Govt formation in JK on its last lap

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who is in Pune, would be returning to Delhi on today and sources claimed that Mehbooba and Madhav are expected to discuss the issues of Jammu and Kashmir government formation. With Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expediting the process of government formation in restive Jammu and Kashmir by stating in Parliament that Centre was willing to walk an extra mile for the state, the BJP state president said talks about the government formation is on the final stage. “We can say talks about the government formation…

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Kashmiris not safe in any part of India: Hurriyet Conference

Concern raised over harassment of Kashmiri students Hurriyet leaders and organisations have strongly condemned the harassment of Kashmiri students studying in different colleges and universities in India. The spokesman for the forum of 24 pro-freedom organizations All Parties Hurriyet Conference led by Syed Ali Gilani in a statement expressing deep concern and anguish over seeking of details of Kashmiri students by the Kolkata police said that no corner of India was safe for the Kashmiris and they were being harassed everywhere in all possible ways. He castigated the West Bengal…

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Post wedding, Urmila spotted in Kashmir

Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar’s secret wedding with Kashmiri businessman and model Mohsin Akhtar Mir had become a talk of the town. The actress had left her fans and everyone else surprised after she made an announcement on her marriage. Post their wedding, for the first time, the newly wed couple was recently spotted together in Srinagar, Kashmir. Dressed in pink dress, one can see in the picture Urmila Matondkar is standing with her husband and are engrossed in some conversation. It seems the actress has visited her husband’s hometown to…

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Edu Deptt to outsource supply of mid-day meals to NGOs

The Education department has decided to outsource the work of supplying the mid-day meals to the school children to Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to ensure that the academic work was not hit due to employment of teachers in arranging the food items. Officials said the Education department has decided that NGOs should supply the meals as thousands of teachers have to be engaged to lift the ration and other food items from market to supply the meals to children. They said during the current financial year, over 23166 schools have…

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Will Mehbooba Mufti be asked to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Omar asks BJP

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has once again taken dig at PDP-BJP alliance over their ideological differences. Amidst uproar over chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Abdullah has asked the BJP if the party will ask its alliance partner Mehbooba Mufti to chant the slogan. Taking to Twitter, Abdullah wrote, “Is Mehbooba Mufti also going to be asked to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai as a condition for government formation in J&K?” Abdullah has never shied away from taking potshots at the alliance ever since the PDP-BJP…

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Rains lash valley, fresh snowfall in higher reaches

Low lying areas of Kashmir are witnessing intermittent rains since last night which has resulted in dipping of mercury throughout the region. There are also reports of fresh snowfall in the higher reaches across Pir panchal and Zojila on Thursday. Rains are also reported along the Srinagar-Jammu highway however it was through, traffic police sources said. However, Batote-Doda highway was closed for traffic after landslides at Ragi Nallah. The Met Office has forecast widespread rain-thundershower most parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Reports of fresh snowfall have reached from Bandipora, Gulmarg,…

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J&K DGP urges Rajasthan, WB police chiefs to ensure safety of Kashmiri students

Taking cognizance of the reports of alleged harassment of some youths studying outside Jammu and Kashmir, Director General of Police (DGP), K Rajendra Kumar urged his Rajasthan and West Bengal counterparts to ensure safety of the students in their respective states. Kumar was assured that the police would take all possible measures to ensure that the students are not subjected to harassment. “The incidents reported have been properly investigated and the students were found to have no major problem in these institutions,” Kumar was told by both the DGPs. Kumar…

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SMC starts sanitation drive on Jhelum banks

The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) today launched an extensive sanitation drive along the banks of the Jhelum river that has become a dumping ground for solid wastes. On the first day, the drive was kicked off in areas near Lasjan and Pantha Chowk, in presence of Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Farooq Ahmed Lone and SMC Commissioner Bashir Ahmed Khan. “During the drive, the officials concerned were directed to keep proper cleanliness in and around the banks of the Jhelum and other adjoining locations,” the officials said. The drive would be extended…

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Marking J&K students across India

Rajni Shaleen Chopra Omar Abdullah has rightly expressed apprehension about the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, asking Kolkata Police for details about students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in colleges there. According to The Indian Express, the exercise is being conducted to create dossiers on J&K students so that the police can monitor their activities. The newspaper has reported that following the JNU controversy, the Centre had issued an advisory to all states to take adequate precautionary measures, and avoid a repeat of such incidents. From this,…

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Rehabilitation of Gujjars continues to be elusive

Encroachments by community members traced to vote bank politics The onus of illegal encroachments on the state land, including forests, by nomadic Gujjars lies with the successive governments which exploited them for their vote bank. Insensitivity on the part of the governments can be gauged from the fact that Central laws available to nomadic tribes in other parts of the country are not implemented in J&K, leading to illegal encroachments by Gujjars at the behest of political parties. In the backdrop of the Sarore incident in which a youth, Yaqoob…

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