Month: December 2015

Gulmarg to host national ice-skating championship from tomorrow

Editor

North Kashmir’s famed ski resort Gulmarg will host a national ice-skating championship from Wednesday, in which 150 players from various states of the country will participate. The organisers say the event will prepare the skaters for the 2018 Winter Olympics. “The event will prepare the participants for 2018 Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea,” said Ice-Skating Association of India secretary general RK Gupta here today. The five-day event will conclude on January 3, in which a total of 17 teams will take part. Gulmarg holds winter sports activities…

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In absence of natural picnic spots, schools turn to pvt resorts

Editor

In the absence of picnic spots in Jammu, schools are moving towards private resorts in and around Jammu. Gone are the days when schoolchildren went for picnic to Jhajjar Kotli and Mansar, where they enjoyed a natural lush green environment and learnt many things about nature. Now the meaning of picnic for them is to go to Country Inn on the Jammu-Katra road or Coral Resort at Madhopur in Punjab, where loud DJ and continental food are the only source of entertainment for them after paying a hefty amount to…

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State flag controversy a non-issue, says PDP

Editor

‘HC directive reiteration of govt’s old practice’ The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today put its ruling alliance partner BJP in a spot by describing the controversy over the use of the state flag on the vehicles of constitutional authorities and government buildings as a “non-issue”. It said that everybody was “bound to respect and honour” the state flag and the High Court’s judgment was a “reiteration of the government’s earlier practice of upholding the sanctity and honour” of the state flag. The PDP’s stance on the issue is likely to…

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Govt seeks public response on actual size of Dal lake

Editor

After conducting extensive surveys to measure the area of Dal lake, the Government has sought response from public to ascertain actual size of the water body. On the directions of High Court monitoring the Dal lake, the Government has conducted several surveys including using satellite images to ascertain the area of the water body—which is bedeviled by encroachments. Amid conflicting figures about the actual area of Dal lake, the Government has taken the settlement record of in 1895 by then settlement Commissioner Sir Walter Lawrence as yardstick. In his settlement…

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Kashmiris pay more power tariff than Jammu counterparts, reveals data

Editor

The domestic consumers in Kashmir are paying more power tariff in comparison to the collections made by the Power Development Department from consumers in other regions of the state including Jammu, official data has revealed. From April to ending November this year, the PDD has realized Rs 195.03 crore revenue on account of power tariff from its domestic consumers in the Valley, compared to Rs 133.12 crore collection in the same category in Jammu. In total, the tariff collection in domestic category has been Rs 61 crore more in Kashmir…

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Amid protests, ERA continues to work on Doodh Ganga water scheme

Editor

With the rising public anger over Doodh Ganga  water supply scheme built at summer capital Srinagar outskirts, Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) Saturday said that they would continue implementing the scheme. Hundreds of protestors held peaceful demonstrations, saying that they would continue to protest against the scheme till it is dismissed.  “We will continue to protest. The diameter of the pipe is such that the Dhoodhganga river will dry up even in summers,” said Irshad, a local.  “There is an undercurrent going on. The priority to irrigation is…

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‘Despite floods Kashmir had good tourism season last year’

Editor

Gearing up for promotional campaigns, various Kashmir-based travel associations with the support of Government will organize massive marketing shows across many Indian cities during this winter.   The marketing campaigns to be held at Indore, Raipur, Nagpur, Surat, Mumbai, Chandigrah, Ludhiana, Cochin, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and other places shall include road shows and seminars. Director Tourism Kashmir, Mahmood Shah confirmed that the department will be organizing such campaigns in several cities of India. He said the department is also now focusing on the states in which people have little knowledge…

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VDCs: The new Ikhwan

Editor

The Village Defense Committees (VDCs) were set up in 1995 to fight the militancy in Jammu Kashmir. Under this strategy, the civilians, preferably, notorious hooligans and habitual offenders were armed. The government gave the justification that VDC will assist the government forces in counterinsurgency operations. VDC is a mercenary group armed, organised, and funded by the State government. In April 2013, the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah informed the Jammu Kashmir legislative assembly that “26567 persons were working with the VDCs in 10 districts of Jammu division and Leh district…

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Kashmir: Tales of unfinished probes and denial of justice

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Justice continues to be a casualty in strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir, thanks to incomplete and abandoned probes into major political ‘mishaps’ and rights abuses. According to human rights defenders, the probes into political ‘mishaps’ and rights abuses in the state are ordered “only to quell public anger.” Noted human rights defender, Advocate Parvez Imroz, believes the Government of India has “hampered the criminal justice system by its overt and covert operations.” It’s believed that the “Institutional Denial of Justice’ in Jammu and Kashmir started way back in 1963 when Jawaharlal…

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Govt must hoist state flag on official buildings, cars: JK High Court

Editor

In his judgment, Justice Masoodi has reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir enjoins a special position in India and that Article 370 is permanent and can’t be abrogated, repealed or amended.  The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the government to hoist the state flag on all official buildings and vehicles of constitutional authorities. The judgment is a setback to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led PDP-BJP government that had withdrawn a circular asking the constitutional authorities to respect the state flag and hoist it on their official cars. “(The) respondents (state government)…

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