December 18, 2017 | Kashmir POST

India and Pakistan are racing to tap the Himalayas in disputed Kashmir

December 18, 2017 Editor

Several hundred metres underground, thousands of labourers grind away day and night on a huge hydroelectric project in contested Kashmir, where India and Pakistan are racing to tap the subcontinent’s diminishing freshwater supplies. The arch rivals have been building duelling power plants along the banks of the turquoise Neelam River for years. The projects on opposite sides of The Line of Control – the de facto border in Kashmir – are nearly finished, fuelling tensions between the neighbours with Pakistan particularly worried its downstream project will be deprived of much-needed…

Kashmir Valley under grip of intense cold wave

December 18, 2017 Editor

A cold wave continued to grip the Kashmir valley with mercury plunging below freezing point at many places. Officials from Meteorological Department said during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, the sky would be partly cloudy and maximum and minimum temperatures would be around be 11°Celsius and minus 4°Celsius, respectively. On Saturday, the summer capital recorded the maximum of 11°Celsius and minimum of minus 3.7°Celsius, three degrees below the normal. For the winter capital Jammu, weather officials have forecast mainly clear sky with haze. The maximum and minimum temperatures will…

Winter sports begin at Gulmarg

December 18, 2017 Editor

After an early snowfall this season, the Tourism Department today kick-started winter sports activities at north Kashmir’s ski resort of Gulmarg with a snowshoe run and skiing event. Director, Tourism, Kashmir, Mahmood A Shah flagged off the run and the athletes ran seven kilometres. Later, Shah also flagged off skiing at the slopes, marking the beginning of the winter sports in Gulmarg. Speaking on the occasion, Shah said Gulmarg was the “main USP” for tourism which received tourists from all over the globe. “Today we have formally inagurated the winter…

Family’s militant past won’t affect Kashmir youth seeking passport: Centre

December 18, 2017 Editor

Central government has advised the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure that genuine cases of Kashmiri youth applying for passport are not hindered by their relative’s name being connected to any militancy-related cases The central government has advised the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure that genuine cases of Kashmiri youth applying for passport are not hindered by their relative’s name being connected to any militancy-related cases in the past. A group of 8-10 youth from the Valley had approached Dineshwar Sharma, who made several visits to the state earlier…

CBI confirms identity of 33 of 57 civilian killed in 1993 Sopore Massacre

December 18, 2017December 18, 2017 Editor

On January 6, 1993 the BSF set ablaze the main market Sopore and indiscriminately fired upon civilians, allegedly killing 57 people after a militant had, as per reports, snatched a rifle from a BSF trooper. Of the 57 civilians killed in the 1993 Sopore massacre by the BSF, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has confirmed the identity of 33 civilians. A rights activist, Ahsan Untoo in his petition to State Human Rights Commission had produced a list of 51 civilians allegedly killed by the BSF. But the CBI in its…

The Kashmiri and the Kangri

December 18, 2017 Editor

One cannot be seen without the other in winter, the pot warming the body under the pheran In the biting cold of a Kashmir winter, it is the kangri that offers warmth. The earthen pot filled with burning charcoal is held by its handle under the pheran, a long, loose woollen garment people in the Valley wear. The pot has evolved into a piece of art over the centuries, covered as it is with wicker woven into beautiful designs. The best and costliest kangri, known as Chrar Kangri as it…

With 2 more deaths at SKIMS due to H1N1 influenza, toll 16

December 18, 2017 Editor

Two more patients have died of H1N1 influenza at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences here in the past two days, taking the death toll due to the viral infection to 16 in Kashmir so far, an official source said on Sunday. Two male patients who had been admitted to the hospital had tested positive for the H1N1 influenza and died during the past week, the source said. One of the male patients from Srinagar, aged around 60, was admitted for brain hemorrhage and suffered a respiratory failure. During the…

Alliance with BJP a bold move by Mehbboba Mufti, now durable: Haseeb Drabu

December 18, 2017 Editor

Drabu called the alliance a “huge experiment” and said it actually displays certain leadership quality to set in motion a process to create a framework to resolve the most contagious issues in the state. Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Ahmad Drabu claimed that the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which no one thought would last a week, has now turned into a durable one. Speaking at the “India Ideas Conclave 2017” in Goa, Drabu said, “It is true that it is…

Civilian killed in Army firing in Kupwara, probe ordered

December 18, 2017 Editor

Family alleges cold-blooded murder A civilian was killed when the Army allegedly fired at him during an ambush laid down last night to trap militants in a remote village of Kupwara district, the police said. However, the Army said the victim identified as Asif Iqbal Bhat, 22, a resident of Thandipora village, was killed in the cross-firing between soldiers and militants, a claim refuted by locals. Following fierce clashes in the village that left at least eight policemen, including Kupwara Superintendent of Police injured, the police registered a case and…