Following the clash last evening, restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in Katra. Authorities have imposed restrictions in Katra, the base camp of the Vaishno Devi shrine, after local businessmen opposing the construction of a new track to the pilgrimage site staged protests and clashed with police. Businessmen and pony ride operators contend that the New Ban Ganga-Tarakota-Adh Kuwari track will hit their trade. Following the clash last evening, restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in Katra. “Peace and normalcy prevailed in…
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Jammu
Shadow of ‘Failed Plans’ on Jammu Master Plan-2032
Implementation needs political will, curbing of illegal construction Though the long-pending approval to the Master Plan-2032 by the state Cabinet recently has generated hope among the inhabitants of the temple city of major infrastructure rejig during the next decade, the legacy of ‘failed master plans’ since 1974 could cast its shadow on the ambitious projects. The first 20-year plan for Jammu was announced in 1978 and another one in 2004 but the city has emerged as most unplanned city in north India due to corruption, lack of foresight on the…
Read MoreBajrang Dal, VHP workers protest, burn Farooq’s effigy at NC’s Jammu office
Activists of right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal Monday protested against National Conference and burnt the effigy of NC president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah. Over a dozen saffron activists assembled outside the NC office here in the afternoon, and some of them even attempted to climb over the gates, which were closed by SSB guards. The activists were carrying saffron flags and sharp edged weapons including knives. They shouted slogans against Farooq Abdullah and termed him anti-national for his statement in which he had said that “new…
Read MorePolice arrests seven students from Maulana Azad Memorial College hostel
Youth allege ABVP-BJP-Police collusion The campus of Maulana Azad Memorial (MAM) College, Jammu remains tense after police picked up seven Muslim students late last night from the college hostel. The seven boys who have been picked up and lodged in Gandhinagar Police Station include Mohammed Israr, Rabnawaz, Fazal, Murtaza, Zulfiqar, Sheraz and Mumtaz. All these seven belong to the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. They boys arrested after police lodged an FIR against them under sections 451, 323 and 147 RPC. Sources said that the FIR was lodged…
Read MoreGovernor, Chief Minister review ongoing development works in Katra
Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti reviewed the various ongoing development works and the future infrastructure requirements of Katra and its surrounding areas at a high-level meeting at Raj Bhawan here today. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, MoS for Finance and Planning Ajay Nanda, Chief Secretary BR Sharma, senior officers of the government and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board attended the meeting. The Governor observed that as the base town of the pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Katra is a fast expanding town where varied…
Read MoreWinter capital simmers as Saffron brigade turns on the heat with anti Kashmir rhetoric
Amid growing threat to Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis for leaving Jammu, the plains of winter capital seem to be heading for a 2008-like agitation with saffron groups starting “motivational exercises” and “anti-Kashmir street meetings”. The alarm bells were set ringing with vitriolic tweets of hardcore saffron ideology, Hari Om. Om was instrumental in arousing passions in Jammu in 2008 when Kashmir was witnessing an uprising against the controversial transfer of State land to Amarnath shrine board leading to the two-month blockade of Kashmir by the Hindutva groups in Jammu. “Don’t…
Read MoreJammu region must learn to stand up for itself
It is almost a permanent feature that the Jammu region is overlooked as per what apparently appears to be a premeditated plan when it comes to ascertaining the aspirations of the people of this Himalayan state. Delhi and Islamabad have worked in such a way to suggest that everything else is settled barring the issues raised by the Kashmiri-speaking Muslim population of the Valley. Jammu is clubbed with Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as and when Jammu and Kashmir’s original boundaries are sketched. These places are not considered part of the…
Read MoreClamour for eviction of Rohingyas grows louder
The clamour over the settlement of Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals in Jammu has grown louder as several parties are voicing their concern, alleging that it is a deliberate attempt to change the demography of Jammu city. The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) has put up hoardings in the city, asking the Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals to leave Jammu. One such hoarding has been installed outside Press Club in Jammu. “As many as 5,743 Burmese (Rohingyas) are staying in the state. They have entered the state on their own…
Read More200 Year old graveyard turned upside down for playfield in Samba
Nearly 40 graves displaced Work halted after objection by local Muslims In a shocking development, as many as 40 graves were turned up after the local administration ran bulldozers over a 200-year-old graveyard in Samba district to develop a playfield at the site. “They uprooted trees and then one by one human skeletons came out from the graves. They knew it is a graveyard, but the work was not stopped till local Gujjars rushed there and raised objection,” said a resident of Keso Manhasan in Ramgarh tehsil of Samba district.…
Read MoreVictims of Art 370, 35-A vow to intensify legal battles
Unperturbed after being dubbed as “anti-nationals” by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, victims of Article 370 and Article 35-A vowed to intensify the ongoing legal battles to get these, what they called, “inhuman” constitutional Acts abolished so as to live a “dignified” life. A group of West Pakistani refugees, comprising Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Valmikies of J&K and some local women married outside J&K, have challenged Article 370 and Article 35-A in different courts as there is a feeling among these groups that they are being deprived…
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