Category: Community

‘German Khars’, who could repair any Pre-Electronic era equipment are fading away from Kashmir

Editor

The art of repairing all kinds of machines and other items has been handed down generations and over time, the craftsmen came known as ‘German Khars’ for their ability to repair German-made machines – a rare skill in the Valley. A narrow lane in Banduk Khar locality of Rainawari area of Srinagar leads to a dead end where a few houses dating back to over a hundred years stand out. Their intricately designed lattice widows and small bricks from the era of Maharaja Hari Singh distinguish them from the concrete…

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‘Mysterious Killings’ Return to Haunt Kashmir, Again

Editor

In 2009, Hakeem-ur-Rehman, a small-time cloth trader, spearheaded a mass agitation against the army in north Kashmir’s Bomai. A junior commissioned officer and two soldiers of 22 Rashtriya Rifles were indicted by a J&K government inquiry in the killing of two civilians – Muhammed Amin Tantray and Javid Ahmed Dar, on 21 February that year. The damning indictment was followed by the army’s own admission of guilt in another inquiry report. And, in a very rare case, a peaceful agitation led by Rehman culminated in the removal of the army…

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J&K’s cost of living highest in India

Editor

The cost of living in Jammu and Kashmir is having much upward trend as the state’s inflation rate is much higher than the average all-India inflation making it the one of the most expensive states for a common man to live. According to monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Central Statistics Office, the inflation rate in Jammu and Kashmir for the month of July is 6.16 percent as compared to all-India average of 4.17 percent year-on-year. Experts attribute the higher inflation rate to the fact that J&K is…

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Why gay sex order of Supreme Court is not applicable to J&K

Editor

Though yesterday’s Supreme Court judgment partly struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and legalised consensual gay sex, the LGBT+ community in Jammu and Kashmir remains deprived of its benefits. The IPC does not automatically extend to Jammu and Kashmir as the state is governed by its separate constitution and a separate penal code: the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). The RPC was framed during British rule and is on the lines of the IPC. Though Section 377 stands diluted after the Supreme Court order, the RPC still…

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Cops disguise as stone pelters to catch youth

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir Police Friday adopted a fresh strategy of nabbing stone pelters by planting its men among them at historic Jama Masjid downtown to arrest the real culprits in action. After the Friday prayers today, a mob started pelting stones at police and CRPF personnel but there was no retaliation this time and not even a single teargas shell was lobbed or baton charge initiated by the law enforcing force. As the crowd swelled to over 100 people and two chronic stone pelters started leading the agitation, the…

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There was no hurry to replace SP Vaid as DGP: Omar Abdullah

Editor

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah has criticised the timing of changing the state DGP, saying there was no hurry to replace S P Vaid and the state police could do without having to deal with the confusion of leadership. The state government removed Vaid as the DGP late Thursday night and handed the charge to DG Prisons Dilbagh Singh till a permanent appointment is made. “There was no hurry to replace @spvaid. He should have been changed only when a permanent arrangement had been worked out.…

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Four years after deluge, Valley women still picking up pieces, Traders decry lack of rehab

Editor

Even four years after the floods hit the summer capital, the memory of devastation they caused is still fresh in minds of many residents, especially women, who have worked hard to pick up the pieces since then. Nasreen Bano, 45, who lives in Raj Bagh, one of the localities that was severely affected by September 2014 floods, has shifted along with her family to their new house just six months ago. “We were unaware about the danger the floods posed when water entered our house on September 7, 2014. We…

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J&K Police Chief SP Vaid removed post abductions of cops kin

Editor

Jammu and Kashmir director general of police (DGP) SP Vaid was removed from his post and appointed transport commissioner, a state government order issued late Thursday said. Dilbag Singh, currently director general, prisons, will be acting DGP, the order said. The removal of Vaid came two days after additional director general, CID, Abdul Gani Mir was replaced by B Srinivas, who had returned from central deputation. The reshuffle came as Centre and the new governor Satya Pal Malik were not happy over the spike in the incidents of militancy in…

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PDP should’ve pulled out of alliance after Kathua Rape: Amitabh Mattoo

Editor

The PDP should have been the one to pull out of the alliance with the BJP after the brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, a close aide of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has said. “Perhaps she should have resigned before but it was a tough call,” said Amitabh Mattoo. Mattoo, who admitted he should have advised her to pull out of the alliance earlier, was speaking at the launch of the “The Generation of Rage in Kashmir” by journalist David Devdas here…

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South Kashmir residents fearing collateral damage while building two-story houses

Editor

Abdul Wahab of Daramdor hamlet of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district has given up the idea of constructing the second floor to his single-storied house due to the fear of frequent gunfights in the district which often leave the houses razed. He says his elder son is married and the younger one is expected to get married next summer before which he had plans to add another floor to his house. “There are so many gunfights in south Kashmir districts day in and day out. I told my wife to let…

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