Month: September 2018

Colors of Autumn

Editor

Fall is not only the best time of year, out of all four seasons but it’s also the most scenic and beautiful if you love being outdoors. It is a transition period between summer and winter when all the leaves from the trees and plants change into multi-colored works of art and fall away. It creates bare, and vulnerable branches, revealing the true scenery underneath and the weather can be warm and cool at the same time. It is the most comfortable weather for me. The winds are just right…

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Supreme Court rejects ‘Namaz In Mosque’ petition, clears way for resuming Ayodhya hearing

Editor

The Supreme Court has declined to set up a larger bench to revisit a 1994 verdict which held that a “mosque is not an essential to the practise of Islam”, ruling that the top court had made the observation in the limited context of acquisition of land. “All mosques, all churches and temples are significant for the community,” the three-judge bench said in a 2:1 majority decision delivered by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justice Ashok Bhushan. The third judge, Justice S Abdul Nazeer, delivered a dissenting judgment.…

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Civilian shot dead during CASO in Srinagar, 3 Rebels, Soldier killed in gunfight, JRL calls for friday shutdown

Editor

Three militants, including a Lashkar-e-Toiba commander, a civilian and a soldier were killed in two separate gunfights and a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. A civilian was killed after forces launched a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) in Noorbagh area of Qamarwari around 4 am. Locals said the civilian, identified as Saleem Malik, was killed in cold-blood. A police official said that the police was ascertaining the details of the incident. Senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari described the killing as a “cold-blooded murder” while demanding an impartial probe into the…

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Govt fails to nip in bud ‘Deadly’ lily growth in Dal Lake

Editor

The famed lake at the heart of Kashmir’s holidaying industry is facing an uncertain future as past measures to uproot lily patches have met with little success and the machines required for its accelerated removal have not been purchased so far. The removal of lily patches from Dal Lake has been the recurrent theme at the meetings of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the failure to uproot the patches has been thoroughly discussed in all recent meetings. Around 5 sq km lake area is covered by lilies. The minutes of…

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Despite poll boycott, PDP, NC field proxy candidates

Editor

The duplicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) has been exposed as both the parties have fielded proxy candidates from a majority of the 247 wards of 15 urban local bodies going to the polls in the first phase across the Jammu region. This has happened despite the PDP and NC announcing a boycott of civic bodies elections in the state over Article 35A of the Constitution. While second-rung leaders of the two parties are contesting elections as Independents in most wards, some top leaders have…

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1500 candidates file papers for first phase municipal polls

Editor

Despite threats from terrorists, about 1,500 candidates in Jammu and Kashmir have filed their nominations for the first phase of urban local body elections scheduled for October 8. The elections are to be held in four phases. Nominations for the first phase closed on Tuesday. A total of 422 municipal wards will go to the polls on October 8. According to official sources, people in North Kashmir have virtually ignored the poll boycott call, with a sizeable number of candidates from this area. “In Kupwara district, 72 have filed papers…

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Amid acid attack warnings, J&K govt announces extra month’s salary for state’s panchayat poll volunteers

Editor

To create a sense of security among the government employees in Jammu and Kashmir amid the looming militant threat over Urban Local bodies and Panchayat polls, the government has decided to give one-month additional salary to those employees to those who will be deployed for election-duty in the upcoming electoral exercise. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary V R Subrahmanyam on Tuesday said that the state employees will get additional one-month salary for poll duty. During a press conference in Srinagar, he said the state government’s move is aimed at pleasing…

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139 Killed in 8 months, South Kashmir bears brunt of violence

Editor

The four districts of south Kashmir have witnessed a higher level of militancy-related violence in the first eight months of this year with 139 deaths. According to data, at least 263 persons—civilians, militants and forces’ personnel—were killed in militancy-related incidents across the Valley in first eight months this year. Of 263 causalities, south Kashmir’s four districts—Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam—have borne the maximum brunt of violence with highest 139 deaths witnessed in the region alone. This is followed by three districts of north Kashmir—Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara—with nearly 88 casualties…

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Congress accuses NC, PDP of fielding proxy candidates

Editor

J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president GA Mir on Tuesday accused the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of fielding proxy candidates for the upcoming urban local bodies elections. “They are fielding proxy candidates from various places,” Mir said while addressing a press conference here. He made the comments while referring to the NC and the PDP that had announced to boycott the local bodies elections. Mir had earlier questioned the decision of the NC and the PDP to boycott the polls, saying that they had kept the…

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Forces using chemical weapons during gunfights, Geelani calls for international probe

Editor

Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani today alleged that forces have used ‘chemical weapons in Bandipora during cordon and search operations, which is a crime against humanity.’ Geelani has also demanded that a high level probe should be carried out the International war crime tribunal under the guidance of UN. Expressing his grave and serious concern on the use of chemical weapon by the forces during the cordon and search operation carried out against the suspected presence of militants in Kashmir, Geelani said that on the pretext of…

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