Year: 2015

‘Climate change cause of freaky weather in Kashmir’

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Prominent environmentalist Sunita Narain on Monday said the freaky weather in Kashmir is clear indicator of climate change in the Himalayan region and maintained that the pattern may worsen in the coming years. “There have been 11 cloudbursts in Kashmir during past few months. Now this unusual natural phenomena is becoming ‘normal.’ The frequency of freaky weather is increasing. Clearly, this is an indicator of climate change and has affected fragile eco-system here. People will be deeply impacted by it,” Narain said in her lecture on ‘The imperative of environment…

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ACC agitation guided by NC and Congress: BJP

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Stating that the BJP’s repeated assertions of ACC agitation being guided and directed by political parties like NC and Congress, party State President & MP Jugal Kishore Sharma said that ACC stands exposed before the public now. Addressing a press conference along with State Chief Spokesperson Sunil Sethi at party headquarters on Monday, the BJP Chief said that today’s incident of the ACC gathering being addressed by NC patron Dr. Farooq Abdullah, has now totally exposed the ACC as it had been repeatedly assuring the people that no political leader…

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NC expresses anguish over excesses on peaceful demonstrators

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Senior National Conference leaders on Sunday expressed anguish over excesses committed on peaceful demonstrators in Jammu yesterday and assailed the PDP-BJP coalition for showing scant regard for democratic norms and civilised behaviour. “It is intriguing that instead of conceding the just demand of the people being projected by the civil society with regard to establishment of a full-fledged AIIMS in Jammu, the government chose to crack down on them by using excessive force”, the leaders said in a joint statement, while cautioning the administration against the anti-people approach. They said that…

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Consumers in Kashmir shell out Rs.18 tax on every petrol litre

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Jammu and Kashmir’s business community has demanded immediate rollback of increase in taxes of petrol and diesel recently imposed by state government, terming the hike as “undue and irrational”. The business community in the state has accused the state government of “inflicting miseries on people” of JK who have yet to recuperate from aftermath of September floods. The chambers, business associations from both provinces of the state, Jammu and Kashmir, have flayed the state government for increasing the rate of tax on petrol and diesel. The Jammu and Kashmir government…

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Jammu bandh over AIIMS enters Day 4; 15 detained

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Police detained 15 protesters on Monday, the fourth day of the Jammu bandh called by the AIIMS Coordination Committee (ACC), demanding a notification to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the Jammu region. The ACC extended the 72-hour bandh on Sunday by another three days despite Union health minister JP Nadda’s recent tweet wherein he assured “AIIMS-like facilities for both the Jammu and Kashmir regions”. Not convinced with the assurance, the ACC demanded that the minister issue a notification, stating that the institute would be…

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Tough times ahead as local militants outnumber Pakistani

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Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) tops the list with most number of recruits in the valley, relegating Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) to the second place. The emerging new trend in Kashmir of local militants outnumbering the foreign militants (read Pakistani) has increased the worries of the security agencies and they are bracing up for a fresh spate of violence in the valley. According to census of active militants done by the J&K police, for the first time in last one decade, the local boys have swelled up the ranks of militants constituting a whopping 62…

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Flash floods affect 4 Leh villages, no casualties reported

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Heavy rains in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir caused flash floods, resulting in damage to several residential houses, police said here on Monday. “Flash floods caused by heavy rainfall affected four villages in Leh district late last night,” a police official said. He said the affected villages were Vanilla, Shakti, Chuchut and Basigo — all falling under the jurisdiction of Leh police station. “Several houses have been damaged due to the flash floods but there are no reports of any human casualties so far,” the official added. An official…

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Army downplays violence in J&K, calls it media’s wishful thinking

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The Army Monday downplayed the recent incidents of violence and reports of youths joining militancy, especially in south Kashmir, stating that the situation was largely stable and the media was just indulging in wishful thinking. “There is a situation (but) largely it is quite stable. But because of certain amount of media magnification that is taking place, and what is emerging on the social media, a notion is getting created… It is getting hyped much beyond what it is actually,” General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt…

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1998 Indian Army’s Jammu Massacres Killing 34, No Justice Yet

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Poonch families of Sailan and Mohara Bachai massacres protest in Kashmir On the 17th anniversary of Sailan massacre in Poonch district of Jammu, the relatives of the victims decried inordinate delay in justice and vowed to continue their struggle for bringing the accused to book. The relatives mostly survivors of the brutal massacre in which 19 people including 11 children of three families were killed allegedly by four Special Police Officers (SPOs) and personnel of 9 Paratroopers of Indian Army on August 3, 1998 night recounted the incident with tearful…

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Unholy Alliance responsible for youth joining militancy:NC

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National conference Monday castigated BJP for making irresponsible statements aimed at disrupting peace and tranquillity in the state. “People who have created a wedge between communities in the state are now finding new ways of escaping the blame. It is a shame that BJP claims that the recent unrest in the Valley is at the behest of NC. It is they who are forcing ordinary people and youngsters to pick up arms by their repressive, autocratic and communally motivated policies.” Said Nasir Aslam Wani, Provincial President Kashmir NC. Rather than…

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