Year: 2015

Omar Abdullah tweets “it’s snowing in Gulmarg” as cold wave grips J&K, Leh freezes at minus 12 degrees

Editor

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is known for his love for the nature and skiing on the slopes in Gulmarg hill station, expressed his happiness on Sunday over the season’s first snowfall here. “It’s snowing. It couldn’t get any more beautiful up in #Gulmarg today,” Omar wrote on Twitter. An intense cold wave swept the Kashmir Valley today as minimum temperatures dropped below the freezing point overnight. Leh town in Ladakh region recorded a minimum temperature of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius. “The minimum temperatures throughout the…

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Snowfall brings joy to tourists

Editor

As Kashmir plains received this winter’s first snowfall, it has brought cheers to tourists visiting Valley at this time. Hundreds of the tourists visiting Kashmir’s famous tourist resort Sonamarg expressed joy. Though the road leading to Sonamarg is closed owing to slippery road conditions and chances of slides along the route, the tourists are seen enjoying snow at Gagengar, a village few kilometers ahead of Sonamarg. All the business establishments including hotels, restaurants, shops get closed in early December in view of the heavy snowfall the area receives during winters.…

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Naeem launches CM’s Super-50 Free Winter Tutorial for students

Editor

Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar launched Chief Minister’s Super-50 Free Winter Tutorial initiative for students as well as medical and engineering aspirants of Jammu and Kashmir, here, today. The initiative is a comprehensive free tuition program for 10th and 12th class students of Jammu and Kashmir who will be tutored by top faculty drawn from the State Government’s Education Department. “The free winter tutorials will be run by the best brains of J&K who will get incentives based on their performance. The students will have to pay nominal heating charges…

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Power crisis worsens as SJVNL stops supply to J&K

Editor

The power crisis in Jammu and Kashmir has worsened as the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) — a joint venture between the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh Government — has suspended supply of 105 MW to the state due to non-payment of past bills. The SJVNL, which is one of the multiple suppliers of electricity to the state, issued a notice earlier this month announcing 100 per cent regulation of supply to the Power Development Department (PDD) of Jammu and Kashmir. The regulation, which is in effect for the…

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Mehbooba’s statement lands BJP in embarrassing situation

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Says consent of Hurriyat was sought before forming state govt The BJP is facing severe criticism from its hardcore cadre and supporters after PDP president Mehbooba Mufti made the starling revelation that her party had sought “consent” from the separatist Hurriyat Conference to form the government with the saffron party. As the social media is flooded with anti-BJP posts, party leaders have maintained guarded silence on this contentious issue. No BJP leader was ready to react on Mehbooba’s disclosure, which had landed the “nationalist” party in an embarrassing situation. Mehbooba…

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Beacon misses Nov 30 deadline for Highway widening

Editor

Beacon has again missed the deadline to complete widening of the 7.5-kilometre stretch of Srinagar-Baramulla highway from Shalteng to Narbal. It was in 2007 that work on four-laning this 7.5-kilometre stretch was allotted to Beacon by the Union Government. However, since then, the agency had missed several deadlines. Due to non-completion of the Shalteng-Narbal stretch, frequent traffic jams on a daily basis were being witnessed on the national highway, which had been causing hardship to commuters. On July 25, Beacon assured the Jammu and Kashmir Government of completing the second…

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Mobile towers increase in city despite restrictions

Editor

With the telecom companies in the winter capital making efforts to increase their subscriber base by installing more base transceiver stations (BTS), there has been a mushrooming growth of mobile towers in the residential areas of the city. Some of the companies have even bypassed the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) to get the required permission for setting up mobile towers. However, the corporation is watching as a “mute spectator”. Mobile towers on roof tops in many residential areas of the city has become a common sight. Sources said few years…

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Snow intensifies cold wave in Valley

Editor

The Kashmir valley received a fresh spell of snow today while the cold wave tightened its grip ahead of ‘Chillai Kalan’ — the harshest 40-day winter period that begins December 21. An official of the Meteorological Department said Srinagar city recorded 0.2 mm of rainfall/snowfall today. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 5.8°C and a minimum temperature of minus 0.8°C. Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, recorded 3.2 mm of snowfall during the day. The maximum and minimum temperature at Qazigund stood at 3.0°C and 0.8°C, respectively. Pahalgam resort…

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New Delhi grounds JK’s plea to rename Srinagar Airport

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The J&K government’s assurance to rename the Srinagar ‘International’ Airport after the revered saint Sheikh-ul-Alam (RA) is yet to see the light of the day, with a Member Parliament from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party blaming the Union Civil Aviation Ministry for stonewalling the move for unknown reasons. The state government had on the floor of the Legislative Assembly this year announced that it would consider rechristening the Srinagar airport. But, according to sources, the government hasn’t moved beyond the announcement. Talking to us, Member Parliament, Tariq Hamid Karra, who…

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Milad arrangements reviewed

Editor

Arrangements for the upcoming Eid-ul-Milad celebrations were reviewed under the chairmanship of the District Development Commissioner (DDC), Srinagar, today. The meeting also reviewed arrangements for Khoja Digar prayers at the shrine of Naqashband Sahib. The DDC reviewed arrangements being put in place to provide up to the mark services to devotees at Hazratbal, Aasar-i-Shareef Kalashpora and other shrines in the city. The Deputy Commissioner was informed that adequate transport services to and from Hazratbal, uninterrupted power and water supply in and around shrine and medicare would be ensured by the…

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