September 7, 2015 | Kashmir POST

Court martial sentence in Machil fake encounter confirmed

September 7, 2015 Editor

The army`s northern command GOC on Monday confirmed the life sentence awarded to six army personnel, including a colonel-rank officer, by a general court martial in the 2012 Machil fake encounter case, an army official said. “General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command, Lieutenant General D.S. Hooda has confirmed the sentence of a Summary General Court Martial in the Machil encounter case,” Colonel S.D. Goswami, spokesman of the army`s Udhampur-based Northern Command, told IANS here. “Colonel Dinesh Pathania, Captain Upendra, Havildar Devendra Kumar, Lance Naik Lakhmi, Lance Naik Arun…

Brij Raj Sharma appointed as J&K Chief Secretary

September 7, 2015 Editor

Jammu and Kashmir government today appointed Brij Raj Sharma, a 1984 batch IAS officer, as the Chief Secretary, superseding four senior officers. “The Cabinet which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today approved the appointment of B R Sharma as the Chief Secretary,” an official spokesperson said. Born on April 27, 1960, Sharma will have one of the longest tenures as the Chief Secretary of the state if he continues in the office till his superannuation. The appointment of a new Chief Secretary was required…

PDP-BJP govt trying to takeover Vaishno Devi Shrine Board: NC

September 7, 2015 Editor

The National Conference (NC) on Monday condemned the PDP-BJP Government’s decision to hike the service tax to 12.5 percent on the trip charges to the Vaishno Devi via chopper, and alleged that it was an effort by the latter to take over the Shrine Board. “It is the most unfortunate act on the part of PDP-BJP Government. This tax is unnecessary and is not going to add much to the state government. It has all the potential to hurt the sentiments of pilgrims. It is a direct confrontation with the…

Government Should Allow International Aid for J&K Flood Victims: Ex CM

September 7, 2015 Editor

A year after devastating floods hit Jammu and Kashmir, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked the Centre to allow international aid to the state if it did not have money or was unwilling to announce any package for the rehabilitation of victims. “We want that aid should come from wherever it can. If the Centre is not ready to give financial aid, or it does not have the money, then we should be allowed to get it from where we are getting it (internationally),” Omar told reporters after donating…

Jhelum continues to shrink due to illegal encroachments

September 7, 2015 Editor

Even after one year of floods, nothing seems to have changed when it comes to removing encroachments along the Jhelum in Kashmir. During September-2014 floods, several residential colonies constructed illegally along the river bank were damaged. The administration had promised to stop such activity. Between September 3 and 7, 2014, heavy rainfall had led to massive flooding in the Jhelum, which breached its banks—six breeches only Srinagar— and devastated several areas. Most of them were built in an illegal way during the last two decades. The blatant violation of the…

Govt Releases Rs 97 Crore to Flood-Hit in Srinagar

September 7, 2015 Editor

The flood affected in Srinagar city which was the worst hit last year have been doled out Rs 97.48 crore by the government. The documents prepared by the office of District Magistrate Srinagar reveal that 40 deaths took place due to floods in the district with families having been given ex-gratia of Rs 60 lakhs. A total of 5896 houses got fully damaged in Srinagar including 5770 pucca houses and 126 kacha houses. For 5770 pucca houses, a total of 4328 lakhs have been sanctioned and similar;ly for 126 kacha…

Kashmir Recalls 2014 Flood Nightmare

September 7, 2015 Editor

The first anniversary of the devastating floods of September 2014 is being observed on Monday. As many as 300 people died in the floods which ravaged large parts of Kashmir valley, sweeping away houses and cars and turning lush farmland into a muddy wasteland. According to the official figures, apart from damage caused to 261361 structures, farm sector of 3.27 lakh hectares of agricultural land and 3.96 lakh hectares of horticulture land also suffered damage. Similarly, under public sector, 6,910 kms of road length, 559 bridges, 3,063 PHE schemes, 6,423…

‘It was like doomsday’

September 7, 2015 Editor

Hamidullah Dar As I finished my day’s job at the desk on September 6 evening last year, I headed for waiting vehicle to rush to my rented accommodation at Rajbagh. As we drove on Zero Bridge, Jhelum waters were kissing the upper brims of the river banks. It was a frightful sight, made more menacing by the night hours and the flurry of emergent activities going on all around. The level of water was at its devastating high as any breach could prove disastrous for almost half of Srinagar city.…

Militants’ video ‘motivated’ Sopore boys to take up arms

September 7, 2015 Editor

A video clip of militants is believed to have “motivated” four teenagers from Sopore, who were detained in frontier district of Kupwara recently while attempting to cross the Line of Control (LoC) to take up arms. The four teenagers from Sopore have reportedly told the police that they decided to go to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) for arms training after watching a video of militants. The video was shown to them by a local resident, who works in a private company in Sopore. “We have picked the youth who showed them the…

Long road to recovery agonisingly slow

September 7, 2015 Editor

Floods: A Year Later Long road to recovery agonisingly slow People picking up the pieces as rehab yet to gather pace In the first week of September last year, Jammu and Kashmir recorded an unusually high amount of rain, ending with a devastating deluge that submerged residential and commercial neighbourhoods and struck a damaging blow to the region’s economy. The south Kashmir districts of Kulgam, Anantnag, Shopian and Pulwama were the first to get affected by the floods in early September as heavy rain wrecked the region and swelled the…