General News Archives | Page 103 of 361

Reservation of seats for Kashmiri Pandits will help in their Rehabilitation and Safety: BJP

July 29, 2023July 29, 2023 Editor

Kashmir’s Sikh Community Demands Reservation in Assembly The BJP on July 28 defended the move to reserve seats for Kashmiri Pandits and displaced residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the Assembly of the Union Territory. “The BJP has pledged to protect the rights of all the sections in J&K. The National Conference [NC] has blood on their hands. The Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Gandhis, are responsible for 1989. Mufti Muhammad Sayeed was Union Home Minister and Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister, when Kashmir saw a mass migration of Pandits,” Tarun…

Heavy Rainfall Hits Kashmir, MeT Predicts Continued Precipitation in the Coming Days

July 29, 2023 Editor

Woman killed in house collapse in Udhampur Footbridge washed away in Doda amid heavy rains Rain lashed parts of Kashmir on Friday with meteorological department predicting more possibility of showers in coming days. Following light early morning showers, the weather was generally overcast and cloudy. Flash floods hit a stream in central Kashmir’s Budgam washing away a car. “There was no major damage,” officials said. The MeT said that there was a possibility of light to moderate thunderstorms at many places with isolated heavy rainfall over Jammu region, especially during late night…

Kapil Sibal to Represent DPAP in Article 370 Hearings

July 28, 2023 Editor

Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal will appear on behalf of the DPAP during hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court, the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led party said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court will commence day-to-day hearing from August 2 on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that bestowed special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud fixed July 27 as the deadline for filing of written submissions…

Jammu and Kashmir’s Land Scheme Raises Fears of Demographic Change

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 Editor

Is the administration’s new land scheme an attempt to realign the region’s dynamics before the next Assembly election? By: Anando Bhakto A government programme to dole out land to the homeless in Jammu and Kashmir has reignited the contentious discourse on “demographic change” through a slew of government initiatives over the past four years, be it the delimitation of Assembly constituencies, land reforms, or the much-diluted domicile provision. The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party have framed the government’s latest land endowment scheme as a covert bid to absorb…

J&K’s Unemployment rate reaches Alarming 18.3%, More then Double the National Average

July 27, 2023July 27, 2023 Editor

The unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir, on a steady rise, stands at a staggering 18.3 per cent, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed Rajya Sabha today. The national average, interestingly, stands at around eight per cent now. The estimates for the unemployment rate specifically among the educated are not available for the period between April and June 2021. “However, according to a survey conducted between July 2020 and June 2021, the estimate of the unemployment rate among the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the age group of…

Hasnain Masoodi Opposes Centre’s J&K Bills, Says Reorganization Act Sub Judice, New Laws Illegal

July 26, 2023 Editor

Hasnain Masoodi, Member Parliament from south Kashmir’s Anantnag has opposed the bills regarding Jammu Kashmir scheduled to be tabled in the lower house on Wednesday. The Central Government has introduced three bills namely The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order, 1956, will also be introduced today in the Lower House. The first aims to reserve three seats in the assembly of Jammu Kashmir, dissolved since 2018 while the Scheduled…

Criticism mounts as GoI’s Decision to allow LG to Nominate J&K Assembly Members faces opposition from NC and PDP

July 26, 2023 Editor

The National Conference and the PDP said they have no problem in giving representation in the legislative assembly to Kashmiri migrants and displaced people from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) but disagree with the way reservations are being made for them. They said the power to nominate members for the reserved seats in the assembly should rest with the elected government, not the Lieutenant Governor. The Centre is planning to introduce a Bill in Parliament to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act to reserve two seats for Kashmiri migrants and one seat…

July witnesses 15 Cloudburst Incidents in Jammu and Kashmir: Officials

July 25, 2023 Editor

Amid frequent wet spells in the ongoing month, Jammu and Kashmir has reported 15 cloudburst incidents in the month of July while the Meteorological department (MeT) is preparing data to see whether the incidents have witnessed an upward trend. According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Jammu and Kashmir has received excess rainfall of 27 per cent since June 01, 2023 to July 19, 2023 as the frequent rainfall has been reported in the Union Territory from last month. Deputy Director MeT, Dr Mukhtar Ahmad told KNO that although…

Reservation of seats for Kashmiri Migrants and Refugees in J&K Assembly sparks debate over nomination process

July 25, 2023 Editor

The proposed Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 specifies that the Lieutenant Governor of J&K – who is appointed by the Union government – would nominate these MLAs. By: Umer Maqbool The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government is planning to introduce a Bill in parliament to reserve three seats in the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir for Kashmiri migrants and refugees from the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). This will take the number of nominated seats in the unicameral House to five as two seats were already reserved…