Day: November 8, 2017

Tourism body blame media for negative publicity as tourism industry continues to suffer

Editor

“We are not how the media portrays us” is an expression common in the Valley. Kashmir’s tourism sector doesn’t just struggle in front of a disruptive militancy, there are primetime debates to counter. Chinar leaves are falling in Srinagar after long summer days, anticipation and peace. Yet the Valley’s natural and historical sites, its houseboats and shikaras, its tourism sector altogether have been missing the people they’re meant for: tourists. “Let me explain it this way, even if we offer hotel rooms for free, people won’t come,” says Wahid Malik,…

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A year after demonetisation was announced, digital transactions drop

Editor

After demonetisation, the spike in digital payments was caused by artificial constraints, and does not seem to have had a lasting impact on Indian citizens. Soon after demonetisation was announced in November last year, it was projected as part of a broader push towards a cashless economy. Several ministers and government officials claimed that this would nudge Indians to rely on non-cash or digital transactions. In the weeks and months following demonetisation, digital payments (including mobile wallets and mobile banking, credit/debit card transactions, and UPI) saw a sharp spike even…

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NEET centre in Jammu, even in Samba, none in Kashmir; Govt silent, aspirants suffer

Editor

MD/MS aspirants from Kashmir could miss postgraduate National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) 2017 as both the examination centres in J&K have been allocated to Jammu division, and none to Kashmir. Even though number of exam centres have been increased in four states, Kashmir candidates continue to face difficulties in arranging logistics as nearby centres have been filled to capacity. For the second consecutive year the state government has failed to ensure a NEET centre for Kashmir despite repeated assurances. While one of the centres has been allotted to Jammu, this…

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Business leaders want Dineshwar Sharma to meet resistance camp

Editor

Kashmir’s business fraternity on Tuesday advised interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, who is on a maiden visit to Srinagar, to meet separatist leaders to achieve any forward movement on talks. Chairman, Kashmir Economic Alliance, Muhammad Yaseen Khan said that the interlocutor’s meeting with traders and businessmen won’t serve any purpose. “It is a futile exercise,” he said. The interlocutor, he said, should meet separatists to achieve a breakthrough. “Otherwise, we have seen in the past how these envoys meet people and do nothing.” Khan said that Kashmir needs a political solution and…

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Lack of professional planners leading to haphazard growth across J&K

Editor

Due to absence of professional planners, Jammu and Kashmir is bracing up for a major crisis in the implementation of developmental projects as haphazard constructions are coming up across the state. Officials said the job of planning had been entrusted to engineers, architects and draftsmen, who lacked basic knowledge of drafting plans for growing cities and towns. For a population of 12.55 million, J&K needs over 100 planners to plan development of cities and towns. “But, we have only five on the job, with two of them working in non-planning…

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Dineshwar Sharma meets youth groups as big names stay away

Editor

The big names stayed away but the Centre’s special representative on Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma held a series of meetings with civil society and youth groups on Tuesday, day two of his visit to the Valley. Sharma, the former director of the Intelligence Bureau who is on a five-day visit to the state, is expected to meet political leaders here tomorrow as part of efforts to talk to various stakeholders and find lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir. He is spending three days in the Kashmir Valley and two days in…

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