Jammu Mar 23 PTI The Anti-Narcotic Task Force ANTF of the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday arrested two alleged drug peddlers and seized 97 kg of poppy straw from them officials said Based on a tip-off the ANTF the specialized unit to check the rising menace of drugs immediately swung into action and intercepted a truck on the highway at Sidhra here they said During the search 979 kg of poppy straw concealed in the truck was recovered they said According to the officials the truck was on its way outside the union territory from Kashmir The driver along with the co-driver were arrested and the truck was seized they said They identified the duo as Anwar Hussain Shah and Mohammed Iqbal The officials said the ANTF is investigating further links in the case and more arrests are likely PTI AB CJ CJ

Jammu Jan 31 PTI Police on Monday said they have arrested a man nine years after he was booked for rash driving and injuring people in Jammu city Chaman Lal a resident of Hondana Darwale village in Kishtwar district was booked for rash driving endangering lives of pedestrians and causing injuries to some in Domana area in 2013 Since then he had remained underground the police said Teams were constituted and local intelligence was gathered Based on a tip-off and with technical and manual surveillance he was nabbed they said A chargesheet was filed in the case and a general warrant under Section 512 of the Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC was issued against him by a local court they said PTI AB CJ CJ

Jammu Jan 25 PTI Over 15 lakh new eligible voters have been added to the electoral roll in Jammu and Kashmir and 12000 voters in Ladakh since 2019 an official said On account of the 12th National Voters Day Jammu and Kashmirs election department had on Tuesday organised an event at Nirvachan Bhawan in Jammu during which Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta virtually administered the pledge to all administrative secretaries divisional commissioners district election officers electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers besides other officials This years National Voters Day is celebrated on the theme Making elections inclusive accessible and participative Chief Electoral Officer Jammu and Kashmir Hirdesh Kumar said the health of electoral rolls for Ladakh has tremendously been improved after the culmination of the summary revision with 06 Elector Population ratio 9422 Elector Photo Identity Cards EPIC percentage and 1000 987 gender ratio As for Jammu and Kashmir more than 15 lakh new eligible voters were added during the continuous updation of electoral rolls since the last Special Summary Revision from 01-01-2019 as the qualifying date Kumar said He said the need of the hour is to educate voters about the ethical and qualitative participation in the electoral process as the theme for this years National Voters Day focuses on the Election Commission of Indias ECI commitment to facilitate the active participation of voters during the elections and to make the complete process hassle-free The chief secretary said the ECIs main focus this year is to encourage all segments of electorates including persons with disabilities youth women and senior citizens besides ensuring that all citizens are registered He also highlighted the importance of online facilities provided by the ECI such as the voter portal httpwwwnvspin and voter helpline mobile app and urged the people to utilize these digital platforms fully PTI AB CJ CJ

Jammu Jan 21 PTI Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday reviewed the COVID-19 situation with top-level officials and discussed the various steps undertaken to tackle the surge in cases He directed them to focus more on local containment to safeguard public health and maintain momentum in economic activities Sinha called for increased testing in areas where more cases are being reported and laid emphasis on using mobile clinics to create awareness amongst patients that are in home isolation as well as those in rural areas The deputy commissioners briefed him about the COVID-19 situation the status of vaccination implementation of Covid Appropriate Behaviour and other related measures in their respective districts We must reach out to the patients in home isolation and the health officials concerned should ensure that their daily needs medicines etc are taken care of with sensitivity he said Sinha also instructed the officials to expedite the ongoing vaccination Vaccination will continue to be the most effective tool to fight the pandemic Our focus is on administering precautionary doses to frontline workers and senior citizens he said Authorities on the ground should focus more on local containment to safeguard public health and momentum of economic activities he said Vivek Bhardwaj Additional Chief Secretary Health and Medical Education Department presented detailed statistics on the COVID-19 situation and threat level status of testing contact tracing and vaccination across the union territory He said the vaccination drive for those in the age group of 15-18 years is being carried out smoothly across the union territory and that four districts have already achieved 100 per cent administration of the first dose in this segment PTI AB CJ CJ

Jammu Jan 20 PTI Taking cognisance of the rising COVID-19 cases in the union territory Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Thursday impressed upon all departments to permit a suitable percentage of the workforce to work from home Mehta gave this direction during a meeting of the COVID task force to review the rising coronavirus cases in Jammu and Kashmir He directed the strict implementation of the CAB and set protocols to break the chain of transmission The chief secretary appealed to the public to remain indoors and avoid visiting crowded places besides urging them to voluntarily declare micro-containment zones in the areas that are seeing a large number of positive cases He said symptomatic people can avail of medical assistance and testing information by dialling the COVID emergency helpline number 104 The meeting was apprised that although the Omicron variant is maintaining a high transmission rate -- raising the weekly positivity rate from 05 per cent to 54 per cent over the previous fortnight -- the oxygen bed occupancy and ICU bed occupancy are at a comfortable level of 77 per cent and 140 per cent respectively Healthcare facilities have been ramped up and are in a state of readiness to cater to any eventualities the officials said In comparison to the second wave Jammu and Kashmir has doubled its testing capacity to over 80000 daily tests which is also being reflected in the higher number of daily reported cases they said Although the number of daily reported cases has crossed the number recorded during the peak of the second wave the comparative peak positivity rate and bed occupancy rate currently remains low at 7 per cent and 62 per cent viz-a-viz the second waves 109 per cent and 608 per cent respectively they said Jammu and Kashmir is also having a lower positivity rate compared to the national average of about 17 per cent PTI AB CJ CJ

Jammu Jan 19 PTI Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday achieved two crore vaccinations landmark against COVID-19 officials said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha hailed the efforts of the healthcare and frontline workers in battling the odds of tough geographical terrain vagaries of the weather and other impediments to achieve the feat Thanking the people he said Congratulations to the people of the union territory for their cooperation and resolve to unitedly tackle the public health emergency Sinha said Jammu and Kashmir has been the frontrunner among the states and union territories in vaccinating eligible population against COVID-19 The Jammu and Kashmir administration achieved the one crore doses milestone as early on September 18 last year Subsequently on October 14 it registered 100 per cent coverage of the first dose for people aged 18 and above officials said The union territory marked 100 per cent vaccination of both doses on January 12 According to the officials the lieutenant governor has been personally monitoring the public health response in view of the pandemic on a weekly basis It was under his guidance that the union territory government launched a 10-point campaign in November to raise awareness about vaccination and highlight various government schemes being implemented at the grassroots level The Har Ghar Dastak campaign that involved a door-to-door vaccination drive substantially boosted vaccination numbers they said As on date 57 per cent adolescents in the age group of 15-18 have received the first dose while 102020 precaution doses have been administeredofficials said PTI AB CJ CJ