per cent delays.

The Port Blair airport, with an OTP of 84.6 per cent, got a four-star rating while the Delhi airport got a two-star in the OAG-conducted study. the Mumbai airport was given a poor one-star rating.

While the Delhi airport secured a low OTP rank, other major airports were no better either and in some cases below the Indira Gandhi In-ternational Airport. These included Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport (68), Beijing Capital International Airport (67), Kuala Lumpur Inter-national Airport (66.4), Guangzhou airport in China (66.7) and London Gatwick Airport (65.4) per cent.

LPG price hiked by Rs 2.71 per cylinder

NEW DELHI: Subsidised cooking gas price was hiked by Rs 2.71 per cylinder today as a result of tax impact of base price rising due to spurt in in-ternational rates and fall in rupee.

Subsidised LPG with effect from midnight tonight will cost Rs 493.55 in Delhi, a statement issued by Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said.

Oil firms revise LPG price on 1st of every month based on average benchmark rate and foreign ex-change rate in the previous month.

"The increase is mainly on account of GST on re-vised price of Domestic Non-Subsidised LPG," the statement said.

As a result of higher global rates, the price of Non-Sub-sidized LPG at Delhi will increase by Rs 55.50 per cylinder.

"The balance Rs.52.79 (Rs.55.50 minus Rs.2.71) is be-ing compensated to the customer by increase in subsidy transfer to their bank account. Accordingly, the subsidy transfer in customer's bank account has been increased to Rs 257.74 per cylinder in July 2018 as against Rs 204.95 per cylinder in June 2018. Thus the domestic LPG customer is protected against the increase in inter-national prices of LPG," the statement said.

Consumers buy non-subsidised or market price LPG after exhausting their quota of 12 subsidised cylinders of 14.2-kg each. (PTI)

How to close your credit card, the correct way? There may be various reasons for you to close your credit card: you have multiple credit cards, your credit card issuer increased your annual fees or interest rate, you are unhappy with the service or simply, you do not want to use that credit card anymore. Keeping your credit cards open is genuinely best for credit, but if you have made up your mind to close a credit card, here are the correct ways to do it.

Pay off your credit card’s out-standing dues:

You will not be able to close your credit card till you pay off your dues. You must immediately pay the bank the total outstand-ing balance on the account. This involves all amounts due to the bank under the agreement, in-cluding other amounts and trans-actions not yet charged to the ac-count. The credit card will not be considered closed until you have paid all such due amounts.

Exhaust your credit card rewards:Closure of credit card might en-

tail withdrawal of all facilities that are provided through utilization of credit card or credit card number. Therefore, before closing your card, you must check your reward bal-ance and see how many outstand-ing reward points are there. Also, remember that few cards allow you to utilize the reward points to pay off your credit card bills.

Make a written closure request:You can terminate the agree-

ment any time by a written notice to the bank accompanied by the return of the credit card and any added credit cards cut into several pieces through magnetic stripe and full clearance of all outstand-ing dues. Termination will be only effective after the receipt of the cut credit cards and payments of all the outstanding dues are made to the credit card account. No joining, annual or renewal fees will be refunded on pro rata basis.

Check to be sure your credit

card account is closed:In a month or two, you must

check your credit report to be sure that the credit card is reported as closed. Your credit report reveals details of all credit accounts held currently and in the recent. Your credit card must reflect as closed in your credit report. In case it doesn’t, get in touch with the bu-reau and the bank to correct it.

One key aspect that you must consider before closing a credit card is that after closure, your to-

tal credit limit automatically will come down, which may result in a higher credit utilization ratio - the proportion of credit being used by you against the total credit avail-able. A higher credit utilization ratio usually brings down your credit score. You may approach another bank for a new credit card or request a current one to increase the credit limit on an-other card you may have.

( Sahil Arora – Head, Payment Products, Paisabazaar.com) (Agencies)

Revenue collection for April-May capped at Rs 1,27,461 crore

NEW DELHI: A sum of Rs 1,27,461 crore has been collected towards revenue up to May this year, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The aforementioned figure comprises Rs 1,02,408 crore tax revenue (Net to Centre), Rs 24, 049 crore of non tax revenue and Rs 1,004 crore of non debt capital receipts, an official release noted.

Among the non debt capital receipts is recovery of loans (Rs 570 crore) and disinvestment of public sector undertakings (PSUs) (Rs 434 crore). Mean-while, Rs 1,11,578 crore has been transferred to state governments as a devolution of share of taxes by the Centre up to this period, which is Rs 15,217 crore higher than the corresponding period of the last year 2017-18, the release highlighted.

On the other hand, total expenditure incurred by the government is Rs 4,72,954 crore, out of which Rs 4,09,163 crore is on revenue account and Rs 63,791 crore is on capital account.

Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 73,606 crore is on account of interest payments and Rs 88,689 crore is on account of major subsidies, the Ministry added. (Agencies)

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Sunday | 01-07-2018 10FROM FRONT PAGE

Highway Closed

Srinagar-bound vehicles were stopped at various places between Ramban and Banihal along the highway around 2:00 PM as a precautionary measure in view of the emerging situation in the Valley in the aftermath of heavy rains over the past sev-eral days, the officials said.

Hundreds of vehicles heading for Sri-nagar were left stranded at various places on the highway and local administration are making arrangements for the accom-modation of the passengers for the night.

The passengers are being provided ac-commodation in various government buildings, including schools, the officials said.

However, the officials said the vehicles heading for Jammu, including trucks, were allowed to move on the highway which is otherwise open for traffic.

The fleet of vehicles, carrying over 2,000 Amarnath pilgrims, also crossed the Jawa-har Tunnel the gateway to the Kashmir Valley -- around noon and had reached the Pahalgam base camp, they said.

The pilgrims were left stranded in Ud-hampur district yesterday after landslides and shooting of stones caused disruption in the smooth flow of the traffic and left for the Valley this morning.

1 Killed In late last evening.A police officer said that the vehicle

(sumo bearing registration number JK05-9307) skidded off the road and fell down into a deep nallah near Chuntiwari bridge in Machil last evening at around 7:00 pm.

In the mishap, one person died on the spot and four others were injured, the of-ficer said.

He said that all the injured were im-mediately evacuated to a nearby hospital where from they were later referred to SDH Kupwara.

The officer identified the deceased as Gulab Tantray of Ring Payeen Machil.

The vehicle was on its way to Dudi Machil from Chuntiwari when the mishap occurred, he said.

"A case under relevant sections of law has been registered and further investiga-tion was taken up," the officer added.

Exams on time: PSC

schedule in two sessions from July 02 to 27, 2018.

A statement of the PSC said that, “as of now, there seems no need to reschedule the examination since all the routes to Sri-nagar/Jammu are through for traffic and no reports have fortunately been received about submergence or inundation of any of the residential localities although, the habitations residing along the embank-ments of river Jhelum/Nallahs and in the low-lying areas have been advised to re-main vigilant.”

In case it is felt necessary to take a re-view with regard to postponement or oth-erwise of the examination due to prevalent situation emerging due to incessant rains, the same shall be taken and given wide publicity for information of all concerned, the PSC said.

“The candidates are further advised to keep visiting the official website of the J&K PSC for updates,” the Commission said.

A total of around 8200 candidates, 4500 at Jammu Centre(s) and another 3700 at Srinagar Centre(s), are scheduled to take the examination. The Admit Cards are available for download from the Commis-sion's website www.jkpsc.nic.in. The Can-didates are advised to download their ad-mit cards in advance.

Detailed date sheet has also been issued and can be accessed on the Commissions website. (GNS)

Yatra suspended

stranded in Udhampur, left for the Pa-halgam base camp this morning, a police officer said.

"The yatra from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here has been suspended. No pilgrim was allowed from here but the stranded convoy, carrying 2,032 pilgrims, including 315 women, left for Pahalgam base camp in

south Kashmir this morning," he said.According to the officer, the decision to

suspend the yatra from here was taken in view of inclement weather.

A majority of the pilgrims in the third batch who left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp yesterday were stranded in Udham-pur district due to frequent disruption in the flow of traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

While 844 pilgrims, including 229 Wom-en, who opted for the 12-km Baltal route managed to reach their destination late last night, 2,032 pilgrims who chose the tradi-tional 36-km Pahalgam track were stopped by the authorities at Tikri and other places in Udhampur as a precautionary measure.

"After getting the road clearance, the pil-grims were allowed to start their journey towards their destination this morning," the Police officer said.

There was an incident of shooting stones at Battery Chashma in Ramban district. Later, the highway was cleared for traffic.

A flood alert was sounded in south and central Kashmir after many parts of the state were lashed by monsoon rains inter-mittently since June 27, leaving thousands of pilgrims who have reached the twin base camps of Baltal in Ganderbal district and Pahalgam in Anantnag district strand-ed.

The rains also triggered landslides and shooting stones at several places along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway yester-day, but timely action by the authorities concerned ensured that the 260-km all-weather road connecting the Valley with the rest of the country, remains open.

Officials said over 5,000 pilgrims from various parts of the country had reached Jammu to participate in the yatra.

"Adequate arrangements are in place for the pilgrims. Over 1,200 pilgrims are lodged at Bhagwati Nagar base camp, while the rest have been provided accom-modation at other places," they said.

Despite incessant rains, the pilgrim-age to the 3,880 metre high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas commenced as per schedule on June 28 after several hours of delay. However, the pilgrimage faced frequent disruptions ow-ing to continuous rainfall.

The 60-day yatra is scheduled to con-clude on August 26 coinciding with the 'Raksha Bandhan' festival. (PTI)

‘All Out War’ “Now minor boys are being brutally

killed which reflects the government's pol-icy of ultimate repression aimed at forcing people of Kashmir and the resistance lead-ership into a submission,” JRL, comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, said in a state-ment here.

The leadership said, “The recent report of United Nations Human Rights Council has already taken a lid off the gory chap-ter of human rights violations committed by the lakhs of forces in Kashmir and the report stands as an eye opener for the rest of the world as how the rights of peace-loving people of Kashmir are trampled under boots of police, military and para-military personnel.”The JRL also staged a protest march against the killing of Faizan, at Nowhatta. The protesters led by Mu-hammad Yasin Malik carried placards and shouted slogans against the minor’s killing, nocturnal raids in south Kashmir villages and the killing spree.

Addressing the gathering, Malik said Faizan was shot dead and was declared brought dead by his father who is a doctor.

“This is the situation in Kashmir. South Kashmir has been turned into a military garrison where searches, killings are rou-tine,” he said adding that if innocent kill-ings don't stop, JRL will be bound to an-nounce people's agitation.

Malik said that scores of prisoners have been framed under “frivolous” cases by NIA and ED and lodged in various jails without any justification and trial.

Only 1 Militant

Sources said that during the searches which were conducted soon after the joint team of forces blasted the house, set it on fire and subsequently razed it on the rub-ble.Today morning as the search operation was concluded body of the only militant has been recovered from under the debris, they said.

The slain has been identified as Sajad Ahmad Shah son of Ali Mohammad Shah, a

resident of Gund, Chogul, Handwara, Kup-wara.

The other militants believed to be two in number have managed to break the mili-tary cordon while taking the advantage of clashes in the area, they said.

One Teenage boy Faizan Ahmad Poswal was killed while as scores of youth were injured during the clashes in forces action near the encounter site at Thumna, Chat-pora area soon after the news about the encounter spread.

Director General of Police SP Vaid had last evening said that three militants were killed in the gunfight.

A police spokesperson in a statement is-sued here said that pursuing credible leads regarding the presence of militants in Thamna village of Pulwama, a joint patrol of the security forces yesterday launched searches in the afternoon inside the village.

"As the searches were in progress and security forces advanced towards the sus-pected house, militants hiding inside fired upon the joint patrol of security forces leading to an encounter," he said.

During the encounter, the militants ini-tially took few civilians hostage inside the house who were however safely evacuated by the Security Forces, he said.

Initial information suggested the pres-ence of three militants inside the house but as the final search was carried out, a lone body of a militant was recovered, he said.

Apparently, the other hiding militants managed to escape from the spot after making indiscriminate fire around the site of the encounter, he said.

"In the incident, five civilians got injured in the cross firing and were evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment where unfortunately one succumbed to his inju-ries though others are stated to be stable now," he said.

"In the encounter, the slain was identi-fied as Sajad Ahmad Shah of Gund, Chogul, Handwara. The slain was affiliated with LeT. He was involved in a number of at-tacks on the security establishments and civilian atrocities," the spokesperson said.

Rifle and ammunition were also seized from the site of the encounter, he said.

"Police have registered a case in this re-gard and further investigation is going on, the spokesperson added.

Shujaat’s killing:

Bukhari resemble “some Bollywood thriller”.

In a statement issued to local news agen-cy GNS, LeT spokesperson quoted Mehm-ood Shah as saying, “For the past few days, two stories were released. The first was a drama story released by Indian Army re-garding the ‘surgical strikes’; the second one was no less than a Bollywood thriller and was released by J&K Police regarding the assassination of esteemed journalist Shujaat Bukhari.”

“We consider it below our dignity to even answer these, however we want to tell (Indian Army chief) General Bipin Rawat and IGP (Kashmir) S P Pani that now as the BJP has made both of you the stand-up comedians, you should seek a career in Bollywood where your potential can be utilized to its fullest because you have turned yourselves into a laughing stock and have lost potential to lead the military institutions,” LeT chief said.

Jhelum Overflows,

the embankments of River Jhelum / Nal-lahs and in low lying areas of Central Kash-mir are advised to remain vigilant,” Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control said.

According to an official of the depart-ment, the river Jhelum was flowing 20.89-ft at 9 p.m. on Saturday

The Jhelum was flowing at 23.31-ft, more than two degrees above the dan-ger mark of 21-ft at Sangam when flood is declared in South Kashmir.At Asham in Bandipore district, the official said, the water level of Jhelum was 12.82-ft against 13-ft mark when flood alarm is sounded in North Kashmir. The flood is declared when the level at Asham crosses 14-ft mark.

Regarding some tributaries, the official said, water level at 9 PM in Vishow Nallah at Khudwani in Kulgam was 7.07m, Rambi-yara Nallah (3.13) at Vachi and the Nallah Lidder was 1.54m at Batkoot and level was receding at all the three places.

Originating from Kausar Nag in Aharbal, gushing waters of Vaishaw Nallah trig-gered the 2014 flood in Kashmir.

The waters of the Vaishaw following heavy rains washed away many diversions in Kulgam district. These diversions were constructed following destruction of many bridges in 2014 flood.

Reports said dozens of residential hous-es got submerged at Kursu Rajbagh, Pads-hai Bagh, Shalteng, Sharifabad, Pandrathen and Malik Sahab Safakadal in Srinagar city.

Similarly, the reports of water pooling in houses were received from Sonwar and Qa-marwari.SSP Srinagar district Imtiaz Ismail Parray said that police deputed separate teams in all the low lying areas and ex-tended the helping hand to the needy.

He said that around nine families were evacuated to safety from Malik Sahab Sa-fakadal and put up at Higher Secondary School Nawakadal. Five families were also taken to safety from Qamarwari after the area was inundated with the flood water.

“The banks of river Jhelum got breached at various points in Sangam area due to ris-ing water level. On the receipt of this infor-mation, a team headed by Division Officer of Police Post Sangam rushed to various spots and started the preventive works,” SSP said.

He said sandbags already issued by dis-trict police to various subordinate units were put into use and repair works were taken up at almost all the points to prevent the water flow into civilian areas.

Station House Officer (SHO) Rajbagh, Ayaz Geelani said that from yesterday and from early Saturday people were requested to move towards safer places. He said that SDRF men and police personnel were do-ing their best to rescue and provide relief and rescue.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Syed Abid Rasheed said the people living in low-lying areas and embankments of river Jhe-lum in Srinagar were requested to be alert and prepared for evacuation. “We have issued a flood alert for low-lying areas of Srinagar, he said.

A meteorological department official here said there would be decrease in pre-cipitation in next couple of days and fairly widespread rains on July 2 and 3.

“There is possibility of light rain or thun-dershower at many places over the state in next 24 hours,” he said.

Youth Drowns

Reports said the youth, identified as Asif Ahmad of Nagrota Jammu, drowned while saving a dog from drowning in Bemina flood channel.

Ahmad, according to reports, was put-ting up in a makeshift tent along with his family at Tengpora.

Admin 'Fullythe situation in view of the looming

flood- threat in Kashmir following inces-sant rains and rising water levels in the rivers and Nallahs. He said while there is no need to panic, but people should take precautions.

“Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed heavy rainfall starting from 7:00 PM on 28 June 2018 resulting in rising water levels,” Vyas told media. He was flanked by Advi-sor, K Vijay Kumar and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam.

He informed that 53 mm of rainfall has been recorded in three districts including Shopian and Anantnag and Srinagar. He said the people have been warned to re-main alert and be ready in case of any pos-sibility of evacuation.

The Advisor said as the water level rose above the danger mark at Sangam in South Kashmir as well the water level continues to rise at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar; government has set up a round-the-clock multi-disciplinary monitoring system in various parts of the state.

“We have the reports that due the inces-sant rains from the last couple of days, a lot of damage is caused damage in Shopian and other south Kashmir areas. The admin-istration has alerted people to remain alert but don’t panic,” he said.

“Due to the heavy rainfall, the water flow in River Jhelum has gone up to 50000 cusecs against the carrying capacity of 35000 cusecs and the water level at Ram Munshi Bagh in Srinagar till early morning today was upto 20.82,” he said.

He said 7 teams of State Disaster Re-sponse Force and two teams of National Disaster Response Force are in place for rescue and relief operation beside this control rooms have been set up at district and divisional headquarters to meet any eventuality. He said that 140 NDRF and SDRF experts have been directed to remain vigilant to tackle the situation.

He informed that in Srinagar, the gov-ernment has created 44 shelter sheds and relief teams are now in place. The Advisor said that the Chief Secretary has issued or-ders that all the essential services includ-ing supply of rations are ensured to the people. “The next challenge that we face now is heavy water logging in urban areas. 15 heavy duty an

Vohra Visits Flood

from the increasing water levels of Riv-ers Jhelum, Tawi and other major Nallahs in both regions of Jammu and Kashmir and the advance preparations which are re-quired to be taken by the Administration.

Chief Secretary informed Governor

about a Flood Control Room being set up at Hari Niwas in Gupkar; the obtaining and emerging weather conditions; water levels at various monitoring locations yesterday and today; mobilization of rescue teams and boats for evacuation; provision of pumps; electric power back up etc. He also informed that a mechanism has been put in place for ensuring effective coordination with concerned agencies including Police, Army, Central Armed Police Forces, NDRF and Civil Administration.

B.B. Vyas, and K. Vijay Kumar, Advisors to Governor; B V R Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Dr. S.P. Vaid, DGP; Umang Na-rula, Principal Secretary to Governor; Raj Kumar Goyal, Principal Secretary Home; Basheer Khan, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; S.P. Pani, IGP Kashmir; M. Raju, Commissioner, PHE, Flood and Irrigation Department; Talat Parvez, Secretary De-partment of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction; and M M Shahnawaz, Chief Engineer Irriga-tion and Flood Control participated in the meeting.

The meeting also took stock of the pro-visioning of dry rations, medicines and positioning of basic facilities like tents, blankets and toilets etc. at the designated Relief Centers, and in the buildings ear-marked for the evacuated population.

Governor directed Chief Secretary to put in place a reliable communication system for the Senior officers who are at the helm for managing a flood situation; closely monitor water levels at Dal Lake and check the proper functioning of the lake’s water gates; devise an effective arrangement for the prompt mobilization of Rescue Teams; advance positioning of boats; ensure avail-ability of doctors within 15 minutes, for emergency duties; timely alerts for areas which are under possible flood threat along with their identified evacuation sites. He directed Basheer Khan, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, to alert ground level staff who would perform emergency duties and set up Joint Control Rooms with all concerned agencies.

Secretary DMR&R was directed to mo-bilize all concerned persons who would be involved in Disaster Management and provide three daily reports on various pa-rameters to enable close monitoring of the situation. Commissioner Flood and Irriga-tion Department was directed to inspect all the bunds in the flood alert areas and immediately repair those which are prone to breach.

Governor directed that similar action should be taken for the flood prone areas in the Jammu Division and all agencies to be kept at a high level of preparedness to deal with any exigency. He advised that the ground level staff of Flood and Irriga-tion Department should remain alert and promptly report the gauge readings at dif-ferent places and immediate directions should be given by the Head Offices to all the field officers for mobilization of the re-quired men and materials.

Governor directed the Administration to ensure timely weather alerts to all the Yatris and agencies involved in the conduct of the Amarnathji Yatra and for other ar-rangements required to be made for their safety.

More RainsKashmir in next 24 hours even as it fore-

cast fresh ‘fairly widespread’ rainfall on July 2 and 3.

“There would be decrease in precipita-tion in next 24-hours and there would be fairly widespread rainfall across the state on July 2 and 3,” said a meteorological de-partment official here.

“There is possibility of light rain or thun-dershower at many places over the state in next 24 hours,” he added.

Thousands Turn Up In

and colleges remained closed in Hand-wara and Kupwara areas. Meanwhile, thousands of mourners participated in the funeral prayers of the slain civilian, Faizan Ahmad Poswal son of Dr Abdul Gani Po-swal at his native Gosannad Ludhow vil-lage in south Kashmir's Pulwama district. Two rounds of funeral prayers were held at local Eidgah since Friday night while the third one was offered at District Hos-pital Pulwama. Since late Friday evening, mourners marched in thousands to reach the native village of Faizan to participate in his funeral and to have his last glimpse.

The slain teenage boy was later laid to rest amid pro-independence and anti-gov-ernment slogans.

Faizan, a class 10 student, had gone to the gunfight site at Chatapora where he along with hundreds of youth joined the stone pelting protests to disrupt the op-eration. Dozens of youth sustained bullet, pellet and tear smoke shell injuries during the clashes and were shifted to Pulwama hospital for treatment but Faizan was hit by a bullet in the chest and lost the battle for his life on way to the hospital.

Police said that only one militant body namely Sajad Ahmad Shah has been recov-ered from under the debris during a search operation on Saturday morning while two of his associates managed to escape.

Meanwhile, a complete spontaneous shutdown was observed in the southern Pulwama district against the killing.

All shops and other business establish-ments remained closed while as public transport was off the roads.

The authorities have snapped internet services in Pulwama district since Friday while as train service to south Kashmir has been suspended.

| Sunday | 01-07-2018

GROUP A TEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTS

Uruguay 3 3 0 0 5 0 5 9Russia 3 2 0 1 8 4 4 6

Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 2 7 -5 3Egypt 3 0 0 3 2 6 -4 0

GROUP B TEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTSSpain 3 1 2 0 6 5 1 5

Portugal 3 1 2 0 5 4 1 5Iran 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4

Morocco 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1

GROUP C TEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTSFrance 3 2 1 0 3 1 2 7

Denmark 3 1 2 0 2 1 1 5Peru 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3

Australia 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1

GROUP DTEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTSCroatia 3 3 0 0 7 1 6 9

Argentina 3 1 1 1 3 5 -2 4Nigeria 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3Iceland 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1

GROUP ETEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTSBrazil 3 2 1 0 5 1 4 7

Switzerland 3 1 2 0 5 4 1 5Serbia 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3

Costa Rica 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1

GROUP F TEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTS

Sweden 3 2 0 1 5 2 3 6Mexico 3 2 0 1 3 4 -1 6

Korea Republic 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3Germany 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3

GROUP GTEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTS

Belgium 3 3 0 0 9 2 7 9England 3 2 0 1 8 3 5 6Tunisia 3 1 0 2 5 8 -3 3Panama 3 0 0 3 2 11 -9 0

GROUP HTEAM MP W D L GF GA +/- PTS

Colombia 3 2 0 1 5 2 3 6Japan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4

Senegal 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4Poland 3 1 0 2 2 5 -3 3

POINTS SCORED BYSUNDAY JULY 01

FIFA 2018

KYLIAN MBAPPEdouble helps France

beat ArgentinaTeenager Kylian Mbappe scored two goals in four minutes to send France charging into the World Cup quarterfinals and

Lionel Messi home with a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina on Saturday.

The 19-year-old for-ward's electric pace caused Argentina problems all after-

noon and his twin strikes helped France

overturn a 2-1 deficit and set up a quarter-final date with Portugal or Uruguay, who play later on Saturday.

While Mbappe was the most influential player on the

pitch, Argentina's Angel Di Maria and France full back Benjamin Pavard fought out a pri-vate contest for the best goal of the contest with two magnificent long-range strikes.

Di Maria's goal cancelled out Antoine Griezmann's early penalty to put Argentina on equal terms just before the break, while Pavard's in the 57th minute levelled up the scores at 2-2 after Argentina had gone ahead

through Gabriel Mercado.Mbappe, the first teenager since Brazil-

ian great Pele in the 1958 final to score two goals in one World Cup match, then took over to send Argentina slumping out of the finals before the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2002.

Twice champions Argentina got a consola-tion through substitute striker Sergio Aguero in added time but they simply could not cope with Mbappe's pace from his first surge to-wards the box after nine minutes.

Javier Mascherano brought him down and Griezmann crashed the subsequent free kick off the bar from 25 metres but France only had to wait a couple of minutes to break the deadlock.

Mbappe set off on another driving run from well inside his own half and Marcos Rojo, well beaten for pace, bundled him to the floor inside the area.

Griezmann's strike from the spot was not as clean as his free kick but goalkeeper Fran-co Armani went the wrong way.

France looked like doubling their lead af-ter 19 minutes when Mbappe set off to chase a Paul Pogba ball and Nicolas Tagliafico hauled him down.

The referee decided it was a free kick on the edge of the box, however, and even if Pogba

blasted high over the bar, Argentina looked shell-shocked at Mbappe's early onslaught.

Four minutes before the break, though, they were level, Di Maria received a pass from the left, took one touch to tee up the ball and hit the sweetest shot into the top-left corner of the net from 40 metres.

Three minutes into the second half and they were ahead, Messi curling a shot hope-fully towards Hugo Lloris in the France goal and right back Mercado reacting instinctively to deflect the ball into the net.

The Argentina fans were now in full voice but their joy did not last long before France re-stored parity after 57 minutes, Pavard pouncing on an over-cooked cross some 20 metres out and lashing it on the half-volley into the net.

Mbappe's first goal came seven minutes later when he snared a loose ball, taking one touch to race past his marker and lashing it home with his left foot through Armani's dive.

His second came after 68 minutes at the end of a beautifully flowing French move with Ol-ivier Giroud providing the subtlest of touches to lay the ball into Mbappe's path and the teen-ager finishing right-footed with some elan.

Argentina continued to fight over the last 20 minutes but Aguero's header from Messi's cross in stoppage time was too little, too late.

MBAPPE, THE FIRST TEENAGER SINCE BRAZILIAN great Pele in the 1958 final to score two goals in one World Cup match, then took over to send Argentina slumping out of the finals before the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2002.

David Warner refutes rift rumours with Steve Smith

TORONTO: David Warner has refuted ru-mours of a rift with former captain Steve Smith in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, saying the banned Australian duo remain "good mates".

Warner opened up about his rela-tion with Smith after making a return to professional cricket in Canada's Global Twenty20 league.

"Steve and me are good mates. If people hang in the hotel, they'll see us hanging out with each other and stuff. At the end of the day, it was a big thing that happened and for us, you've got to handle it in your individual way and then how you handle it collec-tively," Warner said.

A day after Smith made 61 on his return to cricket in the same tourna-ment, Warner was bowled by Lasith Malinga's second ball in a far briefer

stint at the batting crease.It was Warner's first match since

he was banned alongside Smith and Cameron Bancroft by Cricket Australia in March for conspiring to scuff up the ball with sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa.

Warner, a former vice-captain of the national team, added, "We haven't really been able to catch up because he's (Smith) been away, Cameron's (been in Perth and I've been doing what I'm doing and got family at home. So it's been hard, but this has been good, we've had numerous chats and I'm sure we'll hang out plenty more, we're in the same hotel."

CA's ban does not extend to do-mestic tournaments outside Australia, which allowed Smith and Warner to play in Canada.

Bring on England, says Virat Kohli after Ireland routDUBLIN: Virat Kohli is happy that India are well prepared to take on in-form England when their much-awaited series starts on Tuesday with the first of three Twenty20 Internationals. India completed the formality of a 2-0 win in Ireland on Friday with their biggest ever T20 victory, by 143 runs.

Although they were two one-sided games, after scoring over 200 in both, the India captain said they were ideal in preparation.

"We wanted to go into the (Eng-land) series with all the guys hav-ing a hit and all the bowlers mak-ing a contribution so, I'm happy with the batting performances in both innings," said Kohli.

"Everyone is batting so well, but it's a good problem to have. Any-one who has been given a chance has grabbed it with both hands and that's something that's good for any side and our bench strength is shown in these type of games.

"It's a great phase that India cricket is going through and I'm happy to see all these young guys taking their chances."

Siddarth Kaul, who took 21 wickets in the IPL this year, was

given his debut on Friday and took a wicket in his second over al-though once again it was the spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and player of the series Yuzvendra Chahal who ripped through the Ireland line-up, sharing six wickets as Ireland were bowled out in just 12.3 overs for 70.

KL Rahul, who sat out the first

match, scored 70 off 36 balls and with Suresh Raina hitting 69 off 45 as India totalled 213-4.

Looking ahead to facing Eng-land, Kohli was bullish in saying that anything England do, India will do better.

"The opposition doesn't mat-ter," he said.

FIFA World Cup 2018: Premature end to an African SafariFor the first time since 1982 - in 36 years - no African team will have advanced to the second round of a World Cup. In Russia, African teams managed just three wins and lost 10 in 15 games. A look at what went wrong for the five Afri-can nations who blew hot and cold and finally subsided.

EGYPTBefore the start of the tourna-

ment, coach Hector Cuper allayed fears of Egyptian fans over Mo-hamed Salah's fitness saying, "We hope we won't be affected, we try to be the same team, we can't be dependent on one player." All that remained mere words as Egypt looked bereft of ideas going for-ward with Salah sitting out of the opener against Russia. They scored only two goals in the campaign, predictably both by Salah. The Pharaohs sat back for far too long and the ultra-defensive approach by Cuper backfired against both Russia and Saudi Arabia, teams

ranked lower than them as they went home without a single point. Clearly, Salah's Champions League injury proved costly.

MOROCCOIt was always going to be tough

for Morocco in a group which had

Spain and Portugal. They played three great matches, but didn't have much to show because of poor finishing. Two narrow defeats left them fuming over refereeing deci-sions. Despite a draw against Spain, it was too late.

NIGERIANigeria's World Cup kit cre-

ated a lot of hysteria leading up to the tournament. But the team's performance did not live upto the excitement of their kit. They raised hopes with a win over Iceland after

going down to Croatia in the first match. A case can be made that they were denied a second pen-alty against Argentina but they did not show enough attacking intent against a fragile defence and were made to pay eventually by the late

Marcos Rojo goal which showed them the door.

TUNISIAThe realistic hopes for Tunisia

were to finish third in a group comprising Belgium and England and they have done well to achieve

that by beating World Cup debu-tants Panama in their final game, a win on this stage after 40 years for the country. "The key to reach-ing the second stage is the match against England," coach Nabil Maaloul said before the start and they did offer a fight against the Three Lions in the narrow 1-2 loss. But they imploded before Bel-gium's firepower.

SENEGALSenegal was Africa's last ray of

hope. But a 0-1 defeat to Colombia ended their campaign in agoniz-ing fashion as Japan pipped them thanks to the fairplay rule, owing to less number of bookings. Thus Sen-egal became the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated this way. Playing their first World Cup after the historic run into quarter-finals in their maiden appearance in 2002, Senegal looked the most organized of the African sides and recorded a mini-upset beating Po-land in the opener.

I know what to expect in England: AshwinCHENNAI: On R Ashwin's only visit to England for a Test series, in 2014, the off-spinner was confined to playing just the last two Tests in the five-match series. The 31-year-old picked up three wickets from those two appearances, both of which ended in heavy defeats as India were eventually humbled 1-3 by the hosts. Having featured in a successful county stint for Worcestershire last year, though, Ashwin now has intricate knowledge of how the different pitches in England behave and will be better prepared for what is to come this time around. In four matches for Worcestershire last season, he picked up 20 wickets at an average of 29.15 and also averaged 42.80 with the bat in hand as he helped them gain pro-motion to Division One. "I know what to expect in England, in terms of weather and pitches. Worcester's home ground is New Road, which is a very difficult track to bowl on. I enjoyed my cricket there. I also bowled a lot with the duke ball during my stint. At this point in time, it's not as difficult as bowling with the SG ball. So I think it should be fine," Ashwin said during the launch of his TNPL team Dindigul Dragons jersey here on Wednesday.

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Terrifying Beauty: A Question Every Kashmiri Photojournalist Must Confront

Muhammad Tahir

In any profession, there are stages of achievement to which its practitioners natu-rally aspire, for achievements confer prestige. Incremental stages of achievement are usu-ally stamped by certificates or awards, which may include money – like the Rs 50,000 cash prize given as part of the Indian Press Photo Award, which many Kashmiri photo-journalists have bagged. So, is it material incentives that pri-marily motivate photojournal-ists to risk their lives to capture ‘visually compelling insights about our world’? Different photojournalists give differ-ent answers. For example, in a 2011 article published in Open magazine, photographer Arko Datta said, “I would be lying if I said the awards, fame, and, most importantly, front-page bylines weren’t motivations. But more than anything else, what motivates me is the pos-sibility of making a difference. Not every picture I take may change a life. But the possibil-ity of it is enough.”

This possibility of making

a difference through images is illustrated by a story Rafiq Maqbool told the Open maga-zine’s Aliefya Vahanvaty in the same article: In 1997, Maqbool had taken ‘blind shots’ of a crackdown at Bakhshi Stadium in the Srinagar city after being prevented to take photos by the Indian army. His pictures appeared in print the next day. But their significance – in terms of making a difference – was realised a few days later when the worried parents of a missing youth approached the media. In one of his pictures, Maqbool had accidentally – and fortunately – captured the young man who was said to have gone “missing.” This pho-tograph became a key piece of evidence to prove in court that the young man was present during the military crackdown and had been detained by the army. The ‘missing’ young man was eventually released.

“It taught me,” said Maqbool, “never to take my responsibil-ity lightly. Since then, I’ve al-ways picked up the camera in the belief that a picture can make a difference to at least one life. That gets me through

the good days and the bad days.” This belief is not shared by all photographers, though. When Kashmiri photojour-nalist Showkat Shafi returned from Cox’s Bazar after visit-ing a Rohingya refugee camp, his sympathy was tinged with a sense of pessimism: “I will wonder what good our pic-tures did after all.”

However, when someone says, I am doing photojour-nalism because it can make a difference to somebody’s life, then he or she is making a moral judgment premised on a utilitarian – and altruis-tic – conception of the pho-tographic enterprise. If this utilitarian – and altruistic – element is at the core of the profession, then the awards and recognition that come with it are but of secondary importance; the primary mo-tive being passion for human service. And to stay steadfast on this path, one must have hope. As Kashmiri photogra-pher Showkat Nanda says, “If I give up hope, then I’m no longer a photographer. Hope is what keeps me working.”

And yet, the question re-

mains: why would a Kashmiri photojournalist risk his or her life and jump into a danger-ous theatre of war in a distant land? Is the primary motiva-tion, then, that of ‘making a difference’ or is it, as photo-journalist Tauseef Mustafa says in the Open article, that “the action sucks you in”? From their accounts we learn how life-threatening it has been for Kashmiri photojour-nalists to carry out assign-ments despite being embed-ded in well-guarded armies: Rafiq Maqbool in Afghanistan, Tauseef Mustafa in Iraq and Afghanistan and Altaf Qadri in Libya (the latter was embed-ded with Libyan rebels).

History and culture of war photography

“Ever since cameras were in-vented in 1839,” says Sontag in Regarding the Pain of Others, “photography has kept com-pany with death.”

As a troupe of professional journalists went into the field to capture the action in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), it became the first bloody con-flict “to be witnessed (covered) in the modern sense.” And be-

ing the first one to be televised, the Vietnam War (1955-75) “introduced the home front to new tele-intimacy with death and destruction.” For ambi-tious tabloids and news chan-nels, the governing credo was: “If it bleeds, it leads.” Thus, the element of shock became a commodity which sold in the market. Sontag gives the ex-ample of the French magazine Paris Match, which espoused the motto: “The weight of words, the shock of photos.”

Modern-day readers and viewers consumed shocking or dramatic visuals and news pro-ducers readily provided such content, thus they co-consti-tuted each other. The logic of market drove the photo-graphic enterprise, where “the hunt for dramatic…images” became “part of the normal-ity of a culture in which shock has become a leading stimulus of consumption and source of value.” As modern human be-ings got acclimatised to dra-matic visuals of wars and con-flicts, so professionally (and sometimes heroically) brought to us by photojournalists, we were moulded into “a specta-

tors of calamities taking place in another country.” However, as Sontag rightly says, “Aware-ness of the suffering that ac-cumulates in a select number of wars happening elsewhere is something constructed.” Which is why some conflicts resonate with people, while others are ignored.

What makes pictures com-pelling?

What is it about pictures that make them so compel-ling, so powerful, or so useful for the media and the mar-ket? Sontag argues that being complex, nuanced and some-times laden with a certain vo-cabulary, written accounts do not create the same effect as photographs. “A photograph has only one language and is destined potentially for all,” she avers. It is one of the great qualities of a picture that it gets stuck in people’s minds, “like a quotation, or a maxim or proverb.” Every day, one is exposed to the bombastic visu-al content on television and in movies, “but when it comes to remembering, the photograph has the deeper bite.”

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Your WhatsApp group admin can now block you from messaging

WhatsApp groups act as a chit-chat junction for un-

countable people across the globe which often results in some members wreaking a havoc, unnecessarily. With the array of updates rolling

out for WhatsApp frequent-ly, the messenger develop-ers have now addressed this issue by allowing group ad-mins to have a control over who can send the messages in the group.

The new feature has been added in the 'Group Settings' section where the admin can see the option of ‘Send Messages’ where he/she can allow either ‘Only Admin’ or ‘All Group Members’ to send messages. The members will

receive notification regard-ing the changes executed in the group's settings. For now, this new option has been made available on An-droid WhatsApp beta ver-sion 2.18.201 and iOS stable version 2.18.70 along with

Windows phones.The new functionality

raises the bar of the extent of control group admins can have. The messenger is gradually moving towards providing people more commerce-oriented facili-ties as many business own-ers are focussed on trading through WhatsApp. This makes it necessary to allow only a limited number of people to send messages in the groups.

Ali Zafar hopes his first Pakistani film releases in India

Pakistani sing-ing sensation Ali Zafar made a promising act-

ing debut in India with the Bollywood film Tere Bin Laden in 2010. He went on to show his act-ing skills in Indian films, including some backed by the popular banner Yash Raj Films (YRF). Now he hopes that Teefa In Trouble—his maiden film in Pakistani cine-ma—crosses boundaries and makes a mark in In-dia. Ali is actor, producer, singer and writer of the romantic action com-edy film, which will hit the screens in about 25 countries on July 20.

Is India, with whom Pakistan shares a bit-ter-sweet relationship, part of the list? "Hope-fully. It is on the cards. If everything goes well, then yes," said Lahore-based Ali.

"We have made the ef-fort, given our best. It is all about giving respect and getting respect back. It is a film, it is entertain-ment. I hope that it gets

screened over there (in India) and makes a mark and more stuff like this should happen. My job is to try. I don't think about the negative side at all," he added. Only a hand-ful of Pakistani films like Khuda Kay Liye and singing superstar Atif Aslam-starrer Bol got to enter the Indian mar-ket. Asked if Ali would like that to change, he said: "As an artiste, I feel that our work should be heard and viewed by as many people as possible in the world. I think we want that there should be peace... peace, hav-ing a cordial relationship and love are what we all want to prevail."

The music of the film is available in India though, thanks to Junglee Music.

He has also joined hands with YRF for the international theatrical distribution of his home production.

"We feel honoured and proud that a ban-ner like YRF is distrib-uting my first home production.

Sanju box-office collectionRanbir Kapoor film rakes in Rs 34.75 crore on day oneMumbai: Ranbir Kapoor starrer 'Sanju' has opened to positive reviews as well as to a great opening on Friday. The Rajkumar Hi-rani directed Sanjay Dutt biopic was one of the hotly anticipated films of the year. The film has collected a huge Rs 34.75 crore on day one leaving behind Salman Khan's ac-tion thriller 'Race 3'.

Noted trade analyst Taran adarsh wrote, "Non-holiday... Non-festival re-lease... Yet, #Sanju packs a PHENOMENAL TOTAL on Day 1... Emerges the BIG-GEST OPENER of 2018 [so far]... Also, Ranbir's HIGH-EST OPENER to date... Ex-pected to cross Rs 100 cr in 3 days, as per trends... Fri Rs34.75 cr. India biz."

Non-holiday... Non-fes-tival release... Yet, #Sanju packs a PHENOMENAL TOTAL on Day 1... Emerges the BIGGEST OPENER of 2018 [so far]... Also, Ran-bir's HIGHEST OPENER to date... Expected to cross Rs 100 cr in 3 days, as per trends... Fri Rs 34.75 cr. In-dia biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 30, 2018

The Rajkumar Hirani film is the sixth highest opening day of all time and the third highest non holiday of all time in terms of net collections. The film is currently at number position with highest opening day col-lection.

TOP 5 - 2018Opening Day biz...1. #Sanju Rs 34.75 cr2. #Race3 Rs 29.17 cr3. #Baaghi2 Rs 25.10 cr4. #Padmaavat Rs 19 cr[Thu release; incl Wed

previews Rs 24 cr]5. #VeereDiWedding Rs

10.70 crIndia biz. [Hollywood

films not included]— taran adarsh (@taran_

adarsh) June 30, 2018With such fantastic

numbers on day one, 'San-ju' might turned into Ran-bir Kapoor's biggest film so far. Here's quick look at the opening day collection of his top 5 films:

Ranbir Kapoor - Open-ing Day biz...

1. #Sanju Rs 34.75 cr2. #Besharam Rs 21.56 cr

3. #YJHD Rs 19.45 cr4. #ADHM Rs 13.30 cr5. #Tamasha Rs 10.94 crIndia biz.— taran adarsh (@taran_

adarsh) June 30, 2018In his review, Deccan

Chronicle critic Rohit Bhatnagar wrote, "The best thing about director Rajkumar Hirani is that no matter how intense is his story, his storytelling is so humorous that one can easily enjoy it. Since he tried his hand on a bi-opic for the first time in his career, he definitely takes his creative liberty in telling the real story of controversial star Sanjay Dutt played by immensely talented Ranbir Kapoor."

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