While J&K Government boasts of taking governance to the doorsteps of common man, Kupwara district in north Kashmir is without administrative head for almost a month, which has taken a toll on day-to-day affairs of governance in one of the sensitive districts in Kashmir. The “deep political interference” in the administrative matters in the district is seen as a reason for reluctance of officials to their posting in the district. The position of District Development Commissioner Kupwara is lying vacant for past 25 days after government removed former Deputy Commissioner…
Read MoreYear: 2016
‘Best Film Award’ grabbed by Kashmiri Students
Two young Kashmiri students Purtaas and Zameen Jalal won the best Film Award in Category B for their filom Noori-the light. Thirteen-year-old Purtas and 10-year-old Zameen Jalal both studying in Linton Hall School Rajbagh respectively in 8th and 5th class directed and produced the award winning film on worlds’ first Pashmina Clone Goat. The award ceremony was held at National Physical Laboratory Auditorium. Another documentary film Saving the Saviour on Wular Lake Kashmir directed and produced by Jalal-ud-din Baba won Best Film Award at India International Science Film Festival 2016.…
Read MoreWorld Bank pauses Indus Water Treaty Arbitration
The World Bank (WB) has announced a pause in arbitration between Islamabad and New Delhi on the matter of the two dams being constructed by India, calling on both countries “to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.” In the aftermath of rising cross-border tensions following the Uri army base attack and an Indian surgical strike, Prime Minister NarendraModi in November threatened to stop honouring the Indus Waters Treaty and block the flow of water into Pakistan. India is constructing two hydropower projects on the Chenab and Neelum Rivers in…
Read MoreTrack-II team meets civil society members in Baramulla
The former union minister Yashwant Sinha led track-II delegation held deliberations with different groups at Dak Bunglow here in north Kashmir on Tuesday. Sources said the civil society members stressed upon the visiting delegation about the importance of settlement of Kashmir issue. While conveying the visiting delegation about the pain and misery which people of Kashmir are facing since 1947, the civil society members expressed their deep concern over the lack of meaningful dialogue over Kashmir dispute. “If Government of India is sincere about the peaceful resolution of K-dispute, then…
Read MoreSub-Zero night temperatures in most parts of Kashmir Valley
Sub-zero temperatures prevailed at night in most parts of Kashmir division with a thick layer of fog engulfing the Valley, even as the Met department here predicted mainly dry weather in the state in the week ahead, expected to cause a drop in the mercury. Dense fog engulfed many parts of the Valley, including summer capital Srinagar, this morning, leading to poor visibility and causing difficulties to motorists, an official of the Met department said here. The city had witnessed mainly clear skies for the last two days after a…
Read MoreGovt announces winter vacations from Dec 17
Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday announced winter vacations for all schools in Kashmir division and winter zones of Jammu division. As per the orders issued by school education department, winter vacations from primary to class 8th will start from December 17 while as for High and Higher Secondary classes winter vacations will start from December 26. They said the last working day for classes up to class 8th will be December 15 while as December 24 will be last working day for classes 9th to 12th respectively. The vacations…
Read MoreHit by unrest, Kashmir entrepreneurs pitch for ‘Business Interruption Insurance’
Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir Sunday called for introduction of a special indemnity product—Business Interruption Insurance— in Kashmir to cover the losses the local enterprises suffer during untoward situations in Kashmir. The demand has come at the time when the local business community and industrialists are witnessing worst slump due to closure of commercial activities for about five months in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir. President, Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir, FCIK, Er Mukhtar Yusuf, said the insurance product, once introduced, would relieve the industrialists from the anxiety and they…
Read MoreResistance working on transition from short-term agitation to long-term protest: Mirwaiz
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that the united resistance leadership is working on a transition from short-term agitation to a long-term protest, a media report said today. In an interview with The Economic Times, the Mirwaiz has talked about the New Delhi’s Kashmir policy, ongoing protests and US President-elect Donald Trump. Asked to analyse five months of protests in Kashmir, Mirwaiz said that Kashmiris couldn’t always be in a sprint mode. “Every agitation or movement has a lifespan. Some people here are wrongly creating an impression that…
Read MoreAiling Dal Lake continues to shrink : Study
The Dal Lake, a jewel of Kashmir’s tourism industry, has shrunk by 24.49 per cent in the past 155 years and is becoming increasingly polluted with at least 32 per cent of it described as “severely degraded,” according to a latest research. The study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Kashmir has concluded that the lake had lost 24.49 per cent of its area between 1859 to 2013 as it faced “multiple pressures” from unplanned urbanisation, high population growth and nutrient load from intensive agriculture and…
Read MoreThree-day ‘Relaxation’ brings Valley to life
For the third consecutive day, normal life activities continued uninterrupted across Kashmir today. This happened for the first time since the unrest began over five months ago. The full-day relaxation for the third consecutive day in the separatists’ “protest calendar” this week was given in view of the Eid-e-Milad celebrations in the Valley. Two-day relaxation was given in the last two weeks to enable the people to make purchases of essentials and other merchandise ahead of the winter months. Separatists—Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik— have…
Read More
