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191 Kashmiri youths joined militancy in 2018: Official

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191 Kashmiri youths joined militancy in 2018: Official


KD NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Feb 4: As many as 191 local youths joined various militant outfits in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, 65 more than 2017, a senior Army official said Monday.

The new recruits mostly hailed from the restive south Kashmir region, he added. “As many as 191 Kashmiri youths joined militancy in 2018,” the official told PTI. In 2017, 126 locals had joined militant ranks, he said.

South Kashmir districts–Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag — have become a breeding ground for militants with many youths joining their rank and file, the officer said.

Outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashker-e- Taiba find more recruits, he said. The official said out of the 191 recruits in 2018, 139 alone hailed from south Kashmir. The highest — 59 — was from Pulwama, he added. In 2016, the official said, 88 Kashmiri youths had joined militancy.

Since 2016, there has been a constant rise in the number of youths joining militancy, he added. As many as 66 youths joined militancy in Kashmir in 2015 and 53 in 2014.

In 2010, 54 youths had joined militancy, while in 2011 the number came down to 23. It further dipped to 21 in 2012 and 16 in 2013, the official said.

The data is based on technical and human intelligence, besides interrogation reports of militants arrested during various counter-insurgency operations in the valley, he added. Although more youths were attracted towards militancy in 2018, forces were killed 257 militants in the year.

As many as 257 militants were killed across Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh had said last month, asserting that counter-insurgency operations would continue in 2019 with major focus on strengthening border and hinterland security. (PTI)

2 army officers injured

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2 army officers injured


KD NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Feb 4: Two army officers received burn injuries in a fire incident at an army facility at a village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday night.

A police official said that Major A K Pandey and Major Anil Kandpal of 44 RR received burn injuries when fire broke out at their camp in Kathawhalan village of the district. He said that both the officers were immediately air lifted to 92 Base hospital at Badami Bagh for treatment.

The fire, according to the official, was soon brought under control. “An electric short circuit is believed to have the caused the blaze,” he said.

Advisor Ganai Asks Airlines To Cap Air Ticket Prices

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Advisor Ganai Asks Airlines To Cap Air Ticket Prices

Advisor to Governor Khurshid A Ganai today held detailed discussions with managers of various Airlines operating from Srinagar about the exorbitant air fare charged from and to Srinagar.

After discussions with the Airlines in the presence of stakeholders of tourism industry, Director tourism, Kashmir, President District Consumer Forum, Srinagar, Advisor Ganai asked all the Airlines to immediately stop selling the tickets in bulk to intermediaries who were reportedly misusing this facility and indulging in resale of tickets at exorbitant price to the intending passengers.

The Advisor also directed the Airline mangers to take up the matter with their respective sales departments to comply with this direction and cap the air ticket prices at reasonable levels.

The Advisor informed the managers of Airlines that the practice of charging exorbitant prices in the event of road closure and cancellation of flights due to inclement weather, was sheer exploitation of consumers which tantamounts to violation of relevant laws meant for protection of the consumers and warned the airlines of legal action in the matter.

Got scolding from wife night before Oscars: Anil on 10 years of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ win

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Got scolding from wife night before Oscars: Anil on 10 years of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ win

Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) Anil Kapoor became a part of history when the Indian cast-led “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the Oscars in 2009 but the actor remembers the eve of the ceremony for being scolded by his wife.

Directed by Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire” received 10 nominations at the 81st Academy Awards, out of which the film bagged eight trophies. 

Anil played the role of a slimy game show host in the movie.

“For family, Oscar doesn’t matter. My wife and I were discussing Sonam (daughter) the night before Oscar! I said ‘let me sleep now’ and she said ‘leave Oscar, listen to me first.’ So even then, family was my priority. I got a lot of firing from Sunita the night before Oscar ceremony,” Anil told PTI. 

The actor was speaking at a special ceremony here to celebrate ten years of the iconic win, along with Gulzar and AR Rahman.

Rahman made history by becoming the first Indian to bag two oscars the same night for his score and song (Jai Ho) along with Gulzar in the film.

The movie also won the Oscar for best film, direction, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing and sound mixing for Resul Pookutty. 

Anil said the moment “Slumdog Millionaire” was announced as the best film, he had a “massive temptation” to break into his famous “Ram Lakhan” dance step. 

“But I thought if I do it, I’ll break the protocol and they might arrest me! Had it been India, I would’ve done it. I was dying to dance. When the dancers were dancing on ‘Jai Ho’, imagine how much I had to control myself to not dance.” 

Looking back, the 62-year-old actor said winning the Oscar was phenomenal and a moment the entire country was “proud” of. 

Post his international debut, Anil worked in “Mission Impossible”. He also produced and starred in the Indian version of terrorism drama “24”. 

“Whatever I’ve done, it has been fantastic and I’m very proud. ’24’, ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, they have all been critically-acclaimed and hugely successful. I did get a lot of offers from big directors and production houses. 

“But nothing was exciting enough for me, I had to raise my own bar. It has to be worth my wait. You’ll be surprised I don’t want to take names the film in which directors or producers had considered me. But I was not happy with what I was being offered.” 

With a screenplay written by Simon Beaufoy, the film was inspired by the novel “Q & A” by author Vikas Swarup and featured Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan among others.

Stocks extend gain for 3rd day on fag-end rally; RIL jumps 3.52 pc

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Stocks extend gain for 3rd day on fag-end rally; RIL jumps 3.52 pc

Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) The benchmark BSE Sensex Monday recovered from the day’s low to end 113 points higher, as equities pulled off a fag-end rally led by RIL amid fresh inflows by foreign funds ahead of the RBI’s monetary policy review.

After gyrating nearly 400 points between the day’s low of 36,225.48 and an intraday high of 36,622.77, the 30-share index ended 113.31 points, or 0.31 per cent, higher at 36,582.74. The index posted gains for a third straight day. 

The NSE Nifty also edged higher by 18.60 points, or 0.17 per cent, to close at 10,912.25.

“Market rallied from the day’s low led by few set of domestic focused companies, oriented at Consumption & Private Banks. This is in attention with the interim budget, while additionally, market is also looking at the upcoming RBI policy, hoping for a change in stance from calibrated tightening to neutral,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Among the Sensex pack, Reliance Industries (RIL) was the biggest gainer, rallying 3.52 per cent to Rs 1,291.15.

The scrip contributed 139.52 points to the bourse’s gain.

Other gainers include ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank, TCS, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Maruti, HDFC and HUL, surging up to 3.03 per cent.

While PowerGrid, Yes Bank, NTPC, Sun Pharma, M&M, ITC, L&T and Bajaj Finance were the top losers, falling up to 3.13 per cent.

“…Rate sensitive stocks were…muted in the trade today while consumption-based stocks were in positive. Thankfully, since the US Fed has changed its stance and is said to be patient’ given the uncertainties with US economic growth, this will provide some comfort to the emerging economies and given the slowdown in China, India remains attractive as an investment destination,” Paras Bothra, President, Equity Research, Ashika Group, said.

Despite caution ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy review, scheduled to begin Tuesday, heavy buying in RIL lifted benchmark indices, traders said.

Weak cues from other global indices also capped the gains on domestic bourses, they added.

Broader indices, however, ended in the red, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap falling up to 1.17 per cent.

The rupee, meanwhile, was trading 43 paise lower at 71.68 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures rose 1.23 per cent to USD 63.52 per barrel.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 1,315.89 crore Friday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 5.07 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

“Essentially, global markets are back under the comforting shade of the Fed Put. The expectation of no more rate hikes in the near future is also a positive for EM and Indian equities,” Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.21 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.46 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.30 per cent; while Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.06 per cent.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX was up down 0.03 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 fell 0.24 per cent in late morning deals. While, London’s FTSE surged 0.22 per cent.

She Wasn’t An Informer,’ Says Family Of Kashmiri Woman Executed On Video

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She Wasn’t An Informer,’ Says Family Of Kashmiri Woman Executed On Video

Late at night on January 31, a video of pheran-clad young woman being shot at point-blank range went viral on social media in Kashmir, sending shockwaves across the Valley.

In the 10-second video, a woman sitting on her toes, with a black backpack hanging on her right shoulder, is seen folding her hands and seeking mercy before an unknown gunman. The gunman then shoots her, and the woman falls. Within seconds, the gunman shoots again.

The next morning, the woman was revealed to be 22-year-old Ishrat Muneer Bhat, a resident of Dangerpora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Her bullet-riddled body was found in Sugan, Draggad village, Shopian district, around 27 km from her hometown.

Ishrat has completed her BA last year and was pursuing a masters in sociology at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). She was also taking a computer training course at a nearby institute.

Early in the morning on the day of her execution, Ishrat ate breakfast, changed, picked up her bag and went to the computer institute, located one km from her home. “Ishrat had completed college last year. She recently got admission in IGNOU. That day, she went to the computer institute,” said 25-year-old Arifa Jan, Ishrat’s sister.

When Ishrat did not come back on time, her family called her number multiple times. Her phone was switched off.

“We informed our brothers about Ishrat, and they came quickly from their shop,” said Arifa, with tears in her eyes.

One of her brothers, Javaid Ahmad Bhat, went to look for Ishrat at the computer institute, but it was closed. The family called their neighbours, relatives, friends and later the police, but there was no trace of Ishrat.

According to the family, Ishrat may have been abducted on her way to the computer institute. “We spoke to her friends. They hadn’t seen Ishrat at the institute that day,” said Arifa.

The family could not sleep, as everyone paced around the house waiting for news about Ishrat. The authorities had shut down internet connectivity that day in Pulwama in the wake of a gun battle between militants and security forces, so the horrific viral video did not reach Ishrat’s family. They found out the next day that she had been shot dead.

“We could have recognised our daughter in the video if the internet was not shut in our area,” said 63-year-old Gulshana Banu, Ishrat’s mother.

Ishrat’s father, 65-year-old Muneer Ahmad Bhat, is an assistant sub-inspector in the Jammu and Kashmir police, her eldest brother Showkat Ahmad Bhat is a constable and her two other brothers, Javaid and Ishfaq, are shopkeepers.

Ishrat’s cousin Zeenat-ul-Islam was a commander of the Al-Badr militant group. He was killed on January 13 in an encounter with government forces in Yaripora, Kulgam district, along with his associate.

Islam was a resident of the village where Ishrat’s body was found.

“We were informed by our aunt’s family about Ishrat the next morning,” said Rehana, Ishrat’s other sister. “Her body was brought to Zainpora police station, from where it was referred to Pulwama hospital and then ferried to home.”

Ishrat’s body had two bullets wounds – one on her face and the other on her back.

When her family received the body at home, hundreds of mourners had gathered to participate in her funeral. Murmuring about why she was killed could be heard everywhere.

“We can’t say who killed her. Anything is possible in Kashmir. Killing a human being has become easy here,” said a mourner who did not want to be named. “We have been witnessing these unknown gunmen since 1989.”

When the Ishrat was being bathed, her maternal uncle Molvi Mohammad Amin said, “Ishrat was pious. She used to offer prayers and didn’t stop fasting. She couldn’t be a traitor or an informer. Don’t pay heed to false news.”

When Ishrat’s coffin, draped in green, was taken away, Gulshana cried in despair. “My beloved daughter, why did you leave us? Where are you going? I can’t bear your death,” she said, while others tried to console her.

Ishrat’s funeral was led by Islam’s father, Ghulam Haasan Shah.

“The girl left home for college. We can’t say who abducted her and later executed her. Among my relatives, I visited Ishrat’s home most. A sister who was craving to see her commander brother (Zeenat-Ul-Islam) when he was active couldn’t be an informer,” Hassan said. “If she was an informer, then it is a blot on our resistance, and those who executed her should give clear proof. But we are sure she was not an informer. It is my request to the administration to investigate the dreadful murder of Ishrat so that everything can become clear.”

The police called Ishrat’s murder a ‘gruesome act of terror’ in a statement. “The dead body of Ishrat was retrieved by police from Dragad area of Zainapora in Shopian district,” said the police.

“Terrorists while perpetrating this gruesome act made a video recording of the incident and circulated it on social media.”

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the law and an investigation initiated. “Police investigation is focused on some credible leads, and it is expected soon the culprits shall be brought before the law,” the police added.

In November 2018, militants released two videos of young Kashmiris – 17-year-old Nadeem Manzoor and 19-year-old Huzaif – being executed. The militants said the two were “informers”. However, no militant group has taken responsibility for killing Ishrat yet.

A room where Ishrat used to study is now packed with visiting mourners. “What was my daughter’s fault? She wasn’t an informer. She was the most affected in our family by the killing of her militant cousin, Zeenat-Ul-Islam,” said Gulshana. Via (The Wire)

Modi’s ‘Threatening’ Speech Reflection Of ‘Electoral Opportunism’: JRL

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Modi’s ‘Threatening’ Speech Reflection Of ‘Electoral Opportunism’: JRL

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik on Monday said that the “threatening” speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kashmiris struggling for achievement of right to self-determination is a reflection of “extreme arrogance of power and electoral opportunism”.

JRL in a statement issued to  said that India is “immorally and illegally” holding on to Jammu and Kashmir without ascertaining the will of its people by blocking the holding of UN backed referendum.

“It is ruling the state by sheer military might, resulting in extreme repression and human rights abuses. Instead of addressing the globally acknowledged dispute lingering for the past 71 years and working towards its resolution in a democratic manner which it claims to be a champion of, the head of this huge country stoops to threats and warnings on the back of its huge military apparatus spread across the length and breadth of J&K,” JRL said.

The leaders said the young and educated boys killed each day by this “vast web of military might with vengeance” are not some hardcore members of terrorist cartels but young idealists driven by passion for freedom and resistance to “oppression”, paying the price of the non-resolution of an essentially human and political dispute being dealt militarily by GoI.

They said that while there are 8 lakh Indian forces manning this land and as per GoI’s own admission, only 300 armed youth are fighting them, most of who are untrained and novices driven only by passion. “What is there to boast in this most disproportionate equation,” they said.

JRL said for the last 30 years in particular, the people of J&K at all levels and fronts are bearing the brunt of being under “arbitrary and forcible control”.

“More than two lakh Kashmiris have been killed and all forms of torture and harassment resulting in severe human right violations borne. Yet the nation is unrelenting and unwavering on its goal to self- determination. It is no small feat that a small nation like ours is giving such a tough fight to a mighty and resourceful adversary,” the leadership said.

“It must be reminding the Indian state of its own freedom struggle against the mighty British empire on whom the “sun never set”. But one day the sun did set on them as in a fight between might and truth, truth always prevails,” JRL said.

JRL said that no nation can be enslaved for a long period by banking on military might as the recent example was well before the world as to how the US was forced to acknowledge the facts and ground realities in Afghanistan and today is talking about engagement and looking beyond military options.

JRL said the “exemplary strike” on Indian PM”s visit should serve as eye-opener for Indian rulers. “In India, people throng in large numbers to greet their political leaders, shower petals and express their happiness and jubilation, but the response from the population in this forcibly occupied land is enough to convey a clear and loud message,” the leaders said.

The leadership said that the slogan raised by the Indian PM –Insaniyat, Jhamooriyat aur Kasmiriyat – was nothing but a farce to befool the world community as the reality is that “oppression touched new heights” in Kashmir.

Reacting to Indian PM’s claims of giving electricity to every household, the JRL said that Kashmiri people have never gone with a begging bowl before New Delhi over electricity as the reality is that some vested interests and greedy politicians who sold their conscience handed over the state’s power resources to New Delhi and deprived the people of Kashmir from their own power resources. They want return of all the power projects being handed over to the Indian executing agencies, they said.

JRL said that Kashmiri Pandits were the part and parcel of Kashmir’s age-old culture and ethos and they have always been urging them to return to their homes in a dignified manner but separate colonies and transit camps were highly objectionable and not acceptable.

“By blowing the trumpet of surgical strikes every time, BJP can make movies to lure voters, but it can’t befool people of Kashmir who are engaged in a sacred and genuine struggle that has priceless sacrifices at its back. The movement to achieve the final goal will be further intensified,” JRL said. 

30th Road Safety week commence across Jammu division

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30th Road Safety week commence across Jammu division

JAMMU, FEBRUARY 04: The 30TH Road Safety Week today commenced across the division with celebration of the event in various parts of all the districts with great enthusiasm.

At UDHAMPUR:The MVD celebrated the 30th  Road Safety Week, on the theme “Sadak Suraksha , Jeevan Raksha”, with District Development Commissioner, Ravinder Kumar flagging off the awareness Van on the occasion.

The DDC urged upon the stakeholders, members of   civil society,  especially youth and other agencies  to dedicate  their efforts  to ensure  safety  of people  besides  restrict  fatal  road accidents in the district . He emphasized on the importance of road safety and need to disseminate information about the safety among the public and the motor vehicle user’s.

Additional District Development Commissioner, Ashok Kumar, Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Ashwani Kumar, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer, D.D Dogra DSP Traffic, Udhampur, Reasi Dr. L.K Taneja, ADIO NIC, Anish Sharma, Inspector MVD and other district officers of various departments besides representatives of various transport unions and large number of drivers and commuters were present on the occasion

At Samba: Motor Vehicle Department today celebrated the road safety week with flagging off an awareness rally by Principal GDC.

The rally was participated by students from various schools of the district which started from GDC and passed through main Chowk , Hari Singh Chowk ,Border Road and culminated at Ground of GHSS.

ARTO and other officers, officials and prominent were present on the occasion.

At Kathua, a Road Safety awareness rally organised by the Motor Vehicle Department to mark the celebration of the Week in which Students from various schools and colleges, NCC cadets and volunteers from NGOs participated.

District Development Commissioner, Rohit Khajuria, flagged off the rally from GDC Kathua where a program was also organized to sensitize students through various means to make the roads safer.

The DDC called upon the students to be ambassadors of road safety and spread the road safety knowledge among family members and friends. He appealed the students to always take measures like wearing Helmets, Seatbelts, abstain from mobile phone usage while driving and alike. He further asked the students to propagate the message of Road Safety in their schools and to all members in their family.

The SSP advised the students to refrain from doing stunts on road and appealed to the school administration to denounce such students.        

Earlier, RTO Kathua, Dr. R K Thappa threw light on the rate of road accident fatalities due to multiple reasons mainly non adherence to traffic rules and safe driving measures.

ACR, Jatinder Mishra, District Agriculture Officer, Sanjeev Rai Gupta, Principals of Govt. Degree Colleges, ARTO, CMO, Faculty members, District Officers, students and members of civil society were present in large number during this program.

At Reasi,  Deputy Commissioner, Dr Sagar Dattatray Doifode, inaugurated the National Road Safety Week celebration with flagging off of a cycle awareness rally conducted through the town in which a large number of students participated.

The rally, organised by the Motor Vehicles Department, culminated at the Zorawar Singh Sports Stadium.

DC said that speeding is a major cause of road accidents which can easily be prevented by conscious decision and called upon the youngsters to strictly follow traffic rules and drive within prescribed speed limit.

SSP Reasi, Nisha Nathyal also interacted with the students and spoke on the subject.

Dy SP, Nikhil Gogna, President Reasi MC, Sudesh Puri, SHO Reasi, Ashwani Kumar, DTI Traffic Reasi, Kuldeep Raj and others were also present at the occasion.

At Doda; An awareness rally marked the Road Safety Week celebration in the district with District Development Commissioner Anshul Garg inaugurating the event.

Around 300 students from government and private education institutions, Police, transport unions, Dealers, Driving Institutions, Pollution centre participated in the rally, organised by MVD in collaboration with Traffic Department, Army and others, which was conducted from DC office to Dak Banglow via Bus Stand.

DC exhorted upon the participants to wear crash helmets and seat belts as a safety measure and follow the traffic rules strictly. He said that Doda region is already declared as accident prone location in the state so observing traffic rules in this area becomes more important and unavoidable as well.

     SSP Mohammad Shabir Malik, DEPO, ARTO, Dy SP Traffic, Army, Police besides others officers and staff of MVD were present on the occasion.

AT RAMBAN: Deputy Commissioner, Showkat Aijaz Bhat, inaugurated  Road Safety Week celebration in the district besides  flagging off an awareness rally organized by Motor Vehicles Department.

The rally was taken out from GHSS Ramban which after passing through the main market culminated at same place where the students and participants threw light on importance of safety rules needed to be followed while driving.  

DC stressed the need of strict adherence to the traffic norms and assured full cooperation from district administration to disseminate awareness about road safety rules and regulations.

 ARTO informed that during the ongoing road safety week, the MVD Ramban shall be organizing various awareness programmes apart from checking of vehicles across the district.  

SSP, Anita Sharma, SSP Traffic, Sanjeev Khajuria,    Dy. SP, Suresh Kumar, Dy. SP Asgar Malik, ARTO, Mohammad Saleem, Staff members and Students of host and other school   besides staff of MVD were present on the occasion. 

At Rajouri: The National Road Safety Week today began in the district with Motor Vehicle Department organizing an awareness programme which was attended by senior citizens, social activists, media persons and students.

District Development Commissioner, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, flagged off an awareness rally on “Road Safety” which was taken out from the bus stand and passed through main roads, and finally culminated at PWD Dakbanglow Rajouri.

The students in the rally were holding flags, banners, pamphlets and posters for disseminating information on road safety among commuters, drivers and other local people.

DDC advised the participants to avoid over speeding, overloading, drunken driving, and use of mobile while driving, wrong over taking and underage driving to stop loss of precious human lives and asked the participants to take all necessary measures for enjoying safe driving and healthy life.

Press club Rajouri member, Sumit Bhargav, SSP Rajouri, Yougal Manhas, also spoke on the subject.

At Kishtwar, Motor Vehicles Department kick started the National Road Safety week celebration with the slogan – “Sadak Suraksha- Jeewan Raksha” with flagging off of a car rally by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Pawan Kumar Parihar.

ARTO Kishtwar, Abhay Indu Sharma, DPO, Sunil Bhutiyal, DySP HQ, Ayaz Ahmed, CAHO Dr. Sanjay Kumar Sen, MVI, Azad Hussain, Drivers, Driving Schools and other members from police fraternity and civil administration were present on the occasion.

The rally started from DC office and passed through Hidyal Chowk to Old Bus Stand to New Bus stand and culminated at the beginning point.

          At Poonch; The Road Safety week organized by Motor Vehicle Department commenced with District Development Commissioner Rahul Yadav as chief guest.

 SSP Ramesh Kumar Angral , ARTO S S Jamwal besides other concerned officials were present on the occasion.

DDC appealed the students to spread awareness among their brethren about safe driving, road safety and avoiding use of mobile phones during driving. He said that the message of road safety week should reach to maximum people and stressed upon all to wear helmets and seat belts while driving.

SSP Angral and ARTO also spoke on the occasion.

A pledge was also taken by the students and others present on the occasion for road safety and obeying traffic rules.

Rattle power project: Er Rasheed calls for joint stand to stop ‘loot’ of state’s resources

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Rattle power project: Er Rasheed calls for joint stand to stop ‘loot’ of state’s resources

Rattle power project: Er Rasheed calls for joint stand to stop ‘loot’ of state’s resources

Srinagar, Feb 4, : Former legislator and AIP chairman Er Rasheed on Monday appealed to the pro-India parties and the Joint Resistance leadership (JRL) to take a joint stand to stop New Delhi from “looting” the resources of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a news conference at Kashmir Press Club, Srinagar, Rasheed appealed to the political parties and civil society to take a stand on the decision to hand over Rattle Power project coming up on Chenab river in Kishtwar to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

“The agreement is unfortunate and exchanging silently the MoU between officials of state power Development department and NHPC in presence of Prime Minister speaks volumes about New Delhi,” he said.

Rasheed also narrated how he was “dragged and manhandled” by the police from his bedroom on the eve of Modi’s arrival in Srinagar. 

Rasheed appealed to the NC, PDP, civil society and joint resistance leadership to “move beyond words” and tell New Delhi louder and clear that continuous “looting” of resources of Kashmiris is not acceptable. 

“While NHPC has already failed to abide by its previous agreements made with J&K government from time to time, one fails to understand why one more dream power project was gifted to NHPC,” he said, while accusing the NHPC of acting like East India Company.

“What happened to the previous MOUs, ensuring return of Power projects including Uri-I, Uri-II, Salal, Dool Hasti, Kishan Ganaga, Seva-II, Nimoo, Bazgo, Chuttak having a total output of around 2400 MW to state government?” he asked.

“The MOU signed in July 2000 has been thrown in dustbin and not only the working groups but the Rangarajan committee had also recommended return of power projects to the state government, in order to make state financially resourceful and sound,” he added. 

Rasheed said there are credible inputs that after Rattle Kirthai-1, Kirthai-2 and Sawlakote power projects having a capacity of 3200 MW will be gifted to NHPC and people of state will get nothing out of the deed. 

“Let people of Jammu also understand that return of existing power projects and gifting of new ones is not issue of just one region but that of the entire state and if New Delhi respects the sentiments of people of state and the agreements made with them from time to time these power projects will bring huge job opportunities and avenues to the state,” he said.

Rasheed accused New Delhi of looting resources of J&K and reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his “threat” given to Pakistani government of cancellation of Indus Water Treaty. 

“While New Delhi has sold water resources of J&K to Pakistan at the cost of rights and interests of people of J&K, it threatens Pakistan to cancel the deal when its own interests are in danger. It is high time that New Delhi should compensate the losses suffered by J&K on account of Indus Water Treaty,” he said. 

Appealing PM Modi to be “realistic”, he said: “While Modi Ji claims to break backbone of militancy in Kashmir he needs to be reminded that militancy is creation of India’s denial to fulfil commitments made with people of J&K at United Nations. 

“Once India shows willingness to resolve Kashmir dispute with sincerity Kashmiris will respond and New Delhi will not need to issue threats to people of J&K, as they need peace more than anybody else but with honor and dignity which can be achieved only by resolving seventy year long political dispute on basis of justice and in its historical perspective.”

‘Hope exemplary punishment is given to culprits behind death of infant at GB Panth hospital’

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‘Hope exemplary punishment is given to culprits behind death of infant at GB Panth hospital’

‘Hope exemplary punishment is given to culprits behind death of infant at GB Panth hospital’

Srinagar, Feb 4, : Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday condemned the ‘criminal’ negligence at GB Panth hospital where a family alleged that their infant died to negligence of the hospital administration

The PDP president while taking to her Twitter handle hoped that an exemplary punishment was given to those responsible for the incident”No words are enough to condemn the criminal negligence at GB Panth hospital , where a new born baby was allegedly burnt to death . Hope an exemplary punishment is given to the culprits responsible for this horrific incident so that no other child meets this kind of fate.

Earlier in  a shocking incident in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar’s G.B. Pant hospital, wherein an infant girl was burnt to death due to the negligence of the hospital authorities, the family of the deceased alleged.

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Srinagar, June 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned...

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