Month: May 2016

From Hazratbal to Rajouri, Educational Institutions under threat in J&K

Editor

Aaliya Ahmad National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar unrest, followed by chain reaction in other educational Institutions in Kashmir Valley including at University of Kashmir has given a new turn to the environment of studies within the campus. The reaction has found a new place at Rajouri where violent clashes erupted at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU). These clashes between two groups of students were one of the worst incidents of violence witnessed within a University campus in J&K State. What is the reason behind such unrest and levels…

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PDC dream home ‘shattered’ in Kashmir

Editor

The work on multi-crore corporate office for J&K Power Development Corporation (PDC), one of the few profit earning undertakings in the state, here, has been shelved with officials stating that a bureaucratic lobby was “sabotaging” the project. A senior official said Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporations (JKPCC), which was handed over the execution of the project, was allocated around Rs five crore by the previous Government for setting up the PDC headquarters at Raj Bagh, here. The land for the Corporation office was acquired for around Rs 6 crore…

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Darbar Move: An Invisible Elephant

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Anachronistic practice of Darbar Move needs to be reviewed keeping in view the aspirations of both the regions Dr Sirfaraz Ahmed Dar The practice of Darbar Move is a unique administrative arrangement of Jammu Kashmir Government and a symbol of its feudal past whereby the central administrative establishment is shifted twice a year. The move critics say it causes a huge burden on the poor economy of Jammu Kashmir and incur huge inconvenience to the citizens of Jammu Kashmir. Darbar Move is the name given to the bi-annual exercise of…

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Shun differences, BJP leaders told

Editor

The BJP high command, which has been closely monitoring the second coalition stint with the PDP, seems dissatisfied with the “conduct and wisdom of its ministers and legislators”. The Centre is reportedly disappointed because after the passage of one month’s time in the new coalition, BJP leaders have not produced any encouraging result. BJP national vice-president and Jammu and Kashmir affairs in charge Avinash Rai Khanna presided over a party meeting today at Vir Bhawan, the RSS headquarters in Jammu. This meeting was being perceived as an assignment by the…

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Ex-AGI, Ex-ASGI to lead JK’s defence : NEET Row

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NC says Govt’s response too late, YNC to stage protests The former Attorney General of India (AGI) and the former Additional Solicitor General of India (ASGI) are among the team of lawyers hired by the State government who would challenge the Supreme Court’s verdict allowing conduct of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in Jammu Kashmir on Thursday. The State has hired the services of the former Attorney General of India, Gopal Subramanium and the former Additional Solicitor General of India, K V Vishwanathan to plead the case in the Apex court…

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MGNREGA scheme in a mess in JK

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State owes Rs 413-crore liabilities; violates norms for wage payment The Centre’s flagship programme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), continues to work on crutches in Jammu and Kashmir as the state owes a whopping liability of Rs 413 crore in terms of wages to labourers and the cost of material used for executing development works. The state government has also violated the guidelines of MGNREGA regarding the payment of wages to labourers in the stipulated time as labourers have not been paid wages for the development works…

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Majority of pregnant women in Kashmir Vitamin-D deficient

Editor

A fresh study has exposed the grave deficiency of Vitamin D among pregnant women in Kashmir, a condition that can threaten the well being of mother and child. Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy has been advocated by the researchers to address the gross shortfall in Vitamin D levels. A recently published study by Kashmir-based group of researchers has found that two-thirds of Kashmiri women are Vitamin D deficient. The study, carried out at tertiary care hospitals of Srinagar by a group of eleven doctors and published in current issue of…

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‘Biased journalism biggest impediment to its freedom’

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Women College observe ‘World Press Freedom Day’ A day-long seminar to observe ‘World Press Freedom Day’ was held at Government College for Women, M.A Road, Srinagar on Wednesday. The seminar was organized by the department of Mass Communication and Multimedia Production (MCMP) and was attended by prominent journalists and academics of the valley. Special Correspondent with The Week, Tariq Bhat, talked in detail about various issues of press freedom in Kashmir. He said that pressures from different quarters curtail the freedom of press. “More than the pressures by the outside…

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Mehbooba open to advice, but cannot be dictated

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It was the beginning of hard times for Mehbooba Mufti since April 4 when she took over as the first woman Chief Minister of the Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir. She completed first month in office on Wednesday and is now seen as a “tougher administrator” than her father and as a “good listener to sound advice”, feel the men and women around her. Everyone around her — ministers, bureaucrats and political leaders — have recognised her “command as a leader” and not to commit mistake of “underestimating her” or as…

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Odd-evil of traffic management takes Srinagar hostage

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Majid Hyderi It cannot be more ridiculous than this. Having miserably failed to manage traffic in the summer capital in the wake of closure of the arterial Jahangir Chowk-Ram Bagh(JCRB) road, the government is resorting to hit-and-trial of everything, including the upcoming plan to make schoolchildren sleepless in the name of traffic management. School kids are not any soldiers and Srinagar is no battlefield. But if the proposal to open schools at 7:00 AM gets the nod, the children will need to be ready before sunrise, much like it happens…

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