Day: September 5, 2021

Srinagar,September 05:–The government on Sunday ordered reopening of 10th and 12th classes for vaccinated students, with 50% capacity on a given day, in Jammu and Kashmir. However, rest of the classes shall remain closed for in-person studies, according to an order by Chief Secretary and chairperson of State Executive Committee (SEC) A K Mehta.

The order was issued following a detailed review of the current COVID situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretaries Finance and Health and Medical Education, besides Principal Secretary (Home), Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and other officers of the administration.

The government said classes for 12th standard shall be permitted with limited in-person teaching not exceeding 50% on a given day, for vaccinated students and staff.

“Consent shall be obtained from the parents of all students who are willing to attend the school. The school premises should he thoroughly sanitized/proper screening regarding vaccination should be done on the school gate,” it said, adding, “ If any student or teacher or other school staffer shows symptoms of cough, cold, or fever, these will not be allowed to enter the school.”

The Head of the school must ensure that the guidelines related to social distancing and Covid protocols are strictly followed, it said.

Similarly, limited in-person teaching of students of 10th class, not exceeding 50% on any given day, and after ensuring compliance with Covid Appropriate Behaviour by the school authorities, can be permitted by concerned Deputy Commissioners after due screening through 100% Rapid Antigen lest or RT-PCR, subject to consent of parents and students, the order said. “The schools will strictly follow Covid related protocols.”

The schools, except for relaxations for students of 12th and 10th classes, shall continue to remain closed for on-site / in-person teaching, the order, a copy of which lies with GNS, reads further.

“Coaching Centres for Civil Services/Engineering/NEET shall be permitted with limited in-person teaching, for fully vaccinated stall and student, subject to condition that the head of the centre shall ensure that the guidelines related to social distancing and Covid protocols are adhered to.”
All other Coaching Centres shall continue to remain closed for onsite/in-person teaching, the order said.

Higher educational institutions shall be permitted to commence limited in-person teaching subject to 100% vaccination of staff and students and specific permission of concerned Deputy Commissioners, it said.
“Such institutions can organise special vaccination camps in consultation with district administration,” it said, adding, “The Head of these institutions must ensure that the guidelines related to social distancing and Covid protocols are adhered to.”
Educational institutions shall be permitted to direct attendance of vaccinated staff for administrative purposes only.

The State Executive Committee reiterated that the maximum number of people permitted to attend any indoor/ outdoor gathering shall be strictly restricted to 25. “All District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police shall ensure compliance.” There shall he no Weekend Curfew in any district either, the order said.
Night Curfew shall continue to remain in force in all districts from 8 pm to 7 am, the order reads further.

“All Deputy Commissioners shall intensify testing by making optimum use of available RT-PCR and RAT capacities. There shall be no drop in testing levels.”

At entry point to J&K at Lakhanpur, the government said, mandatory testing for COVID can be dispensed with for those who have received both doses of vaccine provided a reliable.

It said the entry into public parks can be permitted to vaccinated persons with due verification.

Directing for ”no drop” in COVID-19 testing levels, the government said the Deputy Commissioners would also focus on the positivity rates of the medical-blocks under their jurisdictions.

The order said the Deputy Commissioners would keep active track of the positivity rates in blocks and consider implementing stricter control measures in closed clustered spaces like public or private offices, community halls, malls and bazaars in case weekly positivity rate goes beyond four per cent in these blocks.

“The District Magistrates shall strictly ensure that there is full compliance to COVID appropriate behaviour and defaulters are firmly dealt with under relevant sections of the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code,” the order said, adding, “The District Magistrates shall constitute joint teams of Police and Executive Magistrates for intensifying enforcement of Covid Appropriate Behaviour. The joint teams shall submit daily report regarding activities carried out by them and their assessment of compliance level. DCs will intensify the campaigns for ensuring COVID appropriate behaviour. Dedicated IEC, including public announcements through mobile vehicles must be undertaken.

By Junaid Nabi Bazaz (From Kashmir Readers)

SRINAGAR” “We were not allowed to conduct his last rights as per Islam. This was our right in every sense. But this right was also taken away from us. We are very sad about it,” says a bereaved Dr Nayeem, the son of Syed Ali Geelani. “But what brings peace to us is the fact that our father’s body was treated in the same way our father was treated when he was alive. It was all struggle and torture and oppression.”
Dr Nayeem and his brother Dr Naseem said they could not participate in the funeral of their father. On Wednesday night when Syed Ali Geelani breathed his last, police and government officials came and took away the body, forcibly. The family could neither give Geelani his last bath, nor offer his funeral prayers, nor lower him down into the grave, the duo said.
In the 92 years of his life, Syed Ali Geelani was imprisoned for 20 years, and spent the last decade under house detention. He was imprisoned in jails outside J&K as well. During this period he suffered several ailments, including heart problems for which he had to undergo a pacemaker implant. One of his kidneys had to be removed and he was being treated for asthma of the lungs. But his teeth had been intact, very rare in a person his age. His one remaining kidney, which was only half of the normal size, had begun to grow again, performing the function that two kidneys do. In between these health complications, Geelani, however, continued his political life, and wrote over 30 books on subjects ranging from religion to literature to politics.
Dr Naseem Geelani told Kashmir Reader that his father, despite many difficulties, never gave up his routine. He would wake up before Fajr prayers, take a walk, recite the Quran, and read books. After August 5, 2019, however, the day when New Delhi scrapped J&K’s special status in the Indian Union, Geelani’s health began to deteriorate. He started losing his appetite and also his memory. He would offer prayers sitting on the chair with gestures of his eyes, a method of prayers allowed for persons who are ill.
“It was under these health conditions that he left this temporary world,” Dr Naseem said. An hour before Geelani died, Dr Naseem had gone to see him. He sat beside him and his father held his hand very firmly, like never before. Dr Naseem kissed him after Geelani said his health was fine.
“I left to offer evening prayers. While I was doing it, I was called by the domestic help to see about something that was not right with Abu ji’s health. His oxygen level was dropping. We put him on oxygen, but the level was not coming to normal,” Dr Naseem said.
Since August 5, 2019, Geelani had been telling his family that he gets a sense of three persons regularly visiting him, asking him to be ready to leave this world. Dr Naseem would brush it aside, telling his father to tell the three persons that he still has a lot to do in this world.
But when the final moments arrived, Geelani gave no inkling of it to his son. In fact, his health seemed to be all right until the sudden fall in the oxygen level. It was around this time that medical assistant Omar, who had been attending to Geelani’s health since long, was called. He sounded an alert and soon after, the Director of SKIMS Hospital arrived. He declared that Geelani had passed away. Meanwhile, police and paramilitary forces surrounded the house. Two senior officers started a conversation about how the last rites would be conducted.
“We told them (police) that it will be done tomorrow morning, so that all the relatives arrive and have a last glimpse of Geelani sahab. Women present at the home also told them to not touch the body with their hands. But then they (police) came at 3am after we refused to do the last rites during the night. They forcibly took the body and did the last rites without family members,” Dr Naseem told Kashmir Reader.
“They wanted us to be part of their game. They wanted us to offer funeral prayers with them, so that they can click photos and show them to the world. We did not allow that to happen,” he added.
The administration had imposed curfew-like restrictions as soon as the news of Geelani’s death came out. At the same time, all mobile and internet services were snapped, and journalists barred from visiting the scene to cover the funeral. Till the morning the family did not know what the government had done with Geelani’s body, Dr Naseem said.
In the morning, as the brothers left home in search of their father’s grave, they found him buried in the local graveyard. Locals identified the grave for them.
“We offered prayers to him and left. But there was no one from the administration who reached out to us after that. They just wanted us to take away the right of funeral from us, and they did,” Dr Naseem said.