Month: February 2021

Backstory: The Kashmir Model to Discipline Indian Media

Editor

“If democracy is to be replenished in the coming decades, it is up to us to rekindle the sense of outrage and loss over what is being taken from us…What is at stake here is the human expectation of sovereignty over one’s own life and authorship of one’s own experience.”~ Shoshana Zuboff, The Age Of Surveillance Capitalism The Wire’s public editor What is striking about recent developments in India is the manner in which the media, both legacy and social, have become entangled with the politics of the day. In fact,…

Read More

J&K ties up with National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) for flood forecast

Editor

Jammu and Kashmir has joined hands with a UK-based space agency for a collaborative project on impact-based flood forecasting, an official spokesman said on Friday. The national space innovation programme (NSIP), undertaken by HR Wallingford in collaboration with Oxford University, Sayers & Partners (SPL) and D-Orbit, is an initiative that supports collaborative projects between UK-based organisations and international partners, he said. It is a big step taken by the Lt-Governor administration, which will help to predict fluvial flood risks in terms of expected loss to life, injuries to people, building…

Read More

Panic across Kashmir Valley due to strong earthquake tremors

Editor

Two powerful tremors jolted Kashmir valley on Friday night, prompting panicked residents to run out of their homes. The tremors were felt in parts of north India, including Delhi and Punjab, as well. According to the US Geological Survey, the 5.9-magnitude earthquake took place at Tajikistan-Xinjiang border at 17:01 UTC (10:31 Indian time). It said the quake occurred at a depth of 92 kilometres. There are reports of minor damages to houses in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. However, there is no report of any loss of life. “Report of minor…

Read More

Govt asks Gulmarg hoteliers to cancel tourist bookings to accommodate Khelo India Crew

Editor

In a bizarre move, the administration has directed the hoteliers at Gulmarg to cancel all the pre-bookings done for February 25 to March 2, 2021, to accommodate VVIPs, VIPs, athletes and media persons for second Khelo India national winter games. The directive has come at a time when hotels at Gulmarg were pre-booked till mid-March owing to the huge rush of the travellers to Kashmir over the past few months. An order to this effect has been issued today from the office of the District Commissioner Baramulla asking the sub-divisional…

Read More

Shutdown in Kashmir to mark JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat’s 37th death anniversary

Editor

Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Thursday due to a shutdown to mark the 37th death anniversary of JKLF founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, who was hanged in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on this day in 1984, officials said. Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut in Srinagar, while public transport was largely off the roads, they officials said. However, the officials said, private cars, auto-rickshaws and cabs were plying in the city. The officials said similar reports of shutdown were also received from other…

Read More

Agencies spreading false rumors, we stand firm over Kashmir Issue: Hurriyat Leadership

Editor

All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Wednesday asked people to be wary of ‘mischief mongers and agencies who are spreading false rumours’ through some media outlets that some APHC leader led by the Mirwaiz group has reached out to New Delhi asking for “apology.” On Tuesday, a local news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com (KDC) had reported that three pro-freedom leaders from Kashmir valley had met top leadership in Delhi for the first time after revocation of the limited-autonomy and bifurcation of the state into two Union territories. KDC quoting…

Read More

MP’s demand bodies of three youngsters killed in Hokarsar Encounter

Editor

This comes days after the police booked family members demanding the return of a teenager killed in the encounter at Hokarsar on December 30. The former chief minister and National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday held a demonstration seeking the return of the bodies of three youths killed in the Hokarsar ‘encounter’ on December 30, and an investigation into the alleged encounter. This comes days after the Jammu and Kashmir police booked family members of a teenage boy killed in the encounter under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act,…

Read More

Shutdown in Kashmir to mark Afzal Guru’s eighth death anniversary

Editor

Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Tuesday due to a shutdown to mark the eight death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru who was hanged in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on this day in 2013, officials said. Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, while public transport was largely off the roads, the officials said. However, they said, private cars, auto-rickshaws and cabs were plying in the city. The officials said similar reports…

Read More

Father demanding son’s body charged under anti-terror law in Kashmir

Editor

Police charge seven people, including father of teenager killed by government forces, under the stringent UAPA law. The family members of a teenage boy in Indian-administered Kashmir, killed in an alleged gunfight, have been charged under an stringent anti-terror law for holding a demonstration in the village “demanding the return of his body”. Ather Mushtaq, 16, from Bellow village in Pulwama, was among three men killed by Indian security forces on December 30 last year during what police described as a gunfight after the men refused to surrender on the…

Read More

Fast Internet Services (4G) restored after 550 days across J&K

Editor

India has ended an 18-month-long ban on high-speed internet services on mobile devices in disputed Kashmir, where opposition to New Delhi has surged after it revoked the region’s autonomy. India ended an 18-month-long ban on high speed internet services on mobile devices in disputed Kashmir, where opposition to New Delhi has deepened after it revoked the region’s semi-autonomy. The order late Friday lifted the ban on 4G mobile data services However, the order issued by the region’s home secretary, Shaleen Kabra, asked police officials to “closely monitor the impact of…

Read More