Articles Archives | Page 32 of 51

Harnessing the potential

May 16, 2016 Editor

Hydropower Development in India and in J&K – An overview Iftikhar A Drabu Recently a very senior retired bureaucrat of our state commented that India was viable as a state only after stealing our hydro power. I thought it is time to share some statistics about hydro power in India and in Kashmir to put things in a perspective. While it is a fact that J&K is blessed with abundant hydro power potential it is also a fact that some other states in India have a much larger hydro power…

Who after Syed Ali Shah Geelani?

May 16, 2016 Editor

Rashid Ahmed analyses politics of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and who may be his political successor. Some time in 2004, Mangat Ram Sharma, the then deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, spoke at a public meeting in the Ganderbal area of the Kashmir valley. Sharma, ever the man to cause political sensation with his all too candid and at times impolitic remarks, predicted that the Kashmir issue would live until the time Syed Ali Geelani was alive and that it would cease to be an issue after his death.…

Sainik Settlements – tell us the truth

May 14, 2016 Editor

Both NC and PDP owe and explanation to the people of Kashmir “It is a well-known fact that we always recognize our homeland when we are about to lose it.” Albert Camus National Conference and Peoples’ Democratic Party are presently on war of words ever since Omar Abdullah tweeted an order copy which talks about the allotment of 350 Kanals of land for the proposed “Sainak Colony” in Srinagar and Budgam, as he believes the same could be a ruse to settle non-state subjects in Kashmir. Mehbooba Mufti while speaking…

Controversies refuse to die down around Mehbooba

May 12, 2016 Editor

Aaliya Ahmed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is besieged with multiple problems and controversies after she assumed power. Encounters are becoming a routine followed by massive protests and use of force by police and armed forces. Though in Kashmir situation this is nothing unusual, but given the promise by Mehbooba Mufti that she will not tolerate such ugly situations, it is becoming a problem for her commitment to the youth of Kashmir. She recently reiterated her commitment to the youth of Kashmir by promising to heal their wounds during her tenure…

Kashmir Fisheries: A wakeup call

May 9, 2016 Editor

Dr. Mansoor Rather Kashmir being bestowed with the richest water resources with huge fisheries potential is now highly dependent on outside state fish supply to meet the market demands. The small village and field springs (locally known as Naag) which once used to be the main source of drinking water all over Kashmir with a huge aesthetic and spiritual value also inhabited a number of fish varieties has almost vanished now. The traditional fisherman community remains the worst hit, due to the fast dwindling of this highly valuable natural resource,…

From Hazratbal to Rajouri, Educational Institutions under threat in J&K

May 5, 2016 Editor

Aaliya Ahmad National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar unrest, followed by chain reaction in other educational Institutions in Kashmir Valley including at University of Kashmir has given a new turn to the environment of studies within the campus. The reaction has found a new place at Rajouri where violent clashes erupted at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU). These clashes between two groups of students were one of the worst incidents of violence witnessed within a University campus in J&K State. What is the reason behind such unrest and levels…

Darbar Move: An Invisible Elephant

May 5, 2016 Editor

Anachronistic practice of Darbar Move needs to be reviewed keeping in view the aspirations of both the regions Dr Sirfaraz Ahmed Dar The practice of Darbar Move is a unique administrative arrangement of Jammu Kashmir Government and a symbol of its feudal past whereby the central administrative establishment is shifted twice a year. The move critics say it causes a huge burden on the poor economy of Jammu Kashmir and incur huge inconvenience to the citizens of Jammu Kashmir. Darbar Move is the name given to the bi-annual exercise of…

Odd-evil of traffic management takes Srinagar hostage

May 5, 2016 Editor

Majid Hyderi It cannot be more ridiculous than this. Having miserably failed to manage traffic in the summer capital in the wake of closure of the arterial Jahangir Chowk-Ram Bagh(JCRB) road, the government is resorting to hit-and-trial of everything, including the upcoming plan to make schoolchildren sleepless in the name of traffic management. School kids are not any soldiers and Srinagar is no battlefield. But if the proposal to open schools at 7:00 AM gets the nod, the children will need to be ready before sunrise, much like it happens…

Don’t write about us, if you can’t write the truth: Kashmiri youth

May 3, 2016 Editor

His friends saw him lying in a pool of blood on the street and they lost hope. A tear gas shell had struck his head during protests. Showkat Ahmed, 18, regained senses two days later after an emergency operation in the neurosurgery ward of Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, about 80km away from Handwara in northern Kashmir, where he had suffered the near-fatal injury. “Why did they hit me?” Ahmed asks, barely able to open his eyes. “I was not even part of the protests. I had come…

Nightmare of nightmares in J&K

May 2, 2016 Editor

Arun Joshi Kashmir is a paradise on earth — a poetic statement that lifts our spirits and imagination and throws us back to the Mughal era, invoking the irresistible charm of the beauty of forests, mountains, rivers and lakes in the Valley. The Valley retains much of its charm for tourists despite loot of forests and unending greed of encroachers stretching up to water bodies with the help of the bribery-driven system. This is good news. The bad news is: travelling on the road to Kashmir is a nightmare of…