23 foreign trekkers stranded after Kashmir cloudburst

Twenty-three foreign trekkers were stranded on Wednesday in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region after the water level rose in mountain streams due to cloudbursts, an official said. “Due to overnight cloudbursts, the water level increased in several mountain streams in Leh district and 23 foreign trekkers are held up in Nagti Sku area”, a senior police officer told IANS on Wednesday. Intermittent rains and cloudbursts in the region this week caused damage to many houses besides damaging crops as well. “Teams have been sent to the area…

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Attack on BSF convoy in J&K’s Udhampur: One terrorist caught alive, all hostages freed

One of the terrorists who attacked a BSF convoy in Udhampur on Wednesday morning has been caught alive and all the hostages have been freed. The security forces are conducting post-attack operations. The entire area has been cordoned off. Minister of state in PMO Jitendra Singh confirmed that one terrorist had been caught alive and the three hostages have been rescued. According to TV reports, the militant who has been caught alive has been identified as Kasim Khan. According to some TV reports, it was the hostages who misguided the…

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Teachers announce agitation, schools to remain closed for 3- days

Teachers’ community has decided to launch an agitation against the decision of the government to conduct screening test of in- service teachers. A day after JK Rehbar- e- Taleem ( ReT) Teachers Forum called for two- day strike from August 5, Jammu Kashmir Teachers Forum ( JKTF) Tuesday announced two day strike from August 6. The Chairman JKTF Abdul Qayoom Wani said the educational institutions in all the three regions of state would remain closed as a mark of protest against the government. The Forum has decided to stage demonstrations…

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Tension at border escalates

Pak troops targeted 16 posts in Jammu; civilian killed, two injured: BSF The border tension between India and Pakistan has escalated with troops of the two countries exchanging heavy firing and mortar shelling along International Border (IB) in Jammu on Tuesday. BSF accused Pakistani troops of firing on 16 Border Out Posts (BOPs) and civilian areas in Jammu, causing death of a civilian and injuries to two others including a border guard. BSF sources said the border guards noticed suspected movement along the International Border (IB) in Kana Chak area…

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Risk of heart attack doubles at SKIMS

Hospital closes Cath-Lab for critical patients In a brazen violation, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) authorities have dismantled vital and the only Cath-lab – giving tough time to cardiology patients. Sources said that on the directions of Director SKIMS, Dr Showkat Ali Zargar, cardiology department of begun the process of dismantling the Cath-lab, without providing any alternative to the growing number of cardiology patients. They said the patients – who are advised some vital tests by the department – have either to wait or return home. “We are ashamed…

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Cloudburst damages 20 houses in Kargil

At least 20 residential houses were damaged after a cloudburst struck Choskore Wakha village in Kargil district Tuesday night. Official sources said that the cloudburst triggered flash floods in Choskore Wakha village, some 42 kilometers from main Kargil town. “The cloudburst and subsequent flash floods damaged 20 residential houses. The district administration shifted the victims to safer places,” officials said. They added that people living in hilly areas of the district have been advised to move to plain areas as there were apprehensions of more cloudbursts during inclement weather. CNS

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Kashmir surgeon performs first cardiac transplant in Rajasthan

Leading with Love A Kashmiri heart surgeon, Dr Murtaza Chishti, has performed the maiden heart transplant surgery in Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Hospital (MGMCH) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Under the supervision of Dr Chisti, it was the first surgery of its kind in BJP-ruled Rajasthan and was also praised by State’s Chief Minister Vasundra Raje and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore. Talking over phone from Jaipur, Chisti expressed his gratitude to his team and hospital administration for achieving the feat. “It couldn’t have been possible for me to do it alone…

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‘Ill-conceived’ cable car to Makhdoom Sahib (RA) shrine grounded

The much-hyped Makhdoom Sahib (RA) ropeway in Shaher-e-Khaas here is grounded for past nearly three months due to major technical snag caused by breakdown of ‘inferior and defective components.’ Constructed at a cost of around Rs 8 crore, the 550 metre ropeway was built by Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation (JKCCC) through Kolkatta-based Ropeway and Resorts Pvt Ltd. The project was approved by the State government in 2010 to provide easy access to devotees and tourists to the revered shrine of HazratMakhdoom Sahib (RA) on Koh-e-Maran hillock. Government had…

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J&K to get only one AIIMS

Putting all speculations to rest, Government of India today reiterated that only one All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be established in Jammu and Kashmir. “Government has decided to establish AIIMS-like institutes in every state in a phased manner. Setting up of four more AIIMS-like institutes one each in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidharbha in Maharashtra and Poorvanchal in Uttar Pradesh during the financial year 2014-15 and six more AIIMS-like Institutes one each in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Bihar during the financial…

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Naga accord ‘historic’, same approach needed for Kashmir: PDP

Ruling PDP on Tuesday welcomed the “historic peace accord” between the Centre and Nagaland NSCN(IM), saying a similar approach was needed in Kashmir and suggested that the four-point formula propounded by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf could be used as a ‘launching pad’. “We welcome the signing of the historic peace accord between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM),” PDP chief spokesperson Mehboob Beg said in a statement. Beg appealed to the Centre to engage with all stakeholders in Kashmir with a similar approach…

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