Category: Kashmir

Kashmir

Was it a EID Shopping or an open invitation to disaster

Editor
Was it a EID Shopping or an open invitation to disaster

Are we waiting for Eid, an occasion of joy, or we are preparing for a huge mourning that is to befall us if we don’t take heed.  For the last couple of days a disturbing trend  is being seen. People are moving out in good numbers and doing shopping for the Eid day. One wonders how people leave the enormity of this crisis behind and become a part of crowd in the markets. This is plainly suicidal. Not just suicidal, but amounts to mass murder. Those who go out and…

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Showcasing GOI’s normalcy canvas, now Kashmir is paying for hosting tourists

Editor
Showcasing GOI's normalcy canvas, now Kashmir is paying for hosting tourists

Voluntary agencies in Srinagar have stepped in to help cope with the sudden surge of Covid cases in the Valley. The abrupt rise is attributed to the administration’s decision to keep tourist spots open without enforcing any Covid protocol. ‘The Government was keen to project a picture of normalcy and people, tired and impoverished, also threw caution to the wind,’ explained a health worker. But while there is evidence to suggest that government agencies fell short, NGOs stepped up to fill the breach. Mohammad Adnan, who was frantically looking for…

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As COVID lockdown continues across Kashmir, 43 arrested, 12 FIRs lodged for violating norms

Editor
As COVID lockdown continues across Kashmir, 43 arrested, 12 FIRs lodged for violating norms

For the 10th consecutive day on Saturday, strict Corona curfew restrictions remained imposed across Kashmir to contain unabated rise in COVID-19 related cases and deaths. On Friday, J&K hit another grim milestone with a record single-day spike of 5443 COVID-19 infections and 50 deaths. The Jammu and Kashmir administration earlier this week extended the ongoing ‘corona curfew’ for the third successive time since April 29 in four districts, including Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam and Jammu till May 10. Barring Shopian, the lockdown was extended by the respective Deputy Commissioners of other…

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Volkan Bozkir, UN General Assembly president says Kashmir Status should not be changed, acknowledges Shimla Agreement of 1972

Editor
Volkan Bozkir, UN General Assembly president says Kashmir Status should not be changed, acknowledges Simla Agreement of 1972

General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir has said that the status of Jammu and Kashmir should not be changed while acknowledging the 1972 Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan making it a bilateral issue. “I call on all parties to refrain from taking steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said at a news conference here on Tuesday. “I support dialogue and diplomacy, and I encourage both Pakistan and India, neighbours, to resolve this dispute through peaceful means,” he said. While answering a reporter’s question about Kashmir,…

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District Srinagar declared as Covid-19 Red Zone

Editor
District Srinagar declared as Covid-19 Red Zone

Srinagar and three other districts are under curfew till Thursday and government officials say it could be extended further if the cases continue to rise, especially in the Red Zone. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has declared Srinagar district a Red Zone after the summer capital recorded 1,126 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday. All other 19 districts have been declared as orange zones.Srinagar and Jammu districts reported 1,126 and 486 fresh Covid-19 cases respectively on Sunday, taking the tally of active cases in the two districts to 9,554 and 6,478.…

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170 Localities across Kashmir Valley declared micro-containment zones

Editor

In order to prevent the COVID-19 cases from spreading, over 170 localities and areas Micro Containment Zones and Containment Zones have been declared across Kashmir. According to the data collected by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) a total of 173 areas have been notified as the Micro Containment and Containments zones in the ten districts of Kashmir region. Most of the Micro Containment Zones and Containment Zones are in Srinagar with officials informing that 13 areas in the summer capital have been notified as Containment Zones while 47 have…

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Despite huge surge in COVID19 cases GoI to allow Amarnath Pilgrimage in Kashmir

Editor

Critics have said the annual Amarnath pilgrimage could lead to a devastating wave of the coronavirus in Kashmir, which has underequipped health care facilities. The local government in India-administered Kashmir is contemplating setting up makeshift shelters and facilities for 600,000 Hindu pilgrims for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which it intends to host this summer despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.The pilgrims will visit the Amarnath cave shrine, perched 3,880-meters (12,730 feet) above sea level in the Himalayas.The government will set up two base camps — one called Baltal and another called…

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Mirwaiz Farooq under detention for last 20 months; not released even during Ramadan: Hurriyat

Editor

The Hurriyat Conference on Friday said it was “extremely unfortunate” that even in the month of Ramzan, its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is a prominent religious leader in Kashmir, has not been released from his “arbitrary” detention. The Hurriyat leader was detained at his house on August 4, 2019, a day ahead of the Centre announcing the abrogation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, and its bifurcation into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. “It is extremely unfortunate and deeply hurts the sentiments…

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Peace in South Asia contingent upon resolution of Kashmir dispute; Khan writes to Modi

Editor

Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has said that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Imran Khan said this while thanking the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for his letter in which he conveyed greetings to the Pakistanis on Pakistan Day, observed on March 23. PM Imran Khan in his latest letter to Narendra Modi wrote, “The people of Pakistan also desire peaceful, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including India. We are convinced that…

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Recent Protest in Srinagar triggers the biggest crackdown since 2019

Editor

The first protest in months in Srinagar’s old city has triggered the biggest government crackdown since 2019, with dozens of youths arrested since Friday and some of them booked under the stringent Public Safety Act. Police said they had arrested 39 “stone-throwing” youths during dozens of raids after a protest at Jamia Masjid on Friday. Fifteen accused have been booked under the PSA, Valley police chief Vijay Kumar told a news conference on Wednesday. A person can be detained for six months or even longer without trial under the PSA.…

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