Year: 2015

Farooq visits Raghunath Bazaar, greets people

Editor

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah visited the Raghunath Bazaar here today and greeted people and Mata Vaishno Devi-bound pilgrims on the first Navratra. The pilgrims jostled with each other to have a close glimpse of Abdullah and had photo sessions with him. They kept chanting “Jai Mata di” while Abdullah wished them a blissful yatra, especially during the ongoing auspicious days. In his interaction with different groups of pilgrims, mostly youngsters, Abdullah urged them to spread the message of peace and pray for the unity of the nation, which is…

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Air sorties get nod, relief for Leh poll staff

Editor

In a major relief to the Leh district administration, the Civil Aviation Department has finally agreed to airlift the polling staff to snowbound and inaccessible areas of the district for holding the elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC). “We received an official confirmation from the Civil Aviation Department on Monday evening. The polling staff to six polling stations in snowbound and inaccessible areas of the district will be dispatched to their respective destinations from tomorrow,” said Election Officer Rakesh Badyal, who is also the Additional Deputy Commissioner,…

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Two civilians injured in Kashmir gunfight, three in clash

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Five civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district sustained bullet injuries Tuesday in two separate incidents – two in a gunfight between militants and security forces, and three in a clash with security personnel as news about the first spread, police said. Two, including a girl, were injured during a gunfight that ensued when a patrol party of the security forces was fired upon by hiding militants in Dogripora village of Pulwama in the evening, and retaliated, a senior police officer said. The gunfight was still raging as of 10…

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Terrorists equipped with technology like self-destructing software add to army’s problems in J&K

Editor

When Pakistani militant Sajjad Ahmad was captured alive in August, it was his ‘smart’ gear more than the tactics he used that caught the attention of the security forces. He did not have the usual satellite phones and radio communication devices that marked infiltrators from across the border in the past. He was equipped with smartphones loaded with software that mimic popular social media and make the user difficult to track. Ahmad exemplifies the increasingly sophisticated militant that the Indian Army is battling in Kashmir. Such operatives, indoctrinated and trained…

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Who benefits by driving a wedge between Jammu and Kashmir?

Editor

The nocturnal murderous attack on a Valley bound truck in Udhampur town of Jammu region on October 9 has sent ripples across communities in Jammu and Kashmir whose beneficiaries can only be enemies of peace and progress. The Udhampur attack happened following a beef party organized and highlighted by legislator Sheikh Abdul Rashid, better known as Engineer Rashid, who represents the north Kashmir Langate assembly seat in the 87-member state legislative assembly. Ironically, the legislator’s beef party on October 7 took place in the backdrop of an apex court decision suspending…

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Business chambers to resist dilution of Kashmir’s special status

Editor

In an attempt to defuse simmering tension following murderous attacks on the Valley-bound truckers in Udhampur, the Kashmir and Jammu business chambers have said that efforts of Indian agencies to trifurcate the territory on religious lines will not be tolerated and the business community will protect Jammu and Kashmir’s special status at all costs. President of Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Rakesh Gupta, addressing a joint press conference organized by Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the headquarters of…

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J&K at crossroads of history: Farooq Abdullah

Editor

‘Hate mongers have no space in the civilized society’ Former Chief Minister and opposition National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Monday said Jammu and Kashmir was at the crossroads of its history in the wake of communal frenzy being encouraged by the divisive forces. “Great religion of Islam vehemently disapproves of hurting the religious sentiments of others”,  Farooq said while addressing party functionaries at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan, here this morning. Apprehending that provocative acts could jeopradise peace across the country and in the state, he blamed the present PDP-BJP dispensation for promoting…

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Altaf Bukhari inaugurates grievance redressal cell

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Dial 18001807093 to register your grievances  Minister for R&B, Gardens Parks and Floriculture, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari held first Grievance Redressal Camp here in PWD Complex at Rajbagh Srinagar today and listened to grievances of the People of the Valley. Most of the grievances were pertaining to macadamization of roads, land compensation, rehabilitation of shopkeepers, house and land owners, repairs and construction of lanes, drains and bridges, development of parks, settlement of pending payments of contractors and encroachment of roads. A large number of people from Baramulla, Bandipora, Anantnag, Budgam,…

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Private contractor earns Rs 1.2 cr for towing wrongly parked cars

Editor

A private company engaged by the Traffic Police Department to tow wrongly parked vehicles in the two capital cities of the state has earned Rs 1.22 crore in the past four years even as the administration has failed to provide proper parking spaces. According to the Home department, New Nishat Enterprises, which has a contract with the Traffic Police Department, earned Rs 1.22 crore from 2012 to August this year. The Traffic Police Department generated a fine of Rs 5.18 crore in the past four years for wrong parking from…

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Residential areas in Srinagar turning into commercial hubs

Editor

Rampant construction in the aftermath of floods is fast turning residential areas in Srinagar into commercial hubs even as officials of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation maintained that action would be taken against the violators once the revised Master Plan was approved by the Cabinet. There has been widespread construction of unplanned colonies in many parts of the summer capital in violation of the Srinagar Master Plan. Residents alleged rampant construction of shopping malls and other commercial buildings in the flood-hit localities of the city. They said the Srinagar Master Plan…

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