Day: September 4, 2015

PDP ‘only beneficiary’ of Kashmir Floods – Omar Abdullah

Editor

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today called the ruling PDP as the “only beneficiary” of last year’s floods, saying he was not surprised that they would be “celebrating” the first anniversary of the disaster. “The @jkpdp is going to celebrate the anniversary of the horrific floods. As the only beneficiary of the floods of course they will,” Omar wrote on microblogging site Twitter. His reaction comes after the state government’s decision to observe September 7, the day when floods hit Kashmir valley including the summer capital Srinagar…

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Mufti government spying on me: Omar Abdullah

Editor

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday accused the state government of “brazenly spying” on him. The National Conference leader tweeted that a journalist interviewing him for a national daily got stopped right outside his residence by a police detective. “She was asked who she was and what the purpose of her visit was! Seriously guys, if you want to know just ask me, I couldn’t care less if you do. “Dear Mufti (Saab), if you and your apparatchiks want to know what I’m up to, pick…

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Kashmir, Terror dominate agenda

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BJP-RSS Meet Congress protested the presence of Union Ministers there at the behest of a “non-state actor” when they are accountable only to the people. Kashmir and how to deal with Pakistan-sponsored terror dominated the second day of the BJP-RSS co-ordination meet here on Thursday, even as the Opposition Congress protested the presence of Union Ministers there at the behest of a “non-state actor” when they are accountable only to the people. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Home), Manohar Parikkar (Defence), Smriti Irani (Human Resource Development), Jual Oram (Tribal Affairs) spoke…

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Hurriyat (G) supports Sep 7 Kashmir bandh

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Hurriyat (G) today supported the September 7 shutdown call given by different traders’ organizations against government’s failure to rehabilitate flood affected. “The government not only miserably failed in rehabilitation of the flood hit people of the state but they even do not repair damaged embankments of the water bodies and the common people have been left on the mercy of the situations,” a Hurriyat statement said.

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Altaf Bukhari inspects infra projects in Jammu

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Minister for Public Works, Floriculture and Gardens & Parks, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today made an extensive visit to various areas in Jammu city and took stock of developmental works under execution in these areas. As per an official spokesman, the Minister inspected ongoing construction work on the Gandhi Nagar maternity hospital coming up at a cost of Rs 50 crore. “He directed the executing agency to redouble its efforts and speed up the pace of work and complete the building at the earliest. He said that the issues pertaining…

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PHE to spend Rs 13 lakh on half marathon, forgets desilting of water bodies!

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At a time when the department of Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control is yet to start desilting process of water bodies after a year of devastating floods, the PHE department is all set to spend Rs 13 lakh on half marathon. In collaboration with leading FM radio channel, 92.7 BIG FM, PHE department is organizing the first ever ‘international’ half marathon on September 13 “to promote sports and healthy lifestyle” in the Valley. “The total expenditure of the event is around Rs 13 lakh. It is the first…

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Pak ready for short or long war: Asif

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Pakistan is ready for a short or long conflict and will inflict heavy losses on India in case “war hysteria” overcomes Indian leadership, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said. His remarks came in reaction to the statement by Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh that India is prepared for “swift and short” wars in the future. Participating in a Radio Pakistan programme, Asif said Pakistan believes in peace but knows how to respond to any aggression. “We want peace but will inflict heavy losses on India if war hysteria overcame its…

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Mehbooba urges Modi to adopt Atal’s policy

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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti today appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow in the footsteps of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to normalise relations with the neighbouring country. Mehbooba asked Modi that if they could buy onions from Pakistan on lower rates and trade the same via the Wagah border, why couldn’t they stop firing on borders in Jammu and Kashmir, where innocent civilians were being killed on both sides. “We (people of J&K) deserve better treatment,” said Mehbooba after meeting families of the border…

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Crippled health system limping to normalcy

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The health system in Kashmir, which was crippled by the last year floods, is slowly moving back to normalcy with most of the city-based hospitals managing to restore the vital services. Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, which was one of the worst hit healthcare institutions of Kashmir, incurred losses worth Rs 100 crore in the floods. However, it has made a steady progress in the last 11 months. “The hospital was the worst hit. It was a struggle to make it functional, but we have been able to put…

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Film on Kashmir floods screened at KU

Editor

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi, Thursday called for efficient disaster management preparedness to effectively deal with natural disasters. Chairing a panel discussion after screening of a film on 2014-floods in Kashmir, Prof Andrabi said it is “is important for all of us, collectively, to ponder over what needs to be done to avert natural disasters and how best to deal with them.” He said the focus of “our discussion shouldn’t be limited to floods only but other natural disasters like earthquakes in view of the…

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