Year: 2015

JK Govt launches flood protection work

Editor

Jammu and Kashmir government has started the work to strengthen banks of rivers and streams in the state as part of the flood protection programme, and also remove any encroachment in flood prone areas. Rural Development minister Abdul Haq launched the flood protection works with the foundation laying of bunds on Rambiara stream at Heff in Shopian and Roh and Bane-Nowgam in Anantnag districts. The Rural Development Department formally launched the flood protection works on various rivers and tributaries and is using latest ‘durable and stronger’ gabions for the construction of protection bunds instead of old crates, an official spokesperson…

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Aiyar sees Modi as ‘hurdle’ in Kashmir talks

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Senior Indian Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has said the Kashmir dispute should be resolved and for that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have to be removed. Bring in the Congress, remove Bharatiya Janata Party, Aiyar reportedly told a news channel when asked about how his party – the Congress – suggests the imbroglio over Kashmir be resolved, The Times of India reported on Tuesday. “We haven’t heard what Mani Shankarji has said (in a TV interview), but I can say the position of our party is to have…

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Another class XII student forced to miss exam

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Board of School Education ‘fails’ to provide hall ticket to her In the second incident in less than a week, another student from Baramulla district has alleged that she was disallowed to write her exams after the school authorities failed to provide her the hall ticket, saying it was misplaced by the board authorities. Shabeena Ayub, a student of Class XII at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Baramulla, said her name was in the list of students eligible for the annual exams, but she was made to wait by the…

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Festive season fails to cheer traders as sales down by 50%

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The festival season has failed to bring joy to the business community in Jammu as Diwali “sales have gone down by 50 per cent” this year. The city markets were nowhere near to usual business as people were “judicious” in spending money. The shopkeepers said the business was all time low this Diwali. “We generally have sales worth over Rs 1 lakh during Diwali but this year, it was not even Rs 50,000. The purchasing power of customers has come down drastically which has affected the entire business community of…

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Pakistan violates truce pact in Samba sector, BSF retaliates

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In less than a month after a sector commander-level meeting between the border guarding forces of Pakistan and India, Pakistan violated ceasefire in the Samba sector last night. The BSF retaliated in equal measure. “Four rounds of AK-47 assault rifle were fired from a jungle on the Pakistan’s side towards our side. There was no targeted firing and it could not be attributed to Pakistan Rangers. They could have been ultras because there are a number of them on their (Pakistan) side,” said RK Sharma, Inspector General of the BSF,…

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Suicide by student: Family wants action against teacher

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4 months after suicide, ‘failed’ student found to have topped class Distressed after being declared failed in physics, a 17-year-old electronics engineering student of Gogjibagh Government Polytechnic College, Srinagar, had committed suicide, but four months after his death, a re-evaluation found that he not only passed the subject but topped his class. The family members of the deceased, Adnan Hilal Gilkar, held a massive demonstration in Srinagar today against the teacher who failed him. “He committed suicide as he could not see himself failing after working hard in his favourite…

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Examinations and Evaluation Reforms

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Dr. Nazir Ahmad Gilkar To sustain an innovative practice, the 4th post ESE-Workshop on Examinations and Evaluation Reforms was held on November 2, 2015 at Central University of Kashmir. Through this platform faculty of the university got an opportunity to share mutual experiences and thoughts. The workshop spread over four micro-presentations, activity based and open-house sessions. The Vice Chancellor of University of Kashmir Prof Khurshid Iqbal Anrabi, in his inaugural address called for complete revamping of examinations and evaluation system in higher education sector. Vice Chancellor of Central University of…

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Apathy, ignorance speeding up Hepatitis-B spread in Kupwara

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Two years after it was reported from Diver area of Kupwara, Hepatitis B continues to infect more and more people for want of health education and screening by authorities. Hepatitis B has been reported in a large number of people in Kakadpati (Diver) village of Lolab in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district triggering panic in the area. Health authorities on Monday confirmed that 59 patients had tested positive for Hepatitis B in Kakadpati and Hajam Mohalla of Diver Lolab. However, some health officials said that the number might be much more…

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‘Chenab Valley a goldmine of natural resources’

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Saying that Chenab Valley is a goldmine of natural resources, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today called upon the stakeholders to synergize their activities so that the region and other unexplored areas of the state are brought on the tourist map. The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking at a convention, which was part of  3-Day FAM tour organized by Department of Tourism. The tour was flagged off for Bhaderwah by Secretary Tourism, Farooq Ahmed Shah earlier from Jammu Tawi Golf Course Sidhra on 14th November. Dr Singh appreciated the…

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Police busts ATM cloning gang in Leh

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District Police Leh today detained two suspects who were in process of obtaining PIN numbers illegally from the customers at an unguarded ATM in Leh town by pretending themselves as customers and cloning the ATM cards by placing some device on machine. In recent past District Police Leh has been receiving complaints about withdrawals of money from various accounts of customers of Leh at various locations in the National Capital Region (NCR) without their knowledge and accordingly District Police Leh constituted a special team led by Dy SP Hqr Leh…

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