Govt orders transfers, postings of 12 KAS officers

Government on Tuesday ordered transfers and postings of twelve KAS officers.  According to an order issued here by General Administration Department (GAD) Shahnaz  Akhter, Assistant  Commissioner General, Jammu, has been transferred and posted as Deputy  Director  in  the Directorate  of  Rural  Development, Jammu; Inam-ul-Haq  Sidiqui,  Assistant Settlement  Commissioner in  the  office  of  Commissioner,  Survey  and Land Records, J&K, holding additional charge of  the  post of  Personnel  Officer  in  the  office  of  PCCF,  J&K, has been transferred and posted as Personnel Officer in  the office of PCCF, on full time basis;…

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Rain again eludes Kashmir

Wet weather has again eluded Kashmir valley, where the Meteorological department had earlier predicted isolated rain-snow from Tuesday for next five days. However, a forecast issued by the Met department this afternoon said the weather will remain dry during the next 48 hours in the Kashmir valley which is in total contrast of forecast of Monday evening which had predicted isolated rain for five days from March 2nd. The Kashmir valley received less rain and snow this winter after about seven decades, and the mercury during the day remained also…

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Harassment of Kashmiri employees in Jammu

Government wakes up, replaces ITBP with JKP The government had decided to replace ITBP and CRPF personnel with J&K police and J&K Armed Force to man estate colonies for Darbar Move employees in Jammu. The development comes following weekend’s incident when ITBP and CRPF men allegedly joined Jammu based employees and locals in harassing Kashmiris after the end of India and Pakistan cricket match in Asia cup. “A meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary among other things decided that ITBP and CRPF security presently deployed in the various Estate…

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Wular lake safe haven for timber smugglers

The smugglers in Bandipora have been ferrying timber through Wular lake for a long time allegedly due to the official connivance. Local resident of  Nadihal, Garoora, Kema, Aloosa, Khenusa and  adjoining areas told that the smugglers use the river route to ship the timber in connivance with the officials of Forest Protection Force (FPF). The forest cover is fast dwindling here as timber smugglers are using Wular Lake to smuggle the green gold with Forest department unable to curb the practice.  The timber smuggling, according to residents, even takes place…

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Why Budget may have delayed Government formation in J&K

The general budget was expected to bridge the political gap between the BJP and the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. But Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ended his budget speech without mentioning the state, upsetting hopes of an early revival of the PDP-BJP alliance and delaying government formation even more, sources say. Jammu and Kashmir has been under governor’s rule since Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who headed the PDP-BJP alliance government, died in January.  His daughter and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has said in the past that she wants the Centre to…

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Vohra reviews BRO road projects

Governor NN Vohra today reviewed significant road projects being maintained and developed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a high-level meeting here. The meeting was attended by Parvez Dewan, Adviser to Governor; Lt Gen Suresh Kumar, Director General, BRO; PK Tripathi, Principal Secretary to Governor; Rohit Kansal, Commissioner PWD (R&B); and Brig Biswajit Bhattacharya, Chief Engineer, Sampark. The Governor was apprised of the status of maintenance and ongoing work on Jammu-Poonch national highway, Basohli-Bani-Bhaderwah road, Batote-Kishtwar road, Parimpora-Shalteng-Narbal part of NH1; and Baramulla-Rafiabad-Kupwara-Tangdhar road. The Governor observed that keeping…

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Valley to host South Asian Amateur Chess Championship from Sept 1

As many as 250 players from eight countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) would vie for top honours in the historic South Asian Amateur Chess Championship to be hosted by J&K for the first time in Srinagar at Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Stadium from September 1 to 6. The participating countries are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives. While briefing the media today, Atul Kumar Gupta, president of the All J&K Chess Association and joint secretary of the All India Chess Federation, said the event…

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Omar Abdullah accuses PDP of leaving Kashmir in “tatters”

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday accused PDP of leaving Jammu and Kashmir in “tatters” saying the party was staying away from government formation in an attempt to undo the “wrongs” which led to “political and economic uncertainty” in the state. “The ink-pot (symbol of PDP) party has left the state in tatters and is now busy trying its best to undo the wrongs which led to political and economic uncertainty in the state,” Omar, who is working president of National Conference, said addressing a function in his Beerwah…

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Damaged houses injures, bear testimony to Sarore horror

As the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and the Samba district administration are trying to shift blame onto each other, affected Gujjars today said brutal force was unleashed on them on February 22 to evict them from the land where they had been putting up for over three decades. They blamed a local politician for the eviction drive. The KP team today talked to the JDA, Samba district administration, police, local BJP MLA Chander Prakash Ganga and also met affected Gujjars to have a close look into the sequence of events that…

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Div Com reviews developmental progress on roads, bridges

The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon Tuesday reviewed progress of work on roads and bridges being carried out in Kashmir valley. The meeting was attended by Chief Engineer R&B, Commissioner SMC, officials of ERA, JKPCC besides Deputy Commissioners of all thedistricts of the valley through video conferencing. During the meeting, Chief Engineer R&B said during the current fiscal 1098.09 Kms of road length has been blacktopped/macadamized and 619.67 Kms of road has been brought to WBM status. He said other works including construction of drains, protection walls and…

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