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Srinagar: The guest control order which was issued by the government has no takers on the ground as people in the state continue to host the guests on marriages extravagantly and continue to use of fire crackers and music, which create noise pollution.
On Feb 21 this year, the state government issued an order putting a slab on the number of guests to be invited in marriages and parties. But the BJP, partner of PDP, had opposed the order.
As per the order which was issued by Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, hosts can invite 500 guests for daughter’s marriage and 400 for son’s marriage.
The order also banned the use of high pitch sound amplifiers/loud speakers/decks/profuse/ lightening/bursting crackers etc in the functions.
Locals from various districts especially in Srinagar told KNS that the order issued by the government proved hoax on the ground as the persisting use of fire crackers on the arrival of Groom in the late evening hours is giving sleepless nights to the people on daily basis.
Ghulam Muhammad, a local from Srinagar said that the hefty money being spent on the marriage ceremonies here has left the poor families to lurch at large. “Apart from the Wazwan, the people here have been seen giving money to their guests in the dry fruit boxes on their arrival. The government must put an immediate end to such customs so that the poor families could feel a sigh of relief and action should be taken against the norm violators,” he added.
Muhammad Sultan, another elderly from downtown here said that the implementation of Guest control order could have changed the customs in Kashmir but the failure of the administration in implementing the order has let loose the people here to spend hefty amount on their marriages and to irritate the people residing nearby with the high pitch sounds and speakers.
Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema patron, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had expressed serious concern over the “growing” social evils across Kashmir.
He termed the extravaganza in Kashmiri marriages and other related functions a “dangerous menace”.
Minister of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), Choudhary Zulfikar Ali told KNS that the government had taken positive initiative to stop the extravaganza in the marriages but unfortunately somebody approached the High Court against the decision.
“The High Court has directed us to stop implementing the order following which the order was stopped. As of now, the case is pending in the court. We are seriously pursuing the case and want that such order should be implemented so that the people especially belonging to poor section could feel a sigh of relief,” he said.
Pertinently, the similar order was issued by the then Congress Minister Taj Mohiddin in 2004. However, that order too was never implemented on ground, had allowed hosts to invite 75 guests including 25 baratis in bride’s marriage while the groom’s family was authorized invite only 50 guests. (KNS)

Open space for debate. Let youth create a Jantar Mantar in Kashmir

GoI is forcing our youth to take violent path

Even as the unrest in Kashmir continues, the Hurriyat Conference is facing challenges from two sides. On one side the National Investigation Agency is probing Hurriyat leaders for alleged money laundering. On the other side, renegade Hizbul Mujahideen commander and presently the head of an Al Qaeda affiliate, Zakir Musa, is presenting the struggle in Kashmir as a religious war. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq discusses these challenges as well as the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, in a conversation with Catch News

Q. Are you happy with the new state of affairs in Kashmir and the direction that Kashmir is taking?

A. No, we are not happy to see that even our new generation is getting consumed by militancy. When these boys join militancy and die, we feel very sad. It is true that we have to take the movement forward but we don’t want to only pay tributes to our young martyrs. But at the same time we have little option. India is out to crush the movement by whatever means possible.

Unfortunately, only support we had in India in the form of the political opposition and civil society doesn’t seem to exist now. Their discourse has vanished from the scene. The direction that Indian media, particularly the electronic media has taken, is that every Kashmiri has become an enemy. The moment you talk about Kashmir and if you don’t agree with their discourse, you are a traitor.

Q. You appear to be sore about the new discourse on Kashmir that is shaping up in India?

A. See how the discourse has shifted. First we were anti-national, then separatist and now we are traitors. There is no distinction, no nuance left. Besides, the discourse that has been created is that everything is Pakistan-driven, money-driven and sponsored. They want to hit the indigenous character of the Kashmir movement. Nobody questions this discourse on the grounds that nobody will die or get blinded for Rs 500.

Q. How do you look at the NIA raids on separatist leaders?

A. No doubt this is a difficult time for us. There is an all-out onslaught on us. In 2016, there was unrest for six months. They arrested Hurriyat leaders but it didn’t change anything. They thought arresting us is like giving us respect, raising our reputation among people. So they came up with this idea to tarnish our reputation. They still arrested us but this time the charges were different. They said we were involved in money-laundering, corruption and building property. This is to hit our credibility. But people are smart enough to see what is happening around.

Q. Local youth are once again joining militancy in large numbers…

A. See our biggest concern is how to save our youth, our new generation. We want the focus should shift towards the political, non-violent aspect of the movement. But New Delhi doesn’t give us space.

Q. If you are given the space, will you work towards a peaceful, political struggle free of militancy?

A. I think that this will be our effort. In fact, before the BJP came on the scene, we had already been transitioning towards a non-violent resistance. It began with the 2008 agitation when people realised that a non-violent struggle had a stronger impact than a violent one. Even for that matter, last year’s protests. Even though the unrest began with the killing of Burhan Wani, the resistance was non-violent. But the sense one gets is that New Delhi feels more comfortable dealing with a violent rather than a non-violent struggle. We in Kashmir need to get focus back on the fact that Kashmir is a peaceful, political struggle rather than a violent one.

Q. How do you look at the emergence of Zakir Musa as the chief of an Al Qaeda affiliate in Kashmir?

A. Yes, we have been watching the emergence of Zakir Musa and the attendant ideology that the fight in Kashmir is for Islam. No doubt, our mosques, shrines, prayer grounds, Imambaras have been centres of resistance. Our template slogan is Allahu Akbar (God is Great). But that doesn’t mean Kashmir is an Islamic problem. Or for that matter a Hindu India versus Muslim Kashmir problem. No doubt, there is a section of youth that thinks that ours is a struggle against kufr, but we don’t want to go in that direction. We are clear in that. That is the reason why (Syed Ali Shah) Geelani Sahib, Yasin (Malik) Sahib and I have stated clearly and categorically that we don’t subscribe to this thought.

Yes, Islam inspires you to fight against injustice. It urges you to fight for your rights. But this problem primarily has a background. It has a history. It has a baggage. We can’t say now this is Hindu India versus Muslim Kashmir. No, that is not a fact. This is a discourse that only helps India.

Q. So what would you say to Musa and his associates?

A. Our appeal to these boys is – Don’t do this. They need to be reminded that the backdrop of the militancy has to do with the political dispute. The fact that Salahuddin became a militant after being thwarted in his political struggle is a well known fact. When Hizbul Mujahideen and JKLF were formed, their domain was Kashmir. They didn’t and don’t have a global agenda.

I think the only thing that shouldn’t have happened and which we condemn is that Hizbul Mujahideen shouldn’t have owned up to the Pathankot attack. The fact is they were not involved in the attack. I don’t know why and for what reason they accepted the responsibility for the attack. They should not have done this.

If we are justifying the militancy in Kashmir, we are doing so in the context of Kashmir dispute. And we reason that the youth were forced to take up gun because of the occupation and oppression. And there is the story of Burhan, how he was forced to become a militant because of his experience. Or the boy from Nowhatta, Srinagar who was recently killed. We know his history and background; (and) how he too was forced to take up arms.

Q. How could you help the situation at your level?

A. See, this is a worrisome situation for us. We have boys throwing stones now ready to pick up guns. They think there is no other option. This is a challenge for us. We feel these boys should get engaged in a political battle, in a battle of ideas. But what can we do? We have been confined to our homes. We are not allowed to move out.

We know our boys have the sentiment for freedom. We could engage them politically. We could start a youth campaign. We could start a debate and discussion.

If people from outside can come and have a debate in Kashmir University why can’t students themselves be allowed to have such a debate? Give us a space for dialogue. Let them create a Jantar Mantar in Kashmir. We would ourselves help in the creation of this space.

But in the absence of such a space, all we are left to do is to call for a hartal when something happens. We know nothing happens to India due to our hartals. For us hartal has now become less of a protest and more of a mourning. We mourn the loss of our youth. All other means of protest have been denied to us.

Q. Do you think Zakir Musa occupies a credible ideological space in Valley?

A. The sentiment is authentic. To be honest, I can’t say it is entirely state-driven. Yes, the state would support it as it suits it’s interests. They would like to push the discourse towards Al Qaeda, ISIS and Taliban. I won’t, however, say Musa’s is a predominant discourse but at a certain level it is a discourse. A section of youth is asking questions that if they are leaving their homes to die, why they are doing it. Now what is to be seen is whether this thought process assumes dominance or the indigenous character of the movement holds its ground. On our part, we want to preserve the indigenous character of the movement.

Q. Are you worried about the direction the militancy is taking?

A. Yes, this is a cause of worry. Leave the movement aside, in Kashmir we had certain norms. We had certain traditions and values. Those are weakening by the day. We see the state also responsible. State has added to it. Over the past ten-twenty years we have witnessed fragmentation of our social fabric. We now have Barelvis, Ahle-Hadith and Deobandis. This was not the dominant discourse here. The State is encouraging it. The attempt is to Indianise the strain of Islam. There is no doubt that many religious schools are being funded by agencies and the home ministry. Money is given to Imams. They are asked not to talk about politics and remain confined to religion only.

Parts of South Kashmir abound in sects. But last year there was a big setback for them in South Kashmir. Different ideological and sectarian groups united against oppression. They came together on one platform. Now they are again trying to win them over again.

Kashmir Based Startup Provides Hassle Free Services To the People In Srinagar City. Salman Qadri, An Engineering Student And Adnan Qadri, A B.A Student Started This Joint Venture, “Sahuliyat Kashmir” Despite The Odds In Conflict Ridden Valley. They Aim To Reach Out To Far Flung Areas Across The Valley To Provide Almost Every Service. There Is Wide Range Of Services They Provide For The Conveniences Of Fellow Citizens. Sensing The Problems Faced By The People Around In Finding The Electrician, Plumbers, Doctor Or Even Photographer, Two Teenage Boys From The Srinagar City Have Found The Solution To Every Problem.

“People In Valley Face Lots Of Problems Unlike Big Cities In Finding These Types Of Services. They Know Little About The Online Stuff But We Are Hopeful And Excited To Expand Our Startup Across Valley.” Told Salman Qadri. 

These Kind Of Services Are Barely Available In Valley. Unlike People In Metro Cities, Kashmir Has Seen The Conflict And No One Has Taken The Risk To Start A Business Like This Ever Before. Additionally When There Is Patchy Internet In Kashmir Owing To Security Reasons Ads Woes To Kashmiris.  ‘“Sahuliyat Kashmir”’ Has Come Up With An Innovative Idea To Provide The Services At Door Step Even Without Having A Working Internet Connection By Just Making A Phone Call To “Sahuliyat Kashmir”.

In Just Few Months Of Establishing The Startup The Two Boys Are Overwhelmed By The Response In And Around The Srinagar City.

“We Have Started Getting Phone Calls From People Living In Srinagar Cities And Enquiring About Our Services. We Even Got Good Response At Social Mein Too. We Are Getting Lots Of Positive Messages From People Encouraging Us Further To Grow And Work For The People Of Kashmir”, Said Adnan Qadri, Co- Founder Of “Sahuliyat Kashmir”.

Salman And Adanan Are Childhood Friends. They Have Always Been Inclined To Online Stuff And This Came In Their Mind Only When They Saw People In Kashmir Are Getting Busier With Their Daily Chores With Each Passing Day. It Was Here That The Duo Became Very Deeply Interested In Finding The Solution. They Aim To Make The Venture A Big One.

For Booking Call Up

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Srinagar: From the dredging of the Jhelum river to installing a forewarning system to spending many crores of rupees, the Kashmir valley is better prepared than it was three years ago when a devastating flood caused havoc in the region.At the forefront has been the irrigation and flood control (IFC) department, which has made “continuous efforts” to avert a repeat of the September 2014 floods. It is however still working out on the possible long-term measures that can actually avert the repetition of a devastating deluge.In the first week of September 2014, a rare climatic phenomenon of three storms — a non-monsoon western disturbance and two cyclonic monsoon storms — rising from the Mediterranean and Arabian seas and Bay of Bengal gathered over Kashmir.As it rained heavily and incessantly for almost a week, the Jhelum spilled over its banks with a water volume of 1.20 lakh cusec — enormously higher than its holding capacity of 25,000 cusec.The deluge devastated Srinagar — the state’s summer capital and the commercial nerve centre of the Kashmir valley — as 68,000 tonne of rubble was removed from the district in a massive clean-up operation.Faced by poor availability of money, the IFC department began making incremental progress – dividing its plan into immediate, short, medium and long term phases.“We are better placed than we were in September 2014, but we are not enough prepared. It is going to take time to be fully prepared,” said a senior official of the IFC, who asked not to be named.The department is still brainstorming about drafting a roadmap of the long-term measures which can mitigate the flood threat in future. It has sought and evaluated the “expression of interest” from consultant companies to seek consultancy on conducting feasibility studies of floods, its mitigation and comprehensive management scheme.“This will act as a roadmap for future flood mitigation plan,” the department told the High Court in July this year where it presented its flood mitigation plan.Immediately after the 2014 floods, the department plugged 3,320 breaches and weak spots on the Jhelum and its tributaries which “withstood the test of time during the five declared floods of 2015 and also the floods of April 2017,” the department told the High Court recently. The department also worked on the permanent restoration of the river’s embankments and construction of new embankments.As the “immediate” measures were completed, the department began working on short-term priority issues in the flood management plan, aiming to restore the holding capacity of the river and its flood spill channel to the original 35,000 cusec.These measures are aimed at improving the flood management system of the Jhelum and also at providing flood protection till the comprehensive plan – long-term measures — is implemented in full, which will take five to 10 years, officials said.The measures that have been taken so far include land acquisition in Srinagar, Budgam and Bandipora districts to increase the holding capacity of the flood spill channel, dredging of the Jhelum in Srinagar and Baramulla stretches, and flood protection and anti-erosion works on the river at vulnerable spots. The project, with its various components, has a deadline of March 2018 and an approved cost of Rs 399.29 crore.The officials said 43,800 trees have also been uprooted as part of an effort to remove the “huge plantation” on the flood-spill channel which had choked its holding capacity.The department is now ideating about the medium-term flood mitigation measures and is in the process of finalising a detailed project report which aims to increase the holding capacity of the river and its flood spill channel to 60,000 cusec, the officials said.A daunting challenge before the department, however, will be to secure financing for the construction of an alternative flood-spill channel which will have a holding capacity of 60,000 cusec and run a distance of 80 km from south to north. The channel will approximately cost Rs 18,000 crore and out of that Rs 13500 crore will have to be spent of land acquisition and compensation.

Tackling challenges

• At the forefront has been the irrigation and flood control department, which has made “continuous efforts” to avert a repeat of the September 2014 floods. It is however still working out on the possible long-term measures that can actually avert the repetition of a devastating deluge 
• A daunting challenge before the department, however, will be to secure financing for the construction of an alternative flood-spill channel which will have a holding capacity of 60,000 cusec and run a distance of 80 km from south to north
• The channel will approximately cost Rs 18,000 crore and out of that Rs 13500 crore will have to be spent of land acquisition and compensation. (TNS)

“I have resigned from (Jammu and Kashmir) police department so that my conscience does not keep on asking me questions whether I am right or wrong as a policeman to see the bloodshed here.”

Srinagar: A video of a constable announcing his resignation from the Jammu and Kashmir police on the “call of his conscience” against the violence in the valley, has gone viral on social media even as the police said they are checking its veracity.

“I have resigned from (Jammu and Kashmir) police department so that my conscience does not keep on asking me questions whether I am right or wrong as a policeman to see the bloodshed here,” a young man, who identifies himself only as Rayees, said in the video.

Rayees said he was working in the department for the last seven years as a constable and had vowed to serve the people.

“At the time of joining this department, I had vowed to serve civilians and take up the responsibilities of my family.

I think I was doing jihad (struggle) as it is a means to fight the unnecessary desires within oneself and also to fight for humanity, but the situation has worsened in the Kashmir Valley. An unstoppable storm has emerged here.

“Every day, Kashmiris are getting killed, some are losing their eyes, some are in jails and some under house arrest.

This entire problem is because a Kashmiri is seeking his right which is the plebiscite,” he said.

Rayees said the problem in Kashmir is because the promise of a plebiscite was never fulfilled.

“The bloodshed here is because the plebiscite never took place. Even Indians and Pakistanis are dying here, but Kashmir suffers the most. Neither do I like Pakistan nor do I hate India, I only love my Kashmir, I want peace here,” he said.

“It is not in my hands to resolve this issue, but there is another issue for which I have shared this video. I am watching this bloodshed as a policeman and my conscience keeps on questioning me whether it is right or wrong of me.

“I had no answer, but now I have come up with a resolution of this issue, my own issue, and I have decided that I will resign from my job and I am sharing with you through this video that I have resigned,” he said.

Rayees said he can bear anything but cannot see his conscience die inside of him.

“As far as my jihad is concerned, I will continue my struggle by doing hard work to fulfil the basic necessities of my family. I am from a poor family, my father is a labourer and I will work hard to take care of my family, but I cannot see my conscience dying. I can bear anything but I cannot ignore my conscience,” he said.

A police spokesman said the department is checking the veracity of the video and the claim by Rayees.