Civil Service qualifiers from valley relish taste of success

Deeba Farhat from Bijbehara town of south Kashmir was not content with the 553rd rank she secured last year prompting her not to join the civil services and prepare again. Improving on her performance, she is ranked 281st this time around. “I am not satisfied with my rank and I intend to appear in the exam again,” Deeba had told us in 2015. Deeba is a working Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) officer in the state Rural Development Department. Though she is not entirely satisfied with her ranking but she says she…

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I have special connect with Valley, learnt swimming at Dal Lake: Tom

Veteran Bollywood actor Tom Alter turned nostalgic when he came to shoot in the Valley after 32 years. He had last shot in Kashmir in 1984 for Raj Kapoor’s “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”. “I have been coming to Kashmir for the past 60 years. I have a special connection with the Valley, I even learnt swimming in the Dal Lake. I come with a message of love and I leave with a message of love,” Alter told reporters here today after completing his shoot for “Sargoshiyan” at Gulmarg in north…

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Construction work goes on in Pahalgam

Even as the locals continue to struggle to get permission for minor repairs of their houses, the rich and influential continue with major renovations of their commercial structures in this South Kashmir tourist resort. The authorities, however, have been maintaining that only those structures are been given permission, which have prior court orders. Officials, on the other hand contest their claims revealing that most of the structures that are getting renovated had come up in violation of building permission norms set by Building and Operation Control Authority (BOCA). “One of…

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Mehbooa asks forces to adopt humane approach, avoid civilian casualties

Chairs United HQ meeting I Says any incident of civilian killing reverses all gains Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has urged the security agencies to conduct operations keeping in view the safety of the people so that an environment of peace and tranquillity is maintained to enable the government to implement its agenda of good governance and development. Mehbooba, chairing her first meeting of the Unified Headquarters here today, took stock of the security-related matters and peace on borders in the state. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh was also present. The…

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Evening flight services to capital from June

Budget carrier GoAir will launch a daily evening flight service connecting Srinagar to the national Capital from next month as part of its network expansion plans. The proposed flight, scheduled to commence from June 15, will make GoAir the only carrier to have evening services to and from Srinagar. “Effective from June 15, the GoAir flight G8 229 will take off from Delhi at 4:50 pm and arrive in Srinagar at 6:10 pm while the return flight G8 228 will take off from Srinagar at 6:40 pm and arrive in…

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Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s reaction at Supreme Court order on NEET

Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has expressed unhappiness over Supreme Court order on National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET). The Hurriyat hardliner said the apex court cannot ignore the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Geelani was very critical of top court’s view. He said J&K has it sown Constitution and the court order has neglected the special status and the sensitivity towards the state. The Hurriyat hawk’s reaction comes a day after, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected pleas of state governments and minority institutions to allow them…

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A drive for smoother traffic in Srinagar

A group, Life on Roads, in association with the traffic police conducted an awareness drive for smooth vehicular movement on the opening day of Durbar move here on yesterday. “We took an initiative for road safety education and safe traffic drive in collaboration with Srinagar Traffic Police and in association with Sunrise in Kashmir (SRK) and Goodfellas — Food, Art, Entertainment. This was a first-of-its-kind drive for smooth traffic in the city,” said Life on Roads general secretary Nasir Khan. He said that volunteers of the first road safety club…

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BJP minister gets HC notice for forest land grab

Jammu DC directed to help Vigilance demarcate land in 10 days In a significant order, a division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice BS Walia, today issued a notice to BJP minister Abdul Gani Kohli to clear his position regarding the allegation of forestland grab against him. The Division Bench directed the Jammu Deputy Commissioner to cooperate with the Forest Department and execute demarcation of the encroached land within 10 days. This significant order has political ramifications because opposition parties have…

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