Snowfall forces closure of Jammu – Srinagar as well other highways

All major highways in Kashmir were closed on Friday due to fresh snowfall and landslides at various places, officials said. Due to snowfall in Qazigund sector, no movement of traffic was allowed from Qazigund towards Banihal side and from Banihal towards Jawahar tunnel today, said an official. Because of fresh snowfall in Pir Ki Galli and Shopian area, Mughal road remained closed for movement of traffic today as well. Vehicles were stopped at Heerpora from Shopian side and at Behramgalla and Chandimarh from Poonch side. In view of snowfall in…

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Give me 100 pass-outs with MBA in Horticulture, I will give them employment within 24 hrs: Drabu

Minister of Finance Dr Haseeb Drabu today called for revamping the higher education sector in J&K to make it more relevant to the local and market needs. Delivering the keynote address on the concluding day of 2-day national seminar on “Commerce and Management education Under New education Policy” Dr Drabu said J&K’s education system is alienated from the realities of life, which needs to be changed. The seminar was organized by Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar. He called for making the education socially and economically relevant. “We have…

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Rs 136 cr allocated for expansion of telecom services in JK: Centre

Centre has allocated Rs 136 crore for expansion of telecom services in Jammu And Kashmir State in 2 years. The allocations provided also include funds under Universal Obligation Service Fund (USOF). Giving details to the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that during the financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) allocated Rs 42.61 crore and Rs. 93.43 crore funds respectively for Jammu and Kashmir for expansion of communication services in the state. “In addition to this, under Universal…

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Call centre with 500 seat capacity to be functional from April

Govt to create enabling environment for investment: Mufti Following Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s meeting with Anil Ambani, owner of ADAG  (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) in Mumbai last month, Reliance Communications will make its 500-seater Call Centre functional here from April next year. This was revealed in a meeting chaired by the chief minister with a team from ADA Group here Thursday morning. The team is in the summer capital to work out modalities for setting up call centres in the two capital cities of the state. Advisor to Chief…

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Teenage girl gang-raped, 4 arrested

Four persons were arrested for allegedly abducting and gangraping a 15-year-old girl here, police said today. “On December 2 this year, Surinder Kumar a resident of Akhnoor lodged a complaint with Police that his minor daughter went missing on November 12,” a police spokesperson said. He said that police initiated a probe and it was established that one Gulshan Kumar, a resident of Pathankot in Punjab, had kidnapped the victim. “A police team constituted to trace the missing girl, recovered her from Kumar’s house in Pathankot and brought back to…

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Children of the Hurriyat Family

It is darkest before the dawn Shoeb Hamid A cursory observation though, New Delhi and Islamabad of late have been engaged in an intense narrative war, on Kashmir and other issues. Their minions have hardly left any space or opportunity to score a point over the other by claiming what is not even theirs in the first place. But that is just their usual business of poking nose into affairs of others. Whether they see Kashmir as an unsettled and unfinished project whose contours were drawn when these fraternal twins…

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Judicial custody of cops accused in wamiq farooq’s killing extended

A city court today extended by five days the judicial custody of the two accused policemen in teenager Wamiq Farooq killing case. Wamiq Farooq, a Class VII student, was killed by a teargas shell allegedly fired by the police on January 31, 2010, near Gani Memorial Stadium in the old Srinagar city. Following his death, over 100 civilians were killed in firing by personnel of security forces. The court of Second Additional Sessions Judge today extended remand of ASI Abdul Khaliq and SPO Muhammad Akram till December 15 while posting…

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Denied basic rights, WP refugees continue to live in penury

As the world is observing International Human Rights Day today to highlight the rights violations being faced by deprived communities, the plight of the West Pakistan refugees in Jammu continues. Since 1947, the West Pakistan refugees are being discriminated against by the successive state governments. The men of the community do petty jobs to earn their livelihood. Like men, women are also denied Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs) so they cannot avail themselves of the benefits of any welfare scheme launched by the government. Keeping in view their economic condition and…

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Include all opinions in talks: Omar Abdullah

A day after the Indo-Pak joint declaration to resume the composite dialogue, the opposition National Conference welcomed the renewed commitment of the two countries to peace and dialogue. Describing it as a step in the right direction, former Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah has hailed the announcement of a comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan. He asked why could the cricket teams of the two countries not play. “Good to see India-Pak announce the Comprehensive Dialogue (replacing the Composite dialogue) to begin forthwith. Step in…

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Set up mountaineering, adventure sports institute in Kashmir: President IMF

President of Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) Colonel (Retd) HS Chauhan on Thursday said setting up of a mountaineering and adventure sports academy in Kashmir would help to impart skills-based training to youth and would make them employable. Retired Colonel Chauhan who is in Kashmir to take part in the International Mountain Day being observed by Tourism Department along with J&K Mountaineering and Hiking Club (JKMHC) on December 11, while talking to us  said, “IMF can set-up a center here which could work along with Tourism Department and JKMHC. The mountaineering and…

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