Month: June 2016

By-poll voting postponed by two days for Anantnag seat

Editor

After communications from the state government, the Election Commission of India has postponed voting for Anantnag assembly seat by-election to June 22. “Following requests by various political parties including the PDP, NC and the Congress, state chief secretary had written to the election commission requesting postponement of voting for Anantnag assembly by-election to June 22,” an official of the state electoral office told IANS here on Friday. Voting was earlier scheduled to be held on June 19. “The request was made by the political parties because June 19 is the…

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Farooq Abdullah voices apprehensions over fairness of Anantnag bypolls

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National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today voiced apprehensions over fairness of the upcoming by polls in Anantnag Assembly constituency from where Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is contesting and questioned its timing as it coincides with the holy month of Ramadan. The former Chief Minister, who is often accused of rigging the Assembly elections of 1987 which is believed to have given birth to militancy, insisted that he had done no such thing. Referring to the upcoming June 19 Assembly by polls, he said, “I have no hopes that they will…

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Repair of fourth bridge on Tawi finally took off

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The government has finally started repairing the fourth bridge on the Tawi connecting Bhagwati Nagar with Satwari. A portion of the bridge had got washed away in September 2014 flash floods. Embankments are also being strengthened to prevent further damage to the road after months of delay. There was much resentment among the residents as the state government had failed to repair the damaged portion and washed-out portion of the bridge was filled with soil. Official had admitted that the repair work was pending due to paucity of funds. Now…

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Govt checked as it goes ahead with Budget plan without House nod

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Speaker takes serious note of violation by Fin Dept, orders withdrawal of all ordinances BJP joins Oppn to corner FM on budget proposals’ implementation The state government issued 14 orders implementing some important provisions of the annual Budget presented in the state legislature on Monday even as the Budget is yet to be passed by either of the two Houses. The Finance Department did this by issuing Sadar-e-Riyasat Ordinance (SRO) numbers 156 to 168 on May 30 when the Budget was presented and SRO no. 172 on May 31. This…

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Ammunition depots in J&K are live bombs: Devinder Rana

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Speaker Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta, on Wednesday directed the Government to conduct safety audit of all Army ammunition depots in J&K in the wake of the fire in a depot in Maharashtra which killed 17 people. The Speaker issued the direction after National Conference MLA Devinder Rana raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly. “These ammunition depots (in J&K) are live bombs and could be disastrous for the population living around them,” said Rana, pointing towards the treasury benches. He said over the years huge population has settled around these…

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Tourism holds huge potential in state: Mehbooba Mufti

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Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has said the focus of development framework for tourist resorts in the state should not only be planned growth but also creating economic opportunities for the local communities. “Unfortunately, the tourism destinations in Jammu and Kashmir have pursued development strategies without proper planning. They have not considered the impact such lopsided changes can have on environment and local communities,” the CM said while reviewing the progress of Master Plan-2032 for the tourist resort of Gulmarg.

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Govt to rope in private players to build roads, hospitals

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Government will rope in private players to develop the infrastructure in the state including the roads and hospitals due to the shortage of funds. In reply to question of CPI (M) MLA, M Y Tarigami, which was asked by NC legislator Devinder Singh Rana in Tarigami’s absence, Finance Minister, Haseeb Drabu, said the government has already sanctioned the policy to implement projects in nine sectors including roads and health in the private public partnership (PPP) mode. He said vide government order no 238-F of 2015 dated December 8 2015, the…

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Probe report for Handwara Case submitted to govt

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Statement of 40 witnesses recorded during 40-day-long probe The magisterial probe into the Handwara incident, involving the alleged molestation of a minor by an Army man and subsequent killing of five civilians, is over as the inquiry officer has submitted his report to the government. The PDP-BJP government had on April 18 appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner, Handwara, Peer Muzaffar Ahmad, as the inquiry officer to probe the alleged molestation incident and the subsequent firing which took place on April 12. “Yes, I have completed the probe and submitted the report…

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National Conference calls Budget directionless, visionless

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The National Conference today termed the Budget presented by the PDP-BJP government on Monday as “directionless and visionless”. In the Upper House of the legislature, National Conference (NC) MLCs Sajjad Kichloo and Ali Mohammad Dar, while participating in a discussion on the Budget, said there was nothing in it. “I think there is no fun in discussing this Budget. While the House is yet to pass it, SROs have been issued with regard to the Budget by the Finance Ministry. The SROs are issued only after discussion in the House.…

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5.4% Increase in liquor consumption, Can Govt follow Bihar to ban liquor?

Editor

Bihar is not the lone state in India which banned liquor trade. States such as Kerala, Nagaland, Gujarat and Lakshadweep have already stopped liquor business. Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an increase of 5.4 per cent in liquor consumption in the last fiscal year compared to 2014-15 and the state revenue rose by 20 per cent. A total of about 5.75 crore bottles of Indian manufactured foreign liquor, whiskey and beer were consumed during 2015-16 compared to 5.46 crore bottles in the previous fiscal. These figures were submitted in the Assembly…

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