SRINAGAR, MAY 16 – In line with the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s Public Outreach Programme Raabita, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo met scores of public delegations and individuals at Civil Secretariat here today.

During the interactions, the Minister patiently listened to a wide range of public grievances, developmental issues and other concerns raised by the visiting delegations.

These delegations, hailing from various districts and constituencies, raised matters pertaining to road connectivity, healthcare facilities, water supply and social welfare schemes before the Minister and sought timely redressal of the same.

Interacting with the public delegations, Sakeena highlighted that Raabita reflects the continued commitment of our government to public welfare and responsive governance. “These Public Outreach engagements are essential for bridging gap between the government and the people”, the Minister stated. She added that such engagements provide a unique platform to public to raise their genuine issues and concerns with the government.

The Minister further reaffirmed the dedication of Government towards public welfare, adding that the public voices are being heard and acted upon during the present government.

Sakeena further assured the visiting delegations that their genuine concerns would be promptly taken up for immediate redressal.

Meanwhile, MLA Pampore, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi also met the Minister and apprised her of various public issues pertaining to Pampore constituency.

SRINAGAR, MAY 16 – Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today listened to grievances and issues of public at the Chief Minister’s Outreach Office, Raabita in Srinagar.

The programme witnessed participation of several public delegations, representatives and individuals from diverse sectors who apprised the Chief Minister of various pressing problems and concerns requiring his attention.

Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani was also present during the outreach programme.

Among the prominent delegations was one representing the residents of Saderkoot Payeen, Ajas area Bandipora, seeking the Chief Minister’s intervention for the expeditious disbursement of compensation to Wular land dwellers affected by developmental works. Another delegation raised the matter of delayed release of withheld recommendations for Class IV posts, urging the CM for immediate redressal.

A deputation of Junior Anesthesia Assistants from the Health & Medical Education Department urged the finalization of the long-pending selection process.

In an important academic interaction, Professor Fayaz Ahmad Nika, Dean & Head of the School of Business at Central University of Kashmir, presented key findings from a study on the NRLM/UEED programmes, underlining their role in enhancing women’s empowerment and employment generation in the Ganderbal district.

The Jehlum Riverside House Rehabilitation Union from Habba Kadal Ganpatyar submitted a memorandum seeking allotment of land at Rakhi Aarth for the permanent rehabilitation of landless families displaced along the Jehlum river.

Likewise, a delegation from the Local Youth Coordination Committee, Chattabal, requested the construction of a playground in their area, emphasizing the need for sports infrastructure.

A deputation from the Sangarmal Traders Welfare Association called for the resolution of multiple pending issues affecting traders at the Sangarmal Shopping Complex.

Representatives of both private and cooperative Kerosene Oil Dealers, under their president, appealed for the restoration of kerosene supplies—particularly for horticulturists and agriculturists operating power-driven machinery.

Mechanical engineering graduates and engineers highlighted the need for assured career progression.

The Tempo Travelers Association, Srinagar, sought a temporary waiver of EMI payments on vehicles in light of the ongoing financial stress on transport operators.

Ms. Khair-ul-Nisa, Principal Advisor to the World Trade Center Association in New York and World Trade Center India, held a high-level discussion on major investment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir and proposed the establishment of a World Trade Center in the region.

Academicians Prof. Hanief and Prof. Talat discussed the critical issue of NAAC accreditation for Islamia College and sought the government’s support in strengthening institutional standards.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah gave a patient hearing to all deputations and assured sympathetic consideration of their demands.

He reiterated his government’s unwavering commitment to participatory governance, inclusive development and responsive public administration.

“We remain committed to responsive governance and to addressing public concerns with sincerity and urgency,” Omar Abdullah said.

Among the notable transfers, Pandurang K Pole (IAS, 2004) and Vijay Kumar Bidhuri (IAS, 2005), both serving in Jammu and Kashmir, have been moved to Delhi. Nitesh Rajora (IAS, 2021) has been transferred from Jammu and Kashmir to Ladakh, while Choudhary Mohammad Yasin (IAS, 2015) has been shifted from Jammu and Kashmir to Puducherry.

In a reciprocal move, several officers from other regions have been posted to Jammu and Kashmir. Ashish Chandra Verma (IAS, 1994), Anil Kumar Singh (IAS, 1995), and Sanjeev M Gadkar (IAS, 2013) have been transferred from Delhi and Goa to the Union Territory. Additionally, Rishi Kumar (IAS, 2021) and Ananth Dwivedi (IAS, 2021) are among the newer batch officers posted to J&K.

The reshuffle also includes transfers between other Union Territories and states under the AGMUT cadre. Officers have been reassigned across Delhi, Mizoram, Puducherry, Goa, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Lakshadweep.

These transfers are part of a routine administrative restructuring and aim to ensure better governance and optimized utilization of senior civil services across the Union Territories.

She also hit out at the Centre alleging that while the government was expressing concern for the rights of the people in Afghanistan, the same were being denied to Kashmiris.

“I’ve been placed under house arrest today because according to admin (administration) the situation is far from normal in Kashmir. This exposes their fake claims of normalcy,” Mehbooba, who is the last chief minister of the erstwhile state, tweeted.

“GOI expresses concern for the rights of Afghan people but wilfully denies the same to Kashmiris,” she added.

Mehbooba posted pictures of a security forces’ vehicle blocking the main gate of her Gupkar residence.

According to officials, Mehbooba had expressed a desire to attend a family function in South Kashmir’s highly volatile Kulgam district.

The authorities persuaded her not to go for the function as some anti-nationals were still trying to vitiate the atmosphere in the valley following the death of pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Mehbooba has been vocal since his death and on Monday she accused the administration of turning the valley into “an open air prison” where “the dead aren’t spared”.

“A family isn’t allowed to mourn and bid a final farewell as per their wishes. Booking Geelani sahab’s family under UAPA shows GOI’s deep-rooted paranoia and ruthlessness. This is New India’s Naya Kashmir,” she tweeted.

However, hours later, the Jammu and Kashmir Police released videos of the funeral of Geelani, who died on September 1 at his home after a prolonged illness. He was 91.

A statement was also released by the police clocking events after his death saying that its officers were made to wait for three hours at the separatist’s home when they went there for his burial.

Refuting rumours allegedly being floated from across the border, the Jammu and Kashmir Police also released four videos through its Twitter handle to show that Geelani was laid to rest as per rituals in the intervening night of September 1 and 2.

“After the death of SAS Geelani, IGP Kashmir Shri Vijay Kumar met both of his sons at their residence at 11 pm, condoled them and requested for burial in the night for the larger interest of the general public due to potential major L&O (law and order) situations. Both agreed and asked to wait for two hours until relatives reached,” the police said on its Twitter handle.

The IGP Kashmir personally spoke to a few relatives and assured them of safe passage, they said.

“However, 3 hours later, probably under the pressure from Pakistan and miscreants, they behaved differently and started resorting to anti-national activities, including wrapping the dead body in Pakistani flag, making loud sloganeering in favour of Pakistan and instigating neighbours to come out,” the police said.

They said that after persuasion the relatives brought the body to the graveyard and performed all rituals “with due respect in presence of members of Intizamia Committee and local Imam”.

“The refusal of both his sons to come to the graveyard indicated their loyalty to the Pakistani agenda rather than their love and respect for their departed father,” they added.

The sons offered Fathia (prayers offered at the funeral) at 11 am on September 2.

Quoting IGP, the official Twitter handle of Kashmir Zone Police wrote, “Mobile internet will be open in Srinagar & Budgam today by 7pm. Regret inconvenience caused to students in studies: IGP Kashmir,”.

Mobile internet was snapped accords Kashmir Valley on 02 September after demise of Senior Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Ali Geelani.

On Monday mobile Internet was restored across Kashmir except for Srinagar and Budgam district.

Walking modestly on ground, respecting elders, preserving public property, providing space for the construction of roads and bridges, speaking in a moderate tone, discipline at religious places, etc., are some civilizational behaviors. Western world is called civilized. However, Eastern world is taken as uncivilized. But it is a fact that Eastern world was once the champion of Civic life. In this scenario, if we talk about Kashmir, the situation is not so good. In the coming lines, it will become clear that Kashmiris are at the lowest ebb in case of Civic life.

First is we encroach roads. It is our biggest fault. This causes unending problems for everyone. Pedestrians as well as vehicles find it difficult to move smoothly and the result is the opposite of civilization.

Second is we speak loudly. In buses and in markets, we speak in a pompous voice that creates problems for others who are not there to listen or bear our thundering voice.

Third is we never remain silent at religious places. We often talk endlessly, without caring a bit for the ethics of holy places. Moreover, our preachers preach in such a manner that it looks like that the audience is deaf.

Fourth is we spit at public places, without having consideration for others. Spitting is a vice that makes a beautiful landscape dirty in every way and shows our level of learning and enlightenment.

Fifth is that we board buses like animals. Some days before at Lalchowk, my friend and me were almost thrown down from the bridge when more than 10 people tried to board the Sumo simultaneously. I was amazed.

Sixth is we cheat. We take full but never give or pay full. It is our biggest fault. This thing is something out of our minds.

Last in my opinion is that we are greedy people. We never work hard to achieve something. However, if another person works hard and achieves something, we become jealous and begin to curse that very person to transfer his or her achievement to me.

These are some examples that make us uncivilized. Nevertheless, we have some virtues but the heap of uncivilized things dwarf our virtues. As a human being, let us try to be civilized as much as we can. Overall, we are the crown of the whole creation.

EARLY LIFE

Systrom was born in Holliston, Massachusetts on December 30, 1983 to Douglas and Diane. His father was a Human Resources executive while his mother worked as an executive in tech companies such as Monster and Swapit during the dot-com boom in the U.S.

He studied at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he was introduced to computer programming. His interest in programming grew from playing Doom 2, the video game, where he created his own levels. Systrom also created programs that would prank his friends by appearing to hack their AOL Instant Messenger accounts.

Systrom applied early decision to Stanford University for a course in Computer Science. However, since he found that the classes were more theoretical than practical, he switched to Stanford’s management science and engineering programme.

A PASSION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

While studying in Stanford, Systrom built web programs in his free time. One such program was a photo site that he and his friends had set up to share pictures internally. This fuelled his fondness for photography.

During his junior year abroad in Florence, an Italian professor showed him a cheap camera called Holga, which developed a cult following due to its rendering of low-fi, retro style photos. Systrom took an instant liking for the aesthetic images clicked by the camera.

THE ROAD TO INSTAGRAM

Upon returning to Stanford, he interned with Odeo, a podcast startup founded by Evan Williams. There, he became friends with Jack Dorsey ( co-founder of Twitter), who was working at Odeo. Together, they would tweak apps for the company.

In his senior year, Systrom received a number of opportunities from tech companies. However, he chose to take up a marketing job at Google. He was handling marketing projects for Gmail and Calendar. Later, he moved to the Mergers and Acquisitions division of the company and learnt about big tech deals and the money involved.

In time, Systrom grew restless because he wasn’t coding or working on new products. He realized he wanted to move back to the social space and joined Nextstop, a startup that offered travel recommendations. Here, he was coding and creating app style programs for the site, including games revolving around photos.

This rekindled his love for photography and he decided to start something that would fuse his interests of photography and social sharing. In his spare time, he started working on an idea called Burbn, an app that allowed for location-based photo sharing. In January 2010, he met and impressed Steve Anderson, a Bay Area venture capitalist, who agreed to invest in Burbn. In the same round of venture capital funding, he managed to get investments from March Andressen and Ben Horowitz, whose venture capital firm is one of the best-known in Silicon Valley. He quit his job at Nextstop and asked his friend and junior Mike Krieger to come onboard as the co-founder. They started working on Burbn and decided to eliminate many of its features and stick to photo sharing. A walk on the beach with his wife,which said her photos shared online weren’t as good as Systrom’s co-workers’, gave him the idea that would revolutionized the app: filters. Since the idea of sharing photos with filters reminded him of instant telegram, Systrom decided to change the name of the product to Instagram. After working day and night for over eight weeks, Systrom and Krieger finally released Instagram on October 6, 2010. As soon as it was launched, Instagram was downloaded by nearly 25,000 people, leading the servers to crash. The team worked tirelessly to bring it back up and succeeded. Over the years, Instagram’s users have grown in numbers. In July 2018, it hit a billion users. In 2012, the company was brought by Facebook. Systrom and Kreiger continued to work with Instagram under Facebook till September 2018, when they both decided to call it quits.

WHAT MAKES HIM SPECIAL?

Systrom was determined to start something which combined his interests and worked towards it. He gave up his job in Google, rediscovered his love for photography and coding at Nextstop and finally started Instagram.

Yes, this is the exact meaning of life. A person should do whatever he or she is interested in. Imitation doesn’t work. Knowing yourself and working accordingly can do miracles.

A train is traveling at a full speed towards its destination. For convenience, a man is metaphorically compared to a train. A continuous spectacle of lush green crops and brimming streams and brooks or brooklets flashes by on either side. A person finds itself in the same position in this world. However much the scene attracts attention towards itself, the train shows no interest in it. It passes through plains and mountains, over land and river, without reducing its speed. In its destination, many small stations come across but they don’t interrupt the motion of the train for a moment. It carries on, as it will stop nowhere.

It is much the same with a purposeful life. One who has adopted purpose in life will fix his or her attention upon it. He or she will not waste his time in futile pursuits. A purposeful person is like a traveller who seeks to spend every moment of his life steering himself or herself towards his or her destination. Alluring worldly attractions hover before this traveller but he closes his eyes to them. Luxurious shade invites him to be cooled from the blazing Sun. Lavish mansions call him or her to rest his or her feet from the long, hard road. But he has no time for these things; all he sees and knows is the goal he or she has set before himself or herself. All kinds of different requirements confront him but he steers clear of them and continues on his way. His determination to reach his or her destination alter with the ups and downs of life. The speed and direction of his or her journey remains constant through thick and thin.

A purposeful person is quite unlike a wayward traveller who, lacking his or her direction, sometimes sets off in one direction and sometimes in another. He knows where he is going. The road that he must tread or walk upon clearly stretches out before his eyes. There is no question of him interrupting his journey or diverting his attention towards other things. He travels on and on until his purpose is fulfilled, his destination reached.

Let me try to make it understand in another way. This is experienced by all the Muslims in particular. Some of the companions of the Prophet( peace be upon him) attained great spiritual heights. They believed that in order to remain at such a spiritual level, they should always be serious , engaged in constant worship, turning their backs on all the enjoyments of life and the good things of the world; neither playing nor relaxing but keeping their eyes and their minds fixed on the Hereafter and its concerns away from common life and its amusements.

In this regard, let us have a look at one of the traditions of the Prophet( peace be upon him). The great companion and scribe of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Hanzalah al Usaidi, narrates an incident to Abu Bakr, which fits in our lives. Abu Bakr met Hanzalah and asked,’ How are you, Hanzalah?’ I replied,’ Hanzalah has become a hypocrite.’ He said, ‘ Subhanallah! What are you saying?’ I replied,’ When we are with Allah’s Messenger( peace be upon him), he mentions the Fire and The Garden until it is as we can see them. But when we leave the Prophet’s company and play with our wives and children or busy ourselves with our properties, we forget much.’ Abu Bakr said,’ By Allah, I have experienced the same thing.’ He and I then went to visit the Messenger of Allah and I said,’ O Messenger of Allah, Hanzalah has become a hypocrite.’ He asked ,’And how is that?’ I replied,’ O Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you talk about the Fire and the Garden until it is as if we can see them. Then we go out and play with our wives and children and deal with out properties, and we forget much. ‘ The Messenger of Allah then said,’ By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you were to continue at the same level at which you were when with me and in remembering Allah, the angels would shake hands with you when you are resting and when you walk about, but O Hanzalah, there is a time( for this) and ( for that).’ He repeated this phrase three times.

In this, we have a lesson that it is not bad to enjoy the worldly things but we should not lose ourselves in the worldly glories. Life is a moderate way in the light of the above tradition. No one is forced to opt seclusion. In a society of human beings, a person can reach attain the enlightenment. The priority is that he or she should have the pious goal and work accordingly. It is called a meaningful life. For a life to be invested with meaning, it is essential that one should set a target for oneself. One should be certain of the worthwhile nature of one’s chosen target. In pursuit of it, one must have the total support of one’s conscience. It is by concentrating his mind and setting his heart on a certain target that a man becomes different from animals. So, life is a trial where every moment should be availed of. Extremism should be avoided. This world is not so bad as we think. A proper balance is necessary and our lives will be meaningful.( Replugged).

While driving in Greece, 16- year- old Boyan Slat was shocked at the amount of plastic and decided something had to be done. Ever since, he has taken steps combating plastic pollution and cleaning up the oceans.

Who is Boyan Slat?

Slat is a Dutch inventor and entrepreneur. He is the chief executive officer of the Ocean Cleanup, a non- government organization based out of the Netherlands. He is also the youngest recipient of the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade- Champions of the Earth, having won the award in 2014.

Slat was born on July 27, 1994 in Delft, the Netherlands. He has been interested in engineering since he was two. He used to build tree houses and zip wires. By the time he was 13, he was keenly interested in rocketry. His interest in the field led him to create a Guinness World Record for the most water rockets launched at the same time-213, from a sports field in his native Delft.

The inspiration

In the Summer of 2011 in Greece, when Slat found more plastic than fish in the water, he was taken aback. When people told him that there was no apparent solution to clean up the plastic in the ocean, Slat became curious. He started researching about plastic pollution and the alarming rate at which it was spreading.

Having always been interested in solving puzzles, Slat wondered if the ocean currents could be harnessed and if the plastic could make its way to us, rather than chasing it. He developed this idea as a high school project which was awarded the Best Technical Design at the Delft University of Technology.

The idea

Slat’s idea was to build an array of floating barriers that would catch and concentrate the floating debris in the ocean and then efficiently extract the plastic from a platform. The ocean current would pass underneath the barriers and there would be no emissions or nets which marine life could get entangled in. The collected plastic could be recycled or turned into oil.

The Ocean Cleanup

Slat joined the Delft University in the Netherlands in 2012 but his mind was still occupied by thoughts of cleaning up the ocean. He then set up a foundation called the Ocean Cleanup and explained his concept in a TedX talk. Then he took a decision to pause his university studies to focus on The Ocean Cleanup.

Slat had just 200 euros of pocket money at his disposal after he started the foundation. He realized the need to find sponsorship and began approaching people.

On March 26, 2013, months after his TedX talk, his video had gone viral and he started getting calls and messages in thousands from people around the world. People started visiting the site, with many volunteering to help. Slat then set up a crowd-funding platform where he managed to raise 80,000 US dollars in 15 days.

Soon, Slat assembled a team of nearly 100 members and began conducting feasibility tests. In June 2014, his team published a 530-page feasibility report based on several tests and simulations.

While there were criticisms about the feasibility of the project, Slat managed to raise another two million dollars through another crowd-funding campaign.

He continued to test and refute his concept. In 2018, his garage Collector System 001 experienced a critical mechanical malfunction when it was deployed by the Great Pacific Garage Patch. The system had to be called back and is under maintenance. However, the young inventor believes that the system will be up and running soon and the ocean will be rid of plastic in the near future.

What makes him special?

Slat was affected by what he saw in Greece, but he didn’t keep quiet about it. He worked to find a solution and crossed several hurdles to make The Ocean Cleanup and its project a reality. When he can do, we can also do. Let us do.

At the present moment, when the second wave of Covid-19 has hit us hard in particular, almost all people are invisible due to the fear that is looming large in the air. But doctors and nurses are still there to boast our morale and teach us that apart from precautions, it is important to have some extraordinary people who can act as a ray of hope. They do feel, long for things, want to avoid emergency situations, etc., but still they safeguard the fort. In the following lines, I will discuss some characteristics of these warriors who never sleep comfortably but allow others to have a comfortable sleep.

First is their noble profession. However, all professions are noble. But some professions have more to do than other professions. Their profession demands extraordinary strength and endurance from them. They resolve that they will never leave their patients unattended. In this way, they are true warriors without bothering about anything more than their profession.

Second is their hardwork. They know this fact very well that to become a doctor, is a hard nut to crack. Keeping this thing in mind, they do justice with everyone, whatever the situation and place. They have this thing in mind that we have worked to be where they are. They cannot think of abandoning their duties. The quote that hard work builds a person, it is quite compatible with their world.

Third is good salary. They are aware about this fact that unlike the western countries, where the teachers are paid decent salaries than others, in Jammu and Kashmir they are paid hefty salaries than others and are respected more than others. So, it becomes quite necessary that they should work hard according to their salaries. However, this is the only criterion for their hard work, they also look above the material benefits.

Fourth and last is love for humanity. They, after Allah, know the creatures of God closely. In this way, they know hoe Allah is sympathetic to His creatures. Knowing this fact , they try their best to be as much as sympathetic towards their patients as much as they can. God consciousness makes them the gem stones and this is what we are seeing in the present circumstances when they plead before us that we must take as much as precautions as we can. They cannot digest this fact that a human being, due to his or her ignorance, can become a soft target of the lethal disease.

In short, we must be thankful to doctors and nurses for their endurance in these  times. We must respect them. If they scold us for a time being, we must not get hurt. They are our well wishers. Our job is to follow them and try to be as obedient as possible. Knowledge and precautions have no substitute. In the same vein, ignorance and superstitions have no remedy. However, they have remedy and the remedy lies in their hands. We are proud of these warriors. Let us be proud of them, even though they have some limitations.