Day: April 14, 2016

Slain civilians laid to rest amid outpouring of grief

Editor

The three civilians killed in Army firing in Handwara were laid to rest amid tears and sobs. The funeral prayers of Nayeem Qadir Bhat were offered at Higher Secondary School Grounds in Handwara town before being buried at the local martyr’s graveyard on Wednesday afternoon. Personnel of police and paramilitary forces were deployed in strength at both the places. Despite curfew-like restrictions, a large number of people attended the funeral. A group of wailing women could be heard eulogizing Nayeem’s cricketing skills while cursing the government and Army. Iqbal Ahmad…

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Entrepreneurs to shell out more money for industrial land

Editor

• Land under sick units to go under hammer • Entrepreneur’s performance to determine lease time period • Allotted land with only a chowkidar shed and boundary wall to be treated as vacant The recently released new Industrial Policy – 2016 will ensure budding entrepreneurs get the land allotted for their ventures on first come first serve basis. However, if they don’t show any progress in 2 years time, the land allotted will be revoked. Moreover, the handloom sector which employs more than 3.5 lakh people in the State, will…

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Kashmir fumes as death toll rises to Four

Editor

Teargas shell kills Kupwara youth Protests, clashes, restrictions, shutdown mark tense day One more youth was killed in fresh clashes between protesters and government forces in Kupwara district on Wednesday, raising the death toll to four, with protests against civilian killings spreading to other areas of Kashmir valley. The youth, identified as Jehangir Ahmad Wani, son of Ghulam-ud-Din Wani of Nagri, Kupwara, died after being hit by a teargas shell in the head during protests in Drugmulla area of Kupwara district. Earlier in the day, Raja Begum (55) succumbed to…

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Deep, disturbing decline in media freedom across the world: RWB

Editor

‘Global indicator gone up from 3719 to 3857 points in a year’ The 2016 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, which Reporters Without Borders (RWB), will publish on April 20, shows that there has been a deep and disturbing decline in media freedom at both the global and regional levels. Ever since the 2013 index, Reporters Without Borders has been calculating indicators of the overall level of media freedom violations in each of the world’s regions and worldwide. The higher the figure, the worse the situation. The global indicator…

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Villagers disrupt work at kishanganga project

Editor

A protest was held by residents of Kralpora village near Bandipora in north Kashmir on Tuesday temporarily halting the ongoing work at the Kishanganga hydroelectric project. They were demanding jobs for members of the families of the affected farmers. Residents had been protesting for the past few days, but the agitated villagers entered the site of the power project on Tuesday forcing the work to stop, reports said. The protesters mostly included those from the 163 families whose land has been acquired by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) for…

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Agitating NIT students meet Rajnath Singh, discuss about ongoing stir on campus

Editor

A group of NIT, Srinagar students on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed about the ongoing stir on the campus following clashes between local and outstation students. During the 20-minute meeting, the students placed various demands, including shifting of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) campus from Srinagar. The Home Minister is understood to have assured the aggrieved students of security on the campus and suggested them to concentrate on their studies, official sources said. Tension started brewing inside the NIT campus, located on the banks of…

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National Conference hits out at Mehbooba

Editor

The National Conference (NC) today condemned killing of civilians in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district and lashed out at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, accusing her of abdicating “responsibilities during such a grave situation”. In a joint statement issued by senior NC leaders, the party said the Chief Minister chose “her own political and personal PR in New Delhi” and left the state government “directionless and rudderless while four innocent lives have already been lost in the last two days”. “Rather than immediately flying back to Srinagar to take stock of the…

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Mehbooba meets PM, reminds him of promise to make JK ‘model state’

Editor

Seeks smart city tag for Srinagar & Jammu, 4.3 lakh MT of additional foodgrain Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi and apprised him of various problems being faced by the restive state. While discussing the overall political and developmental scenario in the state, Mehbooba reminded the Prime Minister of promises made by him to develop Jammu and Kashmir as “a model state”. It was Mehbooba’s first meeting with the Prime Minister after assuming the office of the Chief Minister on April 4.…

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Restrictions in Srinagar areas to continue today

Editor

The Srinagar administration on Wednesday said restrictions in city areas will continue for the second consecutive day Thursday in view of the shutdown called by separatist leaders against civilian killings in north Kashmir. Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Lone, said restrictions will continue to remain in force in areas falling under six police stations of the city, including Rainawari, Nowhatta, MR Gunj, Khanyar, Safakadal and Maisuma.

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Mehbooba faces gruelling test as rivals, separatists up ante

Editor

The killing of four protesters within two days has put the state government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti under intense pressure as criticism mounts from opposition parties and separatists. The four persons — an aged woman and three youths — were killed in two incidents in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, that pushed the state on the edge of a new unease and uncertainty. While there had been a debate on the circumstances which triggered the protests in Handwara on Tuesday afternoon, the killing of protesters that followed the incident…

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