J&K Education Minister Altaf Bukhari said that the Army should concentrate on its own job and not meddle with the state’s education system. Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Altaf Bukhari on Saturday hit back at Army Chief General Bipin Rawat for hinting that students in the Kashmir Valley were being ”radicalised” in the schools. Attacking Rawat, Bukhari said the Army should concentrate on its own job and not meddle with the state’s education system. “The Army Chief is a respected officer. I do not think he is an educationist that…
Read MoreDay: January 15, 2018
Tourism in doldrums, footfall down in last 6 years
The government’s claim of creating tourism infrastructure in the state has fallen flat as the number of tourists arrivals in the state is decreasing with each passing year. Except the Vaishno Devi shrine and the Amarnath cave, almost all other tourist destinations in the state have witnessed a dip in tourists in the last six years. The Tourism Department last year spent a huge amount by participating in two international events at Berlin and Thailand, but it failed to attract foreign tourists. The state also organised 22 national travel marts…
Read More‘Gul Makai’ Malala biopic shoot creates buzz in Sonamarg
A biopic based on Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is currently being shot in Sonamarg on the Kashmir-Ladakh axis after the makers discovered that the area resembled the Swat valley known as the ‘Switzerland of Pakistan’. The film shooting has created a buzz in the area in the winter months as more than 700 locals have been engaged in its production in sub-zero temperatures. Even as well-known teenaged actor Reem Shaikh is playing the role of Malala, who had shot to fame after surviving a Taliban attack, more than…
Read MoreHangul struggles to survive, count dips to 138
The only Asiatic survivor of the red deer, hangul is struggling against extinction as the latest census puts the lower limit of its total population at an alarming 138. The latest census carried out by the state’s Department of Wildlife Protection in technical collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India has found grim statistics with no significant improvement in the hangul population. “The population estimate of hangul is 182, with upper and lower limits of 214 and 138, respectively,” the latest census report said. The latest limit is the lowest…
Read MoreKashmir: Where the writing is on downed shutters
The writing is not just on the wall — but also on the downed shutters of Kashmir. Political scientist Navnita Chadha Behera, with over 25 years of work on the troubled region, believes that to decode Kashmir, you have to start your research afresh every time you are there. Calling the troubled state a steep learning curve , Behera said on her last visit there, she gauged the mood by observing the downed shutters in the Valley. During my last visit, I decided to just walk around and take pictures…
Read MoreNallah Maar: Story of heritage lost to urbanisation, apathy
A wooden boat glides through placid waters against a setting sun as fishermen row close to waterfront houses with gardens that burst with colours. It’s an idyllic picture of a Srinagar that once was, a visual recall of a waterway punctuated by arched bridges that was not just a navigational lifeline for the city but also a protection from heavy rains and floods. The Nallah Maar (Maar is the Kashmiri word for snake), called so because it snaked through the city, is no more. In its stead is a wide…
Read MoreArmy Chief’s prescription reflects RSS thinking: Saifuddin Soz
Reacting to the army chief’s statement on Kashmir, former union minister and senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz Sunday said it has evoked considerable “alarm” in Kashmir. In a statement issued Soz said, “One does not understand why the General was drawn into making an extremely political and controversial statement which has added a new dimension to the strife in Kashmir,” he said. “Kashmiris have a feeling that the General wants nothing short of the RSS prescription on resolution of the Kashmir problem. The assessment in Kashmir is that he (the…
Read MoreKashmir suffering due to bitter relations between two neighboring countries, must shun ‘Tit for Tat’ policy: Mehbooba Mufti
Batting for resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said the confrontation between the two countries was the biggest challenge for the people of J&K who had been the worst victims of their bitter relations. She, however, hoped that the two countries would stop their “tit for tat” policy and go back to the days of friendship, amity and reconciliation witnessed during the regime of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “The biggest challenge for the people of the state is the confrontation between the…
Read MoreJ&K govt asks its officials, employees to attend Republic Day functions
The PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir has directed its officials and employees to ensure their attendance in the Republic Day functions in the State. An official order directed all officers of the State Government and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to attend the official R-Day functions in the State on January 26 as part of their official duty. The main function would be held at Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu, the winter capital of the State, where Governor N N Vohra would take salute of the march past. In…
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