Year: 2016

Renovated ‘Diwan-i-Khas’ at Shalimar thrown open to public

Editor

Renovated “Diwan-i-Khas” dating back to the Mughal era at the Shalimar Garden was thrown open to the residents here today. It is located on the fourth terrace in the erstwhile “zenana” quarter of the garden. Ambassador of Germany Martin Ney inaugurated the first phase of Diwan-i-Khas. He unveiled a plaque commemorating the project and also inaugurated the restored papier mâché ceilings inside the hall. The restoration works were undertaken by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Kashmir Chapter, after it had received financial assistance from Germany.…

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Mehbooba calls for structural revamp of Wakf Board

Editor

Calling for a structural revamp to make the J&K Wakf Board a vibrant organisation, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today ordered immediate mapping and inventory management of landed property and physical assets, including details of revenue, expenditure and human resource on the rolls of the organisation. She asked the board to take a cue from similar religious organisations functioning in the state, which by prudent use of its assets and endowment money, have been able to create a huge social sector infrastructure base. “I see no reason why we cannot replicate…

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Shelter plan meant to erode article 370: Hurriyet

Editor

Hurriyet leaders have said that the Indian plan to construct shelters in the name of homeless people in Jammu and Kupwara districts is actually an Israeli-type policy aimed at changing the demography of Jammu and Kashmir. The leaders including Shabbir Ahmad Dar, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, Muhammad Iqbal Mir, Imtiyaz Ahmad Reshi and Ghulam Nabi War in their joint statement issued in Srinagar maintained that the objective of the policy was to convert the Muslim majority into a minority in the territory. The leaders said, such steps and schemes are the…

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No Successor to Geelani during his lifetime

Editor

‘Hurriyat will elect my successor through consultation process after my death’ • Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute • JK should not be brought under NEET • Handwara girl should be released Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani Monday said that he would continue to lead the party and the separatist conglomerate and sis successor would be appointed only after his death. “I would continue to lead as head of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat as well as Hurriyat Conference (APHC),” Geelani said while addressing a press conference at Hyderpora residence, here.…

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Heat wave intensifies, Jammu sizzles at 42°C

Editor

Severe heat wave gripped Jammu today with the day’s temperature soaring to 42°C — six degrees above normal. Weatherman said people might get respite with light rains expected on Tuesday evening, but during the next two weeks, the maximum temperature is likely to show an upward trend. Within the city, the condition was made worse by hot winds blowing throughout the day which forced people to remain indoors in comfort of their coolers and air conditioners. Temperature in the region has been rising steadily since the last week of April…

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Growing local support for militancy has worried J&K Cops

Editor

Two months ago in the February chill, when most people usually stay warm inside with their kangris, a group of Kalashnikov wielding militants on motor bicycles stomped through a massive funeral for a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist in a village graveyard of Pulwama in south Kashmir. They fired several rounds in the air and left the venue immediately, leaving many in the funeral enthralled and chattering about it for several days. Just like their predecessors in 1990, the new generation militants have come to be seen as heroes with a cult following…

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‘Traffic regulation would be improved from today’

Editor

Inspector General of Police (Traffic) Shafqat Watali on Sunday said that there would be improvement in traffic regulation in the summer capital from May 2. Watali was interacting with representatives of civil society, traders and transporters here. He was flanked by SSP Traffic (City) Maqsood-ul-Zaman. “We welcome your valuable suggestions and ensure that these would be incorporated to make traffic regulation better. You will experience considerable improvement in traffic regulation from May 2,” he said during the interaction. The IGP maintained that the Traffic diversion plan has “no loopholes.’ “But…

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Jammu sizzles at 41° Celsius

Editor

The state’s winter capital Jammu experienced another hot day today with the mercury rising to 41 degree Celsius, five notches above normal. The maximum temperature was recorded at 41.2 degrees Celsius, 5 notches above normal while the minimum settled at 23 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal for this time of the year,” an official from weather department said. Meanwhile, the comparatively colder Chenab valley region also experienced a steep rise in day temperature. Mountainous Bhaderwah town recorded 30.5 degree maximum temperature and 10.2 degree Celsius minimum temperature, Banihal recorded…

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Nightmare of nightmares in J&K

Editor

Arun Joshi Kashmir is a paradise on earth — a poetic statement that lifts our spirits and imagination and throws us back to the Mughal era, invoking the irresistible charm of the beauty of forests, mountains, rivers and lakes in the Valley. The Valley retains much of its charm for tourists despite loot of forests and unending greed of encroachers stretching up to water bodies with the help of the bribery-driven system. This is good news. The bad news is: travelling on the road to Kashmir is a nightmare of…

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A new future for Kashmir

Editor

Rajni Shaleen Chopra My Sunday musings began with a tweet by a Kashmiri who writes under the pen-name Ibne battuta. His comment: ‘Damn the system, label it everything you can, and then seek help from it. Love your hypocrisy’. If the same had been stated by a mainland Indian, Kashmir would have been outraged. The sarcasm of a fellow Kashmiri may evoke some introspection. Meanwhile, comments of Kashmiris on social media have made me introspect. A popular Kashmiri poet noted after the Friday namaz: ‘Just met a person who said,…

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