Category: General News

General News

Ministers of State (MoS) get independent powers in Jammu Kashmir

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The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on Friday delegated powers to the ministers of state which they can exercise independently besides the power delegated by the ministers in-charge. According to an official handout issued late Friday, the ministers of state can exercise these powers in the following matters: To approve the transfers of non-gazetted staff, which require approval of the administrative department, as per the transfer policy. To accord administrative approval to the works beyond the competence of HoDs upto Rs 3 crore. To sanction advance withdrawal…

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‘Act against Microsoft, US agencies for showing wrong Kashmir map’

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Vijay said he was in a NATO meeting in Brussels a month ago where “I saw the NATO Generals in a briefing showing India’s wrong map. I protested then and there BJP MP Tarun Vijay today asked the government to take up with the US a wrong map of Kashmir allegedly published by Microsoft and other American agencies, saying it was a “cartographic attack” on India’s sovereignty. “There is a cartographic attack on India’s sovereignty and unity. Microsoft and other American agencies are publishing a wrong map of India, and…

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Mufti wants Suchetgarh border on the lines of popular Wagah

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CM to raise demand with MEA, mulls amusement park near international border Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today pitched for developing the Suchetgarh international border on the pattern of the Wagah border in Punjab so that people from both sides could meet at this point. He promised to take up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs. “This is the nearest place from Jammu on the Indian side and Sialkot from the Pakistan side. If developed like the Wagah border, it could attract tourists from all over. Already Rs…

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Minister in row over education details in EC affidavit

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JK Minister Asiea Naqash of PDP is at the centre of a controversy over information about her educational qualifications furnished in her affidavit filed with the Election Commission for Assembly polls last year. In the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, Naqash, who is minister of state for Health and Social Welfare, claimed to have a Bachelor’s degree in Arts and a law degree from Kashmir University. However, as per the declaration, Naqash completed her LLB in 1992 from Kashmir University followed by bachelor’s deg0ree in 1996. Although five-year integrated…

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BJP’s demand to declare Accession Day a holiday lands PDP in a fix

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To declare 26 October a gazetted holiday or not? The question is loaded with political implications in Jammu and Kashmir. It has set Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on a collision course with the BJP, his party’s alliance partner in the state. On 26 October, 1947, the then ruler of the state, Maharaja Hari Singh, had signed the Instrument of Accession to make Kashmir part of India. Before partition, Kashmir was an independent princely state. Soon after India’s independence, it got plagued by invasions led by Pathan tribesmen, forcing its…

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Residents recover abandoned baby from dog’s mouth

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‘Society growing ugly and inhumane’ In a shocking incident, a dead newborn infant was seen into the mouth of a dog, parading at Press Enclave in summer capital Srinagar on Thursday morning. The infant wrapped in a newspaper had been thrown in garbage at SRTC yard opposite Tyndale Biscoe School while the dog after recovering the baby started running with infant into its mouth. Eyewitnesses said that people chased the dog and it left the baby on road. Hey said that the police rushed to spot and handed over the…

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National Conference raises pitch against NFSA

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The National Conference today raised its pitch against the National Food Security Act, accusing the coalition government of snatching food from people of the state. “Today people are worried about the food security Act,” NC president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told reporters at Shangus in Anantnag district. Omar described the government’s statement that the NC was behind the protests against the food Act as “unfortunate”. “Imagine in Srinagar city alone there are 3 lakh people whose food is being snatched. If this is the situation in Srinagar, elsewhere…

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HC directs SMC to seal Taj Mohi-ud-Din’s city complex

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‘None can be permitted to reap benefit of his illegal actions’ High court has directed Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC)  to seal a commercial complex of top congress leader and former minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din at Residency road, Srinagar. A division bench of the High Court said prima facie, it appears that the petitioner (Taj Mohi-ud-Din)  has committed serious breach of permission granted to him for raising of construction as he has not maintained car parking in the complex, which was the fundamental condition for permission. Earlier, SMC informed the court that…

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Girls getting online threats for attending Army-Sponsored Tour

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A group of 30 Kashmiri schoolgirls – the first such group from Srinagar – who returned from an Army-sponsored tour of Delhi and Agra are now facing online abuse and threats. But, back from the 10-day trip yesterday, the teenagers remain defiant in the face of these threats. Some of the students we spoke with say they don’t care about what abusers are posting on social networking sites. “It was a very good trip. We enjoyed it,” said one. Asked about the online abuse and criticism, another student said, “I don’t…

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Bar, Hurriyat (M) oppose proposed Bajpathri firing range

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Opposition to the proposed firing range at Bajpathri, located near the Yousmarg health resort in central Kashmir, is growing. The Kashmir High Court Bar Association and the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference have raised environment concerns on the issue. Condemning the state government for giving its nod to set up an alternative firing range in the forest area of Budgam district, they have made it clear that they will oppose the proposed move. After vacating the Tosamaidan firing range in Budgam district last year, the state government and Army…

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