Pack your bags for Kashmir gets its first Snowfall and looks Irresistibly Inviting

Srinagar recorded its first snowfall of this season on Tuesday. Most of the areas in the Valley and in its plains received overnight snow. The city registered a minimum temperature of 3.1 degree Celsius on Monday, which was up by three degrees from normal. The reason for this is an active Western Disturbance developing over north Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. In capital Kashmir, the rains brought the season’s first snow, something which the locals and traders cheered on as they gear up to welcome tourists from across the country in the…

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RBI ‘Cuts’ cash flow to J&K, likely to affect businesses

Banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun to restrict the flow of fresh currency notes to banks operating in Jammu and Kashmir which in now taking a toll on trade and businesses, highly placed banking executives said on Tuesday. Automated Teller Machines ( ATM) transactions have started getting affected as RBI has reduced the flow of high denomination currency notes to “border states such as J&K”, the executive said while requesting anonymity. He said cash flow from RBI to the state is down by 70 percent. “The state…

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We will make 1+1 equal to 11, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi

As campaigning for the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections came to an end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made an emotional plea to the state’s people. “With the Government of India and Government of Gujarat working together, the strength rises manifold. This 1+ 1 is not 2 but 11 and together we will take Gujarat to new heights,” PM Modi said. In remarks that held a tinge of nostalgia, the PM recalled that it had been three and a half years since he “got the honour to…

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Srinagar receives first snowfall of season, Jammu-Srinagar national highway shuts due Rain & Snow

Kashmir cut off due to snowfall, air traffic affected 3 Army jawans missing in Gurez after avalanche A white blanket covered Srinagar on Tuesday as it recorded first snowfall of the season. Rains lashed Srinagar and other plain areas of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday while upper reaches received snow, ending long dry spell. Roof and treetops were draped in white as people woke up in Srinagar today morning. The open fields and parks were also under white blanket. A MeT spokesman said that Srinagar recorded two-inches of snow since…

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Anushka and Virat married in Italy, grand reception planned in India

After weeks of speculations, one of India’s most popular couples – Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma – got married in a private ceremony in Italy. Now, it can be officially confirmed. After weeks of speculations, one of India’s most-loved couples – Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma – have tied the knot in a private ceremony in Florence (the capital city of Tuscany) Italy. The wedding ceremony took place earlier this morning with only close family and friends present at the function. Apparently, the marriage was a private affair, but was…

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Rain pours misery on city roads

With the city receiving its first rain of the season, all major roads remained chock-a-block throughout the day today. Intermittent rains lashed the winter capital since last night. The city has already been facing traffic chaos since the time of Durbar move, following which the traffic flow has increased by 40 per cent. The marriage season has also added to the woes of the commuters with roads such as Canal Road, Janipur-New Plot Road and Talab Tillo Road remaining stuck up to five hours in the evening. “A few days…

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IS asks Kashmiris to behead Indian troops

An article in Islamic State magazine ‘Rumiyah” asks Kashmiri Muslims to restart their fight “under the banner of Khilafah” and behead Indian and Pakistani troops who confront them. The article, originally published in Urdu but translated by a Kashmir centric, pro-IS media group ‘Al-Qaraar’ in a Telegram post dated December 1, asks Kashmiri Muslims not to be fooled by “spies from RAW or ISI”, the two agencies handling external intelligence in India and Pakistan respectively, or those working with them, and “kill them everywhere” . “Even if their names resemble…

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Snow, Rain end Valley’s long dry spell

A four-month-long dry spell came to an end today as snowfall and rain lashed the Kashmir valley. Though all major highways were blocked, the precipitation revived hopes of the tourism industry of increase in footfall. The region’s tourism industry, which faced a rough year so far, had been waiting eagerly for the snow to attract holidaymakers and adventure tourists seeking thrill on the skiing slopes of Gulmarg. The rain and snow began overnight across the Valley and continued with a few pauses for almost 20 hours. The forecast issued by…

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Chief Secretary dismayed over sluggish highway expansion

Expressing his dismay over sluggish pace of work on upgradation of Banihal-Ramban stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu highway, J&K’s chief secretary B B Vyas on Monday asked the executing agency to immediately flag the issues hampering the work for their redressal at appropriate levels. “We can’t afford to drag on this key connectivity project endlessly. Enough time has been already lost and there has to be now tangible movement forward on providing all-weather connectivity to Kashmir with the rest of the country,” Vyas, according to an official spokesman, told the executing…

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Talk about Gujarat not Pakistan: Congress to Modi

Hitting out at Narendra Modi for dragging Pakistan into the Gujarat elections, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi Monday said that rather than talking about foreign countries in his election campaign speeches in Gujarat the Prime Minister should say something about the state. “The Prime Minister talks sometimes about Pakistan and sometimes about China and Japan. Modi, this is the election for the future of Gujarat. Talk something about Gujarat too,” Gandhi said while addressing an election rally in Tharad assembly constituency of Banaskantha district. His remark came in the wake…

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