J&K govt to nominate him as a member of the legislative council. Tasaduq Mufti, the younger brother of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehboobah Mufti and a top Bollywood cinematographer, resigned on Friday from the post of coordinator of the CM’s grievances cell. The chief minister is reportedly keen to nominate him as a member of the legislative council. The proposal has been reportedly circulated among the cabinet members and after its nod, it will be sent to the Governor for his assent. Tasaduq has reportedly resigned from the post…
Read MoreDay: December 15, 2017
Majority in Kashmir Valley want independence: Study of Developing Societies Poll
Nearly 90 percent of people living in Indian Kashmir’s summer capital want their troubled and divided state to become an independent country, according to a poll in an Indian newspaper on Monday. India and Pakistan have fought and argued over the Himalayan region ever since partition in 1947, but 87 percent of people questioned in Srinagar have no allegiance to either side. Only 3 percent of the mainly Muslim inhabitants of the city think Kashmir should become part of Pakistan, and 7 percent prefer Indian rule, the poll said. But…
Read More29784 PoK refugee families await Central aid
Only 15 per cent of the Rs 2,000-crore development package released in a year In what could be described as a “casual approach” towards the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir refugees living in the state, the Centre has released only 15 per cent of the Rs 2,000-crore package approved for them last year. Furthermore, only 6,600 families of the total 36,384 living in J&K have been benefited while 29,784 are yet to get the financial assistance. Central Public Information Officer, J&K Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ram Krishna Swarnakar said this in response…
Read MoreRestrictions in parts of Srinagar & Anantnag to foil JRL-called rally, Top Separatist leaders detained
Restrictions were imposed in many parts of Srinagar and Anantnag districts on Friday to prevent a protest rally, officials said. The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), a conglomerate headed by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, have called for a rally in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town to “express solidarity with the residents”. “Restrictions have been imposed under section 144 CrPc in Anantnag and six police stations areas of Srinagar district to maintain law and order,” a police officer said. “Restrictions will remain in force in areas falling…
Read MoreGeminid meteor shower tonight, Where and how to see the celestial display
The shower is predicted to be at its maximum at around 2am on December 14, when the Gemini constellation will be almost overhead and the number of meteors can reach up to 120 per hour. Sky gazers in the city and elsewhere in the country can watch a meteor shower display from Wednesday night till the early hours of December 14, if clouds and light pollution do not play spoilsport. The Geminid meteor shower is expected to provide a celestial display and people will have to move out of the…
Read MoreAt -1.5, Srinagar records season’s lowest temperature
Srinagar city has witnessed the lowest maximum temperature of the season so far, while the ski resort of Gulmarg was the coldest in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday at minus 9.8 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Srinagar on Wednesday was 4.2, while the minimum was recorded at minus 1.5 on Thursday, an official of the Met Department said. Slippery roads and frozen water taps marked the morning in the city here as very few vehicles were seen on the roads. People were seen lighting small fires around the frozen…
Read MoreLow tourist arrivals has affected our livelihood: Houseboat Owners seek CM’s help
Kashmir Houseboat owners association (KHOA) Wednesday appealed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to announce compensation for them in view of low tourist arrivals in Kashmir. “Due to unfortunate unrest, the valley has witnessed total decline of tourism and incurred heavy loss to the tourism sector in general and in particular. The houseboat business due to unfavorable circumstances has suffered massive loss. As a result at present, most of the houseboat families are not in a condition to survive their daily livelihood properly,” said Hamid Wangnoo, convener HBOA in a statement. “Houseboats,…
Read MoreIs J&K heading for ‘Bhai-Behan Ki Sarkar’, NC Questions Mehbooba Govt
National Conference on Thursday raised question on reports of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s brother Tassaduq Mufti’s nominations for the Legislative Council. Earlier, the media reports suggested that government had initiated the process of nominating to the state legislative council. The NC state spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu asked the CM to clarify which of her non-performing, corrupt Cabinet colleagues she was willing to sacrifice to officially create space for a parallel Chief Minister in her Cabinet? In a statement issued from the party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha in Srinagar, Mattu…
Read MoreEdu Dept sits on expert committee recommendations to reduce school bag weight
Carrying heavy bags lead to spinal damage, irreversible back problems in children: Survey Experts recommend combined book system; Dir Edu says decision soon One and a half months on, the State Government is sitting on expert committee recommendations on formulating a policy to reduce the weight of schoolbags of children. The government in this August had constituted a four-member committee comprising of former Head of Department of Education, University of Kashmir, A G Madhosh, former principal of Government College for Women Nusrat Andrabi, ex-principal Abdul Jabbar, and Veena Pandita, in-charge…
Read MoreAs weather improves, highway opens to one-way traffic
The weather in the Valley remained mostly dry and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was opened to one-way traffic today after remaining closed for three days. On Wednesday, 24 flights were cancelled due to poor visibility and snowfall in the Kashmir region. Officials said with the improvement in weather, all flights from the Srinagar airport were on schedule today. The weather department has predicted mostly dry weather for the week with rain or snow in isolated places. Officials of the weather department said that during the next 24 hours, there can…
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