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Gripped by water crisis for 2 months
Valley freezes again as mercury goes sub-zero
Union Minister bats for pilgrim tourism
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Many in Kulgam pine for ration
cards
3 cases registered after PDD inspection teams assaulted
Mirwaiz meets traders ahead of Pak visit
Shepherds in north Kashmir resume traditional occupation
Geelani calls for anti-Israel protests on Friday
Central Varsity mulls master plan for upcoming campus
Gazetted officers among 31 fined for smoking at public places
One killed, 12 hurt in road mishaps in Valley
Anti-Israel protest in Kulgam
Hosts Jammu Varsity start campaign on winning note
Local drama school to perform in Nepal
Lachi Pora Club log win
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Gripped by water crisis for 2 months
Handwara, November 20 They said the fear of outbreak of water-borne diseases was looming large as they were forced to consume contaminated water from a nearby nullah. The villages most affected include Bhatpora, Sudal, Shahlal, Khanpora, Devaspora, Dayee, Zab and Uchar. They said water supply to the villages has been snapped for the past two months and women have been forced to fetch contaminated water for consumption from the nullah. Angry residents blocked Kupwara-Sopore road near Vodhpora and raised slogans against the Public Health Engineering (PHE) division Handwara. “In absence of water supply, we are forced to consume contaminated water from the nullah. Children are more susceptible to water-borne infections caused by contaminated water,” said Abdul Rashid, a protester. They said despite repeated representations, the PHE division Handwara has done nothing to alleviate their problems. They said other sources of drinking water including tubewells, ponds and wells have dried up and the only proper source of water for them could be the municipal supply. “Ponds and other sources of water have dried up. We are facing acute shortage of drinking water. Despite repeated pleas, the authorities have not bothered to restore the supply,” said Javid Ahmad of Vodhpora. “PHE officials assured us that the water supply would be restored in a few days, but our area, in particular, has been facing an acute water crisis for the past three weeks. If the supply is not restored at the earliest, we would be forced to take to the streets once again,” said Bashir Ahmad of Malik Mohalla. Dismayed locals said the PHE division did not even send them water tankers, thus adding to their woes. “They did not bother to provide us water tankers till restoration of water supply to the villages,” locals said. Later, around 3 pm, they dispersed following assurances from the department’s senior officials. A senior official of PHE division Handwara said, “The supply would be restored in a few days. We are on the job.” |
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Valley freezes again as mercury goes sub-zero
Srinagar, November 20 The day temperature in the city was recorded at 15.4 degrees Celsius, an official of the state’s meteorological department said. Gulmarg resort in North Kashmir was the coldest place in the Valley, where the mercury fell by 5.5 degrees below the freezing point. The resort had on Monday received two inches of snow - the first snowfall in the lower reaches of the valley. Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir also witnessed a freezing night, with the temperature falling to minus 3.7 degrees Celsius. In Leh town of remote Ladakh region, mercury overnight fell to minus 9.6 degrees Celsius and the day temperature there was recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius. In the adjoining Kargil district in Ladakh region, the minimum temperature was recorded at minus 6.0 degrees Celsius, the official said. The maximum temperature in Kargil was recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature in Ladakh region usually hovers many degrees below the freezing point in winter months, sometimes falling down to as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. The region remains cut off from the rest of the state as heavy snow along the Srinagar-Leh road shuts access to the mountainous Ladakh. The minimum temperature in frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir was recorded at minus 1.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature in South Kashmir’s Qazigund town was recorded at a freezing 1.8 degrees Celsius, the official said. Kashmir valley is gearing up for a harsh winter, which is set to officially begin next month. Residents have already switched to their winter wear to escape the shivering evening cold. The meteorological department has forecast snow and rain over the next 24 hours at isolated places in the higher reaches of Kashmir and Ladakh regions. |
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Union Minister bats for pilgrim tourism
Srinagar, November 20 The Union Minister claimed that militancy-related incidents had been blown out of proportion. “When there is no crime and nothing to report, firing incidents make news,” he said. Stating that there were “little or no” efforts towards developing pilgrim tourism in the state, Azad said, “This form of tourism has great promise for the economic prosperity of people across the state.... We have got shrines across the state like Hazratbal, Chrar-e-Shareef and others, and we need more efforts.... Take for example shrines like those of Ajmer and Tirupathi.” Urging the hoteliers to increase “carrying capacity” to accommodate the increasing rush of tourists, he emphasised on judicious use of land for tourist activities and creation of infrastructure in consonance with ecological and environment requirements. “Sustainable tourism means use of tourist potential to meet the present needs while taking care of those in future. Tourism has to be developed in such a way as would sustain both present and future generations,” he added. Azad regretted that Kashmir did not become an IT hub like Bangalore as the situation here was not right for it at the time of the IT boom in the country. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Union Minister of State for Tourism K Chiranjeevi, Minister for Forests Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister for Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Amita Rao and Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani were also present on the occasion. Jora said tourists had been thronging Kashmir during the last two years. Welcoming the lifting of travel advisory on Srinagar by the UK, he urged the Chief Minister to take up the issue with other Commonwealth countries so that they follow suit. Altaf underscored the need to develop other tourist spots in the Valley apart from Pahalgam and Gulmarg. He said foreigners preferred areas like Naranag and Gangabal, which were popular trekking destinations. |
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Many in Kulgam pine for ration
cards
Anantnag, November 20 Sources said many people from the rural areas of the Kulgam and Anantnag districts have not been allotted the mandatory ration cards despite repeated requests to the authorities. The people said they were facing undue hassle in the wake of unavailability of these cards and were not able to register themselves for the gas connections. “The first thing that a gas dealer asks is the ration card and we don’t have one,” said Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Munad Gufan, village of the Kulgam district. The residents said they were unable to avail other services. “We cannot get monthly rice and sugar quota from the fair price shops and that is taking a severe toll on our livelihoods,” another resident said. They said they were even devoid of kerosene supply because of no ration cards. “We are using candles for lighting purpose. Everybody is well aware of the condition of the electricity supply and we don’t even have kerosene supply for the lamps,” said another resident. The district administration, however, maintains that nobody has approached them so far with any complaint. “If there is any such issue, the people should have contacted me. I assure that their issues would be settled without delay but they need to come with a complaint,” said Mir Jahangir, Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam.
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3 cases registered after PDD inspection teams assaulted
Srinagar, November 20 The PDD has sought help from the civil society so as to ensure that the teams are not attacked. “It is the responsibility of the residents and the civil society to ensure that the inspections teams are not attacked while surprise checks are conducted,” said a senior officer of the PDD. “During raids, many consumers misbehave with the team and in some cases, also assault them,” he added. PDD Chief Engineer Muzaffar Mattoo said the cases were registered only when the inspections teams were assaulted. “Usually, during raids, arguments take place, but in some cases, our officials have been assaulted. We have registered cases only in cases wherein our men have been assaulted. Law will take its own course,” Mattoo said. PDD officials said three cases were registered against consumers in the past one month. He said on October 21, a team of PDD officials was attacked in SDA Colony in Bemina, Srinagar. “The team led by a junior engineer was physically assaulted by a consumer and we lodged an FIR against the accused who was arrested by the police,” he said. The officer said in another incident on November 13, a team of PDD officials was attacked in North Kashmir’s Sopore town when they were travelling in a Tata Sumo. The
consumer attacked PDD officials at Jamia Qadeem Sopore and after a complaint, the culprits were booked. On the same night, a PDD team was locked inside a house in Qamarwari locality of the city. The team later sought police help and they were rescued. Amid reports of massive power theft, the J&K government had recently strengthened its enforcement wing to check power theft across the state. The PDD has constituted nearly 50 independent inspection teams from various wings of the department to check power thefts. |
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Mirwaiz meets traders ahead of Pak visit
Srinagar, November 20 “Ahead of the Pakistan visit, All Parites Hurriyat Conference
(APHC) held detailed deliberations with the trade fraternity,” a spokesman for the group said. The spokesman said the meeting was held at Hurriyat’s Raj Bagh headquarters and more than 40 associations and organisations of Kashmiri traders attended
it. Mirwaiz had earlier announced he would hold a series of meeting with the members of the civil society and legal, economic, academic and political experts ahead of the
visit. APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq convened the meeting with an aim to take the ‘opinions of the conscious class of the society so as to understand the Kashmir issue in its proper perspective’, the spokesman said. Talking to traders, Mirwaiz said Kashmir issue should either be solved according to the resolutions passed by the Security Council in UN or the three main stakeholders, India, Pakistan, and Kashmiri people, should strive for such a solution which would be in tandem with the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiri
people. Mirwaiz also had a detailed discussion with the trade fraternity to form an Economic Aadvisory Council
(EAC) in the state, the spokesman said. “It is not only the political rights of Kashmir which were usurped, but there had been concerted efforts to paralyse the economy and progress of Kashmiris following a plan, making Kashmir a dependent economy was a matter of concern,” Mirwaiz said according to the statement issued by the party. |
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Shepherds in north Kashmir resume traditional occupation
Kupwara, November 20 “For about three months, I bought a herd of sheep to green pastures in the dense Kalaroose forests of the Lolab near the Line of Control (LOC) after a period of 21 years,” said
Qasim-Din of Hayhama Kupwara. Like him, many shepherds in the upper reaches of north Kashmir resumed their traditional practice of grazing the livestock in pastures near the forests and hillocks. “I stayed in grazing pastures with a sense of security. The only thing I feared was the susceptible movement of the wild animals in the dense Chowkibal forests in
Kupwara,” said Fahad Khan. “I am happy to resume my traditional occupation and made a good living this season,” he said. Many shepherds in the north Kashmir districts of
Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora were forced to abandon the years-old practice of grazing the livestock in pastures, following the outbreak of insurgency in early 1990. The movement of shepherds during this turbulent period became increasingly difficult as the forests witnessed most of the encounters between the security forces and the militants. “The shepherds this year were able to move to green pastures, especially in the forests of
Kupwara,” said Irshad Ahmad, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP),
Kupwara. “They were even able to graze the livestock in Jamagund and
Moori, close to the LOC in bordering the Kupwara district,” he said. From an annual practice of grazing the livestock for about four months, the shepherds in the north Kashmir have earned a good income. The livestock is herded for grazing pastures, when the sowing season of the paddy crop ends in May and the shepherds’ return to the villages after the harvesting of crops is over in September. |
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Geelani calls for anti-Israel protests on Friday
Srinagar, November 20 Geelani alleged the attacks and termed it a state terrorism. The 83-year-old veteran separatist, who heads the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference, urged the Organisation of Islamic Countries to increase their diplomatic attempts to pressurise Israeli to stop bombing innocent children. Gaza is being bombed by Israeli war planes since Wednesday last week which has killed more than 110 Palestinians so far, including many women and children. The Israeli attacks have triggered several protests and condemnation statements in Kashmir. Lawyers, students and a women separatist group have so far held protests over the last three days in Kashmir to demonstrate against the attacks on Gaza and express sympathy with the Palestinian people. Pointing to the case of the Pakistani girl Malala, who was attacked in the restive Swat region and became a focal point of a global backlash against Islamist militants, Geelani questioned those protesting over the attack on Malala for maintaining a silence on the killing of the Palestinian children. Geelani said firing of missiles by Hamas militants into Israel was a natural reaction. “Every person has a right to defend his life, property and honour and the mujahideen of Hamas are performing this duty,” the separatist said. Geelani also condemned the attack on Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the former leader of Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami. |
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Central Varsity mulls master plan for upcoming campus
Srinagar, November 20 “To discuss the modalities about preparation of the master plan for the campus of the Central University of Kashmir (CUK) at its designated site in Ganderbal district, the University officials today held a threadbare meeting with the chief general manager (CGM) of the EdCIL,” a spokesman of the CUK said. EdCIL offers consultancy and technical services in different areas of education and human resource development not only in the country, but also on the global basis. During the meeting, which was chaired by CUK Vice-Chancellor Prof Abdul Wahid, CGM EdCIL IS Sodhi gave a presentation about the procedures to be adopted during the framing of the master plan. “He presented a blueprint for the preparation of the plan and construction of buildings under the first phase of the campus construction,” the spokesman said. Vice-Chancellor Prof Wahid presented the vision of the University, which he said, should be incorporated in the master plan. He underscored the need for preparing the master plan keeping in view the cultural and traditional sensitivities of Kashmir. “The designs should be environment friendly,” Wahid said, adding that reputed architects would be roped in to design the building structures and the facilities in upcoming campus would be the state-of-the-art.
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Gazetted officers among 31 fined for smoking at public places
Srinagar, November 20 “A fine of Rs 4,800 was recovered on the spot,” a government spokesman said. The state government has imposed a ban on smoking at public places. Smoking is banned in hospitals, restaurants, hotels and public offices including government, public, private as well as newspaper offices, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries, public conveyances including buses, taxis, trains and railway stations, bus stops, shopping malls, coffee shops and airport lounges. In J&K, officers authorised to take action against anyone caught smoking at public places include deputy commissioner, director health services, sub-divisional magistrates, tehsildars, SHOs, food inspectors, executive officers of municipalities, principals and headmasters of educational institutions like schools and colleges,
hospital administrators, sarpanches and panches. |
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One killed, 12 hurt in road mishaps in Valley
Srinagar, November 20 Two other passengers were injured in the collision; they have been shifted to a hospital for treatment. Another passenger cab collided with a truck in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district at Kachokoot, resulting in injuries to five passengers. Three passengers were injured in another collision between two small vehicles in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, the spokesman said. A nine-year-old girl identified as Nakeena was injured when she was hit by a car near Gund in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. In the city here at Bemina, a truck collided with a load carrier, resulting in injuries to a person, who was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Cases have been registered in all the accidents, the spokesman said. |
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Anti-Israel protest in Kulgam
Anantnag, November 20 The protest was led by the leaders of the federation, including president Arshid Hussain Baba, general secretary Abdul Rasihd and district president Mohammad Akash. “We strongly condemn the Israeli atrocities and violence in Gaza that has caused loss of lives of Palestinina civilians,” saidArshid Hussain Baba. They urged the world community to put pressure on Israel to stop violence in Gaza. The aggression of Israel is a threat to world peace and must be stopped immediately, the protesters said. Shouting slogans against America for supporting the Israeli offensive on Gaza which had claimed more than 100 civilian lives, including women and children, the
protestors demanded an immediate end to the violence. |
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Hosts Jammu Varsity start campaign on winning note
Jammu, November 20 The JU won the toss and opted to bat first. They accumulated 162 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Vishal played a scintillating knock of 46 runs that came off just 32 balls. He pierced five hits to the fence and a six. Rajesh chipped in with 31 runs. Amit and Daud contributed 13 runs each. For the Jalgaon University, Jitu was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets while Shashikant, Jadhav and Arun shared a wicket each. The team could not keep up the momentum as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The team managed 107/7 in the allotted quota of overs. Arvind played a gutsy knock of 58 runs but in vain. Rajesh of the JU was the adjudged the man of the match. |
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Local drama school to perform in Nepal
Srinagar, November 20 EKTA will participate with its play production ‘Trunouve' at the festival that is being held from November 23 to December 7, a member from the group said. “EKTA is exclusively taking the contemporary theatre of Kashmir to the international scene. The play was originally written by ML Kemmu but has been re-written as a full-length play by Bhawani Bashir Yasir to make it most relevant to the contemporary scenario of Kashmir. The production is also designed and directed by Bhawani Bashir Yasir, an Alumni of National School of Drama, New Delhi,” he said. The performance of the group is scheduled on November 29. |
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