Month: December 2015

Christmas celebrations pick up in Jammu

Editor

People from various communities, faiths join Christians in celebrating the festival With Christmas celebrations gradually picking up in the city, Christians, who feel more secure and safe in the heterogeneous society of Jammu, say that people from various communities, faiths and beliefs join them to celebrate the festival. Domes, minarets and tombs of temples, gurdwaras, mosques, Sufi shrines and monasteries in Jammu stand testimony to Jammu’s heterogeneous character, which has withstood many onslaughts in the past to polarise it. “While successive governments never bothered to give the community its share,…

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Clashes in old Srinagar post CM’s function

Editor

Talks between India, Pak shows farsightedness: CM Protests and clashes erupted in old Srinagar immediately after Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed attended a function in Nowhatta today. The clashes continued for around an hour. It was the for the first time after becoming the Chief Minister that Mufti attended any function in the old city, a separatist bastion. Eyewitnesses said stone throwing started immediately after the Chief Minister inaugurated a community hall in the Nowhatta area and left the venue. “A few youths appeared in the locality and threw stones…

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To streamline traffic, officials suggest revising route permits of cabs

Editor

Recommend designated passenger stops, traffic lights to reduce congestion The Transport Commissioner and Inspector General (Traffic) have come up with nearly a dozen suggestions to streamline traffic in the Srinagar city, including revision of route permits of a large number of cabs and taxis plying in the summer capital on daily basis. The set of suggestions have been submitted by the authorities to the J&K High Court, which is hearing public interest litigation about the traffic mess and illegal structures in the Srinagar city. The High Court on November 26…

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MLA Rashid seeks disbanding of VDCs, tries to gherao CM residence

Editor

Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid and some of his supporters were detained by the police when they tried to gherao Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s residence to protest the killing of a man allegedly by a Village Defence Committee (VDC) member in Rajouri, here today. Rashid was also demanding disbanding of the VDC and constitution of a commission to investigate the “crimes committed by VDC members”. Rashid was taken into custody by the police at Gupkar as he was trying to march towards the CM’s residence along with his Awami…

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Russian’s quest for ‘moksha’ sans visa lands her in Srinagar jail

Editor

In “pursuit of peace”, Bonetekia Zoia set out from Saint Petersburg in Russia on a long and treacherous journey for a pilgrimage to the Amaranth cave shrine in Kashmir. However, her “journey to peace” was interrupted when she was arrested by the J&K Police on August 24 near the Sonamarg tourist resort and found without travel documents, including a passport or a valid visa. Zoia, who converted to Hinduism some four years ago, was charged under Section 14 of the J&K Foreigners Act for not having a passport and visa…

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Why use Meadows for Artillery drills!

Editor

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat Around two years back extension of lease agreement between Jammu & Kashmir Government and Army for Tosamaidan filed firing range had created lot of tension and disturbance in Kashmir. The move was being resisted not only by the villagers surrounding Tosamaidan meadow but people in general were against the lease extension. Kashmir based Civil society organizations, political parties, writers, elected panchayat representatives, NGOs, tour and travel associations and many more groups had continuously lodged their protest against using Tosamaidan as a filed firing range. The sustained…

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Kashmiri artist bags national award in Papier Mache craft

Editor

Minister for Public Works, Floriculture and Gardens & Parks, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari has congratulated Syed Maqbool Hussain Rizvi on his bagging the national award for excellence in Papier Mache craft.   Wishing Hussain a continuing successes, Bukhari assured the artisans pursuing various crafts like Papier Machie, Khatamband, Pashmina shawls, Copper works, Wood works, and all other skills “who were left to live in an atmosphere of despondency and scarcity of resources” that the present dispensation shall explore all possibilities to address their grievances.   “The state government is conscious…

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Freezing Kashmir faces 10 hour daily power cuts

Editor

Chilai Kalam, or the great chill, is the start of the harshest winter in Kashmir. In Srinagar, the minimum temperature has dipped to minus 5.6 degrees, but it is the long unscheduled power cuts that’s making the winter really unbearable for ordinary people. In most parts of the Valley, people are facing 10 to 12 hour power cuts every day. “Unfortunately we are really under darkness. Can you imagine, we are facing power cuts up to 12 hours daily,” said Ajaz Ahmad, a resident of Tangmarg in Baramulla district. With…

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7800 youths went on educational trips in three years under Operation Sadbhavana

Editor

Over 7,800 youths of Jammu and Kashmir have embarked on educational and national integration tours sponsored by the army under its ‘Operation Sadbhavana’ in the past three years. “In the past three years, army has conducted a total of 264 educational and national integration tours and in each tour, a group usually comprises approximately 30 members,” a defence spokesman said. He said that the army’s Northern Command has been organising trips for students and youths from Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of the country from time to time. “These…

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Valley slopes to host heli-skiers from Jan

Editor

Jammu fest to make a comeback, Patnitop carnival will be bigger The slopes of Kashmir will see adventures of heli-skiers from January as a promotional campaign launched by the Jammu and Kashmir Government has attracted several high-end tourists from across India and western countries who will explore the beauty of the Himalayas. The Tourism Department has decided to revive the concept of a Jammu festival while the winter carnival at Patnitop will be organised in much bigger way this year. Officials said the next two months were packed with skiers…

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