JAMMU – Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Friday said protection of land and jobs for the locals would be ensured keeping in view the interest of the Union Territory.Interacting with the councillors of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) here, he also said the non-implementation of 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments was hampering the complete empowerment of panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) in the UT.Replying to a query on domicile rights, the Lt Governor observed that the protection of land and jobs for the locals of J&K would be ensured subject to certain exceptions keeping in view the interest of the UT.He reiterated that the government is resolute to implement the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments that would provide solutions to many problems and would serve as powerful tool for a true self-government.“J&K has a Municipal Corporation Act 2000 but no rules have been framed under the said Act despite the lapse of so much time; this shows the lackadaisical approach on the part of the previous regimes,”he added.The Lt Governor assured the councillors that the government is working on granting the warrant of precedence on the lines of BDCs to the councillors of municipal corporations.The Lt Governor asked the JMC functionaries to develop an innovative revenue generation model for the corporation.The Councillors apprised the Lt Governor about a wide range of developmental issues of their respective wards including maintenance of roads, parks, play grounds, sanitation etc.They also raised the demands pertaining to establishment of more Solid Waste Management plants, promotion of tourism sector, construction of flyovers at the busy roads like Talab Tillo & Amphalla-Janipur road to reduce the traffic congestion etc.The Lt Governor advised the Councillors to reach out to the people and sensitise them about sanitation and maintain cleanliness around their surroundings.
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Prepaid Mobile Connections Restored In J-K
JAMMU – Prepaid mobile connections were restored in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday and 2G services resumed in two districts of the valley after being disconnected in August last year, official said here.
Voice and SMS facilities were restored for all local prepaid mobile phones across the Union territory.
Rohit Kansal, the principal secretary to the administration of Jammu and Kashmir said the order will come into effect from Saturday.
In order to consider giving mobile Internet connectivity on such SIM cards, the telecom service providers will have to verify the credentials of the subscribers, he said.
Internet service providers have been asked to provide fixed line Internet connectivity in all the 10 districts of Jammu region and two districts, Kupwara and Bandipora, in North Kashmir.
Telecom services were shut in the entire Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 when the Centre abrogated special status to the erstwhile state and also bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
However, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the UT administration last week for arbitrarily shutting down the Internet, the facility described as the fundamental right by the apex court.
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All existing political parties responsible for the mess in J&K: Altaf Bukhari
“We are just trying to ease up the situation’
Srinagar, Jan 13: Former finance minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari has said Jammu and Kashmir has been the worst victim of politics of deceit and double talk and all the existing political parties are equally responsible for the current situation in this erstwhile State.
Reacting to BJP State General Secretary’s statement in which Altaf Bukhari and his colleagues were offered to join BJP, Bukhari said that BJP leadership should go for self-introspection and quantify its contribution in erosion and subversion of democratic edifice in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Time for the politics of deceit and drama is over. I, my friends and colleagues are joining heads together just to safeguard the interests of people of Jammu and Kashmir. Our efforts are on to get rid of politics of opportunism played by other political parties,” he observed.
The former minister remarked that the wrong policies adopted by political parties that have been at the helm of affairs at Centre and the State during last many decades pushed Jammu and Kashmir into a quagmire and uncertain situation. This situation, he added, not only led to death and destruction but drastically hindered the growth of this region.
“Be it Congress, BJP, or for that matter the regional political parties like NC, PDP and others—all of them are directly or indirectly responsible for the chaos and confusion among the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bukhari averred.
He said like Congress, BJP cannot evade the responsibilities of its wrong doings and failures in building trust and confidence among the people of this erstwhile State despite ruling at the National level.
“We are deeply concerned about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and do not intend to do any kinds of politics on the sufferings and miseries of our people. It is in our individual capacities that we are trying to mitigate peoples’ despondency. Time is ripe that all political parties should rise above power politics and think about easing up the situation for the helpless people of this state,” Bukhari opined.
He urged all the parties across the political spectrum at Centre and the State not to adopt rhetorical politics for the sake of power instead help Kashmiris to come out from the current distressing situation. “Need of the hour is that all the stake holders should put in their efforts and work together for peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir,” Bukhari observed.
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Class 10th result declared check here
SRINAGAR: Result for Secondary School Examination (Class 10th) Annual 2019 – Kashmir Division is available on below link
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MeT Predicts Another Wet Spell In Kashmir From Saturday
SRINAGAR – The weather department has predicted another spell of wet weather in the Kashmir Valley from Saturday, even as sun played hide and seek though ice cold winds continued in the summer capital, Srinagar and other parts of the valley on Wednesday.
A Met department spokesperson said that light rain or snow would occur at some places in the valley during the next 24 hours. “The weather will remain dry on Thursday and Friday which would result in improvement in the day temperature though mercury during the night will dip,” he said.
However, he said a fresh Western Disturbance (WD), which originated from the Arabian Sea and is approaching the region though Afghanistan and Pakistan, will hit the region on Saturday.
“Under the influence of this WD, rain and would occur at many places in the valley for the subsequent 72 hours from Saturday,” he added.
After witnessing above normal night temperature, people woke up to a chill Wednesday morning in Srinagar. However, as the day progressed, sun played hide and seek though ice cold winds continued in Srinagar, where people could be seen wearing warm clothes, including jackets, to evade chilly weather condition. Burning of wood on roadsides by mechanics and auto-drivers is a common sight in the city, where the night temperature settled at minus 0.4 degree.
He said the skies will be mainly clear to partly cloudy during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, where the maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 6 degree and minus 4 degree, respectively.
Meanwhile, the night temperature improved and settled above normal at majority of the places due to overcast conditions in the valley.
Drass was the coldest places in the region at minus 10.7 degree, followed by Leh, where the night temperature improved about a degree from Tuesday and settled at minus 9.6 degree.
The world famous ski resort of Gulmarg, where ski slopes are covered under several feet of snow, was the only place in the valley where the mercury dipped about 1.6 degree from Tuesday and settled at minus 7.6 degree. The ski resort was the coldest place in the valley.
Sun played hide and seek though ice cold winds continued in Gulmarg, where tourists, including adventure lovers, were out on the ski slopes enjoying different snow related activities.
The mercury at would famous health resort of Pahalgam, about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, improved about 2 degree from Tuesday and settled at minus 2 degree.
The night temperature at Kupwara in north Kashmir and Qazigund, gateway to the valley, also improved and settled at minus 2.2 degree and minus 0.4 degree, respectively.
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Bukhari & Co Meet LG, Seek Statehood
SRINAGAR – Eight former legislators led by Syed Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday became the first group of mainstream politicians to open the channels of communication with the office of Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor and making a slew of demands including restoration of statehood.
The delegation met G C Murmu in Jammu and submitted a memorandum demanding safeguarding rights of people over land and jobs, release of detainees and withdrawing cases against youth among others.
Bukhari was the state’s finance minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government.
The memorandum submitted by the mainstream leaders to the LG insists that the issue of statehood holds more emotional importance than legal for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir as they had not realised its essence until August 5, 2019.
“Statehood for the inhabitants of the erstwhile princely state is something they genuinely relate to as a reference to their glorious past, a place which has been a mosaic of various religions, cultures, languages and regions. So Statehood for these people is solidification of the idea of pluralism and respectful coexistence,” the memorandum reads.
“Since the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status embedded in Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and bifurcation of the State into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without one — the majority of its residents are yet to reconcile with this decision,” it adds.
Among other demands were restoration of J&K Bank’s functional dominion, reviving agriculture and horticulture sectors, support for Industry and manufacturing sector, tourism and allied industries and their revival.
They also demanded relief for general trade including shopkeepers, bus and taxi owners, addressing unemployment and restoration of internet services.
“Fact of the matter is that a majority of people in Jammu and Kashmir feel hurt and there are vocal concerns wherein they feel their decades-long privileges were unceremoniously curtailed,” the memorandum reads.
“To win over the confidence of the people, the Centre will have to re-examine its decades old policies vis-à-vis Kashmir. Depending solely on security measures and dealing with peoples’ political aspirations through the law and order prism will always have its old tested repercussions,” it further adds
The other members of the delegation were Ghulam Hassan Mir (president, Democratic Party Nationalist), Mohammad Dilawar Mir (former minister), Zaffar Iqbal (former PDP MLC), Javed Hassan Beig, Noor Mohammad Shiekh, Choudhary Qamar Hussain and Raja Manzoor Ahmad (all former PDP MLAs).
Most of the leaders were part of the PDP till the fall of the PDP-BJP government in 2018. Ghulam Hassan Mir was in PDP till 2008.
The move to meet the LG comes on the fourth death anniversary of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Mohammad Sayeed.
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Restoration of broadband internet, release of detained traders in process: MoS PMO
Srinagar: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Monday assured the business fraternity of Jammu and Kashmir that restoration of broadband internet and release of detained business players are in process to revive the badly hit economy of the erstwhile state.
In a meeting with Minister of State (MoS) PMO Jitendra Singh in New Delhi to frame the new Industrial policy for Jammu Kashmir, the business delegation which comprised traders from Kashmir and Jammu, raised the issue of internet ban and detention of business players.
Kashmir Chamber Commerce and Industries (KCCI) president Sheikh Ashiq, who was part of the delegation, told after giving a patient hearing, the MoS assured them that Government of India (GoI) is in process of restoring broadband internet and release of detained business players.
“While acknowledging our concerns, MoS told us that government will soon restore internet service in the Valley in a phase-wise manner starting from broadband service,” Ashiq said. “He said the detained traders will also be released accordingly.”
The internet and prepaid services in Valley are suspended since August 5, when GoI scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated J&K state into two Union Territories (UTs) – Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature).
Internet blockade in Kashmir continues to hit all spheres of life with businessmen, students, government employees and media men facing major brunt of the ban.
The authorities also detained many politicians and businessmen to prevent backlash against scrapping of Article 370.
Ashiq said the delegation also raised the issue of defunct industrial sector in the region.
“We told him that in comparison to other states, J&K is lacking behind and GoI should take concrete steps to safeguard the interest of local industry,” he said.
The KCCI chief said the delegation also updated Singh about government’s latest decision of abolishing Toll Tax at Lakhanpur and its impact on the Industrial sector of Jammu Kashmir. -
Militant killed in J&K encounter
New Delhi, January 7: One Hizbul Mujahideen Militant was killed on Tuesday in an encounter with security forces in Awantipora of South Kashmir after a 40-day gap since the last encounter, police said.
The slain militant Zahid Hassan Gadhanji of Anantnag had joined the Militant ranks only a few days ago and refused to surrender as the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and CRPF was carrying out a joint operation in the Charsoo area.—IANS
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Jammu declared dirtiest city of J&K
Smart City campaign gets a setback | Embarrassment for BJP as city slips to 318th rank in country
Notwithstanding the claims of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) Mayor Chander Mohan Gupta, the results of the Swachh Survekshan-2020 have created an embarrassing situation for the BJP, as Jammu has been declared one of the dirtiest cities of the country.
The renovation work has always suffered due to political interference. Some BJP workers were incorporated as the members of the society’s executive council, while its bylaws were violated with impunity. There is no planning as to how to carry out the work.
Narinder Singh, ex-member, executive council, mubarak mandi Jammu heritage society
From its previous 260th rank in 2019, Jammu has slipped to the 318th position in the latest survey, the result of which was declared on December 31, 2019. As the BJP has an absolute majority in the JMC, the Opposition has launched an attack on the ‘saffron brigade’ for its failure to implement Prime Minister’s visionary ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ in Jammu.
“Instead of focusing on ensuring cleanliness in the city, the BJP leadership is more concerned over raking up emotive issues to divert the attention of people,” Congress leader Vikram Malhotra told The Tribune, adding that the civic situation in the city had worsened after the formation of the BJP-led corporation.
Interestingly, Mayor Chander Mohan Sharma claimed that the survey was conducted before his tenure, whereas the BJP-led corporation was formed in October 2018 and the survey was conducted in the last three months of 2019.
“In the next survey, Jammu will be in the first-10 cleanest cities of the country,” the Mayor claimed. He said a comprehensive campaign to clean Jammu has already been started.
Jammu, which is the epicenter of BJP politics, was declared the dirtiest city, which has questioned the ability of party leaders to run civic bodies.
“For the past five years, the BJP has been repeatedly claiming that Jammu would be declared a ‘Smart City’ soon, as it fulfills the criteria for the same. Survey’s outcome is likely to prove counter-productive for the BJP, as since decades, the saffron party has been raking up the issue of discrimination with this region to reap political benefits. For the last over one year, the BJP is running the JMC and survey results have authenticated the allegations that party leadership has failed to live up to the expectations of people,” Malhotra said.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development has adopted comprehensive criteria to declare the performance of different cities across the country under Swachh Survekshan-2020, which aims at capturing the improvement in sanitation scenario, primarily based on making cities and towns open-defecation free and improvement in the processing of municipal solid waste.
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Srinagar Receives First Snowfall Of 2020
SRINAGAR – Srinagar on Monday received first snowfall of this year as the night temperature across Kashmir improved due to fresh downpour.
“Light to moderate snowfall has been witnessed across Kashmir, including Srinagar city, since early morning,” an official of the MET department said.
He said the snowfall was going on at most places in the valley when last reports were received.
However, flight operations to and fro Srinagar airport were going on as per schedule, an official of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) said.
The fresh snowfall has resulted in light temperature going up in the valley, he said.
Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.8 degrees Celsius last night.
The official said the ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded the low of minus 8.0 degrees Celsius last night 2.5 degrees up from Sunday.
The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius — over six degrees up from minus 9.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, he said.
The official said Qazigund — the gateway town to the valley — in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 1.8 degree Celsius, down a degree from the previous night’s minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.