Heavy rain, winds bring respite from heat across Kashmir, Hailstorm hits Baramulla

Heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds in Kashmir today brought respite from the hot spell for the residents, bringing down the day temperature significantly. Heavy rain and gusty winds were reported from many parts of Kashmir where the maximum temperature was mostly eight degrees above normal, officials said. Yesterday, the meteorological department declared a heat wave across Kashmir with Srinagar recording the season’s highest temperature of 34.4 degrees Celsius, 8.1 degrees above normal. The MeT department had predicted no relief for the next few days from the scorching heat. The…

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How Kashmir’s youth are caught between a bullet and a CRPF vehicle

On Friday, three youth were mowed down by a paramilitary forces’ vehicle, which came under heavy stone throwing, just outside Srinagar’s Grand Mosque. One of the injured – Qaiser Ahmad Bhat, all of 21 years of age – succumbed to his injuries later at a hospital. The incident sparked a debate on social media over whether this was an accident — or a murder even. As the debate grew heated, I received hundreds of abuses for sharing a photograph of Bhat getting mowed down under the vehicle. A majority of…

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Violence needs to be brought down before any dialogue: Dineshwar Sharma

Days ahead of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, the Centre’s interlocutor for the state, has reportedly said that the level of violence has to be brought down before any political dialogue can be initiated. While speaking to leading daily, Sharma, who had persuaded the Modi government to announce the unilateral Ramadan ceasefire, asserted,”The biggest challenge in Kashmir today is to calm down the sentiments of the people, particularly youth.” Furthermore, he stated, “It will be difficult to think about any political dialogue, any political solution until we…

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What happens to the plastic you throw away every day?

In the absence of proper segregation of waste inside homes, the danger from hazardous plastics falls on the trash collectors, most of whom are poorly paid. And, landfills are still non-scientific dump sites that pose grave threats to land and water resources M Khokhan Hamid, 39, hasn’t told his children what he does for a living. Shame keeps Hamid from telling them that every day he goes door-to-door collecting garbage. “People think we are unclean,” he said, weaving through the neat lanes of Pandara road on a customised rickshaw. As…

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GST roll-out hit industrial production, forced employee layoffs: FCIK

Appalled by ‘callous’ performance of government departments, the Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir claimed that rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has hit Kashmir industry badly resulting in huge employee layoffs and compounding employment crisis in the state. “Industrial sector of Jammu and Kashmir is badly hit by the rollout of GST and the industrial production has almost come to a standstill resulting in the employee layoffs. The situation is very grim and is compounding the problem of unemployment of the state,” reads a communiqué addressed by FCIK…

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11 Grenade attacks in 4 days shatter calm in Valley

Grenades are emerging as the new weapons of choice for militants in Kashmir as over the last four days, militants have carried out 11 grenade attacks at different places across Kashmir. These grenade attacks, which have shattered the Ramzan ceasefire calm, have left 39 men, including 17 security men, injured. All these attacks in the past four days have taken place in Srinagar and south Kashmir’s Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag districts. Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid said most of the grenade attacks had been carried by the Jaish-e-Mohammad…

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Like Shimla, threat of water crisis looms over many hill stations, metro cities

Shimla, a summer-getaway for many, has been facing a water crisis for 14 days now, with residents urging tourists to stay away and protests erupting over inequitable distribution of water in different parts of the city. According to experts, several hill stations and metro cities could face a similar crisis within a decade and the warning signs may start showing in the next three or four years. “Cities like Bangalore and Delhi depend on groundwater. But, with increasing population and the natural sources of water — Yamuna in the case…

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‘A cult has been born’- former J&K Police chief Kuldeep Khoda on rising militancy

Former Jammu and Kashmir police Chief Kuldeep Khoda has warned of a “cult” being born in the state with more educated young people joining terrorism and picking up the gun becoming an “attractive and glamorous” option. The “dimensions and dynamics” of terrorism are changing, Mr Khoda, the longest serving and the most successful police chief of the state, said in a blog. Examining the reasons for increasing number of youths joining terrorism, he said, “When political grid is inactive, even if security grid gets results, a common man on many…

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Jammu at 40 degrees, Kashmir at 35 degrees, Heat wave declared across State

At 40 degrees Celsius, Jammu city on Monday recorded the hottest day of the year. “This is the highest recorded this year so far,” an official of the Met department said. “Similarly, the maximum temperature was 34.4 degrees Celsius in Srinagar today and yesterday it was 35 degrees Celsius,” it added. The weather office said that Jammu city also recorded the hottest night this year at 31.4 on Sunday. Meanwhile, heat wave has been declared across Kashmir as the maximum temperature was recorded at 34.4 degrees Celsius, 8.1 degrees Celsius…

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J&K Police withdraws plea to shift Kathua accused to Pathankot jail

The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday withdrew its application requesting that the seven accused in the Kathua rape and murder case be moved to a Pathankot jail after the Punjab government told the court that their prisons were overcrowded, officials said. The issue came up as daily hearing in the case of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl from a minority nomadic community in Kathua resumed in the court of District and Sessions Judge Tejwinder Singh after the weekend. The counsel for the Jammu and Kashmir police…

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