Month: September 2017

Religious groups meet to soothe frayed nerves

Editor

Buddhist association wants SIT to probe conversions; DC to submit report to govt Against the backdrop of the rising communal tension in Ladakh following an inter-religion marriage, religious heads of all communities, while keeping the district administration in the loop, today got together to soothe the frayed nerves. They also demanded a high-level inquiry into such cases. The meeting, attended by Leh Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa and SSP Uday Bhaskar B, was aimed at restoring peace in Ladakh which had been hit by a communal discord between Buddhists and Muslims.…

Read More

Dengue spreads tentacles across Jammu, 14 fresh cases in 24 hours

Editor

The outbreak of dengue and swine flu has created panic in Jammu as 14 more cases of dengue and one case of H1N1 flu were found positive in the past 24 hours in the region. According to Health Department officials, the toll has reached to 59 cases of dengue and nine cases of H1N1flu. Two deaths due to swine flu have also been reported in the region. The Health Department of Jammu has conducted 550 tests for dengue till date out of which 59 cases were found positive, 283 were…

Read More

Jammu-Srinagar highway cleared after landslide, vehicles move to Kashmir

Editor

Hundreds of heavy vehicles that had been stranded on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway due to a landslide on Monday, left for Kashmir on Thursday after the debris was cleared off the arterial road. Hundreds of heavy vehicles, stranded on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway due to a landslide on Monday, left for Kashmir on Thursday after the debris was cleared off the arterial road. A landslip at Morh Passi in Udhampur district on September 11 had hit the movement of vehicles on the 300-km highway, the lone all-weather road connecting Kashmir…

Read More

Paris awarded 2024 Olympics, Los Angeles gets 2028 Games: IOC

Editor

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday awarded the 2024 summer Olympic Games to Paris and the 2028 edition to Los Angeles following a vote in the Peruvian capital. Paris, which has hosted two previous Olympics, will stage the event 100 years after its last Games in 1924 while Los Angeles will also organise its third Games after 1932 and 1984. The IOC decided in July to award both Games at the same time, following the withdrawal of four of the six cities bidding for the 2024 Olympics, amid concerns about…

Read More

Kashmir issue result of “Nehruvian blunders”: Jitendra Singh

Editor

Blaming Jawaharlal Nehru for the Kashmir problem, Union minister Jitendra Singh said today the history of Jammu and Kashmir has been a “tale of mistakes” beginning from “Nehruvian blunders”. Singh, Minister of State in the prime minister’s office, said there should not have been any issue like “Kashmir issue” as it was like any other state. “There was no issue like Kashmir issue…Kashmir merged with India through instrument of accession, similar to what other (princely) states did. “The history of Kashmir in last 60-70 years has been a tale of…

Read More

Authorities direct for closure of 51 Brick kilns around Srinagar Airport

Editor

Acting on the directions of High Court regarding relocation of Brick Kiln located around Srinagar Airport, authorities today directed for closure of 51 brick kilns around it. “In adhering the Court’s direction regarding relocation of Brick Kiln located around the Airport, so that the visibility particularly during October and November could be increased, the deputy commissioner Budgam in exercise of the powers vested under him in terms of Section 26 of J&K Brick Kiln (Regulation) Act.2010 has ordered the close down of kiln activities of 51 brick kiln owners, 34…

Read More

The demon called Ikhwan

Editor

Writhing in pain he shouted for help but none dared to turn up Brothers form a close knit bond. Brothers share unrequited affection. Brothers love beyond imagination. I lost my brother. We struggle to live and ultimately die. The grief pooling after the natural death dies down. But the separation by the bloody gun prolongs the trauma. Gun rattling is a routine in this besieged paradise. It digests humans. Gun has turned Kashmir a graveyard. Gun does not discriminate. Gun knows no relation. It is devoid of human feelings. Ajas…

Read More

India & Pakistan should give UN investigators access to JK territories

Editor

Kashmiri human rights defenders from both sides of Kashmir urged India and Pakistan to open the territory to international investigators. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein had made UN history of some sorts when he broke international silence a year ago and included Kashmir in the top annual human rights agenda of United Nations. But in the four sessions of UN Human Rights Council since September 2016 and until September 2017, the High Commissioner has complained that New Delhi and Islamabad have not given access to UN…

Read More

Migrant Kashmiri Pandits demand concrete rehabilitation plan

Editor

A day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, displaced Kashmiri Pandits have demanded a concrete action plan for the rehabilitation of 3.50 lakh Hindus, living as refugees in their own country. The All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference and the Panun Kashmir, which were part of the delegation which met the Home Minister, said the Centre had failed to fulfil the promises made to the community. “The settlement of Pandits is a serious issue and it must draw an honest concern from both Central and state…

Read More

Trauma, Memory loss, Anxiety; Inside the ‘Dark World’ of pellet victims, Amnesty calls for immediate ban

Editor

For them, the world is dark. It’s been almost a year since they lost their vision to deadly pellets fired ‘indiscriminately’ by government forces during the 2016 uprising in Kashmir. Aged between nine to 20 years, the pellet victims are in the midst of a dangerous conundrum: fast losing their memory due to psychological trauma they have gone through in the past more than a year. The victims, including girls, have remained confined to the four walls of their homes since the pellets snatched their eyesight. They say they only…

Read More