Year: 2015

New BJP chief comes with saffron agenda, vows to fulfil Sangh’s plan

Editor

Sat Sharma says party will never play second fiddle to coalition partner PDP Within minutes of his formal appointment as the state BJP president, Sat Sharma started flexing his muscles by asserting that the saffron party was not going to play second fiddle to the PDP in the coalition. He said the question of abandoning core issues did not arise at any cost. “We are committed to fulfilling the unfinished agenda of founding fathers of the erstwhile Jana Sangh and the present BJP,” he said. “No question of playing second…

Read More

Six ministers allegedly haven’t filed Tax Returns from J&K

Editor

Six of the 11 ministers, who are second time legislators, in the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir allegedly have not filed income tax returns before contesting the state assembly polls last year. According to the affidavits submitted by the these ministers to the Election Commission, they had not filed income tax returns for the assessment year 2013-14 ahead of the assembly elections last year. While 11 ministers, including Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had prior legislative experience before the 2014 elections, 14 ministers in the coalition government are…

Read More

Cold desert getting warmer, remedial measures stressed

Editor

A gradual rise in temperature and receding glaciers during summer have turned out to be a challenge for people of the cold desert in Ladakh. Experts and local residents believe that some “drastic and immediate remedial measures” are required to deal with the changing climate in the region. What is more worrying is that “glacier lake bursts” (melting of glaciers and formation of lakes), which is triggering floods in Ladakh, has become a regular phenomenon. Man-induced anthropogenic interference and global warming are attributed as the main reasons for it. “In…

Read More

Ministers of State (MoS) get independent powers in Jammu Kashmir

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on Friday delegated powers to the ministers of state which they can exercise independently besides the power delegated by the ministers in-charge. According to an official handout issued late Friday, the ministers of state can exercise these powers in the following matters: To approve the transfers of non-gazetted staff, which require approval of the administrative department, as per the transfer policy. To accord administrative approval to the works beyond the competence of HoDs upto Rs 3 crore. To sanction advance withdrawal…

Read More

Hemophilic patients suffer, writhe in pain at SMHS

Editor

Non availability of life-saving drugs cause of concern, admin unmoved  Hemophilic patients across Kashmir valley continue to suffer in Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, Srinagar due to the non availability of drugs. 80 per cent of 267 patients have been crippled for life, for no fault of theirs. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court, 2011 had directed the hospital to keep the vital drugs available for hemophilic patients available for 24 hours. ‘Due to non availability of funds’, authorities say, the ‘factors’ aren’t available. “The factors balance body’s deficiencies.…

Read More

Wetland loss, development put Kashmir bird migration at risk

Editor

The cackle and cry of Kashmir’s annual bird migration has long been a welcome ruckus for those living in the Indian-controlled Himalayan territory. It signals the summer’s end, the coming snows and the global importance of Kashmir’s environment for species arriving from as far as northern Europe and Japan. But these days, wildlife experts say they have never seen so few birds — and so few species — feeding and breeding around the wetlands nestled between the region’s mountain peaks and plateaus. A combination of climate change and haphazard urban…

Read More

Kashmir Valley braces for severe 40-day winter

Editor

Sub-zero temperature in Kashmir has slowed down daily life and many areas were cut off as a result of fresh snowfall and slippery road conditions. Srinagar, reeling under sub-zero temperatures, recorded minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, 2 degrees below normal, the previous night. As temperatures take a nosedive with each passing day, people start their day late in the morning, with window panes of vehicles covered in frost and the Dal lake’s fringes forming a sheath of ice. “I am posted at Tral in south Kashmir. It takes me half an…

Read More

PPP will turn Doodhpathri concrete destination: TAAK

Editor

Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) has flayed Government’s plan to allow Public Private Partnership in the virgin meadow of Doodhpathri. TAAK, in a statement, said the unique selling preposition (USP) of Kashmir is nature and its serene surroundings. “If we make our virgin tourism meadows like Doodpathri as the concrete jungles, then there will be no difference between metropolitan cities and these stunning meadows of Kashmir. People visit Kashmir to have a feel of nature which is famous for its pristine beauty. They don’t come here to stay in…

Read More

‘Act against Microsoft, US agencies for showing wrong Kashmir map’

Editor

Vijay said he was in a NATO meeting in Brussels a month ago where “I saw the NATO Generals in a briefing showing India’s wrong map. I protested then and there BJP MP Tarun Vijay today asked the government to take up with the US a wrong map of Kashmir allegedly published by Microsoft and other American agencies, saying it was a “cartographic attack” on India’s sovereignty. “There is a cartographic attack on India’s sovereignty and unity. Microsoft and other American agencies are publishing a wrong map of India, and…

Read More

Jammu Airport expansion to be complete by June next year

Editor

The wait for the modified and expanded Jammu Airport will be over by June next year as the authorities have speed up work. The airport authorities have directed the construction agencies to complete the expansion and upgrade work of the Jammu Airport by June 2016. The airport, which was ranked the 27th busiest airport of the country, needs immediate upgrade as the flow of air traffic and passengers have increased manifold in the past few years. The Centre had proposed expansion and upgrade of the airport to increase its landing…

Read More