Samples sent for testing, reports will come within three days: Nodal Officer
(Asian News Hub) – After crows, pigeons have been found dead in parts on Srinagar on Thursday.
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Nodal officer for Avian influenza in J&K Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Shah told news agency—KNO, that some pigeons have been found dead in Chattabal and Pandreathan area of Srinagar on Thursday.
He said that crows were also found dead in Shopian, Budgam and other parts of valley on Thursday as well. He added that samples of both crows and pigeons have been taken and sent for testing, the reports of which will come in next two to three days.
He said that wherever birds are being found dead, SOPs are being followed and area is being fumigated. He said that no case of bird flu has been reported among poultry birds and people must follow precautions like wear masks, wash hands frequently.
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The nodal officer said that as per government directions, the rapid response teams are on the ground and surveillance is being done within one km radius from the spot where cases were reported and samples from nearby poultry farms are also being taken.
He said that from the spot from where cases have been reported, a radius of 10 kms has been declared an alert zone besides said that close vigil is being kept to check any unusual mortality.
“People can use poultry products if it is cooked well, however, there is need to follow precautions in letter and spirit,” the nodal officer added.
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Pertinently, cases of avian influenza have been confirmed among wild birds in eight districts of J&K and cases of the flu have been found in Udhampur and Bandipora among domestic birds.
A police official told that Ramban police intercepted an Innova vehicle at the railway chowk in Banihal, apprehending two individuals associated with large-scale narcotics.
The vehicle, travelling from Kashmir towards Jammu, was found to be concealing a substantial quantity of high-valued narcotics, he said.
During a thorough search, the police made a startling discovery, saying they recovered approximately 30 kilograms of a heroin-like substance from hidden compartments within the vehicle.
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The international market value of the seized drugs is estimated to be around Rs 100 crores, according to the official.
The arrested persons are currently in police custody, and further investigations are underway to ascertain the source and destination of this illicit substance, the official said.
He added that authorities are also actively pursuing leads to identify potential links to larger drug trafficking networks. KNO
Reports reaching Asian News Hub (ANH) said that a fire broke out from a residential shed at around 04:30 am on Sunday morning which spread to other residential sheds within no time.
They said, fire tenders reached the spot on time however, upon their arrival nearly 17 sheds had suffered damages and the fire was brought into control within no time.
Meanwhile, police have taken cognizance of the incident and the cause of fire was not known immediately.
Despite the augmentation of power infrastructure and the installation of much-hyped smart meters, the electricity woes continue to torment the valley residents ahead of the winter as since past one week, consumers are facing pesky power cuts across the Valley.
The situation is equivalent in towns, cities and villages as the consumers have accused the concerned Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) of supplying inadequate electricity to them.
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“Despite the installation of smart meters, which were aimed to ensure better power supply, we are getting nearly 4-5 hours of electricity supply on a regular basis, which has added to the misery of consumers here,” said Jahangir Ahmad, a local from the Natipora area.
“Crores of rupees have been spent on the power infrastructure augmentations in the last couple of years, which were giving a hope of round-the-clock electricity to the people, but all in vein as seemingly the winter power schedule has been started in the valley during the Autumn season, thus pushing the people to the wall,” the residents said.
Such unscheduled power cuts are being witnessed everywhere nowadays as the complaints are being received from several other areas also.
The consumers said that the electricity is being snatched for hours together and is being supplied for only a few hours in a day.
“The electricity supply was snatched multiple times today, which began from 6am to 8:30 am in the morning, 1 am to 2:30 pm in the afternoon and then 6pm to 8:30 pm in the evening,” one of the residents from Pampore said.
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The frequent electricity cuts have irked the people, who demand authorities to take immediate steps to ensure adequate power supply to them.
Pertinently, Kashmir’s power generation has got badly affected as according to the KPDCL Chief Engineer, Javed Yousuf Dar, the reduction in water level in river Jhelum, Chenab has lessened the power generation at the power houses of Kashmir.
“We are presently looking for an option to get the additional electricity to ensure adequate power supply to the people. We are on it and hopefully, the issue will be resolved in next few days,” Chief Engineer, KPDCL had said. KNO