Category: General News

General News

Wake up India, talk to Pakistan or lose Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah

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National Conference chief and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Farooq Abdullah today said the violence and loss of lives during the Srinagar bypoll “are a tragedy and a failure of the government of the day.” National Conference chief and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Farooq Abdullah, who is contesting the state by-elections from Srinagar, said that the violence and loss of lives during the bypolls in the state “are a tragedy and a failure of the government of the day. They could not provide…

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Srinagar bypolls reflect failure of Kashmir Policy: Rahul Gandhi

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Decades of hard work to build trust in the democratic process in Kashmir has been reversed by the BJP government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said today after a poor voter turnout and violence in the Srinagar Lok Sabha bypolls. He also attacked the PDP-BJP government in the state over its “total failure”. “The elections in Kashmir reflect the total failure of the BJP/PDP alliance and the governments Kashmir policy. “Decades of hard work to build trust in the democratic process in Kashmir reversed in less than 3 years by the…

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To wrest Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah toes Soft-Separatist line

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At 79, Farooq Abdullah is a familiar face of the contest for the Srinagar parliamentary constituency, which will go to the polls for the second time in four years on Sunday. In the last poll in 2014, the NC president had suffered a rout. This is his chance to make a comeback. The Srinagar parliamentary constituency is formed of the 15 Assembly segments: eight located in Srinagar district, five in Budgam and two in Ganderbal. Srinagar, home to 1.2 million people, is a bustling district and the urban heartland of…

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Rains, Avalanches claim 8 lives in J&K, but floods recede

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Eight persons were killed in three days of recent heavy rains and snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, but with weather clearing, the water levels in all swollen rivers, streams and lakes in the valley have started receding, officials said on Friday. “With gradual improvement in weather, the water level in the Jhelum river and its tributaries has started receding, both at Sangam (in Anantnag district) and at Ram Munshi bagh in Srinagar city,” the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said in Srinagar. Eight people have been killed in torrential rain…

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Schools, Colleges closed; Exams deferred; National Highway remained closed; 10 Flights cancelled

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LoC trade, Pattan-Baramulla rail service suspended IUST postpones exam; KU, CUK to take call today Kashmir valley remained cut off from the rest of the world for second day Thursday as traffic on the arterial Srinagar-Jammu highway remained suspended due to fresh snowfall, landslides and shooting stones at several places. Meanwhile, the air traffic at Srinagar airport remained suspended till 2 pm. Heavy rainfall also forced railway authorities to suspend train services from Pattan to Baramulla due to stagnation of water on rail tracks and embankments. The cross-LoC trade via…

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Separatists welcome Nikki Haley’s statement that Trump may step in to defuse Indo-Pak tensions

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Separatists in Kashmir on Wednesday welcomed US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s statement that the Trump administration would try and “find its place” in efforts to de-escalate Indo-Pak tension. The statement of American Ambassador to the UN is “encouraging” as Kashmir is a long standing political issue in the south Asian region, moderate Hurriyat faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in a statement here. Despite bilateral talks between India and Pakistan the issue stands unresolved for the past 70 years and is heading towards dangerous proportions with each…

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Chenani-Nashri tunnel to help save fuel, cut pollution

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The South-East Asia’s longest tunnel, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Chenani in Udhampur district on Sunday, will not only save time and money, but will also have a positive effect on the environmentally fragile mountainous range of the Lower Shivalik and the Central Himalayas. The 9.2-km-long Chenani-Nashri Tunnel has come as a respite for the travellers on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway as it has reduced the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 31 km and the travel time by two hours. The state-of-the-art engineering marvel has…

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16 Vice Chairpersons appointment on hold by Election Commission

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The PDP-BJP coalition received a setback when the Election Commission of India (ECI) today kept in abeyance the “controversial” appointment of 16 politicians as vice-chairpersons of various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) ahead of the byelections to the Srinagar and Anantnag Parliamentary constituencies. On March 10, the state government had appointed middle-rung leaders belonging of the PDP and BJP as vice-chairpersons of various PSUs already running in huge losses. These appointments were dubbed as “political bribery” by the opposition National Conference and Congress. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), J&K, Shantmanu said the…

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Modi government can’t afford to mishandle Kashmir

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Since the summer unrest of 2016, observers from Srinagar have been asking New Delhi to come to the negotiating table and start talks with the Hurriyat. “Tral again? We are already in wounds, can’t tolerate more!” This was written by a young Kashmiri on Facebook when news broke that Sabzar Ahmad, a close aide of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, was trapped in an encounter with forces at Nazneenpora village of Tral. The youth’s dismay spoke volumes about the helplessness of a common Kashmiri before a giant, ruthless state. Rumours spread over…

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Delhi alone can’t resolve Kashmir Issue need to engage all including separatists: Farooq Abdullah

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National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has reminded Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that the issues in Kashmir cannot be resolved unilaterally by New Delhi and sought engagement with all shades of opinion in the Valley. “Putting Hurriyat leaders under house arrest or detention will precipitate the already fragile situation rather than solving anything,” former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said. Farooq, who is the opposition NC-Congress candidate contesting against the ruling PDP in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, was speaking at a joint election meeting of the NC and Congress in Ganderbal…

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