Jammu, July 10
A girl was isolated at Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital, Jammu, today on the suspicion that she was suffering from swine flu. The girl, a minor, was rushed to the hospital after a team of doctors deputed at the Jammu Airport diagnosed her with the symptoms of H1N1 virus.

The 14-year-old girl landed here this morning from Singapore. At present, she was kept in isolation as a precautionary measure by the hospital administration. “Her samples were airlifted to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi. We will get results of the test by tomorrow afternoon positively. Only then it could be said whether it’s a case of swine flu or not,” said epidemiologist Dr RS Charak.

In view of huge influx of the pilgrims of Vaishno Devi and Amarnath cave shrine, besides tourists, the administration has deputed special teams of doctors at all terminal points like airports and railway stations to examine persons complaining about symptoms of the disease like fever, soar throat, cough, muscle or joint pain.

“The hospital is fully equipped to deal with any such eventuality and the girl is undergoing treatment. So there is no need to get panicky,” Dr Charak added.

The health officials in the Jammu region have expressed concern after the entire dose of medicines and N95 masks dispatched by the Union Health Ministry were sent to the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir.

Though N95 masks are used to prevent the contact with the virus through breathing, the hospital sources told The Tribune that the hospital had triple-layered masks only. However, the hospital availed drug ‘oseltamivir’ or ‘tamiflu’ some 10 days back from the Central Procurement Centre at the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir. These drugs were also not sold in the open market.

Apart from the NICD, New Delhi, the National Institute of Virology, Pune, is the only institute for the detection of swine flu cases designated by the World Health Organisation.

“Doctors are not panicked. They are fully prepared to cope up with any emergent situation,” said Dr Charak. He added, “Parents of the girl have been fully cooperating with the hospital administration.”

Srinagar, July 10
At least 30 persons were injured in clashes between protesters and the police here and in Anantnag, while normal life was affected across the Kashmir valley in response to a bandh call given by the hard line separatist Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani.

The bandh was called against the murder of a youth from Maisuma in Srinagar, and the death of a woman in Kupwara district.

The police lobbed tear gas shells to quell the demonstrators in Nowhatta in downtown and Maisuma here after the Friday prayers when agitated youth pelted police and CRPF personnel with stones.

At least 20 persons, including two policemen and five CRPF men, were injured in the clashes that erupted near Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of downtown this afternoon. Later the protests spread out to the adjoining localities of Bohri Kadal, Rajouri Kadal and Khwaja Bazaar. Protests were also held in Maisuma against the murder of Asrar Dar, who belonged to the locality and whose body was recovered three days later after he went missing on July 7 evening. Srinagar has been reeling under a general strike against the murder of the youth for the past three days.

Clashes also erupted at Reshi Bazaar and Mattan Chowk in south Kashmir district of Anantnag, where at least 10 persons, including six police personnel, were injured in the clashes between the protesters and the police.

APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who had called for a march to Lal Chowk on the martyrs’ day on July 13, was put under house arrest at his Nigeen residence since last evening, an APHC spokesman said. The Mirwaiz expressed concern over the police action restricting him from offering the Friday prayers.

All shops and business establishments here and in other major towns of the valley were closed and public transport was off the roads. Educational institutions and banks were closed and there was a thin attendance in government offices. Meanwhile, Shopian town continued to be closed for the 42nd consecutive day today against the rape and murder of two women in the area.

Udhampur, July 10
Insensitive attitude of the authorities to solve basic problems of the common masses today forced residents of Doda to come on streets. Doda town observed complete shutdown against shortage of ration and acute scarcity of drinking water. The strike call was jointly given by the Beopar Mandal and the Doda Welfare Association, and supported by various social, political and business organisations.

Residents of Doda took out a procession that started from the main chowk and passed through different localities here today. The protesters shouted slogans against the authorities as well as public representatives for their failure to solve their problems.

The residents of Doda town, which is located on the banks of the Chenab, have been confronting with severe water crisis as most of the water supply schemes implemented by the successive state governments remained only on papers.

Similarly, this mountainous belt of the Jammu province has been facing shortage of ration. The Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department has failed to streamline supply of ration. There is no ration in most of the department-run outlets due to non-availability of foodgrains.

“For the past one month residents of Doda have been demanding supply of ration and drinking water, but non-serious behaviour of the authorities have forced the people to come on streets,” Hak Nawaz Nehru, local social activist, said. Though most parts of the Jammu province have facing the shortage of ration, situation in erstwhile Doda district is worst.

Khurshid Ganai of Doda said: “The situation is worst in rural areas where people are on the verge of starvation. Already declared as draught-prone area, majority of the population of this belt has been depending upon CAPD depots for supply of ration.” The residents were also annoyed over attitude of the local representatives who have been camping at Srinagar at the time when people have been confronting with the shortage of ration and water. Doda town is represented by two legislatures - Abdul Majid Wani, who is member of the Lower House, and Khalid Nazib Sohrawardy, who is member of the Upper House. Despite being represented by two members, problems of the inhabitants of this town have been increasing with very passing day.

Srinagar, July 10
Employees of four universities in the state will get revised salaries as per the Sixth Pay Commission from this month.

This was decided at a meeting today convened by Governor NN Vohra, who is the Chancellor of the state universities, including agricultural universities. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister and Pro-Chancellor of all state universities Omar Abdullah, Chief Secretary SS Kapur, vice-chancellors of the Jammu and Kashmir universities and vice-chancellors of the Sher-e-Kashmir Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, and the SKUAST, Jammu.

Regarding the arrears, the decision of the state government in respect of the state government employees shall also apply, mutatis mutandis, in respect of the university employees, an official spokesman said.

Vohra exhorted the vice-chancellors to carry out an early internal exercise for the generation of additional resources and, side by side, effectively curtailing non-productive expenditure with a view to improving the finances of the universities. He stressed the importance of ensuring the transfer of benefits of research from laboratories to land through improved synergies to boost productivity and production in agriculture and animal husbandry sectors.

The Chief Minister, reiterating the need for enhancing agriculture production in the state, called upon the vice-chancellors of the agriculture universities for adopting at least one district in their respective jurisdictions on a pilot project basis. He said such pilot projects could also serve as a model for other areas to achieve the essential objective of enhancing productivity in a time-bound manner.

Those who attended the meeting included the Vice-Chancellors of four universities in the state.

Jammu, July 10
Power generation in one of the three 150 MW units of 450-MW Baglihar hydroelectric project was suspended after its turbine developed some technical fault, official sources said.

"We have shut down one unit for a week after some technical faults were found in the turbine. The repair work was started today by a team of German engineers," Executive Engineer, Baglihar project, Sudhir told PTI from Chanderkote. The repair work may take three to four days

The other two units of 150 MW each were running fine, he said.

Power availability has been hit due to the shutdown of one unit. The state was getting 225 MW of power from the project, but due to the shutdown of one unit, there was a shortfall of 75 MW, a senior officer said. — PTI

Srinagar, July 10
A total of 5,326 pilgrims -- 3,219 from Baltal and 2,107 from Pahalgam — left for the Amarnath cave shrine today.

A spokesman for the SASB here said 10,841 yatris performed darshan at the holy cave yesterday. He added that another batch of 1,735 yatris left from Jammu for the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps today. As of this morning, 2,47,798 pilgrims had performed darshan at the holy cave.

Meanwhile, the SASB today organised the sending of the bodies of two expired pilgrims by air to their native villages in Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai.

The body of Kalawati, who died in the tragic helicopter accident near the holy cave yesterday, was sent to Bhopal by an Indian Airlines flight this afternoon. The board also organised the air travel of her husband and children to Madhya Pradesh for performing the last rites of Kalawati.

An ailing pilgrim, Heeru, wife of Raju Panak, who had died while being shifted from the District Hospital, Anantnag, to the SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, yesterday, was also transported by air to Mumbai. Her husband accompanied the body in the Indian Airlines flight to Mumbai via Delhi.

Srinagar, July 10
The Army has sacked Ashiq Hussain Peer, a resident of Tregham serving in 160 Battalion of the Territorial Army in Kupwara district, for his involvement in the murder of Amina Masoodi.

The Army said they released him from service and handed him over to the police for a fair trial within four hours of the case being brought to its notice.

An Army spokesman said both Ashiq Hussain and Amina Msoodi studied together in Government Higher Secondary School at Tregham and were reportedly in touch with each other in recent times. “This is a purely individual issue and the Army, as an institution, has nothing to do with his subsequent actions on the individual, personal front,” he said.

The girl had died of heart attack, as per the autopsy report, after she allegedly raised an alarm when the accused tried to sexually assault her in her house late in the night. People had protested against her death but protests have ebbed with the arrest of the accused.

Srinagar, July 10
The much-awaited expansion of the state Cabinet is being held here tomorrow, six months after Omar Abdullah took over as Chief Minister on January 5. Omar is already heading a team of 10 ministers, including five from the Congress and four from the NC.

State Congress chief Saifuddin Soz is already camping here, while Union minister and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior Congress leader Prithvi Raj Chavan are arriving here tomorrow to attend the oath ceremony at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre. NC president Farooq Abdullah is also expected to attend the ceremony. Governor NN Vohra would be administering the oath of office and secrecy to the legislators being inducted into the Council of Ministers.

Both NC and Congress were engaged in giving the final touches to the list of the new ministers till late this evening. The Congress is expecting to induct eight members, while the NC seven more members, thereby increasing the strength of the Cabinet to 25. 

Jammu, July 10
Panic gripped residents of the Satwari area here today when the Army launched a search operation.

Though sources divulged that troops in combat fatigue seized seven or eight detonators and five metres of cordex wire during the operation, Jammu-based Defence PRO Lt Col Biplab Nath claimed that nothing was recovered. Armed with weapons and other equipment troops this morning descended on an area behind technical airport in Satwari and launched a search operation.

However, the Defence PRO described it as a routine exercise. “It was a routine exercise by the Army to sanitize the area,” he said.