Month: January 2021

Gaw Kadal Massacre: 21 Jan 1990, Kashmir’s Doomsday

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On 21 January 1990, Gulle Kak was returning home after delivering newspapers in the vicinity when CRPF troops deployed on Gaw Kadal (bridge) stopped him to move further. Unaware of what was to unfold, Kak took a detour to reach his family. “I parked my bicycle outside my house and started walking towards the bridge. I saw a large procession coming towards the bridge from the civil area side. As the protesters reached the bridge, the CRPF troops opened fire on the procession,” Kak said. “Before I could understand what…

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Empty grave waiting for the body of the teenager killed by Indian forces

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Since 2020, Indian authorities began burying suspected rebels in unmarked graves, denying families proper funerals and adding to anti-India anger. On a recent chilly winter day in Indian-administered Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmed Wani shovelled the earth, laboriously digging a grave for his teenage son. There was, however, no body to be lowered inside. Stunned, a group of onlookers watched in silence. But Ahmed kept digging, now knee-deep inside the half-dug grave. Then he rose, straightening his back, and faced the crowd, enraged. “I want my son’s body,” he howled. “I ask…

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Valley Vignette: For the love of Wazwan

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Wazwan is a cuisine denoting cultural pride of Kashmir, which people proudly identify with Last week, Bollywood director Vivek Agnihotri, who was in Kashmir for the shooting of his film, took to micro-blogging site Twitter “to bring about a change” in a traditional Kashmiri cuisine “Wazwan” from non-vegetarian to vegetarian food. “Nobody knows how to make a vegetarian Wazwan in Kashmir. But I am here to bring about change. #TheKashmirFiles.(sic),” Aghnihotri tweeted while sharing a picture of having a vegetarian thali at a Srinagar hotel with a lookalike “mutton kebab”…

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No let-up in cold wave across Kashmir valley, Condition to continue till Jan 21

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Srinagar records minus 7.6 degrees C temperature Traffic to ply from Sgr-Jmu today  Wet spell likely between Jan 22-25: MeT As Kashmir continues to reel under intense cold wave, it is for the first time in the last almost three decades that summer capital Srinagar recorded minimum temperatures below minus 7 degrees Celsius during five consecutive nights. According to the data of the Meteorological Department, last time the temperature had plummeted to as low as minus 7 degrees for several days was in January 1991. While Srinagar on Saturday night…

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A three-day fresh wet spell from Jan 22: MeT

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The meteorological department has predicted a three-day wet spell from 22 January onward. Director MeT Sonam Lotus said they are expecting another wet spell of snow and rains from 22 January onwards in the valley. “Western disturbances are likely to affect Jammu and Kashmir during 22-24th January, which may cause moderate rains and snowfall in the valley. We will update it on Saturday evening about more details,” he said. However Lotus said the weather will remain mainly dry till 21st January in both J&K and Ladakh. On Friday, a thick…

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Prolonged highway closures still a norm for Kashmir in the 21st century

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Srinagar-Jammu closed for 6th day, over 7000 vehicles stranded The prolonged closure of the 270-kilometre Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to landslides triggered by inclement weather has been a norm for the last several decades. Locals from Banihal recollect that due to a heavy snowfall in 1985-1986, which had led to closure of the highway for almost two weeks is one of the longest road closures in the last four decades. In 1991 also, a heavy spell of snowfall had led to the closure of the road for several days. “There…

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At -8.4 Srinagar records coldest night in 30 years freezing Dal Lake partially

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The lowest temperature ever recorded in Srinagar was minus 14.4 degrees Celsius in 1893. A major portion of Kashmir’s famous Dal Lake and several other water bodies froze on Thursday as the cold wave in the valley continued with Srinagar recording the coldest night in 30 years, officials said here. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, which was the coldest temperature recorded in the city in 30 years, an official of the MET department said. He said while Srinagar had recorded minus 8.3 degrees Celsius in 1995,…

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Houseboats the Kashmir’s floating heritage

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By: Irfan A Mir Floating houses popularly known as ‘houseboats’ on the waters of Dal Lake have a unique history. It is said that the native kings had prohibited foreign visitors, especially the British from constructing houses in the region which gave rise to the concept of the houseboat. Though some believe that there have been houseboats on the waters of Dal, Nigeen, and in adjoining water bodies since 1800 but many contests this version, saying the floating houses came into being in the late 19th century by the boat-dwelling…

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At -7.8, Srinagar records coldest night after 8 years

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Srinagar had minus 7.8, Pahalgam minus 11.7 and Gulmarg minus 10 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature on Wednesday. At minus 7.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far as the 40-day long harsh winter period, known locally as the ‘Chillai Kalan’, reaches its peak. “At minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far equalling an 8-year-old record when the same minimum was recorded on January 14, 2013”, an official of the local meteorological (MeT) department said.…

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Closure of national highway gave rise to black marketing across Kashmir

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As the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country continues to remain closed from the last couple of days, black-marketing is at its peak with people alleging that prices of essential commodities have gone skyrocketing across Srinagar. According to a local news agency, Kashmir News Observer (KNO), consumers from different parts of the Valley here have complained of skyrocketing prices of essentials including vegetables, saying that the sellers are selling the stuff as per their will. They said it seems that the sellers have…

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