Year: 2017

Motorists give rules the go-by, fine no deterrent

Editor

The strict advisory issued by the Traffic Department last year against the use of mobile phones while driving has failed to show results. People can often be seen using mobile phones and driving without a seat belt. The advisory issued on February 16, 2016, stated that those using mobile phones while driving would be booked under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, and their driving licences would be seized and sent to the RTO concerned for suspension for not less than three months. “We keep a check on…

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DAK warns, Swine flu increases risk of Heart Attack, Stroke

Editor

Swine flu patients are at an increased risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, Doctors Association Kashmir led by Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan said on Saturday. Dr Nisar, in a statement issued here, said, “While people may think of the flu as nothing more than a fever, runny nose or body aches, the consequences could be grave.” He quoted researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, saying that the study found that the risk of heart attack and stroke rose sharply among the participating patients during the first…

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Kashmir boogies to winter’s warmth

Editor

A State initiative offers heritage walks, ethnic food festivals and music shows It’s chilly around the Dal lake on Saturday afternoon, but a cruise-houseboat with an open-air theatre sets off to generate warmth with live music and enthusiastic youngsters. In a bid to reclaim lost social spaces and nose-diving tourism, the Jammu & Kashmir tourism department has started ‘Valley Weekends’, an initiative to infuse new life into the otherwise dull weekends in the conflict-ridden Valley. “The open-air houseboat will be like an open-air theatre. People will perform every weekend. The…

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Baramulla takes lead, grants amnesty to 390 first time stone pelters

Editor

Baramulla in north Kashmir has become the first district in the state to withdraw cases against youth following Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s recent decision to grant amnesty to first-time stone throwers. The authorities today withdrew FIRs against 390 persons, mostly youth, who were not habitual offenders and were not involved in heinous crimes. The withdrawal of cases was announced at a function in the main Baramulla town by the district administration and the police authorities. The youth against whom the cases were withdrawn were also present along with their parents.…

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Tourism sector going from Bad to Worse

Editor

Stating that tourism sector is gone from bad to worse, Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club today said that there is less than 5 percent occupancy in Kashmir hotels which is a cause of concern for the hospitality sector. A press statement issued by the JKHC reads that the executive committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya in which all the members of J&K Hoteliers Club along with its Chapter Presidents and Secretaries from Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam were present. The members showed great concern over the…

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Kashmiri’s ‘Fed Up’ with India’s human rights abuses

Editor

As the world observes the UN-sponsored Human Rights Day, rights violations continue to be a major issue in Indian-administered Kashmir. Since 1989, nearly 70,000 people have been killed in violence that separatist leaders say the UN has done too little to prevent. For the past year, the remote, northern region was gripped by widespread protests, following the killing of a prominent rebel commander. In the crackdown that followed, more than 100 protesters were killed, thousands were arrested and hundreds were blinded by police who shot at civilians with iron pellets.

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Ghani Bhat led Muslim Conference splits post meet with Dineshwar Sharma

Editor

Rival faction sacks Hurriyat leader; he hits back by expelling party’s Pak representative Barely two weeks after senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Bhat held a secret meeting with Jammu and Kashmir interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, the Muslim Conference headed by him has split, with the rival faction even sacking him from the post of party president. In turn, Bhat today sacked the Pakistan representative of the Muslim Conference, Manzoor-ul-Haq Bhat, a former militant commander, who was appointed vice-president of the rival Muslim Conference faction, and Mohammad Sultan Magrey, a retired DSP…

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French Journalist arrested while shooting documentary on pellet victims in Srinagar

Editor

Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested a French journalist while shooting documentary on pellet victims, and booked him under Passport Act. The former TV Channel TF 1 French journalist, Paul Comiti , police officials said, was arrested from Pratap Park Srinagar on Saturday while he was preparing a documentary on the pellet victims. Police said they have registered FIR vide number 87/2017 under section 14 (B) Passport Act and Comiti is presently lodged in Police Station Kothi Bagh. The act, police said, envisages seizure of passport or travel documents from…

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Why proposed Law is stoking the worst fears of India’s Bank Depositors?

Editor

While a ‘bail-in’ would backfire by creating a political storm, the government must step in to address potential concerns. It is a measure of the mistrust the Indian middle class has of the BJP government that both the traditional media as well as social media are discussing, with some trepidation, the consequences of proposed legislation which creates scope for the appropriation of people’s savings. Or, to be more specific, the appropriation of people’s savings lying in banks, in the event a bank goes bankrupt or is in need of a…

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‘Advani Told Us I Don’t Want This Babri Structure to Remain After December 6’: Karsevaks

Editor

Karsevaks involved in the Babri Masjid demolition of December 6, 1992, recall the events of the day 25 years later. Ayodhya: On December 6, 1992, a large crowd of Hindu karsevaks demolished the 16th-century Babri Mosque in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Karsevaks involved in the demolition narrate the events of the fateful day to The Wire 25 years later. Santosh Dubey, the youngest karsevak named in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) chargesheet said, “We had gathered there on the instructions of L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharti and other Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and…

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