Year: 2016

Srinagar ranks LOW on cleanliness list

Editor

The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar has been ranked as one of the dirtiest cities on countrywide survey in terms of cleanliness index. Out of 73 cities, Srinagar has been ranked 48th on the cleanliness index of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The data was released here by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. Mysore was declared as the cleanest city among all million plus and capital cities while Dhanbad of Jharkhand has been raked the worst. The countrywide survey by the ministry was based on the marks…

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No alternative to strike calls as yet: Geelani

Editor

Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani has said that despite many suggestions, no concrete and solid alternative of strike calls has been put forward from any quarter till date in Jammu and Kashmir. “Calling or observing a one-day shutdown after each innocent killing although does not meet the demands of the situation but there is no other option left by the government. After every such incident, the government imposes curfew and puts forces on the roads to block the people’s protest,” Geelani said in a statement today, adding that…

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Post-flood, GB Pant Hospital takes lead in Valley’s healthcare

Editor

The Valley’s premier child care centre, GB Pant Hospital, has grown into a cutting edge facility with integrated healthcare services, research and children friendly healing process, even as the flood-ravaged government-run hospitals in Kashmir are still struggling to restore normal operations. With the addition of new equipments and expertise, the officials at the GB Pant Hospital say a lot of thought has gone into remodeling the functioning of the centre. In the past few months, the hospital authorities have added 10 high-end ventilators, installed Rs 3 crore worth sewerage treatment…

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Kashmir’s walnut industry is dying unattended

Editor

Horticulture is an important sector of J&K economy. The state is famous for its horticultural produce. The best known horticultural items from the state are apple, walnut, apricot, pear, peach, cherry, almond etc. Here my focus is particularity the walnut industry which is presently facing an existential threat. This sector is source of livelihood for thousands of families. But the growers and traders associated with this sector are worried due to sharp slump in prices. Traders are of the opinion that the present decrease in prices is due to the…

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Pulwama firing victims may have to live with permanent disabilities

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Aamir Ahmad Mir of Ratnipora village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district is struggling to recover from a grievous injury at the SMHS Hospital here. The 20-year-old has been put on life support system after he received a teargas shell in his abdomen on Sunday. Doctors treating Amir said he was hit by a teargas shell fired from a “point blank range”. “Aamir’s spleen was ruptured by the teargas shell and we immediately removed it,” said a doctor. “He is stable, but may face digestive problems in future,” added the doctor.…

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Fresh snowfall in Kashmir

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Fresh snowfall occurred in the famous tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir even as most other places in the Valley remained dry, with the state expected to experience another spell of wet weather from Wednesday. Pahalgam, which serves as base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra during summer, received fresh snowfall during the night, said an official of the Meteorological Department. The resort recorded 11 cm of snow since yesterday and the night temperature rose by two notches to settle at a low of minus 4.7 degree Celsius, the…

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How JNU row might affect Government formation in J&K

Editor

The Jawaharlal Nehru University row is expected to add to the hold-up on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is currently under President’s Rule. A programme in support of Afzal Guru – the Parliament attack convict whose execution in 2013 is one of the issues on which the two ideologically opposite parties do not see eye to eye – has triggered the mega controversy in JNU. A student’s arrest for sedition for allegedly participating in the Afzal Guru event, during which anti-India slogans were raised, has led to opposition…

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Guv to review dredging of Jhelum

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Running behind the schedule, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department may have to answer some tough questions as Governor NN Vohra is scheduled review the dredging work in the Jhelum during his day-long visit to Kashmir on Tuesday. It has been 17 months since the devastating floods hit the Valley in 2014, but the authorities concerned are yet to carry out the full-fledged dredging of the river. Last month, a Kolkata-based firm was roped in by the government to carry out the pending work. An official acknowledged that so far…

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Ladakhi women to represent country in ice hockey

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The women’s national ice hockey team comprising players from Ladakh will take part in the International Ice Hockey Federation Challenge Cup to be held at Taipei, Taiwan, from March 22 to 26. All the players of the team and the coach have been selected from Ladakh and most of them are from remote villages of the region located near the Line of Actual Control N Gyalpo, vice-president, Ladakh Winter Club, said, “A total of 28 players from various village ice hockey clubs have been selected last month for the national team…

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BOSE to keep board exam papers at police stations to check leak

Editor

After being criticised for alleged incidents of question paper leak at various examination centres across the Jammu division during annual board exams of the summer zone for the past few years, the J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has decided to keep the question papers at police stations concerned. The practice will commence in the upcoming exams of Class X and XII wherein the superintendents of examination centres will have to collect the papers from the police station hours before the commencement of the exam. Sources said in the previously…

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