Year: 2015

Mehbooba urges Modi to adopt Atal’s policy

Editor

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti today appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow in the footsteps of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to normalise relations with the neighbouring country. Mehbooba asked Modi that if they could buy onions from Pakistan on lower rates and trade the same via the Wagah border, why couldn’t they stop firing on borders in Jammu and Kashmir, where innocent civilians were being killed on both sides. “We (people of J&K) deserve better treatment,” said Mehbooba after meeting families of the border…

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Crippled health system limping to normalcy

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The health system in Kashmir, which was crippled by the last year floods, is slowly moving back to normalcy with most of the city-based hospitals managing to restore the vital services. Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, which was one of the worst hit healthcare institutions of Kashmir, incurred losses worth Rs 100 crore in the floods. However, it has made a steady progress in the last 11 months. “The hospital was the worst hit. It was a struggle to make it functional, but we have been able to put…

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Film on Kashmir floods screened at KU

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Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi, Thursday called for efficient disaster management preparedness to effectively deal with natural disasters. Chairing a panel discussion after screening of a film on 2014-floods in Kashmir, Prof Andrabi said it is “is important for all of us, collectively, to ponder over what needs to be done to avert natural disasters and how best to deal with them.” He said the focus of “our discussion shouldn’t be limited to floods only but other natural disasters like earthquakes in view of the…

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September floods still haunt Kashmir tourism industry

Editor

A year has passed since floods hit Kashmir; the tourism sector continues to be affected with arrivals falling by 80 percent presently thus giving sleepless nights to tourism players in the Valley. Even though the government led by the Chief Minister himself took the publicizing task, but the move seems to have failed as presently majority of the destinations are receiving tourists below 20 percent. The tourism sector from last two years has been witnessing a sharp decline in the number of tourist arrivals which is leading huge loss to…

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Kashmir, China, Bangladesh – RSS Issues Guidelines for Way Ahead

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Focused on course correction for the government to get rid of any negative perception, the three-day conclave between the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh witnessed the latter offer suggestions on three issues – economy, education and national security. It was the second which occupied most of this afternoon. The ruling party’s ideological mentor offered feedback based on reports from its activists on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir — ceasefire violations by Pakistan and terror attacks from across the border — the relations with Bangladesh and the border situation…

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Casinos can start in Kashmir, but not a priority: Deputy CM

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Casinos were a potential avenue for tourism promotion in Jammu and Kashmir, but it was not a priority right now, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said on Thursday. On a visit to Goa, a hub for tourism and offshore as well as onshore casinos, the BJP leader was asked if he planned to emulate Goa’s casino experience in India’s northernmost state to promote tourism. “Casinos can happen, but it is not our priority right now. What can be done later can be thought out,” he said. He said Jammu and…

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J&K High Court orders CBI probe into Rs 113 crore scam in Abdullah-led JKCA

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Jammu and Kashmir High Court today ordered CBI probe into the alleged Rs 113 crore scam in the state’s Cricket Association, in which allegations have been levelled against certain office-bearers including its President and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. While giving the order, a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Bansi Lal Bhat, came down heavily on the state police which has been probing the case since 2012, saying a “lack of will to will to dig out the scamsters” was clear from its performance. “The…

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Geelani lauds recent Pak stance on Kashmir

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Hurriyat-G chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has written a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appreciating his country’s “recently adopted stand” regarding to the Kashmir issue on the occasion of Indo-Pak NSA level meeting. In a statement issued here, Hurriyat-G to spokesman said that Geelani has in his letter to Sharief praised the recent stand of Pakistan and their support and advocacy of the “subjugated Kashmiri people” as “very encouraging for us”. “It has added a new life to the freedom sentiments of the people of our nation. The…

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ISIS not immediate threat in Kashmir : Deputy CM

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Islamic State, the terrorist organisation which now administers swathes of Syria and Iraq, and spreading fast, was not an immediate threat to Jammu and Kashmir, said Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. Mr Singh asked the media to ignore the waving of the group’s black flag by a mere “one or two people”. “There is no immediate threat (from the ISIS),” Nirmal Singh said, when asked about the terror group’s activity in his state. The BJP leader, who was addressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party state headquarters in…

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