May 12, 2016 | Kashmir POST

UGC wants all universities, colleges to chant Om Shanti on Yoga Day

May 12, 2016 Editor

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities and their affiliated colleges to celebrate ‘International Yoga Day’ on June 21 by following a ‘Common Yoga Protocol’. The protocol, as per the official letter written by UGC to all universities, is a 45-minute schedule of exercises and prayers which starts with a posture where one has to chant OM Shantih Shantih along with a few verses from Rigveda, (a collection Vedic hymns) which literally translate to ‘May you move in harmony, speak in one voice; let your minds be in…

Smokers spend more on cigarettes in JK than rest of India

May 12, 2016 Editor

Smokers in Jammu and Kashmir spend Rs 514 on cigarettes per month against rest of India average of Rs 399, a study has revealed. The increased use of tobacco puts children and women at greater risk of lung cancer, warns Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI). “The state’s monthly spending on smoking tobacco as far outstrips the national monthly expenditure averages. While nationally, smokers aged 15 and above spend Rs 399.20 a month on cigarettes and Rs 93.40 on bidis, those in J-K spend Rs 513.60 and Rs 134.20, respectively,…

Weeds take sheen off Dal lake vital basin

May 12, 2016 Editor

Unbridled growth of weeds particularly in vital Hazrat bal basin of Dal lake is taking heavy toll on the fragile ecosystem of the water body. Dal receives waters into its Hazratbal basin from Marsar, a glacial oligotrophic alpine lake through two main sub-watersheds namely DharaDanihama and Dachigam. Before reaching the lake, the waters pass through denuded mountains carrying tons of silt and nutrients with it— propelling growth of weeds. In absence of sustained de-weeding by Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), a large expanse of Hazratbal basin overlooking the Foreshore…

Chief Minister seeks opposition, separatists’ support

May 12, 2016 Editor

‘Support me and I’ll quit politics in 5 years, or bear me in future too’ Calling upon mainstream political parties as well as separatist leadership to support her, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday said she could leave politics if she fulfills her mission for Jammu Kashmir in the five years of her government. “If my opposition and even others who do not agree with us would be supportive of me and I fulfill my mission in next five years, I may stay home,” the chief minister said in an informal…

Extension of NEET to JK shows PDP-BJP govt’s failure : Farooq

May 12, 2016 Editor

Opposition NC president Farooq Abdullah today termed the extension of NEET to Jammu and Kashmir as a “failure” of PDP-BJP government and alleged that there was a “systemic effort to undermine” the state’s institutional autonomy. “The government had assured the students and the people of the state in general that it would ensure NEET is not extended to J-K and that the state’s special status is upheld. “What happened to their appeal in the Supreme Court? They mounted a half-hearted effort and this was a pre-meditated arrangement with BJP and…

New Industrial Policy opens gates for non-state subjects in JK

May 12, 2016 Editor

The new Industrial Policy for Jammu and Kashmir allows non-state subjects to get on lease the land for setting up industries outside the industrial estates in the state with the policy remaining silent on the upper ceiling of the land to be leased out. Officials said this was for the first time that the Government would be allowing the non-state subjects to set up industries at large scale outside the estates in the state with maximum land lease period fixed at 90 years. The move to lease the proprietary/state land…

Controversies refuse to die down around Mehbooba

May 12, 2016 Editor

Aaliya Ahmed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is besieged with multiple problems and controversies after she assumed power. Encounters are becoming a routine followed by massive protests and use of force by police and armed forces. Though in Kashmir situation this is nothing unusual, but given the promise by Mehbooba Mufti that she will not tolerate such ugly situations, it is becoming a problem for her commitment to the youth of Kashmir. She recently reiterated her commitment to the youth of Kashmir by promising to heal their wounds during her tenure…

‘Jashn-e-Wular’ sports festival in Bandipora

May 12, 2016 Editor

Army in association with J&K Water Skiing and the district administration organised a water sports festival in Asia’s largest fresh water lake from May 9 to 11 under the aegis of Chinar Corps. The three-day sporting festival was aimed at creating awareness amongst the locals residing on the banks of Wular Lake regarding the tourism potential of the vast natural resource . The sporting festival saw the local fishing community from 16 villages actively participating in a boat race competition. The boat races was organized in three categories -single man,…

Police officer arrested on rape charges in Akhnoor

May 12, 2016 Editor

Policewoman taken into custody for abetting the crime A sub-inspector (SI) has been arrested on the charge of raping a woman at a police station in the Akhnoor subdivision for two successive nights six months ago. A policewoman was taken into custody for allegedly abetting the crime. The arrested cop was identified as SI Mohammad Iqbal Chagatta, who was SHO of the Khour police station in Akhnoor subdivision of Jammu district. Iqbal, who was attached to the District Police Lines, Jammu, was accused of raping the woman at the police…

India making every attempt to dilute J&K’s special status: Mirwaiz

May 12, 2016 Editor

Condemning the ‘onslaught’ on Kashmir’s specific regional, cultural and religious identity by India, Hurriyat Conference (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Wednesday said the interference in the educational and administrative institutions was an attempt to dilute the special status of the state and deny the people of the state control over these institutions. Addressing a public gathering at Shanglipora Noorbagh, the Mirwaiz said placing curbs on the peaceful activities of the separatist leadership is a part of the government policy to ‘strangulate the voice of the leadership and crush’ the people…