Negative publicity hurting tourism in Kashmir: Travel Industry

Travel agents from several parts of the country and abroad feel that the situation in Kashmir was not being portrayed “correctly” and that negative publicity was hurting the tourism sector in the valley. A group of travel agents from several cities of the country and Thailand, on a familiarisation tour of Kashmir, visited prominent destinations such Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg. “Before sending tourists to Kashmir, we wanted to visit ourselves and we found everything is good. I appreciate how people are so nice and friendly with the tourists. Tourists are…

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Honeypreet remanded in six day police custody

A Panchkula court in Haryana on Wednesday remanded Honeypreet Insan in six-day police custody in connection with the deadly violence which followed the Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction on August 25. Honeypreet Insan, the “adopted daughter” of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was arrested+ on Tuesday. The prosecution had demanded 14-day remand, calling her “the closest aide” of the Dera chief. It said that Honeypreet was aware of the activities of the sect and the violence unleashed by its followers…

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Who is chopping women’s braids in Kashmir? Depends on whom you ask

Police officer claims the damage is ‘self-inflicted’ but separatist leaders, militants and many others allege a ‘conspiracy’ by security agencies and the RSS. Seer shuts to protest ‘rescuing’ of braid chopper by army After causing panic in Delhi and adjoining states, braid chopping has reached Kashmir. Only here, the resultant “mass hysteria”, as psychologists have described such episodes, has given fresh ammunition to separatists and militants to corner the security agencies. The Valley reported its first braid chopping in September, about a month after Jammu had reported several similar incidents.…

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Petrol price down Rs 2.50, diesel by Rs 2.25 a litre post reduction in excise duty

Petrol price was on Wednesday cut by Rs 2.50 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.25 following the reduction in excise duty on auto fuels. Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 68.38 a litre, down from Rs 70.88. A litre of diesel now comes for Rs 56.89 as against Rs 59.14 previously, according to Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer. The government had on Tuesday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre each to moderate the relentless rise in fuel prices over…

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Boyfriend mistaken as braid-chopper, thrashed

In a bizarre twist to the ongoing mass hysteria surrounding the alleged braid chopping incidents, the people in north Kashmir today mistook a youth as a braid chopper. A youth in Baramulla was thrashed mercilessly before he was rescued by the police. After preliminary questioning, it became clear that the boy had gone there to meet his girlfriend. The incident happened in the Delina locality of the north Kashmir this afternoon where people caught hold of the youth, identified as Nayeem Ahmad Malla, hailing from Dandusa village of Rafiabad, near…

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GST ‘Rollback’ attempt to confuse people: Industry

The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Kashmir, (CCIK) today termed the government claims of reducing the GST rates on handicraft items and bringing relief to small traders a “brazen attempt to pull a fast one and confuse the people of the state in general and the business community in particular”. This was stated by CCIK secretary general Mauzam Bakshi after a meeting of the chamber. “While analysing the press statement as well as the official notification, experts have found that no reduction in the tax rates of Kashmir handicrafts…

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Data of over 6,000 key Indian organisations up for sale on Internet: Quick Heal

Global IT security firm Quick Heal’s Enterprise Security brand Seqrite has discovered an advertisement on DarkNet forum that claims to have access to data of over 6,000 Indian businesses that include Internet Service Providers (ISPs), some of the key government organisations, banks and enterprises. Secret Cyber Intelligence Labs, along with its partner seQ tree InfoServices, tracked the advertisement where the unknown hacker has priced the information at 15 Bitcoins (nearly Rs 42 lakh) and is offering network takedown of affected organisations for an unspecified amount, the company said in a…

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Forces enjoy freedom to act with discretion in J&K under Modi govt: Jitendra Singh

Union minister Jitendra Singh today said the Narendra Modi government has given security forces in Jammu and Kashmir the freedom to act with professional discretion and this has helped them effectively deal with infiltration bids and skirmishes along the border. “The Modi government has given freedom to the Army and the paramilitary forces (in J&K) to act as per wisdom and professional discretion. As a result, they detected a tunnel and foiled infiltration bids,” Singh told reporters here. He said forces in J&K enjoy the professional freedom to take decisions…

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Cabinet approves 3,375 posts for five medical colleges

The state government today accorded sanction to the creation of 3,375 posts of various categories for five new medical colleges to be established in various districts. The Cabinet approved 2,025 posts for medical colleges at Rajouri, Baramulla and Anantnag and creation of 1,350 posts to be operative in the financial year 2018-19 for medical colleges of Kathua and Doda, once they are sanctioned by the competent authority. Officials said these posts shall be strictly as per the Medical Council of India guidelines with 675 posts per medical college. The Union…

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Former PDP Panch, Cop among 3 killed in south Kashmir

A former panch of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a policeman are among three people killed in south Kashmir in last 24 hours. Police said unknown fired from point blank range towards former PDP panch Ghulam Rasool Ganaie at his shop in Nambal village in Mattan area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Ganaie sustained critical bullet injuries and was evacuated to hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Immediate after the incident took place, police and paramilitary forces launched a combing and search operation in the area to nab the…

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