Month: January 2018

US asks its citizens not to travel to JK, Advisory will affect Kashmir Tourism

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The United States Administration of President Donald Trump has warned Americans to exercise maximum caution while travelling to India due to a spurt in crime and terrorism. The advisory has been issued by the US State Department, which asked the American citizens to avoid going to Jammu and Kashmir except for the Buddhist-dominated region of Ladakh. The State Department had on Wednesday launched improvements on sharing information with US travelers to provide clear, timely and reliable safety and security information. “Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism.…

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‘Negative’ media coverage of Kashmir affected tourism: Congress

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The Congress today expressed concern over the “negative” portrayal of Kashmir in prime-time television debates, saying it has hurt the state’s tourism sector. “There is a concern over the negative portrayal of Kashmir in prime-time (TV) debates and it has badly affected the tourism of the state,” the leader of Congress Legislative Party, Nawang Rigzin Jora said, during a discussion on the budget in the Assembly today. Jora made a strong pitch for corrective measures in this regard. He questioned the absence of the mention of agriculture growth in the…

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Govt rolls out populist Budget, Highlights

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Finance Minister terms it a potential game-changer I Rs80,213 cr to be spent in next fiscal Non-commercial vehicles not to pay toll at Lakhanpur,  Tax on commodities up by 25%; 12 specific items exempted In its first post-GST Budget, the PDP-BJP government today focused on populism and rolled out several welfare measures “to change the lives of people, especially of the most vulnerable and marginalised”. Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, while presenting his fourth Budget in the Mehbooba Mufti-led government, termed it a ‘Budget of conscience’ and ‘potential game-changer’ in the…

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Electricity, Petroleum, Real estate and Alcohol could come under GST

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Finance Minister Haseeb Ahmad Drabu Thursday said power, petroleum, real estate and liquor could be soon brought under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Presenting the J&K Budget 2018-19 in the Legislative Assembly, the finance minister said a committee of officers and professionals in the area of taxation and industry had been constituted to work out the framework for brining real estate, electricity, alcohol and petroleum under J&K GST. He said the reason of brining electricity under the ambit of GST was that under the GST Input Tax…

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From ‘Brave’ pupil to dead militant, story of a Kashmir teen

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Farhan Wani:  The 16-year-old was killed in a firefight with Indian security forces near Kokernag Last June, Farhan Wani left his house in the village of Khudwani, in south-western Kashmir, to attend his physics tuition class. He never came home — instead, he joined a group of militants fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India. On Tuesday, Farhan, 16, was killed in a firefight with Indian security forces near Kokernag, an hour’s drive from Khudwani. Militants opened fire when police launched a cordon-and-search operation in a forested area, officials told reporters…

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Kashmir much more than conflict: Chitralekha Zutshi

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The Kashmir issue is more than a conflict, said the editor of a book that brings together essays by different people on multiple aspects of both the region and the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. “Kashmir is much more than the conflict and this volume aims to understand that,” Chitralekha Zutshi said during the launch of the book ‘Kashmir: History, Politics, Representation’ here on Thursday. The book brings across the limitations of postcolonial nationalism and citizenship as exemplified by the situation in contemporary Kashmir. From Kashmir to Jammu to Pakistan-administered…

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Article 370 in J&K is temporary: RSS leader Indresh Kumar

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Terrorist activities have reduced in Jammu and Kashmir due to the government’s policies and efforts to bring youths to the mainstream are yielding positive results, said RSS leader Indresh Kumar. The status of article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir is “temporary”, RSS leader Indresh Kumar said on Thursday as he stressed that the occupation of Indian land by China and Pakistan was unconstitutional. India was suffering from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and secessionism and over 66,000 people had lost their lives since 1972 due to this, he said. According to a statement…

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Kangri still keeps Kashmir warm during winter

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Besides woolens, one thing that Kashmiris think of while making preparations for combating the chilling cold of winter is kangri, an earthen bowl encased in an exquisitely woven wicker basket. Kashmir experiences harsh winters, with temperatures as low as -8 degree celsius, but Kashmiris have traditionally used kangri and pheran for fighting against the cold. The kangri, or kanger as it is locally known, is filled with embers and held against the body under a pheran, an overgarment unique to Kashmir, for providing warmth. Kashmiris call the kangri a mobile…

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Govt re-examining demand for a milder AFSPA in J&K and Northeast

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The government is now re-examining the long-pending demand to make the iron-fisted Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives military personnel special rights and immunity in “disturbed areas” like Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, “more humane” and less open to misuse. Sources say several rounds of high-level discussions have already been held between the defence and home ministries on the “need to remove or dilute at least some provisions” of the AFSPA in line with Supreme Court judgments on “extra-judicial killings” and recommendations of expert committees over the…

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J&K has hydro power potential of 16475 MW

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Jammu and Kashmir has a potential to produce 16,475 MW of hydro power as per the assessment made by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh told Legislative Council here today. In a written reply to the question of BJP MLC Vikram Randhawa in the Council, Singh said out of total, 11,283 MW of hydro power can be produced on river Chenab, followed by 3,084 MW on river Jehlum and 1,608 MW on Indus river. A total of 3,263.46 MW has been harnessed on three western rivers from…

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