Villagers see truckers as threat

Jammu: Long lanes of trucks carrying essential items have become a matter of concern for locals residing near the national highway (NH) in Udhampur district, as these trucks remain stuck there for hours together. Residents of Sangoor village in Udhampur alleged that the administration stopped the trucks for checking near their village, which created chaos in the locality. “It has become a daily routine for the truckers to halt here for hours together, which has also become a corona threat for the locals. We are staying at home to fight the coronavirus, but these truckers are creating nuisance here,” said Pradhuman Sigh, a local of Sangroor. “We have requested the administration time and again, but nothing has been done so far,” he added. The locals fear that if any of the drivers is infected with the coronavirus, the entire village can be infected as the drivers roam around the village during their halt. TNS

J&K Bank promises help to bizmen

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has constituted fact-finding teams to look into the problems faced by the business community due to the lockdown. Speaking at a ‘webinar’ organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), Chairman and Managing Director, J&K Bank, Rajesh Kumar Chibber said the bank was ‘working with full force to emerge from this situation and the bank shall provide every kind of support and help to the industry and trade of J&K and whatever issues raised will be resolved under the regulatory guidelines’. A PHDCCI statement said Chibber had promised that every possible help would be provided to the business community. TNS

NGO donates 50 face shields

Jammu: Gramiksha, an NGO represented by CA Nakul Saraf and CA Sanchit Aggarwal, today donated 50 sets of face shields for protection of Covid warriors at ASCOMS Hospital here. The kit was received by Dr Pavan Malhotra, Director Principal, ASCOMS Hospital, in the presence of Dr Abhinav Gupta, Associate Professor, Medicine. TNS

Sagar’s detention: Govt to reply in 3 weeks

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday granted the government three more weeks to file objections to a petition challenging the detention of National Conference general secretary Ali Muhammad Charloo, alias Sagar, under the Public Safety Act (PSA). On April 17, the court had granted the government two weeks for filing a response to the petition. “BA Dar, Senior Additional Advocate General, seeks and is granted three weeks’ time to file a counter affidavit. The detention record be also kept available on the next date of hearing before the bench,” a single bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma said in its orders on Friday, while posting the matter for further consideration on May 20. Sagar, a senior National Conference leader, was detained on August 5, 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370 and was subsequently booked under the PSA. TNS

BJP distances itself from arrested sarpanch

Srinagar: The BJP Kashmir unit has distanced itself from the South Kashmir sarpanch arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for providing ‘logistic support’ to militants. “Tariq Ahmed Mir, who was recently arrested by NIA, was terminated from the party in October 2018 for his anti-party activities. The reports that he is a BJP sarpanch are far from reality as the panchayat polls were held on non-party basis in J&K,” BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur said in a statement. Mir, a resident of Maldeera village in Shopian district, was arrested during the NIA probe in connection with a police-militant nexus case. TNS