Schools, coaching centres shut till April 30
All incoming travelers to be tested at Lakhanpur, others at Vijaypur
4 casualties, 1141 cases in J&K; one dies, 208 test +ve in Leh
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU/SRINAGAR/ LEH, Apr 15: In a series of COVID control measures, the Jammu and Kashmir Government today deferred biannual Darbar Move to Srinagar, cancelled remaining Class 10th exams and postponed Class 12th papers, extended closure of all schools up to and including Class 12th till April 30 and ordered testing of all incoming travelers at Lakhanpur, inter-State movers at Thandi Khui in Samba and closure of coaching centres as the Union Territory recorded four more Corona casualties and 1141 cases.
Office of Lieutenant Governor Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha announced that the Government has deferred Darbar Move because of COVID and cancelled or postponed the Class 10th and Class 12th examinations of Board of School Education (BOSE) in a series of tweets this afternoon.
Deferring the biannual Darbar move to Srinagar, the Government announced that the Civil Secretariat, which is the seat of the Union Territory administration, shall function both in Srinagar and Jammu.
“In view of sharply rising cases of COVID in J&K, the Government has taken few important decisions ensuring safety of employees. Darbar move deferred because of COVID. Secretariat to function in both #Srinagar & #Jammu. Office functioning not to be affected because of eOffice,” Sinha’s office said in a tweet.
As Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a surge in the number of COVID cases, the threat it poses to people and staff on the move and the implementation of eOffice software in both the Secretariat and Move offices, it has been decided to defer the Darbar move this time, the LG’s office said.
“However, Secretariat will function in both Srinagar & Jammu with staff equitably split between two Secretariats will function from both locations in an equitable manner”, another tweet said.
It said office functioning will not be affected as files will move electronically between both the Secretariats through eOffice software.
An official statement issued tonight said the Government has decided to defer the summer Darbar Move 2021 and reinforce its resources towards the containment of the pandemic.
“It was also decided that the Secretariat will continue to function through its e-office in both the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar so that the public at large is not inconvenienced at either capital. The functioning of the dual-Secretariat will ensure uninterrupted working of the UT administration while reducing the need for long-distance travel of the public,” the statement said.
It added that a complete shift of Darbar offices to Srinagar from 30th April can jeopardize COVID-control efforts in Jammu and Kashmir. As elsewhere in the country, the number of COVID cases in the Union territory is at an all-time high and requires uninterrupted attention for effective monitoring and control, the statement said.
As per the statement, the Government directed the Administrative Secretaries to put in place a robust mechanism for holding virtual offices through e-office and use online/electronic/video conferencing/other modes of communication at the two capital cities. J&K Secretariat has already switched over to a paperless office by rolling out the prestigious e-office project. As such, most of the official record is available on the web cloud which can be easily accessed and retrieved by the authenticated employees’ accounts anywhere, anytime.
It was also decided that GAD will issue orders regarding ‘move’ HoDs, all of whom will also need to shift to e-office. This will apply to all HoDs, barring a few.
As part of the biannual Darbar Move and the Civil Secretariat’s shift, other Move offices and the Raj Bhavan were scheduled to close in Jammu on April 30 to May 1 and set to begin functioning in the summer capital from May 10.
The practice of Darbar Move – under which the administration functions in Jammu during six months of winter and in Srinagar during summer – was started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape extreme weather conditions in the two regions.
The Office of LG J&K also announced cancellation of remaining examinations of Class X and postponement of Class 12th papers.
“In view of rising cases of COVID 19, Class 10th ongoing exams for remaining subjects have been cancelled and promotion of students to Class 11th will be decided on the basis of their performance in examinations already held and internal assessment,” the LG Office tweets said, adding that Class 12th examinations have been postponed and a decision on them will be taken after reviewing the situation after one month.
Another order issued by the State Executive Committee (SEC) Member-Secretary Simrandeep Singh announced that all schools in Jammu and Kashmir will continue to remain closed for imparting on-campus/in-person education to the students of all classes (i.e. up to and including Class 12) till April 30.
“All coaching and tuition centres imparting in-person teaching to students will also remain closed in the entire UT till April 30,” the order said.
Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Raghav Langar today directed the authorities at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, to ensure testing of all incoming travelers.
He said testing of travelers coming to Samba, Jammu, Reasi and Udhampur districts will be done at Thandi Khui, Vijaypur in Samba while rest of the travelers will be subjected to testing at Lakhanpur entry point. He directed for making adequate arrangements for isolation, administrative quarantine and notify paid quarantine facilities for proper handling of COVID positive people. However, he said, the people having negative RTPCR test report not late by 48 hours will be exempted from testing at Lakhanpur.
Deputy Commissioner Samba Anuradha Gupta later said that Radha Swami Ashram at Thandi Khui has been designated as focal point for sample collection, RTPCR/Rapid testing, segregation and streamlining of all road travelers for district Samba, Udhampur, Reasi and Jammu.
The University of Jammu today also announced that all examinations stand postponed till April 20 and fresh dates will be communicated later. However, MBBS pre-Final Professional Examination, BDS Ist Professional Examination and BAMS 3rd Professional Examination will be conducted at the Government Medical College Jammu.
Meanwhile, Jammu region today reported one Corona casualty and 434 cases while three fatalities and 707 new cases were reported in the Valley.
Lone Corona death in Jammu was reported from Digiana. The victim was an elderly man.
Among 434 cases in Jammu region, nearly 50 percent i.e. 215 were reported from Jammu district followed by 93 in Reasi, 92 of whom were travelers, mostly tourists, followed by 47 Udhampur, 29 Kathua, 13 each Rajouri and Samba district, nine Poonch, eight Kishtwar, four Doda and three in Ramban district.
As against 434 positive cases, 116 persons recovered from the virus in Jammu region, 46 of them in Jammu district.
Jammu region now has 57120 Corona cases including 3871 active and 52491 recoveries. There have been 758 casualties.
The district administration Jammu today declared Vikas Lane in Talab Tillo as micro-Containment Zone in view of COVID positive cases reported from there.
A female student of Semester-III tested positive for COVID-19 in Government Decree College Neeli Nullah at Udhampur today after which her contacts were isolated.
The Union Territory of Ladakh also reported one Corona fatality and 208 new cases today.
A 24-year-old youth from Pukur Uttarakhand, who had come for working in Leh died of COVID-19 today taking death toll to 132 including 88 in Leh and 44 in Kargil.
All 208 new cases in Ladakh were reported from Leh district.
Ladakh Corona count has reached 11278 including 1051 active positives-985 in Leh and 66 in Kargil while 10095 have recovered from the virus.
Meanwhile, Kashmir reported 707 positive cases of COVID-19 today, while three persons died.
Three persons died of Coronavirus infection in Kashmir today taking the J&K death toll to 2046 while active positive cases reached 10040.
Those who tested positive include 418 Srinagar, 136 Baramulla, 25 Budgam, 21 Pulwama, 23 Kupwara, 30 Anantnag, 7 Bandipora, 13 Ganderbal, 28 Kulgam and 6 from Shopian.
The number of cases in Kashmir division has reached 85,757 including 78,300 recoveries and 1,288 deaths.
The number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir are 10,040 including 6,169 from Kashmir division.
With 487 more recoveries, the tally of total recoveries in Jammu and Kashmir has reached 130,791 which is 91.54 percent of the total cases.
And eight villages in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district were declared as Micro Containment Zones today to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The villages designated as Micro Containment Zones by Deputy Comissioner Baramulla, Bhupinder Kumar include Khawaja Bagh Lower Petrol Pump to Jetty Road, Chak Kanispora, Sangri Colony, Kanli Bagh, Dewan Bagh, Delina (Qazi-Mohalla) Rawatpora, Delina Ghat, Milat Colony, Sherwani Colony and Lone-Mohalla Farozpora.
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