The change in school timings ordered by School Education Department has evoked widespread criticism with parents and civil society accusing the department of putting students to torture for ensuring hassle free traffic movement for bureaucrats during day time. The government recently decided to change the timings for government as well as private schools and said the timing for the schools within the Municipal limits of Srinagar shall be from 8 am to 2 pm and for the schools outside Srinagar Municipal limits shall be from 9 am to 3 pm…
Read MoreMonth: May 2017
UN Chief ‘Paying Attention’ to Indo-Pak border tension
Secretary General Antonio Guterres is “paying attention” to the tensions between India and Pakistan at the border but the UN has not received any reports of alleged recent ceasefire violations, his spokesperson said. “The Secretary General is paying attention to this issue,” UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the daily briefing when asked about the escalating tensions between two nuclear armed South Asian neighbours. “We checked with our colleagues at UNMOGIP (United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan). We have not received any alleged ceasefire violations reports…
Read MoreRail bridge taller than Eiffel Tower over chenab coming up in two years
In around two years from now, the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir will be spanned by the world’s highest railway bridge that is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed at a cost of around Rs 1,100 crore in hostile terrain, will use over 24,000 tonnes of steel and will rise 359 metres above the river bed. Designed to withstand the wind speed of up to 260 km per hour, the 1.315-km-long “engineering marvel” will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar).…
Read MoreUse of Pellet guns controversial: National Human Rights Commission
The National Human Rights Commission has told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that use of pellet guns during the turmoil in Kashmir Valley was “controversial”, but human rights of security personnel are also involved as crowd pelts stones at them. It alleged that the turmoil in Kashmir was “augmented by trans-border terrorism and ‘jihadi’ funding from the neighbouring country”, in a veiled reference to Pakistan. “The turmoil in Kashmir is on the spotlight now… The use of plastic pellets by CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) is controversial. The NHRC…
Read MoreDisplaced Kashmiri Pandits turn to UN over rights violations in state
Displaced Pandits have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to give due consideration to the plight of 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Hindus who were forced to leave their homeland by militant groups inspired by Islamic extremist ideology in 1989-90. In the backdrop of attacks by militants on Pandit habitations and vandalism of transit camps housing minority community employees by stone- throwing mobs during the 2016 unrest, human rights activists have urged the UN body to take note of fact that Pandits have been denied the right to live in…
Read MoreGunmen loot 2 banks in 2 hours in Pulwama
Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday looted cash from two banks within a span of two hours in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district which has been witnessing attacks on financial institutions for the past three consecutive days, police said. A police official said three masked gunmen entered Wahibug branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank at about 1:30 pm and looted Rs five lakh on gunpoint. “After collecting the cash, they (gunmen) managed to escape from the spot,” he said. Soon after the incident, police and army reached the spot and questioned the employees and…
Read MoreCyber Cell begins snapping VPN’s: Blocking the blocked
‘JKP taking measures to counter Lashkar’s 2017 social media-driven war’ To ensure a complete ban on the use of social networking sites in Kashmir and make sure access to the banned sites is completely blocked, J&K Police’s Cyber Wing is taking on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). “We are aware that VPN proxy services are being used to access the banned social networks and we have notified the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block them and some popular VPN applications have already been blocked,” a senior police official at Cyber Police…
Read MoreAuthorities restart axing Chinars for grade separator
11 more Chinars to be felled between MA Road- Radio Kashmir stretch Throwing environmental norms to wind, authorities have once again started axing Chinars between Radio Kashmir junction and MA Road for constructing the grade separator on this stretch. Pertinently, axing Chinars to pave way for the grade separator earlier this year was stopped following massive public outcry. Authorities had planned to axe 11 Chinars on the stretch out which seven were felled earlier in January while rest are being axed now. The felling of Chinars has been entrusted to…
Read MoreProtests in Jammu over killing, alleged mutilation of Indian soldiers
Several political parties and groups on Tuesday held protests in Jammu against the alleged mutilation of Indian soldiers by Pakistani army on Monday in Poonch area of the state. As per reports, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party leaders and activist staged a protest against Pakistan outside the United Nations Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) office in Jammu. The protestors held banners and raised anti-Pakistan slogans and urged the UN authorities to declare Pakistan a ‘terror state’. “The incident is an insult to the whole nation and…
Read More‘Hired’ to stage anti-Pak protest outside UN office, labourers demand ‘Wages’ from ‘Contractor’
“This man (contractor) said he needed some 10 labourers. He provided us a Sumo vehicle and promised to pay Rs 400 each,” they said. Several poor labourers were reportedly hired by a ‘contractor’ here on Tuesday who duped them resulting in confrontation at Press Enclave where the labourers spilled the beans. The labourers demanded their ‘wages’ for staging anti-Pakistan demonstration outside UN office here to oppose the neighbouring country’s proposed move to give Gilgit-Baltistan the status of a province. The facts came to fore after the hired protesters had argument…
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