Category: Union Territory

Shop sealed after photo goes viral

A photograph showing a dog inside a meat shop in Pahalgam was viral on social media. Hours later, the Municipal Committee Pahalgam sealed the shop.

Land For Eidgah: Brajnandan Prasad Rastogi, who died 20 years ago, had confided to his close relatives that he wished to donate four bighas of his agricultural land to an Eidgah for its expansion.

Kashipur, Uttarakhand: Fulfilling their late father’s last wish, two Hindu sisters donated four bighas worth over ₹ 1.5 crore to an Eidgah here, a gesture that touched Muslims so much that they offered prayers for the dead man on Eid.

Kashipur is a small town in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand and the gesture by the sisters won praise, at a time when reports of communal tensions are coming in from parts of the country.

Brajnandan Prasad Rastogi, who died 20 years ago, had confided to his close relatives that he wished to donate four bighas of his agricultural land to an Eidgah for its expansion.

Before he could share his last wish with his children, he died in January 2003.

His two daughters Saroj and Anita, who live in Delhi and Meerut, came to know about their father’s last wish through relatives recently.

They immediately contacted their brother Rakesh Rastogi, who lives in Kashipur, to seek his consent for it and he agreed readily.

“Honouring father’s last wish was our duty. My sisters have done something which will make his soul rest in peace,” Rakesh Rastogi said when contacted.

“The two sisters are a living example of communal unity. The Eidgah committee expresses its gratitude to them for the kind gesture. The two sisters will soon be felicitated for what they have done,” Hasin Khan of the Eidgah committee said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kupwara/Baramulla, May 3: Armies of India and Pakistan Tuesday held a customary exchange of sweets in Teetwal and Uri sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr.

An official told GNS that the two armies exchanged sweets at Teetwal Crossing on Kishanganga River in Tangdhar in Kupwara and at Kaman Post (Aman Setu), Uri in Baramulla district. “At Teetwal, a contingent of 6 JAK Rifles exchanged sweets with Pakistan Rangers, similarly a contingent of 11 Dogra held the exchange with its counterparts at Kaman Post (Aman Setu)”, the official said.

“Considering the ongoing ceasefire along the border, this gesture is aimed at further enhancing peace and harmony in the union territory”, the official said.

Pertinent to mention here that India and Pakistan armies agreed for a renewed ceasefire along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir in February last year, albeit minor violations, much to the respite of border residents and farmers. (GNS)

Srinagar, May 3: Thousands missed Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at Hazratbal shrine due to alleged mismanagement and hegemony of shrine administration.

The shrine administration) had announced Eid prayers would take place at 10:30 a.m. but the schedule was changed to 10:15 a.m without prior announcement to the bother of hundreds, especially those coming in from far off places.

Scores of people visiting the Dargah were seen in high tempers after they missed the prayers. “The reason for my annoyance was the holding of Eid prayers 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I along with my friends had come all the way from Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district to offer Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at Hazratbal shrine the senseless approach from the administration disappointed us all,” Abdul Rashid told news agency Kashmir News Trust.

Another local from Wathoora Chadura, Aqeel Ahmed Khan said that for many years, they have been coming here to attend Eid congregation. “This year too, we were here to offer Eid prayers but missed it due to the autocratic decision of the shrine administration.

“We are really frustrated and disappointed this time around for missing Eid prayers at Dargah Hazratbal,” he said.

Heated exchanges between visitors and shrine administration were also seen. (KNT)

Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid said that police and civil authorities called them yesterday to convey that  Eid prayers will not be allowed at  Eid Gah Srinagar and would only be allowed at Jama Masjid Srinagar if held before 7 Am ,and after  conditions set later by the authorities, are met by the Auqaf  in writing.

As per the precedent , Anjum Auqaf had earlier in the day announced that Eid prayers will be held at Eid gah at 9 .30 Am and in case of inclement weather at Jama Masjid Srinagar at that time  . Auqaf members expressed great dismay that after disallowing muslims of the valley to pray at Jamia Masjid on Juma -tul- vida  and Shab- e-Qadr  , authorities are now not allowing muslims to offer Eid  prayers in the open at Eid Gah , which is in tradition of the prophets sunnah. In this case ,  a reply was also received yesterday by the Anjuman to a  letter they had sent to Waqf board regarding Eid prayer arrangements at Eid gah. The reply by the Wafq board conveyed that they could not facilitate prayer arrangements unless Authorities gave permission to conduct prayers at Eid gah .

Anjuman Auqaf said that  Jama Masjid is a central place of congregational prayers in the valley and not some local masjid . The purpose of such central places of worship is to provide a space and opportunity to muslims so that they can pray together in large numbers on Fridays and other religious occasions,  and experience the physical and spiritual communion as an ummah . To facilitate people from across the valley to reach these central places , prayers timings are decided accordingly and like in Dargah Hazratbal prayers timings by the waqf board has been set at 10.30 Am , Anjuman Auqaf had also announced prayers at 9:30 Am. It is strange that if congregational prayers can be allowed at other places at 10:30 Am , why not at Jama Masjid, why unreasonable conditions of  giving this and that in writing , have to be applied here? Sadly it seems that as in case of juma tul -vida and shab–e-Qadr authorities do not want Eid prayers to held even at Jama Masjid after disallowing them at Eid gah due to public fear and hence these hurdles.

Anjuman Auqaf deeply regrets this approach of the authorities, when again Eid prayers are not being allowed at Eidgah as well as Jama Masjid , causing great hurt and sorrow to the muslims of J&K , as does the prolonged detention of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq since august 2019 , who would deliver the soul rendering  Eid sermon prior to congregational Eid prayers .

New Delhi: The government has accepted IAS officer Shah Faesal’s application for withdrawing his resignation and reinstated him in service and his next posting would be announced soon, Home Ministry officials said here on Thursday.
Faesal, who submitted his resignation in January 2019 and floated the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) party, was detained under the stringent Public Safety Act immediately after the abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, after his release, Faesal gave up on politics and started dropping hints of his willingness to rejoin government service. His resignation had not been accepted.
The doctor-turned-bureaucrat formed his party to “revive democratic politics” in Jammu and Kashmir but his political career ended abruptly.
In an earlier interview with PTI, Faesal had said, “Soon after quitting (IAS), I realised that my innocuous act of dissent was being seen as an act of treason. It had done more harm than benefit and my act had discouraged a lot of civil services aspirants and my colleagues felt betrayed. It upset me a lot.”
Home Ministry officials said that Faesal’s plea for withdrawal of resignation had been accepted and his next posting would be announced soon.
The Home Ministry, which is the cadre controlling authority for the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, had asked for an opinion of the Jammu and Kashmir administration about his plea for withdrawal of resignation.
After getting reports from all quarters besides the Department of Personnel and Training, the department looking after the IAS, it was decided to accept his plea and was subsequently reinstated earlier this month, the officials said.(PTI)

Srinagar, April 28: Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar on Thursday said that 62 militants have been killed so far this year in Kashmir Valley.

In a tweet, he said 39 of the militants were from Lashker-e-Toiba, 15 from Jash-e-Mohammad , six from Hizb-ul-Muajhideen and two from Al-Badr.

“Among them, 47 were locals and 15 foreign militants,” said the IGP Kashmir as per GNS. (GNS)

Inaugurate, lay foundation stones of projects over Rs 20,000cr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 on Sunday and will inaugurate the 8.45-km Banihal-Qazigund Road Tunnel that will connect Jammu with the Valley. He will also participate in the celebrations of the National Panchayati Raj Day and gram sabhas across the country.

In a statement, the Centre said Modi will participate in the celebrations of National Panchayati Raj Day soon after his arrival. He will virtually address all Gram Sabhas across the country. The PM will visit Palli Panchayat in Samba district. He will also transfer award money to Panchayats which are winners of awards given across different categories for their achievements.

An exhaustive itinerary to commensurate the momentous visit post Art 370 abrogation includes the formal launch of Rs 38,082 Cr Industrial development proposals and initiation or inauguration of big-ticket projects of over Rs 20,000 Cr. This also includes the inauguration of the much awaited Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel.

Srinagar, Apr 22: Local boys saved an old man after he jumped into the river Jehlum near Nawakadal area of Srinagar.

Official sources told news agency Kashmir News Trust that a 70-year-old man in a bid to end his life jumped into the river on Friday evening. However, the local boys swung into action and retrieved the man alive from the river.

He was shifted to SMHS Hospital Srinagar where his condition is stated to be critical.

A doctor at SMHS Hospital identified the old man as Muhammad Amin, a resident of Kawadara Srinagar.

Police have registered a case and started an investigation. (KNT)

Srinagar, April 22: While Covid cases are on the rise in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) and Maharashtra among few other places in India, experts on Friday said that there was no need to panic as long as hospitalization remains minimal.

“There is no need for panic given the fact that cases are few and hospitalizations on account of covid-19 are almost zero,” Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, Kashmir’s top pulmonologist and Head of the Department at Chest Disease Hospital Srinagar, told GNS. “The SOPs are largely relaxed but if any surge happens, there is need to go back to following SoPs in letter and spirit,” he said.

Sources said that presently a lesser number of tests are being conducted and the number of cases may not present the actual situation. However, they said, severity is far less with hardly anyone requiring hospitalization.

Seconding it, Dr Naveed stressed that the number of cases does not matter so much as long as hospitalization is negligible. “If the situation arises that there is need for hospitalization then only there is need for strict adherence to SOPs,” he added.

HoD Social and Preventive Medicine, GMC Srinagar, Dr Saleem Khan also said no major steps were needed to be taken as the hospitalization does not demand the same.

The seven-day average of daily infections, a number that denotes a region’s Covid-19 case curve, in New Delhi has climbed to 636 for the week ended Thursday. This number, which was falling for almost three months since mid-January when the city’s Omicron wave peaked, has now been slowly rising. For the week ended March 31, the city reported 103 cases every single day on average.

The number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir remains far low and mainly in single digit. However experts have been warning against any complacency. While the Delhi government was forced to order the wearing of masks earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu health department on Friday made wearing facemasks in public mandatory as a preventive step to control the surge of Covid-19 cases. Anybody found without a face mask will have to pay a penalty of Rs 500 in the South Indian state.

With 2,451 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases climbed to 4,30,52,425, while the active cases increased to 14,241, according to the Union health ministry data updated on April 22. (GNS)