Day: February 2, 2018

Due to lack of snowfall in Kashmir, water crisis threaten to leave Agriculture, Tourism sectors high and dry

Editor

It is around 4.30 in the evening and many people including a few elders from a village in South Kashmir can be seen sitting at the front of a shop. One among the elders is gazing at a barren mountain that used to remain covered in snow during winter and spring. “It has become Punjab here. There will be huge water crisis this year and there is a low possibility of crop yield,” he rued. Almost everyone in Kashmir opines that this year will be difficult for agriculture and horticulture.…

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Restrictions in Srinagar, Shopian to prevent separatist march

Editor

Authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and Shopian districts on Friday to prevent a separatist-called march in protest against the killing of five civilians over the last few days. Police said restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed in Rainawari, Nowhatta, MR Gunj, Safakadal, Khanyar, Maisuma and Kralkhud in Srinagar. The District Magistrate has also imposed restrictions in Shopian town to maintain law and order. Separatist conglomerate, Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) headed by Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik have called for…

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Yawar Mir tells Nirmal Singh to stop ‘Rhetorical’ tales, show result on ground

Editor

Ruling PDP MLA from Rafiabad Yawar Mir Thursday asked Deputy Chief Minister and in-charge power department Nirmal Kumar Singh to stop narrating rhetorical tales and start working on the ground. “Deputy Chief Minster’s personality and the functioning of the power department are in complete contrast to each other,” Mir said while participating in the discussion about grants of the power department. He said that the department under Singh has failed to implement all the central schemes and the funds allocated have been mostly remained unspent. “Every member across party lines…

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How army escapes accountability in Kashmir

Editor

On 27 January, the Army convoy took the route through Ganowpora village of Shopian, despite knowing that a large gathering was expected to pay tribute to a local boy working for Hizbul Mujahideen, who was killed. In a statement to the Jammu and Kashmir Police on 28 January, the Indian Army claimed that the 27 January firing in Ganowpora village of Shopian district had followed the “standard operating procedure” of issuing verbal warnings and firing aerial shots before opening fire to “disperse the crowd”. Three youths—Javed Ahmed Bhat (20), Suhail…

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BJP red faced as party MLA Sukhnandan Kumar slams govt

Editor

The ruling BJP yet again faced embarrassment in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday when its legislator Sukhnandan Kumar Choudhary accused his own party of pursuing “anti-farmer” policies. He dubbed his party as ‘city centric’, which was protecting the interests of the business class of urban areas. During debates on grants of the Power Development Department (PDD) and Housing and Urban Development, Choudhary regretted that the PDP-BJP regime had announced various amnesty schemes for industrialists and hoteliers of the state, but the farming community had been ignored. He said the power…

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Another death due to swine flu at SKIMS, toll 30

Editor

A 78-year-old man from Chanapora Srinagar lost his battle to swine flu Thursday at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura taking the death toll since October to 30. The elderly man was admitted at SKIMS on January 25 and was being treated in the isolation ward. According to doctors, he was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and died at 5:20 pm Thursday. Public Relation Officer (PRO) SKIMS said two more patients including a 22-year-old girl from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district died on January 29. With the three fresh deaths, the…

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Water supply snapped to Muslim families in Jammu village: National Conference

Editor

The opposition National Conference (NC) on Thursday alleged that anti-social elements were harassing the minority Muslims in parts of Jammu region, even resorting to snapping drinking water supply to them. During question hour in the state assembly today, NC MLA Javaid Rana said Muslims in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts were being harassed by hooligans and anti-social elements. The MLA alleged that after the abduction and subsequent murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal (goatherd) girl in Rasana village of Kathua district last month, hooligans had now snapped drinking water supply to…

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Budget fails to impress as no state-specific bounties, ‘Kashmir not even mentioned… disappointing’

Editor

With no specific announcements for Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has failed to impress people, trade and industrial bodies in the state. Unlike in the past when the Union Budget (since 2014) had announced J&K-specific projects, the last two years have seen a different trend. This year, the Budget has focused on strengthening the agriculture, rural development, health, education, employment, micro, small and medium enterprises and infrastructure sectors. “There is a lot of confusion over how the industries, especially medium, small and micro…

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