Month: July 2017

Opportune time to restart talks with Resistance Group: Mehbooba Mufti

Editor

In an exclusive interview, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti says dialogue or engagement should not be confused with appeasement as the exercise is for reconciliation In her first interview since the Amarnath attacks in which eight yatris were killed, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti says the widespread condemnation of the attacks showed Kashmiriyat is still most important for Kashmir, and advocated restarting the dialogue with separatists. There had been several reports and intelligence on a possible attack on the Amarnath Yatra. Where does responsibility for the…

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‘Culture on Cruise’ an initiative by Tourism Deptt, JKAACL launch at Dal Lake

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J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in association with Tourism Department Kashmir launched a weekly cultural programme series titled “Culture on Cruise” here on Saturday at Dal Lake. Conceived by JKAACL, the innovative programme series brings writers, performance artists, musicians, poets and academics together and offers a program of performances, workshops, talks, forums and debates. Talking about the programme series – the first of its kind in the State – Secretary JKAACL, Dr Aziz Hajini says he’s looking forward to hosting such events on regular basis through summer and…

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Faith Conquers Fear: Amarnath Yatris number from Jammu goes up

Editor

Faith has conquered fear in the aftermath of the terror attack on an Amarnath yatra bus in Anantnag on July 10 evening that left seven pilgrims dead and 19 others injured as the number of yatris leaving the Jammu base camp for south Kashmir has witnessed an upward trend since then. According to police officials, a total of 3,398 pilgrims left the Jammu base camp for the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva located in south Kashmir in the 16th batch amid tight security. The batch comprising 2,535 males, 758…

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Thousands participate in militant’s back to back funeral in Tral

Editor

Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers of slain Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) militant, Mukhtar Ahmed Lone alias Bita Molvi, who along with his two associates, Parvaiz Ahmad Wani of Pahoo Pulwama and a Pakistani Hassan Bhai were killed in an encounter with government forces in Wantiwen forests of Satura village of Tral in Pulwama district on Saturday. From wee hours on Sunday, thousands of people reached the native village of Mukhtar in Amirabad to participate in his funeral. At least three back to back funeral prayers were held at…

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People of Kashmir are between two maximalist positions: Chidambaram

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The Congress leader’s tweets come a day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti pointed out that the instability in the Valley is not due to a lack of law and order, but due to few external dimensions, while also urging the entire nation to come together to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Sunday took to Twitter to stress on the prevailing instability in the Kashmir Valley and blamed the Centre for aggravating the problem by taking ‘a maximalist position.’ “On…

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Solid Waste Management in Srinagar still on paper

Editor

May become impediment for implementation of Smart City project More than 13,000 metric tonnes of solid waste that is produced in Srinagar every month may become one of the main challenges for the successful implementation of the Smart City project in the summer capital. For the past many years, the government has failed to address the menace of solid waste as nearly 450 metric tonnes of solid waste is produced in the city every day and is dumped in the heart of Srinagar in Achen, the only open dumping site…

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Kashmir becoming flash point after China’s increasing interest in dispute: Geelani

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Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani while commenting on “China’s increasing interest in Kashmir issue” said that Kashmir is becoming a flash point and “it’s disputed nature is spreading beyond limits”. Geelani said that the delay in Kashmir resolution can lead to more dangerous situation. In a statement issued today, Geelani said: China is emerging as a major alternate power against west and now stand established and since the borders of these countries are adjoining, hence China cannot remain neutral in the stressful situation between the two countries.” Geelani said…

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Traders suffer losses due to ongoing National Investigation Agency Probe

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With the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the link between the cross-LoC trade and hawala money, Wagah border traders claim to have suffered losses due to this trade. Traders of Punjab, involved in trade from the Wagah border, had lodged a complaint with the NIA, claiming hawala money was being pumped through the cross-LoC trade. “It was on the complaint of Punjab traders that NIA raided the cross-LoC trade centre at Poonch in December 2016 and also a trader in Jammu on June 4 and seized records from 2008 till…

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Ramban-Banihal stretch a deathtrap for Amarnth pilgrims

Editor

Road sinking at several places, landslides make it worse Amarnath pilgrims, who come from all parts of the country and abroad, have been witnessing bad roads in the Jammu region. A 36-km-long accident-prone crucial stretch between Ramban and Banihal has virtually turned into a death trap for pilgrims due to the poor condition of the track. A casual approach being adopted by policemen in managing the traffic has further added to the woes of pilgrims. Although the state of the road has been bad for a long time, after the…

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Clamour grows louder for abolition of toll tax in state: GST Effect

Editor

Even as the ruling dispensation has given the excuse of Rs 900-crore revenue loss to the state exchequer on account of abolition of the toll tax at Lakhanpur, clamour has gone louder against the charging of the toll tax after the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Jammu and Kashmir. The state government, however, has maintained a silence on “net profit” to Jammu and Kashmir in terms of “divisible pool of taxes” from the Centre under the GST. The state government has also remained non-committal over doing away…

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