Locals collect Rs 3 Crore in 7 Days to rebuild houses damaged in Nawa Kadal Encounter

Junaid Kathju Bashir Ahmad Darzi, a daily wager, had lost all hope. On May 19, his two-story house in a densely populated area in downtown Srinagar had been severely damaged after an encounter.  Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, one of whom was Junaid Ashraf Khan ‘Sehrai’, whose father is the chairman of the separatist conglomerate Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (a part of the composite All Parties Hurriyat Conference), were killed on the morning of May 19 after a 15-hour-long gun battle with security forces. For Darzi, the encounter had meant an expensive reconstruction effort.…

Read More

Amidst standoff in Ladakh, China preparing for infiltration behind enemy lines

China is preparing for a massive infiltration into Eastern Ladakh amid nearly a month-long standoff between Chinese and Indian troops at the Himalaya heights where both sides claim that it is their territory. Media reports emanating from China have indicated that the PLA troops have been holding night-time high-altitude exercises in Tibetan Plateau to “infiltrate behind the enemy lines”. This is an unmistakable hint towards the Indian positions along the LAC in eastern Ladakh that lie adjacent to Tibetan plateau. It is for the first time that China has served…

Read More

After spending close to 10 months in detention, PSA revoked against Shah Faesal and two PDP leaders

By : Tahaa Yaseen Former bureaucrat turned Jammu and Kashmir politician Shah Faesal is likely to be released after spending close to 10 months in detention since August 14, following the Union Territory’s decision to revoke the Public Safety Act (PSA) slapped on him and two other senior politicians from the Peoples Democractic Party (PDP)- Sartaj Madani and Peer Mansoor—leaving former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti among the few prominent leaders from the region who continue to be in detention after the abrogation…

Read More

Kashmir witnessed 3000 days of lockdown in over two decades: Trade bodies

In last over two decades, an amalgam of 30 trade bodies in the Valley on Wednesday said that Kashmir has witnessed 3000 days of lockdown, thus simultaneously deteriorated the situation of the business community here, which they claim are struggling to survive amid the prevalent situation in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the traders also stated that the special package of Rs 20, 000 Crore announced by the government has been announced for the people excluding the business community of Kashmir. Over 30 trade bodies including Kashmir Chamber of Commerce &…

Read More

Why Indians get pissed off with Racism & Police Brutality in the US but don’t care about the same issues in their own country?

By Shamani Joshi Experts explain why some of us are so selective with the issues we outrage against. Over the weekend, I saw all my social media feeds flooded with illustrated quotes of Desmond Tutu that declared “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”, poignant protest signs that declared “I can’t breathe”, and the quintessential hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. These were all in solidarity against the incident that saw George Floyd, a black man, die after a police officer kneeled on his neck…

Read More

Government’s move to open schools in J&K evokes strong reaction

A day after the Education Department announced to devise a strategy for opening schools in mid-June, former chairperson of the J&K Women Commission, Vasundra Pathak Masoodi, termed the action as “an abject contravention and violation of the guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry under the National Disaster Act”. In a letter written to the Lieutenant Governor, Masoodi, who is a Supreme Court advocate, took strong exception of the circular issued by the School Education Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Civil Secretariat, Srinagar, in which it was mentioned that…

Read More

Emergency landing and runway strip coming up along the NH-44 in Anantnag

As the standoff continues between the Indian and Chinese armies along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the government is constructing an “emergency landing and runway strip” along the NH-44 in Anantnag district of south Kashmir. The 3.5-km-long airstrip on the Srinagar-Banihal highway is being constructed along the NH-44 from 246.2 km to 249.7 km. Currently, the earth filling work is being done on the stretch. The work is being executed by a lesser-known construction company — Fetch Constructions — based in the Mirbazar area of Anantnag district.…

Read More