Blog

Devotees throng Hazratbal shrine; clerics throw light on Prophet’s life

Srinagar: The Friday following Eid-e-Milad was observed with traditional fervour in the Kashmir valley today.A large number of devotees thronged the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake throughout the course of the day for prayers and supplications. The maximum rush of devotees was witnessed in the afternoon when they converged at the shrine to offer Friday prayers and to catch a glimpse of the holy relic of Prophet Mohammad.Even as Eid-e-Milad celebrations are being held across the Valley, the Hazratbal shrine has remained the main centre for holding religious functions related to the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.The day is observed on the first Friday falling after Eid-e-Milad. The Milad celebrations begin from the first day of the Rabiul-Awwal month of the Islamic calendar.

Several shrines and marketplaces remain covered with colourful lights during Milad days.The authorities had put in place adequate arrangements to cater to the huge rush of devotees at Hazratbal.Friday following Eid-e-Milad was observed at several other mosques and shrines of the Valley. Religious heads threw light on the life and teachings of Prophet Mohammad in the Friday sermons on the occasion.Milad celebrations in Kashmir had begun in the 18th century after the holy relic arrived here. Bagh-i-Sadiqabad, where the holy relic was placed, came to be known as Hazratbal i.e. the Abode of the Prophet. (TNS)

Srinagar: After two days of hectic activity, life was again affected in Kashmir Valley Friday due to a strike called by separatists as part of their agitation programme to protest the killing of civilians during the unrest and in support of their other demands.

Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments in Srinagar were shut, while public transport was minimal, officials said.

The effect of the strike was accentuated by a public holiday in Kashmir today, they said.

Reports of shutdown were also received from most of the other district headquarters of the Valley, the officials said.

On Wednesday, the separatist groups — both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF — had scaled down their strike call from five days a week to two days.

They have extended the protest programme till the end of this month and have asked people to observe shutdown on Fridays and Saturdays.

Government barred Hurriyat patriarch Syed Ali Shah Geelani from participating in a Seerat Conference to be held in Jamia Masjid Srinagar. A Hurriyat (G) spokesperson said that police and paramilitary forces had been deployed in strength outside the residence-cum-office of octogenarian leader Syed Ali Geelani at Hyderpora. He said that Geelani was not allowed to move out.

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik addressed a large gathering at Muslim Chowk in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Malik appeared in Bugam area and offered Friday congregational prayers there. Eyewitnesses told news agency CNS that shortly after Friday congregational prayers, Malik led a peaceful procession that was attended by a large number of people. Amid pro-freedom slogans people marched towards Muslim Chowk where Malik addressed the people.

The separatists have been spearheading the agitation since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir on July 8.

The more than five-month unrest in the Valley has left over 90 people dead and thousands others, including 5,000 security personnel, injured.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in several parts of the Valley including Nowhatta after Friday prayers, police said.

As soon as Friday congregational prayers ended, people took out a protest march from Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of the city, a police official said.

He said the security forces, posted on duty to maintain law and order, fired tear smoke shells to disperse the protesters.

The protesters resorted to stone-pelting at the security forces, the official said.

Batamaloo area of Srinagar city witnessed massive protest and clashes shortly after the culmination of Friday prayers. Large number of people assembled at Reka Chowk, Dandarkah, SD Colony and other areas of and pelted stones of the deployed Forces who retaliated with tear-smoke shells. As the clashes intensified and more and more youth resorted to massive stone-pelting, the government forces personnel fired a number of bullets in air to disperse the agitating protesters. The clashes continued for hours. Protesters were protesting against the civilian and militant killings in Kashmir.

Reports said that clashes between protesters and government forces erupted in different parts of Kashmir Valley including Pulwama, Tral, Baramulla, Papachen Bandipora, Sopore, Sangam Bijbehara and Nowhatta Srinagar.

At Magam town of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, at least 7 persons were injured after government forces fired pellets and tear-smoke shells to disperse protesters who attacked deployed troopers with stones. Eyewitnesses told CNS that a Milad procession from Makhama led by Ghulam Rasool Hami culminated in Magam. Shortly after the culmination of the procession, youth resorted to stone-pelting and attacked deployed forces. The government forces used tear-smoke shells and pellets to dissipate the protesters resulting in the injuries of all but 7 persons.

A peaceful pro-freedom march was carried out in Noorpora Tral after the culmination of Friday congregational prayers. The march was led by senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Samad Inqalabi.

Two massive pro-freedom marches were carried out from Sirhama and Waghama in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The rallies culminated at the house of the slain Hizb militant Engineer Basit Rasool Dar. People expressed sympathies with the bereaved family and offered special prayers for the departed soul.

Srinagar: Chief Editor Greater Kashmir Fayaz Ahmad Kaloo was on Thursday elected as the President of Kashmir Editors Guild while as Tahir Mohiuddin, Chief Editor Chattan and Bashir Manzar, Chief Editor Kashmir Images were elected as Vice-Presidents. “Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) in meeting held here on Thursday elected a body of office bearers for managing the day to day affairs of the organization. The office bearers have been elected for a period of one year,” said a statement issued here today. Masood Hussain, Editor Kashmir Life was elected as Secretary General while as Haroon Rashid Shah, Executive Editor Nidai-Mashriq was elected as Organiser cum Treasurer of the Guild. The editors’ body also elected Shafat Kira, Editor-Kashmir Vision as its spokesman. The Guild also announced members of the executive committee. The committee members are Ghulam Geelani Qadri-Editor Daily Afaaq, Zahoor Hashmi-Editor Daily Aftab, Bashir Ahmad Bashir-Editor Srinagar Times, Sajjad Haider-Editor Kashmir Observer, Shamim Mehraj-Editor Kashmir Monitor, Dr. Shujaat Bukhari-Editor Rising Kashmir, Manzoor Unjum, Editor Daily Uqab, Haji Hayat-Editor Kashmir Reader, Zahoor Ahmad Malik-Resident Editor Kashmir Times and Raja Mohiuddin-Editor Tameel-e-Irshad. The KEG members felt the need that the issues confronting the media fraternity in Kashmir need to be taken up with the concerned quarters without any delay as the media fraternity, according to the KEG statement, was presently confronted with various issues.

Srinagar: Stating that they were working on “transition from weekly protest calendars to long-term programs and initiatives”, the resistance leadership Wednesday relaxed its protest program announcing shutdown on Fridays and Saturdays only, till December 31.

The resistance leaders – Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik – in a joint statement said: “The last six-month public uprising has taken our freedom struggle forward and opened up the possibilities and scope of our struggle, and we have moved closer to our goal.”

“Now it’s time to consolidate our gains and build upon them in order to move ahead further. In this regard the leadership feels that a long-term sustainable strategy based on proactive initiatives, programs and sustainable modes of protest with maximum public participation in their creation and implementation and minimum costs for the people, is the way forward,” they said.

Elaborating, the resistance leaders said: “With these objectives in mind, the leadership is working on a plan for transition from weekly protest calendars to a long-term plan of programs and initiatives.”

“Despite curbs, efforts are on to reach out to all sections of society including students, traders, transporters, teachers, lawyers, artists, writers, artisans and others to discuss the idea with them, seek their suggestions and their assurance of participation and support to the long term plan.”

“Since most of the leadership has been caged and all kinds of hurdles have been put in place to thwart and sabotage our every move by force, the announcement of the transition plan may take some more time. In the meantime, a weekly protest calendar for the next couple of weeks is issued,” it said.

The leadership while commending people for their “steadfastness and readiness to act,” said, “What we always need to keep in mind is that our collective efforts and sacrifices as a nation are for a long-term outcome and not for some short term gains.”

“So we have to prepare ourselves and be ready for a long struggle and make struggle and resistance a part of our life,” they added.

The resistance leaders announced the protest program from December 16 to December 31.

Fridays: On Fridays, the resistance leaders have called for ‘Freedom Congregation.’ “Post Friday prayer, hold Freedom Congregations across Jammu & Kashmir at the places identified and agreed upon locally and mutually; Resistance/Masjid Committees/Youth Volunteers of Villages/Localities coordinate & ensure the arrangements,” they said. “On this day, there will be no relaxation.”

Saturdays: On Saturdays, the resistance leaders have called for ‘Tehsil Headquarters Azadi March.’ “From 7 a.m, join Azadi march towards respective Tehsil Headquarters. March on two wheelers (Motorcycles & Bicycles) and march by foot; If and wherever stopped, assemble, occupy and protest at that place till 4 p.m; Resistance/Masjid Committees/Youth Volunteers of these areas coordinate and ensure the arrangements,” they said. “On this day there will be no relaxation.”

Full relaxation days: The resistance leaders have called for full day relaxations on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays till December 31, 2016.

“On Sundays, people are requested to use exclusively public transport for the support of transport community; As a social and community responsibility, encourage your family and friends as well for the same,”  they said.

On Mondays, the resistance leaders have called for sit-in protest from 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m by pro-freedom organizations at Tehsil Headquarters along with placards and banners highlighting the “atrocities” in the present uprising.

On Tuesdays, the resistance leaders have urged women to observe Women’s Day.

“On this day, assemble & occupy local chowks and centres from Zuhr to Asr in the vicinity of your mohallas, villages and localities; Protest with Flags, Placards and Banners with Freedom messages and slogans,” they said.

On Wednesdays, they urged lawyers to stage sit-in protest from 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m in court premises.

On Thursdays, they have urged people to use exclusively public transport for the support of transport community. ”As a social and community responsibility, encourage your family and friends as well for the same,” they said.

The resistance leaders urged people to observe shutdown across Jammu & Kashmir on all days except for the relaxation mentioned in the program.

“Relaxation period is for all including public and private transport as well as factories, educational institutions and other industrial unit holders. Public and private vehicular movement not to be stopped after 10 p.m to 8 a.m on all nights. Lockdown all the routes entering your Mohallas, Villages and localities by every means during night to protect people in general and youth in particular from the raids and arrests by Indian forces and J&K Police. Play Islamic and AzadiTaranas from Maghrib to Isha on all days,” the resistance leaders said.

Srinagar: The Kashmir Valley readies for the 40-day long ‘Chillai Kalan’ as night temperatures dropped below freezing point on Thursday in the valley with a cold wave prevailing throughout.

An official of the MET department told IANS: “Cold, dry weather with foggy conditions in the morning is expected in Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours (till Friday).”

“Night temperatures throughout the Kashmir Valley remained below freezing point and the minimum temperatures dropped several notches below zero in the Ladakh region,” he added.

The night temperatures were minus 0.4 in Srinagar, minus 4.3 in Pahalgam and minus 3.6 in Gulmarg.

Leh recorded the lowest night temperature in the state at minus 11.9 degrees Celsius followed by Kargil at minus 9.4.

Jammu city was at 7.4 while Katra recorded 9.0, Batote 6.2, Bannihal 7.5 and Bhaderwah 2.1 as their night temperatures.

The 40-day long period of bitter cold known as ‘Chillai Kalan’ starts on December 21 in the Kashmir Valley.

During this period of extreme cold even the maximum temperature during the day rarely touches 10 degrees. 

All lakes and other water bodies remain frozen during the ‘Chillai Kalan’ and long icicles hang from rooftops.

Kashmiris use traditional fire-pots called ‘kangris’ under long tweed over-garments called the ‘pherans’ to keep them warm.

All perennial water reservoirs of Kashmir are sustained and replenished by the snowfall during the ‘Chillai Kalan’.

A dry ‘Chillai Kalan’ spells disaster for the valley.

Srinagar: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today reiterated that the local militants should be brought back into the mainstream instead of getting killed. She sought to differentiate between the militants and their families so that there was an end to the alleged harassment of their families.“There is a need to differentiate between the militants and their families. We cannot see the militants and their families in the same manner,” Mehbooba said.She was speaking at the attestation-cum-passing-out function of basic training of recruits at the Commando Training Centre at Lethpora in Pulwama district today.On Police Commemoration Day on October 21, Mehbooba had asked the security forces to try bring back the youth who have joined militancy.The CM’s fresh move comes a day after reports poured in about government’s decision to sanction ex gratia in favour of the family of Khalid Wani, brother of slain militant Burhan Wani.The CM exhorted the people and the police to help in restoration of peace and normalcy in the state.

Jammu: Already facing criticism for compromising core of its ideology for power, the BJP has landed in an embarrassing position after the coalition government announced compensation for the family of slain militant commander Burhan Wani for the death of his brother Khalid Wani. Infuriated over the unilateral decision of the PDP, which is heading the coalition, the “embarrassed” BJP leadership said it would not support any compensation for the terrorist’s family.“No question of allowing the state government to release compensation for the family a militant who was involved in a number of terror acts,” said state BJP president Sat Sharma, adding, “as of now only the name of Burhan Wani’s family has figured in the list issued by the state government but we will force the government to delete it.”Interestingly, no BJP minister is ready to come on record to oppose the government’s decision but the party leadership has taken the issue seriously.Highly placed sources said the BJP leadership had made it clear to its ministers that accepting this proposal would prove disastrous to the party in the Jammu region and have ramifications in other parts of the country as well.The PDP-BJP government has announced compensation for the death of Khalid Wani, who was killed by the Army on April 13, 2015, under mysterious circumstances.While the Army had claimed Khalid was an overground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in an encounter, his family said he was “tortured to death.” According to government norms, the ex gratia entitles a victim’s family to a payment of Rs 4 lakh or employment for a member of the family.By announcing the compensation, the state government has admitted that Khalid was innocent and was killed bythe forces. “How come government came to the conclusion that Khalid was innocent?”, asked the state BJP president, while warning, “We will vociferously take up this issue in the coming session of the Assembly.”The BJP state president, quoting the statement of the security forces on the day of encounter, said it had been confirmed that Khalid Wani, who had been operating as an overground worker, had taken three youths, who were later arrested by the police, to meet his brother Burhan Wani for their recruitment to the terrorist organisation. The incident had thus prevented the three youth from being misguided by Khalid into joining the militant ranks.Bickering in the “uncomfortable” alliance of the two parties, having diametrically opposite ideologies, came to the fore during the Cabinet meeting on Friday when CM Mehbooba Mufti had walked out of the meeting midway on the issue of appointing KPS officers to the posts of DIG and IG. (TNS)

Srinagar: World famous ski resort of Gulmarg and health resort of Pahalgam recorded further drop in the minimum temperature after fresh snowfall yesterday while night will become more chilly elsewhere in the Kashmir valley, where weather will remain dry.

However, after fog early in the morning, sun came out from behind the clouds though strong winds also continued in the valley.

The weather will remain dry during the next 72 hours in the state, where Leh continued to freeze at minus 10.6 degree, though about a notch warmer than yesterday.

Gulmarg, a famed ski resort in north Kashmir experienced fresh light 2 cm snowfall yesterday, turning roof and tree tops white. Open fields, including world class ski slopes had also turned white, much to the delight of few tourists and those associated with tourism industry, including sledge, horse owners and traders providing warm cloth and shoes to guests. After almost total wash out of summer season, we expect good arrival of tourists, adventure lovers and skiers during the winter, they said.

The upper reaches, including Kongdori, Khilanmarg and Affarwat, the highest skiing point connected by Cable Car from the base, had experienced moderate snowfall. However, due to snowfall followed by open sky and dry weather, the minimum temperature witnessed further drop. Against yesterdays minus 3.4 degree, the night temperature was minus 5.2 degree, more than a notch below normal.

Pahalgam, a world famous health resort, about 100 km from here also recorded drop in the minimum temperature after fresh snowfall yesterday. Against yesterdays minus 4.2 degree minimum temperature dropped further and settled at minus 4.9 degree, two notches below normal. It was also coldest of the winter season so far.

However, the upper reaches, including holy Amarnath cave shrine and its periphery received moderate to heavy snowall. Reports of snowfall were also received from Sheshnag, Mahaguns, Pisso top and Panjterni besides at Chandanwari, the last motorable halting station on traditional yatra route.