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  • Dr. Sehrish, employees condole with Masood Hussain, Nazir Masoodi

    Jammu: Director Information and Public Relations, Dr. Syed Sehrish Asgar condoles the sad demises of Father of Masood Hussain, Editor in Chief Kashmir Life and Mother of Nazir Masoodi, Burea Chief NDTV. 

    In this connection, a condolence meet was held in the office chambers of Director Information in which all the officers participated. Dr. Sehrish and other participants expressed deep sorrow and grief over their demises.

    Dr. Sehrish also offered her deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls and courage for the bereaved families to bear their irreparable losses.

  • Azad asks Govt to bring restoration of J&K statehood bill in parliament

    “Give power to elected representatives”

    Srinagar: Former Chief Minister J&K and Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today asked the Government to bring restoration of statehood in J&K bill in parliament.

    “Scrapping of Article 370 was done unilaterally and state was downgraded. Prime Minister, Home Minister has promised that statehood would be restored in J&K. This is the time to bring a bill in Parliament regarding restoration of statehood in J&K,” he said during his speech in virtual meeting of All Parties.

    “DDC and and Panchayat elections were held recently. Now they should have no excuses to grant statehood to J&K.

    He asked the Government of India to give power to the elected representatives and said that it is not good to give unlimited power to officers in a place which has border with China and Pakistan where situation is bad there. (KNS).

  • 10K people forced to consume contaminated water at Kamad Anantnag as Jal Shakti Dept fails to supply potable water to residents

    Srinagar: Around 10,000 people of Kamad in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district are forced to consume contaminated water as Jal Shakti Department has failed to provide them potable water. 

    Residents said the authorities have constructed a water supply for residents of Kamad but has not been started yet.

    “There is an old water supply on which crores of rupees have been spent. However, the water is not reaching to reservoir where from it could have been supplied to people,” Ashfaq Ahmad, a local told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

    He said around 10,000 people from Kamad and its adjoining areas are facing water shortage. “We have to fetch contaminated water from Nallahs,” he said.

    Another resident Firdous Ahmad said they have apprised concerned officials several times about shortage of water but to no avail. “Our women have to fetch water from Nallah which we later consume. We are forced to consume untreated water from ponds and Nallah which has led to several diseases to the locals,” he said.

    The Jal Shakti Department had in 1982 constructed an Over Head Tank (OHT) at Ugjen Teng in Kamad area. The scheme was supposed to cater to water supply needs of half a dozen villages including Kamad, Chichripora, Laalan, Nawathoo, Papaibal and Chek Kamad.
    The scheme however was a failure and despite spending crores of rupees in repeated maintenance of the pipes and the OHT.

    According to a report of a local daily, locals have demanded a Vigilance enquiry into the mindless money spending in the name of these water supply schemes.

    Executive Engineer of the JSD for Bijbehara Division, Muhammad Haneef admitted people were facing shortage of water at Kamad.

    “We had a meeting with DC sahab in this regard. We are going to construct OHT for which we are looking for land so that water shortage problem of locals is solved,” he told news agency KINS.

  • Rahul has given call for violence: BJP

    New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused Rahul Gandhi of declaring “war” on Indians and giving a call for “violence” after the Congress leader warned the government that if farmers’ protest is not defused then their agitation will spread across the country.

    At a press conference, Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani alleged that Gandhi has said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not support his political stand, then cities will “burn”.

    “Never before in our democratic history have we witnessed a political leader asking for fire of violence to spread instead of seeking and promoting peace,” she said, alleging that Gandhi wants violence that the national capital saw during the farmers’ protest on Republic Day to be replicated across the country, including in slums where the poor live.

    She also hit out at the Congress leader for not speaking a word of support and consolation to over 400 police personnel who were injured in violence during the farmers’ tractor parade on Republic Day and not speaking against the attacks on cops and others.

    This is shocking but expected of him, Irani said.

    He not only wants law and order breakdown but also supports anarchic elements daring to insult tricolour and break country, she alleged.

    Taking a swipe at Gandhi, she said he is upset as Delhi Police remained restrained in tackling the situation and is unhappy that there was no pile of “dead bodies”. So he himself wants to fuel fire in the country, she said.

    Earlier, Gandhi said the only solution to the farmers’ issue was throwing the new agri laws in the “waste paper basket” and warned that if not resolved, the agitation will spread to other parts of the country.

    In a no-holds-barred attack at the Centre, Gandhi accused the government of trying to intimidate and discredit the farmers, using the National Investigation Agency.

    Hitting back, Irani said Gandhi is insistent upon creating political strife but citizens of India under one flag will ensure that law and order is maintained in our country.

    His abhorrent stand of backing anarchic forced has been exposed today, she claimed.

    To a question, she said Gandhi will want some kind of action against him to present himself as a political martyr and took a swipe at him for not having respect for the President’s address, not being present in Parliament when the three contentious farm bills were passed and making “merry on taxpayers’ time”.

    She also took a dig at him for incorrectly naming of a Delhi border area where farmers have been protesting.

  • Blast Near Israel Embassy: Alert Issued at Airports and Govt Buildings

    New Delhi: A low-intensity explosion took place near the Israel Embassy in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi on Friday evening. The Delhi Police said the blast took place near the pavement and that the windscreens of three cars nearby have been damaged. No injuries have been reported so far. Shortly after the blast, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) said an alert has been issued at all airports, important installations and government buildings in view of the blast, and that enhanced security measures have been put in place.

    Security has also been increased at the office of the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai.

    The fire department received the call at 5.11 pm as the Beating Retreat ceremony was going on at Rajpath a few kilometres away. The embassy is located on APJ Abdul Kalam Road.

    An Improvised Explosive Device (IED), placed inside a flower pot on the road divider, is suspected to be the cause of the blast. It appears that it was thrown from a moving vehicle, said police sources.

    “A very low intensity improvised device went off… No injury to any person was reported and nor was there any damage to property except the glass panes of three vehicles parked nearby,” Delhi Police Additional PRO Anil Mittal said. Initial impressions suggest a mischievous attempt to create a sensation, added the police.

    “The mirrors of two to three cars are broken. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot,” said an official of the fire department.

    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a tweet expressed concern at the news. “Agencies are determining the nature and cause of the blast. Thankfully, no loss of life reported yet. Any attempt to disturb the peace of Delhi should be firmly dealt with,” he said.

    Several senior officials of the Intelligence Bureau, including officers of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, Crime Branch, have arrived at the scene to investigate the blast. A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also on the way to probe.

    According to sources, the Delhi Police Commissioner has also visited the spot. The National Security Guard’s bomb disposal team is on standby as well.

    With inputs from News18

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.).

  • Cold wave conditions intensify in Kashmir

    PTI


    Srinagar    : Cold wave conditions intensified in Kashmir on Friday as mercury plunged by two degrees in Srinagar, while the minimum temperature elsewhere in the valley stayed mostly 10 degrees below freezing point, officials said.

    Srinagar city recorded a low of minus 7.7 degrees Celsius plunging more than two degrees from minus 5.6 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.

    Qazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded a minimum of 10.8 degrees Celsius down from minus 10.5 degrees Celsius the previous night, they said.

    The minimum temperature at the Gulmarg skiing resort, in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, settled at minus 11.3 degrees Celsius last night up from last night’s minus 13.4 degrees Celsius.

    Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 12 degrees Celsius marginally up from previous night’s minus 12.3 degrees Celsius.

    Kupwara recorded a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag, in the south, minus 11.4 degrees Celsius.The extreme subzero temperatures have resulted in freezing of water bodies and drinking water supply lines in many areas of the valley.

    The minimum temperatures are expected to remain below freezing point for the next few days as the weatherman has forecast the possibility of a western disturbance hitting the valley on February 2.

    Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here.

    The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.

    While ‘Chillai-Kalan’ which began on December 21 — will end on January 31, the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).

  • Cop’s stolen pistol seized from thief

    PTI


    Jammu    : The service weapon of a policeman stolen from his house was seized from a thief here, an official said on Friday.

    A complaint was lodged by assistant sub-inspector Ali Mohd Wani of Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police posted at Manwal area in Sangar on Thursday, they said.

    The ASI said that he had kept his pistol in a briefcase at his rental house at New Plot area and gone to the market. However, upon returning, he found the weapon missing, they said.

    A case was registered at Bakshi Nagar Police Station and special teams were constituted.

    A suspect named Ranjeet Singh alias Raju of New Plot area was questioned and he confessed, police said, adding that the stolen pistol along with cartridges was recovered.

  • 15 year old girl gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh

    PTI

    Bareilly (UP): A 15-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in a village, police said on Friday.

    According to a complaint given by the girl’s mother, she had gone to collect fodder on Wednesday afternoon when Shakir (20) and his cousin Shahid (19) dragged her to a sugarcane field and raped her.

    On the complaint of the mother, an FIR has been lodged and both the accused have been arrested, Superintendent of Police (rural) Rajkumar Agarwal said.

    The medical examination of the girl on Thursday has confirmed rape and the accused have also confessed to their crime, the SP added.

  • Real Kashmir Being fifth on the table, their match against Gokulam Kerala is the litmus test

    PTI

    Their confidence soaring high after the resounding 4-1 victory over NEROCA in their last match, Gokulam Kerala FC will aim to continue their winning streak when they face Real Kashmir FC in a Hero I-League match here on Saturday.

    Vincenzo Annese’s Gokulam produced a clinical performance against NEROCA to lie fourth on the I-League table, just four points adrift of leaders Churchill Brothers. The winner on Saturday could jump to second place.

    Speaking at the official pre-match press conference, Annese termed Saturday’s match against Real Kashmir as a “litmus test” for his side.

    “We have improved a lot over the course of the season but now we have a litmus test in Real Kashmir FC. The match against them will be a tough challenge and it would also tell a lot about us as a team,” he said.

    “It is tough to score a lot of goals in India and although we played well against NEROCA, we can still improve our attacking phase. We have lot of potential and I want to harness it to its fullest.”

    The Italian coach said his side will have to be clinical in front of goal against Real Kashmir as the Snow Leopards play a lot of direct football.

    Real Kashmir are fifth on the table on five points with a match in hand. A win could propel them higher up the table.

    After being held to a 1-1 draw against Sudeva Delhi FC in their last match, David Robertson’s side would be looking to get back to winning ways.

    “We could have had a lot more points but we are happy with where we are as we still have a game in hand. It is a long way to go till the end of the season but we are ready and looking forward,” Robertson said.

    “Against Gokulam we will have to be on our toes. They are a strong opponent and they will test us to our limits. In this league, anyone can beat anyone on their day and we have to make sure that we do not drop points.

  • 17 new COVID cases recorded in Ladakh

    Leh: Ladakh reported 17 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 9,704, officials said on Friday.

    All the new cases were detected in Leh on Sunday, they said.

    Two more patients recovered in Ladakh, pushing the total number of active cases to 63.

    Ladakh has so far recorded 129 COVID-related deaths – 85 in Leh and 44 in Kargil.

    Both the patients who recovered are residents of Leh, bringing down the active cases in the district to 57, the officials said, adding that there are only four active cases in Kargil district.