Month: August 2017

Sinha-led team arrives on ‘Mission Kashmir’

Editor

Senior BJP leader and former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha arrived here on Wednesday while others members of Concerned Citizens Group (CCG) led by him will arrive on a two-day visit to Kashmir on Thursday. Sinha arrived in Srinagar today. He said Kapil Kak (retired Air Vice marshal), Bharat Bhushan (Editor Catch News) and Sushobha Barve head of Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation would arrive tomorrow. Sinha said the visit was part of their efforts to continue working for peace and dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir. “We will meet a…

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Centre extends tax break for industry in J&K till 2027

Editor

Industries in the north eastern and Himalayan states including Jammu and Kashmir will continue to get tax exemption till March 2027, albeit as refund, under the current GST regime which was rolled out on July 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. “Within the framework of the GST Act each industry will be entitled to its own refund mechanism during this particular period (March 31, 2027),” he said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given approval to the Scheme of providing budgetary support…

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Nandni tunnel develops cracks within 30 months of its Inauguration

Editor

The Nandani tunnels on the Jammu-Srinagar highway have developed major leakages within 30 months of their inauguration. The leakage in the tunnels, 25 km from Jammu, is posing a serious threat to connectivity on the national highway, which also connects Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra and the Northern Command in Udhampur to rest of the country. Though, SP Jammu-Udhampur Highway Pvt Ltd — the construction company — has been given the contract for 20 years (three years for construction and 17 years for maintenance), but the patch work has…

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Valleites happy with Modi’s message of love for Kashmir, but want Deeds not Words

Editor

e run-up to the Independence Day was as usual tense in Kashmir. As the day began drawing nearer, security restrictions increased. Besides highways, security checks were set up along the roads deep into the interiors of both urban and rural Kashmir, creating a deep sense of tension and foreboding in the air. But all this heaviness largely eased off as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked of embracing Kashmiris in his I-Day speech. “Na goli se, na gaali se, Kashmir ki samasya suljhegi gale lagaane se (Kashmir’s problems can be…

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Three killed, Scores injured in Samba road accident

Editor

Three people, including a student, died while scores were injured died when a mini bus they were travelling in rolled down on the road in district Samba Thursday morning. “A mini bus on way from border village to Samba town this morning met with an accident due to break failure and rolled down on the road,” police here said. The injured have been shifted to hospital for treatment.

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NIA conducts searches at 12 locations in J&K: Terror Funding Case

Editor

The National Investigation Agency teams are carrying out raids at 12 places in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, Handwara and Srinagar in connection with its terror funding and civil unrest probe involving Hurriyat leaders. Sources say that fresh raids have been carried out on those people who have financial links with the pro-Pakistani Hurriyat leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The names of these persons have been disclosed by seven separatists, who were arrested by the agency last month for allegedly organising the funds and civil unrest in the valley. NIA…

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Scuffle between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh as two incursion bids by PLA foiled

Editor

A major scuffle, which included stone-pelting, took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control at eastern Ladakh in the western sector on Tuesday even as the tense troop stand-off in Doklam area+ in the eastern sector remains locked in a stalemate. Sources said the confrontation between the rival soldiers took place on the north bank of the Pangong Tso (Tso means lake) in eastern Ladakh, two-thirds of which is controlled by China as it extends from Tibet to India, early on Tuesday morning. “There was…

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Mujtaba Yousuf, Anantnag pacer among probables for U-16 team

Editor

A 16-year-old fast bowler, Mujtaba Yousuf, from Bijbehara town has been called to attend a month-long camp at the prestigious National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. The camp, which is a training ground of probables for the India Under-16 team, will be attended by 21 other budding cricketers from across the country from August 21 onwards. Mujtaba is the second cricketer to have come into limelight after Parvez Rasool became the first state cricketer to don the ‘blue jersey’. Rasool also hails from Bijbehara town of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.…

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Most remained seated when national anthem was played on Independence Day function

Editor

The main Independence Day function at the Bakshi stadium here saw most of the people in the general stands remain seated when the national anthem was played soon after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti unfurled the Tricolour. However, people sitting in the VIP enclosure, including high court judges, MLAs, MLCs, bureaucrats and office-bearers of political parties, stood up to pay their respect to the national anthem. Mufti was then given a guard of honour. Around 3,000 people were present in the stadium, which has a capacity of over…

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Mehbooba Mufti hopes plea against Article 35A will be dismissed by Supreme Court

Editor

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday expressed confidence in the Supreme Court, saying that a plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution will be dismissed by the apex court. Addressing the people at Independence Day celebrations in Srinagar, Mehbooba Mufti said, “I have full confidence that our Supreme Court will again dismiss this plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution in the same way as the apex court had done in these 70 years.” Mufti further hailed National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for his advice on Artice…

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