Category: Union Territory

Srinagar: In view of weather forecast of heavy snow and rains, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti Saturday directed the divisional administration of Kashmir to be in a state of preparedness and responsive to any crisis thrown up by the inclement weather.

The Chief Minister has directed all the concerned Departments like PDD, R&B, MED, ULB, PHE, Health and other Departments to gear up in view of the weather forecast and deploy their men and machinery on the ground beforehand.

She said there should be no delay in snow clearance operations and, as soon as it starts to accumulate, snow clearance machines should be pressed into service so that people do not face any inconvenience. For this, she directed positioning of snow clearance machines at critical spots beforehand so that snow is cleared in a minimum time.

 Mehbooba directed the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and Urban LocalBodies to ensure that the interior roads and lanes in the city and major towns of the Valley are cleared of snow on priority and water logged as a result of snow or rains is drained out quickly.

She also directed the PDD authorities to ensure replacement of damaged infrastructure with speed and also put all resources at their command to ensure that minimum cuts are resorted to while supplying electricity to consumers.

Mehbooba Mufti also directed the management of  SKIMS and SMHS hospitals to have sufficient stocks of medicine available with them and also at all the district, secondary and tertiary care hospitals besides all the requisite doctors and paramedical staff are deployed at their respective places of working.

The Chief Minister has also directed the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu to put similar measures in place in the areas in the region where heavy rains and snow have been predicted.

Expect Heavy Snowfall From Monday

The Kashmir Valley is bracing up for possible heavy snowfall from early next week. The Met Department has said a western disturbance would affect the state from December 11.Cold wave continued in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

In Ladakh region, Leh was the coldest recorded place in the state. The mercury settled at -13 degrees Celsius. Kargil recorded a low of -8.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of -0.2 degree Celsius. Gulmarg, the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir, recorded a low of zero degrees Celsius.

The other famous resort of Pahalgam registered a minimum temperature of -1.5 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar: It seems that winter is all set to make onset over the hilly states of North India. All thanks to the fresh Western Disturbance which is approaching the Western Himalayas around November 13.

Weather across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand has been almost dry for last many days. Though on and off Western Disturbances were travelling across Western Himalayas but they were feeble in nature and thus, failed to give any weather activity over the region.

 First spell of winter rains in Punjab, Delhi, Hary… Dense fog to persist in Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajas… Pollution in Delhi Live Update: NGT questions the … Delhi Pollution: Air quality to start improving no…

Now, we are again expected a Western Disturbance to affect the region very soon, which is likely to be the first active weather system of the season that would give rain and snow. Initially, we can expect light rains over Jammu and Kashmir on November 13.

November 14 onward, we can expect rains to intensify over Jammu and Kashmir and also cover parts of Himachal Pradesh. In fact, the higher reaches of these mentioned regions may receive season’s first snowfall activity.

With this, both maximum and minimum temperatures would also start dropping across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The night temperatures are already settling below 10°C but day temperatures will now witness a major fall.

Now, the frequency as well as intensity of Western Disturbance will also start increasing. Not only this, they will now start travelling in the low altitudes and impact the weather over the hilly regions more often.

Western Disturbances are primarily responsible for setting in the winter season over North India. Once these active systems approach the region, they usually stay for 1-2 days and give spells of rain and snow of varying intensity.

Srinagar: The officials of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) Thursday described the ‘spray attack’ on some students as ‘inside’ job promising stringent action against the culprits involved.

“Prima facie it looks like a prank gone wrong,” Vice-Chancellor IUST, Prof (Dr) Mushtaq Siddiqui, told.

At least a eight students, six of them female, suffered from acute to mild difficulty in breathing after inhaling some toxic substance. It was not immediately known whether the chemical had been sprayed from a canister or simply spilled from a bottle.

“While a professor went inside the MBA classroom, she felt a kind of suffocation and came out immediately,” Dr Siddiqui said. “After some time some students especially who were sitting in the front row also complained of suffocation and came out from the classroom.”

The VC, however, said some leads on the matter point to an inside job and the culprits would soon be identified.

He said the university has framed a committee to look into the matter. “We’ve constituted a committee headed by the Dean Business Studies, Prof M Y Shah, and I’m sure the leads available would take us to the culprits soon,” Dr Siddiqui said. “We’ll not hesitate in rusticating the students.”

The affected students were taken to a health centre. “Four students have been discharged after administering first aid where the others have been shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) for better treatment,” he said.

A similar attempt had reportedly been made earlier on the students a few days back but it failed.

A recent wave of braid-cutting incidents has sparked fear and anger throughout the Valley, with locals blaming the government for not acting quick enough against the culprits.

So far not a single alleged braid cutter has been arrested by police. But with each new incident both fear and confusion are on the rise, making the government the target anger amid a larger rise in anti-government protests.

That the police have so far failed to come up with anything concrete explanation for the incidents has not only put the government in the dock but reinforced the perception among masses that law enforcement agencies are allegedly behind the incidents.

The general surmise among victims of braid chopping in the Kashmir Valley is that attackers use some anaesthetic spray to overpower them.

Jammu: Army chief General Bipin Rawat today blamed social media for the rise in radicalisation among the youth of Jammu and Kashmir and said it was being tackled with a “lot of seriousness”.

Rawat, on a day-long visit here, also brushed aside the issue of alleged braid chopping incidents in the state as a “routine matter” which the civil administration and the police would deal with.

“Radicalisation is taking place. It is a worldwide phenomenon that radicalisation is taking place. We are addressing it with a lot of seriousness,” Rawat told reporters here when asked about radicalisation in the Kashmir Valley.

Rawat, while speaking on the sidelines of a function where he presented the President’s Standards to 47 Armoured Regiment, said that the Jammu and Kashmir government, the police, the administration and everybody was concerned about radicalisation.

“We are trying to ensure that people are being weaned away from this kind of radicalisation,” he said.

The Army chief blamed the social media for the radicalisation of people, particularly the youth in the state.

“It (radicalisation) is happening mainly because of the social media,” he said.

Asked if the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids were aimed at mellowing down the separatists in the Valley and giving a jolt to the stone pelters, Rawat said, “When the whole of the government approach is adopted then every aspect and every machinery of the government is to play a part and whatever success the NIA raids have achieved will emerge in the near future.”

On the challenge being faced by the government and the security agencies due to the alleged braid chopping incidents which have triggered violent protests in the state, Rawat said, “Why do you see it as a challenge.” It has been happening in other parts of the country and now it has started happening in Kashmir as well, the Army chief said.

“We don’t see it as a challenge. It is a routine matter. Civil administration and police is taking action into it and it will be foiled,” he said.

Asked if the separatists were taking advantage of this to trigger turmoil in the Valley, he said the role of the media was important to uncover the truth behind it.

Pulwama: At a time when hair vigilantes are manhandling braid chopping suspects in different parts of Valley, the locals in South Kashmir’s Pulwama village reportedly thrashed a group of Hizbul Mujahideen militants on Friday night.

Locals from Thokarpora village, barely 7 kilometers away from Pulwama district told news agency CNS that a group of three Hizb militants were passing through the village, when hair vigilantes stopped and questioned them.

“As the vigilantes equipped with sticks, iron rods and spades found the trio armed, they thrashed them mercilessly even though one of them was repeatedly telling them that he is Hizb militant Sameer Tiger,” said an eyewitness.

“Vigilantes continuously harassed, thrashed and abused them. Some of the vigilantes even tried to snatch weapons from them, which they resisted but exercised restraint. The agitated locals were labelling them as braid choppers,” said the villagers’ witness to the account.

According to them, the trio managed to escape from the spot after their two more associates appeared there and fired at least 8 rounds in the air. “The aerial firing created panic forcing the vigilantes to disperse from the spot,” they said.

Locals said that government forces rushed to the village after the incident and cordoned off the hamlet, however, no arrests were made as the militants had managed to leave the village.

A police official while confirming the incident said that five Hizbul Mujahideen militants were passing through the village in two groups. “Three militants were thrashed by locals of Thokarpora village who mistook them as braid choppers while another group comprising two militants came to their rescue after resorting to aerial firing,” he said. (CNS)

But even after two months of its installation, no government agency or department has so far owned the project. It continues to remain a property of Waseem.

Srinagar: The water fountain installed on the Budshah Bridge might have brought a new charm to the bridge attracting hundreds, but there is a 10-years long story behind the completion of the project.

Surprising to know that the project has not been set up by any government agency or department, but it is a pure volunteer work of a local youth. It is an outcome of 10-years long efforts of Old City boy Waseem Hassan Raja, who completed the project without any help from the government.

But even after two months of its installation, no government agency or department has so far owned the project. It continues to remain a property of Waseem.

“The concept of bridge fountain was submitted to the commissioner SMC in the year 2007. We were asked to collect the NOCs from almost every department – R&B, P.H.E, Irrigation and Flood Control, Traffic department and PDD. It took us around two years to collect all the NOCs,” Waseem Raja said.

On 23rd April 2008, he presented the idea in the “Review meeting with regard to the beautification of Srinagar City”.

“It was appreciated by the then Mayor, and it was unanimously decided to install the fountain on the Budshah Bridge by the developer. However that time I didn’t get the chance to install due to certain obstructions,” he said.

Later, Waseem Raja continues his efforts and approached numerous departments and well off persons for funding. “I failed at every level. But I continued the struggle,” he said.

Recently in the month of July 2017, Waseem discussed it with one of his friend Mohammad Afzal who showed his interest to help him financially.

“We started the work and it’s done. The fountain is lively seen on the Budshah Bridge during the day and evening times which has changed the scene of Budshah Bridge. It has been appreciated by general public at large,” he said.

Waseem Raja said the fountain gives a cooling effect especially when the sun hits the highest point. “The water used for the operation of fountain is purely river water being lifted by the submersible motors. We have paid Rs 10,000 to PDD for electricity charges,” he said.

Now he wants the government to appreciate his initiative and allow him to install more fountains on the other bridges so that the city of Srinagar looks like a smart city in one or the other way. “I want financial help from the government to continue with these projects,” he said.

He said the SMC has assured him that the Corporation would own the Budshah bridge fountain.

SMC Commissioner Shafqat Khan when contacted said SMC has not owned it yet. “It has been done by someone voluntarily. I have no idea who made it. We will see if we can own it, if it comes in our budget competence,” he said.

Srinagar: Director General of Police S P Vaid Monday said police has constituted an SIT in every district and the DySP headquarters has been made member of the SIT’s which shall be headed by the concerned DCs.

Vaid said the members of the SITs will visit the victims and record their statements. He, however, said the reports about braid chopping are pouring in but they don’t have evidences to probe the cases. “We don’t get witnesses. We have lack of evidence. When we don’t have evidence how we can find the braid cutters,” he said.

He said such cases occurred in UP where 3000 incidents were reported and later it spread to Haryana and Punjab. “254 cases occurred in Jammu. It then spread to south Kashmir and now in Central and north Kashmir,” he said.

He said wherever they have arrested suspects; they turned out to be labourers or other people who were not involved in braid chopping. “We can’t book innocents. The society has to cooperate with us,” the DGP said. (KNS)

Srinagar: Gulmarg, the famous tourist destination in Kashmir, Sunday received this season’s first snowfall, with the temperature dipping below zero.
The snowfall was not as much as expected but has raised hopes among people associated with tourism for good upcoming winter tourism.
Gulmarg is a world famous destination for snow skiing, athletes as well as tourists who always keep an eye for snowfall at the tourist spot.
“For last five months, due to uneasy calm, least number of tourists visited Kashmir. Now with winters nearing and situation is improving. We expect tourists in coming months,” a tour guide in Gulmarg, said.
“The season for the snowfall has started. We are hopeful it will attract tourists in the coming months,” said a hotelier. (KNS)

Videos and photos circulating on social media show residents catching the constable, taking off his jacket, and tying him to a chair.

Srinagar: A Jammu and Kashmir policeman was on Saturday caught and given a thrashing by locals for allegedly stalking and taking pictures of a woman in Ganderbal.

Videos and photos circulating on social media show residents, including the woman, catching the constable, taking off his jacket, and tying him to a chair.

They alleged that the constable hurt the dignity of a woman.

According to reports, the cop allegedly took pictures of a woman while she was standing on the roadside at Manigam in Ganderbal.

The cop was overpowered by the locals after the woman raised objections and tied him to a chair till his superiors arrived and took him in the custody.

“We registered an FIR and he was arrested soon after. Law will take its course,” senior superintendent of police Fayaz Ahmad Lone told reporters.

Police claimed to have found some photos of the woman in the constable’s mobile.

A clip shows a screaming crowd vowing to teach a lesson to anyone caught hurting a woman’s dignity. Slogans against police and in support of Zakir Musa could be heard in the videos.

Earlier this year, a J&K police official was suspended after he snatched away money from a roadside beggar.