Year: 2016

6000 Pellet cartridges used in one month on Kashmir protesters

Editor

Police official says pellets used in Kashmir are ‘bare-metal pellets without rubber coating’ The pellets used by police and Central Reserve Police Force to disperse protesters in Kashmir are “bare-metal pellets” and the Standard Operating Procedure prepared by the Bureau of Police Research and Development for crowd control makes no mention of pellet guns, officials said on Thursday. Police records suggest that in the past more than three weeks, CRPF personnel have fired more than 6000 pellet cartridges in Kashmir to disperse pro testers who hit the Valley streets against…

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Shut down your car engine it will still move at 20 kmph; Magnetic Hill

Editor

There is a place in Jammu and Kashmir where even if you shut down your car engine, the vehicle would still moves forward at a speed of 20 kmph. Amazing right! The place is called Magnetic Hill and is located on the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar national highway, some 30 km from Leh. www.JKLTravels.com – www.KashmirTravels.in (Your Travel Partner In Jammu & Kashmir)

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“Move fast before Kashmir explodes” : M Y Taragami

Editor

PM has not said a word even though Kashmir is burning: M Y Tarigami Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, a senior legislator of Jammu Kashmir, has been a voice of sanity in troubled times in Kashmir. The sole representative of the CPI (M) in Kashmir, he has won from the Kulgam constituency repeatedly in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014. He can by no stretch of the imagination be called a separatist being a mainstream politician who has taken firm positions on important issues in the past. Tarigami is deeply disturbed and worried…

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Amid restrictions, local growers meet vegetable demand across Valley

Editor

“We are having adequate supply of vegetables. In fact we are exporting vegetables at this time of the year,” Chairman Parimpora Fruit Mandi Association, Bashir Ahmad Basheer said. As Kashmir continues to remain under siege, the vegetable growers and vendors in the Valley have been working tirelessly to ensure the local demand is met locally and the prices remain under check. Amid the ongoing unrest, while the growers have ensured abundant supply of locally cultivated vegetables, the vendors ensure the prices remain under check and vegetables reach every nook and…

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Day 27: No let up in Protests, 100 fresh injuries; Resistance camp extend shutdown till Aug 12

Editor

Over 100 injured in clashes in South, Central, North Kashmir Curfew, restrictions, shutdown cripple life Separatists extend shutdown till Aug 12, Announce relaxations in strike after 6 pm on alternate days, ask DCs not to force employees to attend offices Thousands attend pro-freedom rally in Anchdora People offer afternoon prayers on roads at many places; Women lead protests in Kupwara Pro-freedom protests in Poonch, Rajouri, Kishtwar, Doda There has been no let up in protests in the Valley even as the curfew, restrictions and shutdown remained in force for the 27th…

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Violent Protests in Kupwara, Shopian, Dozens Injured one critical

Editor

At least 22 persons were injured in south Kashmir’s Shopian district as protesters were tear gassed at two different places. Hundreds of protesters started their march towards Shopian from Pinjura and Trenz area. Raising anti-India and pro-freedom slogans, the protesters were intercepted in the midway near Sheikh Mohalla, by police and CRPF. Soon clashes started in the area and government forces used tear smoke shells and pellets to disperse the protesters. Sources said that twenty protesters sustained injuries in clashes which lasted for a couple of hours. However, they were treated locally. Another…

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Mirwaiz Umar Farooq – Once bitten, Twice shy

Editor

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads his faction of the Hurriyat Conference, has been continuously under house arrest for the past two months. He is considered a moderate separatist leader, but he has turned a hardliner now as the Union government continues not to listen to the voice of Kashmiris. In this interview, he expresses his frustration. Excerpts: Why do you think the situation erupted like this? It was the most obvious reaction to the kind of provocations that the people of Kashmir were being routinely subjected to since the infamous…

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Dozens injured in forces action at Sirigufwara; Pro-freedom demos rock Aishmuqam, Kanelwan

Editor

At least 28 protesters were wounded when forces fired teargas shells and pellets to quell the protesters at Sirigufwara village in south’s Kashmir Anantnag district on Thursday, witnesses said. Forces also used force to quell the pro-freedom demonstration at Seer and Aishmuqam areas, witnesses said, adding that several people were injured in the forces action. A massive pro-freedom rally organized by different sects was held at Kanelwan village in Bijbehara and at Wachi Shopian in south Kashmir on Thursday, witnesses said. They said religious leaders of various sects and pro-freedom…

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After Streets, It Is ‘Fight for Airwaves’ in Tral

Editor

With army, CRPF and police on one side and protesters on the other side, Tral, the hometown of popular militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani, is resounding with “pro-India and pro-Pakistan” songs and anthems since Thursday afternoon. “Army is playing pro-India songs on speakers installed atop tall towers placed inside their garrison,” said a local who lives half-a-mile away. As per reports, the main garrison in Tral, which is located on now barricaded Shikargah road, first played: Ae mere watan ke logo zara yaad karo kurbaani (Oh countrymen, remember the sacrifices),…

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The ‘non-lethal’ pellet

Editor

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh responded to the outrage at the use of pellet guns by saying that he had set up a committee of experts to look into the alternatives, hinting that the government might ban the use of this otherwise “non-lethal weapon”. Since the killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, over 200 young boys and girls have been struggling with their eyesight after being hit by pellets. At least 10 of them have been completely blinded; 40 per cent may not be able…

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