Community Archives | Page 125 of 186

As winter sets, security forces anticipate an increase in encounters with militants

December 1, 2017 Editor

As winter chill has gripped Kashmir and electricity is playing hide and seek, it is a struggle of sorts for people living in the landlocked region these days. But the situation is even worse for militants. Isolated places, like under-construction buildings, orchards and forests, which served as a safe haven during summers, have turned uninhabitable due to sub-zero temperatures. With the winter setting in and snow expected to fall in Kashmir in the second week of this month, security forces are anticipating an increase in encounters since militants, according to…

Reliance Jio ‘Fleecing’ customers; Subscribers aghast

December 1, 2017 Editor

The private cellular company, Reliance Jio, faced an ugly situation in Srinagar on Wednesday when hundreds of consumers stormed into the local office at Rajbagh locality accusing it of fleecing them. The officials in the company acted like “brokers” and without listening to the grievances of the consumers suggested them to change from post-paid to pre-paid mode, the consumers said One of the consumers who introduced himself as Ghulam Mohd said he opted for Jio on October 19, 2017 and paid a sum of Rs.550 to the company with a…

Governor, CM extend Eid-e-Milad greetings, Prayers, Processions to mark celebrations

December 1, 2017 Editor

Religious processions, special prayer meetings, Seerat Conferences are being held in the state to celebrate Eid-i-Milad-un-Nabi (SAW), the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), on Friday. The biggest congregation will be held at Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, where devotees in large numbers are expected to offer prayers and have a glimpse of the holy relic of the Prophet (SAW). As per officials, zuhr (afternoon prayers) will be offered at 2 pm at the shrine on Friday. Hundreds of devotees offered prayers at the shrine and mosques across the Valley…

Centre to offer better monetary incentives to surrendered militants

November 30, 2017 Editor

The Centre is planning to soften its surrender policy for terrorists at a time when footballer Majid Khan returned from the LeT after the security forces led a well-coordinated plan to get him back. The Centre is preparing a new surrender policy to bring terrorists back into the mainstream with the possibility of more attractive monetary and social security support. Apart from launching a multi-pronged crackdown on jihadis and their sympathisers in the Kashmir valley, the government is also trying to woo the local population with the promise of a…

Gaw Kadal Massacre of 1990 back to haunt Govt, Police accepts 22 persons died in forces firing

November 30, 2017 Editor

After 27 years, police in a reply to State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) have accepted that 22 persons were killed and 12 others were injured in a Gaw Kadal Massacre. Zonal Police Office East Zone Srinagar through District Police Headquarters Srinagar in a report submitted before SHRC have stated that “Report sought from Station House Officer (SHO) Police Station Kral Khud reveals that 22 persons died and 12 others were injured at Gaw Kadal on 21-01-1990.” SHRC Wednesday said that the Chief Prosecuting Officer of the commission has submitted the…

Focus on militancy left rising drug addiction unchecked; Political unrest and growing unemployment to blame

November 30, 2017 Editor

Drug addiction is a bigger challenge than militancy in Jammu and Kashmir today, the state’s director general of police, Shesh Paul Vaid, told a news agency on 16 November, 2017. Drug seizures have increased and the number of cases being registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, for peddling and smuggling of banned substances are rising, said Vaid. Drug seizures have increased and the number of cases being registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, for peddling and smuggling of banned substances are…

Over 3800 hit by pellets in Kashmir Valley last year: Govt to SHRC

November 30, 2017 Editor

The government has disclosed that at least 3896 people sustained pellet injuries in forces firing during over five month long unrest in Valley last year following killing of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. In response to a notice by State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), the government submitted the reports about the pellet injuries compiled by deputy commissioners of eight out of 10 districts of the Valley and medical superintendents of eight hospitals to the commission. As per the reports of the deputy commissioners’ and hospitals, at least 3896 people…

More than 3 lakh migratory birds arrive in Kashmir Valley

November 29, 2017 Editor

With the onset of winter, over three lakh migratory birds from central Asia and southern Europe have arrived at more than 400 water bodies in the Kashmir Valley. Thousands of Mallards, Common Mergansers, Northern Pintails, Common Pochards, Red-crested Pochards, Ruddy Shelducks, Northern Shovelers, Common Teals, Eurasian Wigeons, Tufted Ducks, Gadwalls, Brahminy Ducks, Garganeys, and Greylag Geese have come to Kashmir in the first batch of migration this season. Wildlife warden of Jammu & Kashmir wildlife protection department, Abdul Rauf Zargar, told TOI that the birds mainly throng the wetlands of…

‘Forced to drink urine, eat human waste’, Ordeal of Kashmiri prisoners

November 29, 2017 Editor

The families of Kashmiri prisoners languishing in Delhi’s Tihar jail are worried over their safety as reports and pictures of thrashing of several inmates went viral on social media. Even as chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, spoke to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and expressed concern over the “alleged harassment and manhandling of some Kashmiri inmates” in Tihar jail the families of these jail inmates are under “tremendous stress over their safety”. “We have also come across some of the photographs of several injured inmates circulated on social media. The post…

Heavy smoke hits visibility inside Chenani tunnel

November 29, 2017 Editor

Heavy smoke inside South East Asia’s longest tunnel is posing a serious threat to people’s lives, besides slowing the traffic flow on a regular basis. Despite tall claims by the National Highways Authorities of India (NHAI) about ensuring a proper ventilation system in the 9.2-km-long Chenani-Nashri tunnel, commuters experience a “suffocated” drive through the tunnel. The engineering marvel, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2, has bypassed 42 km of the hilly terrain on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in the mountainous range of lower Shivaliks and…