Year: 2016

Committed to safeguarding special status: N N Vohra

Editor

Governor NN Vohra today said the state government was committed to safeguarding the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir, which had been spelt out in the ‘Agenda of Alliance’, forming basis of the PDP-BJP government. The Governor said this during his address to a joint session of both Houses at Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference centre here today. “The state government is committed to safeguarding the special status which has been accorded to Jammu and Kashmir in the Constitution of India and has been spelt out in the ‘Agenda of Alliance’,…

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Mirwaiz placed under house arrest, Malik detained ahead of Thursday’s shutdown

Editor

The authorities placed Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group, under house arrest on Wednesday to prevent him from attending a separatist` meeting over government plans to set up colony for ex-servicemen in the state. The Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest in his uptown Nigeen residence, police said in summer capital Srinagar. Mirwaiz Umer was scheduled to attend a separatist called meeting to discuss the strategy for what the separatists call “resisting the government plans to form a Sainik (Ex-servicemen) colony in Kashmir”. Separatists have also called…

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Airlines hike fares as 115 trains cancelled

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Taking advantage of the cancellation of trains and heavy rush of tourists and pilgrims in the state, the airlines have hiked the airfare to make more profit. The Jammu-Delhi ticket is costing Rs 7,000-8,000. However, the Jammu-Srinagar ticket is costing more than Rs 14,000 per passenger. The Railways has cancelled 115 trains on the route from May 24 to 31 for completion of double- laning of track from Suchi Pind to Jalandhar Cantonment, which led to cancellation of thousands of tickets. Out of 115 cancelled trains, 19 were Jammu-bound. The…

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Kashmiri Pandit Trade Union opposes separate colonies for Pandits

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Opposing the demand of separate colonies for Pandits in the Valley, Kashmiri Pandit Trade Union leader Sampat Prakash on Wednesday dubbed the call as “a conspiracy” of the Hindu nationalists of India, adding that members of the trade union will be holding a hunger strike for a day against the nationalists’ “design” at Pratap Park here on June 4. “The demand for separate colonies for Pandits is a conspiracy of the Hindu nationalists of India, who had launched the infamous Praja Parishad movement in Jammu in 1952, which was rejected…

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Azmi shoots in Kashmir after 32 years

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The veteran actress is working on a project based on Premchand’s popular short story ‘Idgah’ Veteran actress Shabana Azmi is shooting in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir after 32 years. Azmi, 65, is working on a project based on the legendary Hindi writer Premchand’s short story Idgah. The Neerja actress took to Twitter to share the experience of coming back to Kashmir. “Time was when we shot in Kashmir every year. Now going to be shooting there for the first time after 1984. Happy times place teeming…

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Rain brings respite as mercury dips in Valley

Editor

Incessant rainfall that has continued since midnight brought respite from an increasingly hot weather in the region today as mercury registered a steep fall across the Kashmir valley. Rain that lashed all 10 districts of the Valley since yesterday was continuing till late in the evening today. The downpour caused a significant fall in the mercury, which was nearing a record high in recent days. In the city here, where 10 mm rainfall was received in 24 hours, the maximum day temperature was registered at 15.7 degree Celsius, according to…

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Mehraj ud Din Wadoo to stay with Chanayin FC

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The star defender who was a revelation for the club during its successful title bid has preferred to sign new contract with the club as he terms it home away from the home. Star footballer of the Valley Mehraj ud Din Wadoo has preferred to stay with defending champions Chennaiyin FC in the upcoming season of the Indian Super League-2016 that is expected to start in September. The star defender who was a revelation for the club during its successful title bid has preferred to sign new contract with the…

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VHP demands sacking of director tourism for renaming of Hari Parvat as Koh-e-Maran

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Condemning the renaming of Hari Parvat as Koh-e-Maran in the advertisement of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department, VHP today demanded the state government immediately sack the Director Tourism. “We condemn the action of Director Tourism, Srinagar for changing the ancient Sanskrit name Hari Parvat as Koh-e-Maran in its advertisement”, State VHP President Leela Karan Sharma told reporters here today. He condemned the recent advertisement of J-K Tourism in newspapers in which it referred to Hari Parvat as Koh-e-Maran which triggered the controversy. “Even there have been attempts to rename Shankaracharya…

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JMCC protests outside CM residence against Police inaction against Lal Singh’s 1947 remark

Editor

Pertinently, Lal Singh, had on May 21 targeted a group of Muslim farmers in Jammu, reminding them of 1947 massacre in the region, when they had gone to meet the minister for discussing various problems confronting them Agitated over the failure of Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) to initiate action against the Forest Minister, Choudhary Lal Singh, for his alleged derogatory remarks against minority community, Jammu Muslim Coordination Committee (JMCC), today staged a demonstration outside the residence of Chief Minister and Divisional Commissioner’s office. The protesters, mostly Gujjars, were demanding…

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Hangul, the rare Kashmir deer, may soon go extinct

Editor

The endangered hangul, also known as Kashmir deer, is in the throes of extinction, largely because of human intrusions and domestic livestock grazing at its only habitat here. Wildlife experts and activists claim they have been raising the alarm, calling for stringent measures to check human intrusions at Srinagar’s famed Dachigam National Park, the main concentration of the endangered elk species. But the authorities have allowed grazing in the sprawling national park, spread over 141 sq km, for what the activists say mere “political reasons”, which has gravely endangered the…

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