By PTI
SRINAGAR: Two avalanches hit Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara and Ganderbal districts on Sunday but there was no loss of life, officials said.
An avalanche occurred on Chowkibal-Tangdhar Road in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district around 11:45 am, they said.
The officials said another avalanche occurred near Army Convoy Ground in Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district in the afternoon.
However, there was no loss of life in both the incidents, they said.
By Online Desk
Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him a grounded person.
Addressing members of the Gujjar community at an event in Jammu, he said, “I like a lot of things about many leaders. I’m from a village and feel proud… Even our PM hails from village & used to sell tea. We’re political rivals but I appreciate that he doesn’t hide his true self. Those who do, are living in a bubble”.
The statement comes days after the Prime Minister broke down in the Parliament while bidding goodbye to Azad, who led the Opposition in the Upper House.
Speaking of his camaraderie in the Parliament, the Prime Minister also spoke of other instances where the two opposing leaders shared a laugh or banter. “Whoever takes his place will have a problem as they will have to work really hard to fill his shoes,” he said.
Sharing details of their communication during a terrorist attack on some Gujarati pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said Azad was the first one to call him about the incident.
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Modi said that Azad cried on the call while informing him about the horrific attack.
“Azad was the first person to call me. During that call he could not stop crying,” Modi said.
By ANI
JAMMU: The strength of Congress is that it ‘equally respect’ all religions, people and castes, said the party’s veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, at a ‘Shanti Sammelan’ in Jammu on Saturday.
“Be it Jammu or Kashmir or Ladakh, we respect all religions, people and castes. We equally respect everyone, that is our strength and we will continue with this,” said Azad.
Azad’s statement came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘North-South’ remark that came while addressing a public rally in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this week.
Azad was joined by senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kapil Sibbal, Raj Babbar and Vivek Tankha during the ‘Shanti Sammelan’ in Jammu.
READ|Country needs Ghulam Nabi Azad’s political sagacity, commitment: Deve Gowda
Most of these leaders are seen as party’s dissenters, also known as G-23 (or the group of 23 dissenting leaders, who had questioned the party’s functioning in a letter to interim president Sonia Gandhi).
Azad, while talking about the presence of senior party leaders in Jammu and Kashmir said, “These leaders are here because, in the last five-six years, all these friends did not speak any less than me in the Parliament over issues of Jammu and Kashmir, its unemployment, stripping off of statehood, finishing off industries and education, and implementation of GST.”
On the condition of anonymity, yesterday a senior leader of the Congress G-23 told ANI that the event in Jammu is a “show of party’s strength” and a message to Rahul Gandhi: “We will tell the country that from north to south, India is one.”
Last year in August, G-23 leaders through a letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed their discontent and urged the top leadership of Congress to bring immediate reforms, including organisational elections from the grass-roots to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) level.
Today, they are once again up in arms against the Gandhi family and their loyal close circle who are holding key positions in the party and the parliament.
Rahul Gandhi was heavily criticised by BJP leaders after he had said “For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the North. I got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues.”
By PTI
SRINAGAR: Fresh snowfall in Kashmir on Saturday brought back cold wave- like conditions in the valley where the day temperature for the past week was several degrees higher than normal for this time of the year, officials said.
Fresh snowfall was reported from most parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.
Macchil and Z-Gali areas in remote Kupwara district recorded snow between one foot to 18 inches, while places like Gulmarg, Baramulla and Sonamarg recorded up to seven inches of snow, they said.
Srinagar has been witnessing rainfall since Friday night, followed by sleet and brief snowfall on Saturday.
The precipitation has brought down the day temperature by several degrees.
While the maximum temperature on Friday was 15 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature was 3.8 degrees Celsius.
The maximum temperature over the past week has been six to seven degrees above normal for this time of the year.
The weatherman has forecast improvement in weather from Sunday evening.
Express News Service
SRINAGAR: Relieved over the agreement between the armies of India and Pakistan to strictly follow the ceasefire accord, the residents of border areas in Jammu and Kashmir said it should be a permanent ceasefire. “The border ceasefire will bring a lot of respite to us. We could now move freely from our dhoks (huts) and do normal chores without any threat of facing Pakistani bullets, mortar and artillery shells,” said Imtiyaz Ahmad, a resident of Kamalkote, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector.
Army displays ammunition recoveredfrom a terrorist hideout in Poonch | ptiSince Kamalkote is about 100 to 200 metres away from the LoC, it is always prone to shelling. “We are happy over the ceasefire agreement, but want it to be a permanent affair and not a temporary one. The ceasefire can lead to peace,” Imtiyaz said adding, “The cross-LoC trade should also be thrown open”.
Two residents of Kamalkote were killed and two others injured, one of them lost both legs, in heavy cross-LoC shelling on November 13 last year. Mohammad Yousuf Khan, sarpanch of Kamalkote, said cessation of hostilities along the LoC is a big relief. “We pray that both countries stick to the border ceasefire. It will allow us to start our normal chores of life without any threat or fear,” Khan said.
He said the administration should take this opportunity to construct underground bunkers so the villagers can take refuge in them in case of outbreak of hostilities in future. Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Salotri in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district, said if there is no shelling, they could do farming and graze their cattle. Aslam had lost three of his family members on March 1, 2019 cross-LoC shelling.
‘Encouraging’: UN, US laud India-Pak ceasefire pact
India and Pakistan’s decision to strictly follow the ceasefire was welcomed by the UN and the US. While UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was encouraging to note the steps announced by India and Pakistan along the LoC, the US called it a positive step towards greater peace and stability in South Asia. “The US welcomes the joint statement between India and Pakistan that the two countries have agreed to maintain strict observance of a ceasefire along the LoC starting on February 25,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said. “United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “encouraged” by India and Pakistan`s decision to strictly observe all agreements on a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC),” UN Secretary General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
By PTI
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and the PDP on Thursday welcomed the agreement between armies of India and Pakistan on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors.
“We welcome it and hope that the statement will be followed in letter & spirit. JKNC has always been a strong supporter of the ceasefire along the LoC,” the party said in a statement.
“This will allow people living along the LoC & IB (International Border) to go about their normal lives with minimal disruption & risk,” the party said.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti in a tweet welcomed the ceasefire announcement and said dialogue was the only way forward.
“A big & welcome development that India & Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC.
Dialogue is the only way forward if both countries want to stop the unending cycle of violence & bloodshed across the borders and J&K,” Mehbooba said.
India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
The decision on ceasefire, effective since Wednesday midnight, was taken at a meeting between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan.
“In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two DGMOs agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence,” according to the joint statement.
By PTI
JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday dispensed away with the requirement of a license to start operation of stone crushers or hot and wet mixing plants in the union territory to promote ‘ease of doing business’ by creating a business-friendly environment.
The administration notified fresh J&K stone crushers, and hot and wet mixing plants regulation rules dispensing away the requirement of a license.
The decision will facilitate the establishment and functioning of stone crushers, hot and wet mixing plants and boost the supply of raw material required in the construction sector besides expediting the completion of various mega-projects, an official spokesperson said.
He said the new rules recognise a stone crusher or a hot and wet mixing plant as a mineral-based (raw material) processing unit, different from those indulged in mineral mining activity.
“As such, the applicability of provisions regulating the working of industrial units has been extended to cover these units, thus, doing away with the need of obtaining respective licenses from the mining department,” the spokesman said.
However, he said if a stone crusher or a hot and wet mixing plant undertakes mining of minerals as an additional line of activity, it would then be additionally governed by the rules applicable to mining industrial units.
The rules make it obligatory on the mineral processing units to procure minor minerals from a valid mining concessionaire registered with the mining department, the spokesman said.
The department has been authorised to inspect such units, ascertain the source of the raw material and undertake seizure of the illegally sourced minerals, he added.
Moreover, the rules also simplify the unit establishment process by reducing the requisite clearances/No Objection Certificates to merely two documents – Consent to Operate (CTO) from the Pollution Control Board (PCB) and NOC from the deputy commissioner concerned regarding the title of land and its usage, the spokesman said.
He said the issuance of district-level NOC has been brought under the J-K Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011, making it mandatory to issue the document within 30 days.
“The industrial units can voluntarily opt for registration with the Industries and Commerce Department through Udyog Aaadhar registration to avail the benefits under various government-sponsored schemes,” the spokesman said.
He said the decision provides a major relief to the entrepreneurs by removing the burden of double registrations wherein the unit holders had to go through the rigorous procedures of registrations, licensing with the Industries and Commerce Department as well as the Mining Department.
Express News Service
SRINAGAR: It seems the good days are back again. Tourists are returning to the militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir. The Valley’s famed ski resort of Gulmarg is sold out, as all hotels are booked till the end of April.With heavy snowfall this year, the tourist resort of Gulmarg at an altitude of 8,000 feet has been a major attraction this winter and witnessed 100 per cent occupancy on Christmas and New Year eve.
Mushtaq Shah, spokesman of Gulmarg Hoteliers Club, said all hotels are booked. “Over 900 hotel rooms including J&K Tourism Department huts in Gulmarg are booked till April-end. All classes of tourists including high-spending tourists and budget tourists are coming to Gulmarg,” he said.
Gulmarg was always a four-season destination but in the the last few years, it witnessed lesser footfall in the winters. According to Shah, after the Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg last year, the national skiers got first-hand information about the place and its beauty. “It sent a positive message and players and people realised that Gulmarg has got the infrastructure that is available in other parts of the world.” He said since people can’t visit foreign countries due to Covid-19, Indian travellers are coming to Gulmarg in bigger numbers.
The second edition of Khelo India National Winter Games will be held in Gulmarg from February 26 to March 2 and hoteliers are hopeful it will be an additional boost for the tourism sector. “It sends a message that Kashmir is a safe tourist destination. And it had always been a cheaper option compared to other parts of the world,” said another hotelier.
Director of Tourism Kashmir, GN Itoo said packed hotels is a positive development. “Gulmarg used to be a winter tourism destination and after snowfall, footfall to the ski resort would drop considerably. But due to Khelo India, publicity programmes and roadshows, Gulmarg is agian emerging as a favourite tourism destination,” he said.
By PTI
SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that neither war nor the gun are solutions, and the issue of Jammu and Kashmir can be only settled through talks between India and Pakistan.
The Centre should also engage the people of the union territory in the dialogue process, she said after visiting Kupwara district’s Zirhama area to express her solidarity with the family of a policeman, who was killed in a terrorist attack here on Friday Talking to reporters there, Mehbooba regretted the loss of lives over the years in Jammu and Kashmir, and said it was “very unfortunate that the central government is not bothered about it”.
She said if India can talk to China, talks should be held with Pakistan as well.
“China entered into our territory and killed over 20 of our jawans (army personnel). But, despite that talks are being held with them which is a good thing. The talks have been held about a dozen times and some resolution can be seen,” she said.
The PDP chief said Jammu and Kashmir has become a “battleground” between India and Pakistan, and people — policemen, common people and security personnel were getting killed on both the sides.
“War is not a solution to any issue. No issue is settled through gun” be it of the militants or the security forces.
So, we think that like any issue is settled across the world by way of dialogue, there is a need to hold talks with Pakistan, as well as in Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
When asked about the Centre’s stand on talks with Pakistan, Mehbooba said it seems “they are not worried about the people of Jammu and Kashmir being killed”.
“They are not concerned then and would say let them die. Whenever talks have been held in J-K or with Pakistan like 2003-04 when (BJP leader) L K Advani was deputy prime minister, talks were held with (former Pakistan president Pervez) Musharraf, violence in J-K had decreased significantly, militancy had come down,” she said.
Now also, there is a need to have the same policy and without that, there is no other choice, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
By PTI
JAMMU: Three members of a family were killed on Sunday after their car skidded off the road and plunged into a 250-feet gorge in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kahmir, police said.
Jassi Devi (50), her son Nitin Kumar (27) and daughter Kajal (20) died on the spot in the accident, a police official said.
He said Kumar was driving the car and lost control of it while negotiating a blind curve on the hilly road.
The bodies were retrieved from the scene and are being handed over to their next of kin for last rites, the official said.