Tag: briefing

Briefing May 7-13, 2023

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SANASAR
It was tragic that in the middle of the night when a hotel went up in flames, the inmates were deep into slumber and two of them – including the hotel manager, lost their lives. Five others survived with serious injuries. Now the government has ordered an enquiry into the destruction of the Maa Shanti Hotel. Survivors said though the hotel management informed the government about the mishap, the fire tenders took their own time from reaching the hill station from Kud and Batote, from the two sides of the Patnitop hills. The deceased manager was been identified as Raman Sadhotra of Samba and the other deceased was identified as Surinder Kumar of Sudhmahadev, Chennai. All the five injured in the incident were locals from Jammu and Kashmir.
In Samba, Jammu Kashmir Police said they traced and recovered 23 missing females within three months
KISHTWAR
Villagers and troopers gather near the wreckage of an IAF chopper after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019.
Yet another army helicopter crashed after a “hard landing” on the banks of Marua River in Marwa’s Machna Village killing the flying machine’s technician, Pabballa Anil, as the two pilots survived injured. The Dhruv was in operational mode and the crew had conveyed the chopper has developed some snag. As the residents saw the chopper crashing, they mounted a quick rescue operation, which was later joined by police and the army. Anil, 30, hailed from Telangana. The Army has ordered a court of inquiry into the helicopter crash incident. Earlier, a Dhruv crashed in Lakhanpur on January 25, 2021, and killed its pilot. On August 3, 2021, Rudra helicopter crashed into Ranjit Sagar dam on the Kathua-Pathankot border, killing both pilots. On September 21, 2021, Army’s Cheetah helicopter crash-landed in dense forests near Patnitop in Udhampur district, killing both pilots. On March 11, 2022, Army’s Cheetah helicopter crashed in the Gurez sector in Bandipora district, killing its co-pilot.
Earlier, the entire fleet of ALH Dhruv with the armed forces was grounded after the March 8 Navy chopper accident off the coast of Mumbai. Subsequently, the Army had allowed a select number of helicopters, including the one that met with the accident, to fly after clearing all the checks and procedures. There are around 300 ALH Dhruv helicopters, of which 145 are with the Army.
Between 2019 and 2022, the passport was denied to 805 citizens in Jammu and Kashmir.

REASI
JeM militant commander Ashiq Nengroo’s house demolished in Pulwama district
The administration has demolished the “illegal” house of a school teacher Mohammad Auraf Sheikh, whose name was linked to twin Jammu blasts earlier this year. It was constructed on State land under Khasra No 602/457/1 at the village Baransal (Mahore). Earlier, he was terminated by the Government when his involvement in the twin Narwal blasts was established by the police. One of the blasts killed five security personnel.
The Government of India has banned 14 messaging apps in Jammu and Kashmir for spreading terror. These include Crypviser, Enigma, Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Element, Second Line, Zangi, and Threema.
LONDON
Jay Mala, the widow of Panthers Party’s founder, Bhim Singh, was finally cremated nine days after her death. The cremation followed days of drama and an apology by their son, Ankit Love, 39, who lives in the UK. Apparently, Love had conveyed that his mother should not be cremated in his absence. However, he could not fly home to Jammu because the Government of India did not process his visa because he was amongst the blacklisted people who had protested outside Indian High Commission in London. “I Ankit Love, son of late Prof. Bhim Singh and late Adv. Jay Mala, resident of the UK hereby sincerely apologise for my mistake of pelting eggs and stones at the Indian High Commission in the UK which I deeply and sincerely regret,” Ankit wrote a day later in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mala, an erstwhile advocate, lived with her niece Mrignayani Slathia at Domana in Jammu, fell from the stairs at her home on April 25, and died the next day at the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu. Her body was preserved by GMC Jammu at the request of her son.
Her corpse, however, became yet another issue for the squabbling Singh clan, who have been battling over the party leadership. After Mala died, it was Vilakshan Singh who took her body to Sidhra as another of Singh’s relatives, Harsh Dev Singh, a former minister, demanded an autopsy. Going by the media reports, it was a tussle over control of the party, with Slathia’s brother Vilakshan Singh on one side and Harsh Dev Singh on the other. Within minutes after Harsh Dev sought a post-mortem, Slthia and her brother returned the body to GMC where it was preserved. After the government permitted Ankit to fly in, the body was cremated at Devika in Udhampur. Bhim Singh died on May 31, 2022.
After Singh’s death, Panthers Party split into two groups. Vilakshan was elected president at a meeting chaired by Jay Mala, but a separate faction that claimed to include all executive members of the party elected P K Ganjoo as its president. Both factions approached the Election Commission to stake claim to the party symbol, but later came together again, with Vilakshan continuing as president and Ganjoo taking over as working president. The problem started when Harsh Dev, who had resigned from the JKNPP and joined the Aam Aadmi Party, claimed to have returned to the JKNPP after Bhim Singh’s death, and said he had been elected party president. Both Vilakshan and Ganjoo contested this claim.
Jammu’s 21 state-run schools will get have 286 ICT-enabled classrooms by the end of August.
KAK SARAI
Fiancé Stabber Sent to 6-day police remand
In an unprecedented bizarre incident, a young woman stabbed her fiancé, Adil Kaloo, a scrap dealer, in broad daylight and was arrested. Identified as Asifa Bashir, a resident of Parimpora, the lady lost her cool when the two were in a car.
The man was injured and bled profusely while the woman fled from the spot. The incident invited media attention because Asifa was running a Facebook page and claiming to be a journalist. Apart from clicking photographs with some officers, she was even flaunting her award by some Maharashtra groups. The two had been engaged a year ago and the nikah was an outcome of a love affair. Now, she is resting in jail and he is recovering in a hospital. Will they fall in love again? Nobody knows.
In Baramulla, 156 drug peddlers were arrested – 9 booked under PSA, in 2023, so far
POONCH

A novel bank robbery was attempted by a dismissed bank employee in Poonch. Mohammad Abrar, a resident of Ari (Mendhar), was caught while trying to transfer money from the bank in the dead of the night. With the intention to hack the bank’s security system, Abrar entered the bank during working hours and spent the entire night hiding in its false ceiling. The robbery plan got exposed as Abrar’s attempt to hack the bank’s security system alerted the officials. He is in police custody.
Jammu and Kashmir collected a GST of Rs 917.85 Crore in April 2023.
KASHMIR
G20 is Group of Twenty, an intergovernmental forum, comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy.
Security is on high alert in the wake of the fast-approaching G20’s Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting on May 22-24. Reports suggest the authorities will involve Marcos, the marine commandos, and NSG apart from the existing security set-up. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha presided over a high-level meeting in which the security was reviewed. Earlier, the police said they arrested Farooq Ahmad Wani, a resident of Wagoob Hygam, Baramulla, who was a driver in a 5-star hotel. Sensing the gravity of the threat after the Poonch attack, elite Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and National Security Guards (NGS) are being placed for the G20 event’s security.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha announced ownership rights for the refugee families for 46666 kanals of land allotted to them on May 7, 1954, after they emigrated from Pakistan in 1947. The land was allotted in Pargwal island in Akhnoor, RS Pura and Bishnah tehsils in Jammu, and parts of Samba and Hiranagar in Kathua district.
JAMMU
In order to prevent the use of women for drug peddling and other issues, the government has started deploying women constables at various vital checkpoints in Jammu City during night hours. This is happening for the first time. At checkpoints, they keep tabs on the movement of women residents. So far 50-60 women constables have been deployed on night duty around exit and entry points in the temple city.
The government is encouraging pea cultivation (PB 89 variety) in Uri’s 102 villages and it fetches better prices in Delhi’s Azadpur Market.
TEETWAL
A brand new Sharda Peth temple is coming up at Teetwal (Karnah0 on the banks of Kishanganga river, barely at a stone’s throw from the Line of Control.
Weeks after the revival and reconstruction of the Sharda temple, a Sikh Gurudwara reopened in Teetwal. Its reconstruction was funded by
Save Sharda Committee that reconstructed the temple destroyed in the partition. The spot on which the twin religious spaces existed was protected ad preserved by the native Muslims even though not a single Hindu or Sikh resides in Teetwal. The revnue records have 5 marlas of land recorded as Ahl-e-Singha and 18 marlas as Ahl-e-Hanood. The land was demarcated and Bhumi Pujan was done on December 2, 2021, paving the way for the installation of Guru Granth Sahib inside the Gurudwara amidst chants.
The National Investigation Agency raided 16 locations in Baramulla and Kishtwar districts, mostly on the residences of banned Jamaat-e-Islami activists
JAMMU
Aerial view of Jammu city
The Jammu and Kashmir administration will be allotting 336 low-income group flats to non-local labourers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) mission in Jammu’s Sunjwan area. The Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board has invited online applications from people, who have migrated to Jammu temporarily or permanently for employment or education or long-term tourist visit, for its 336 economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) flats. The flats are located at Sunjwan, in the vicinity of major Industrial estates Gangyal and Bari Brahmna. Initially, they will have an allotment for three years, which is extendable for five years. Housing Board said the allotment of 96 units will take place in the first phase followed by 112 units in the second phase by June 30 and allotment of the rest of the 128 units will be made in the third phase by October 31 this year.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

May 8, 2023
House Of Former Govt Employee Demolished

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SRINAGAR: District Administration Reasi on Thursday demolished the house of a former government employee, who allegedly was involved in twin blast cases.
As per media reports, the house of terror accused Mohammad Auraf Sheikh, son of Ghulam Ud-Din Sheikh of Baransal Gulabgarh, Tehsil Mahore, was constructed illegally on state land.
The accused, a former Government teacher, was terminated from his services when his involvement in two blasts was established by the police.
The house built on State land under Khasra No. 602/457/1 at village Baransal Tehsil Mahore was demolished under the supervision of district police and in the presence of witnesses and locals of the area. The demolition drive started at 1:pm and was carried out till 10:pm in the evening.
Pertinent to mention that the terror accused was found involved in blast cases on bus at Kadmal near Katra and at Narwal, Jammu. In this regard case FIR No. 141 /2022 P/S Katra u/s 13/16/18/20/23 UAPA, 302/307 IPC and 3/5 Explosive Substance Act stands registered at Katra, Reasi and another Case FIR No. 38/2023 P/S Bahu Fort U/S 307 IPC, 3/4/5 E.S. Act & 16/18 UAPA stands registered at Jammu.

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#House #Govt #Employee #Demolished
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

May 5, 2023
Briefing April 30-May 6, 2023

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_POONCH
Remains of the ill-fated army truck that went up in flames after suspected militants attacked it in Bhata Dhurian area in Mendhar (Poonch) on April 20, 2023. Six soldiers were killed and one survived injured.
Jammu and Kashmir Police have detained six persons after questioning nearly 200 people in Poonch following April 22, attack on an army vehicle in which five soldiers were killed. The operation involving various security agencies in the Bhata Durian belt is still in progress. The agencies investigating the attack have narrowed their focus on two militant handlers based in Pakistan, Rafiq Nai and Habibullah Malik, who are believed to have played a key role in the attack. Both men were designated as militants by the Indian government last year, and their involvement in the recent attack underscores the ongoing threat posed by militants operating from across the border in Pakistan.
Asserting that the attack was carried out with active local support, Dilbagh Singh, the Police Chief said a native, Nasir Ahmad has provided shelter and logistics to attackers. The massive crackdown has triggered outrage after Mukhtar Hussain Shah, a resident of Nar (Mendhar) consumed poison and died by suicide over alleged harassment and torture. Before committing suicide, he had recorded a video.
Singh said the attackers were supplied arms through drones. Three persons formally arrested include Gursi residents- Nissar Ahmad, Farid Ahmad, and Mushtaq. The Poonch Rajouri region is emerging as a challenge. Only six army men were killed in militancy violence in Kashmir since October 2021 as against 21 in Poonch and Rajouri districts during the same period.
School Education Department has directed private schools operating from Government land to admit 25 per cent of their students from weaker sections of society.
KUPWARA
A Kashmiri Imam, who led taraveh prayers during Ramzan 2023, was gifted an Umarh package by the village in north Kashmir.
For Muslims within and outside Kashmir, Ramzan, the Muslim month of fasting, is the era for protracted prayers, charity, and self-introspection. Most of the mosques ensure they have a Hafiz-e-Quran who will lead them in Taraweh prayers and once the month concludes these Imam’s are honoured. Residents of Mareed Mohalla in Kupwara thought out-of-box. Instead of paying him in cash or gifting him worldly valuables, they recognised Maulana Bilal Ahmad Nadvi’s contribution by sending him on Umrah. This was a surprise to the Imam, too. This first-of-its-kind gesture has the potential of becoming the new fashion statement of the faithful, naysayers say.
The government is providing land free of charge in favour of BSNL for saturation of 4G mobile services in all the 303 uncovered villages across Jammu and Kashmir.

HANDWARA
Police arrested a couple in Handwara on April 25, 2023, for running a prostitution racket. Photo:JKP
In yet another shocking event, the Jammu and Kashmir Police uncovered a prostitution ring in the Reshipora, Kupwara. Police said they conducted a raid on a house leading to the arrest of Shabir Ahmad War, his wife and three more people. This is the fourth such scandal in the last few weeks that has come to light in Jammu and Kashmir, with similar operations having been uncovered in Srinagar outskirts including Bagh-e-Mehtab and Nowgam area, and another in Jammu Jewel Chowk. It is immediately not known what pushes individuals to prostitution.
11 Gujaratis were arrested for taking Gandola for a ride with a fake ticket. Earlier a Mumbai tourist group went to jail for the same offence.
MUMBAI
Bollywood flick, Pathaan poster showing the lead actors including Shahrukh Khan, John Ibrahim and Deepika Padukone
Bollywood’s heartthrob Shahrukh Khan has set Kashmir abuzz with excitement as he returned after 11 years to shoot for his upcoming film Dunki. Directed by Raj Kumar Hirani and co-starring Tapsee Pannu, the movie scenes were filmed in the stunning locales of Sonamarg and Pulwama. He also did some shopping in Srinagar but at the S airport, he was mobbed by fans.
Khan’s arrival for a few days has boosted the morale of the administration that recorded 300 film shootings in 2022. LT Governor Manoj Sinha said the region is experiencing a resurgence of the Bollywood era of the 1980s when many films were shot in the area due to its breathtaking beauty. For Shahrukh Khan, his return to Kashmir is a nostalgic one, having shot Jab Tak Hai Jaan in the region back in 2012. Bollywood has always been in love with Kashmir. The only difference from the 1980s is that the government was not incentivising the Bollywood shooting as it is being done big time in 2020.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation stone of Kashmir Medical College and Super-Speciality Hospital being developed by Milli Trust, Delhi, a 100-bed Rs 525-crore project that will have 150 MBBS seats and provide jobs for 2,000 people.
SAMBA
A government employee was arrested for allegedly raping a woman under the guise of being a tantrik. The accused lured the woman to his house on the pretext of healing her skin disease through “magical powers” and then raped her. The police have identified the accused as Subash Chander of Rarian Ramgarh village and a case has been registered against him. The accused is currently behind bars.
Rekha Sharma, chairperson, National Commission for Women (NCW), has revealed that in 2022, women trafficking in Jammu and Kashmir have increased by about 15.26 per cent but it is “just the tip of an iceberg”
BHADERWAH
A group photograph showing the scholars, farmers and representatives of industry in CSIR-IIIM interaction in Pulwama. The photograph was taken in the lavender farm on June 13, 2022
The Chenab Valley’s mini-Kashmir is purple these days as farmers have switched from traditional crops to lucrative lavender cultivation. Over the past decade, lavender cultivation has expanded from 10 kanals of land to about 4000 kanals, with around 2500 farmers now engaged in it. A single lavender plant bears flowers for 15 years and needs little maintenance, and its oil is used in a variety of products, including soaps, cosmetics, perfumes, and medicines.
Bharat Bhushan, one of the first farmers to switch to lavender farming in the region, found that he earned four times more profit from lavender than from traditional maize farming, and he gradually converted his entire 10 kanals of farmland to a lavender farm. After Bhushan’s video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016, the Aroma Mission was launched in Jammu and Kashmir, providing free lavender plants to farmers. The program has been a great success, with 500-600 farmers switching to lavender farming and 1000 kanals of land being brought under its cultivation. Modi acknowledged the region’s effort in his Mann Ki Baat.
KPDCL has 700 positions vacant
DUBAI
Safina Nabi
Kashmir journalist Safina Nabi has won the second prize in the Outstanding Contribution to Peace category of the Fetisov Journalism Award for her article titled “How Kashmir’s half-widows are denied their basic property rights.” The article sheds light on the plight of countless women in Kashmir who have been cut out of inheritances and left to fend for themselves after their husbands disappeared and could never be traced. Women whose husbands have disappeared but not yet been declared dead are referred to as “half-widows” by in Kashmir.
Last week, more than 1200 flats were inaugurated for migrant Kashmiri Pandit migrants under the Prime Minister’s package.
KOKERNAG
A government-run school in Kokernag has performed abysmally as only one of its 25 students in the eighth class passed the examination. The Middle School Khokarpora Adhal Vailoo is now the focus of an investigation. It caters to the requirements of the weaker sections but failed in imparting education.
Of 9700 water bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, more than 76 per are ‘in use’. Almost 48.6 per cent of water bodies are privately owned leaving only the remaining 51.4 percent to public ownership.
SOIBUG
NIA official on a piece of land that was attached by it in a terror funding case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached two houses of sons of banned Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s chief Syed Salahuddin. Shahid Yusuf lives in Soibug and Syed Ahmad Shakeel in Rambagh Srinagar. NIA spokesperson said they “had been receiving funds from abroad from the associates of their father and overground workers of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.” Their properties were attached under Section 33(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA said. In August 2018, the NIA arrested Shakeel, who was working as a lab technician at SKIMS Soura. In August 2022, the administration sacked Salahuddin’s third son Syed Abdul Mueed, Manager, IT, Jammu Kashmir Entrepreneur Development Institute.
Srinagar Tulip Garden which attracted 375 thousand tourists was open for 33 days, unlike 21 days in 2022.
JAMMU
LG Manoj Sinha inaugurated 576 residential accommodations for PM Package Employees on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
Days after Padma Bushan awardee, Muzaffar Hussain Baig said the assembly election can take place after the general election across India, LG Manoj Sinha said his administration wants Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir to be held on time. He maintained that three-tier Panchayati Raj System is working very well under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Panchayats will be completing their five-year term in November-December this year and elections to them will have to be conducted in October-November. Polls to Panchayats were held in November-December 2018 after nearly four decades in Jammu and Kashmir during President’s Rule after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support to Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP Government in the erstwhile State.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

May 2, 2023
Briefing April 23-29, 2023

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POONCH
Remains of the ill-fated army truck that went up in flames after suspected militants attacked it in Bhata Dhurian area in Mendhar (Poonch) on April 20, 2023. Six soldiers were killed and one survived injured.
In anticipation of preparations for the G20 meeting in Kashmir, suspected militants targeted an army vehicle killing five of the six soldiers. The surviving soldier is battling for his life in the hospital. The attack occurred at Bhatta Durrian (Mendhar), where four soldiers were killed in a gun battle with the militants in October 2021. Army statement said militants hiding behind bushes and a cluster of trees opened firing on the Army truck moving between Bhimber Gali and Poonch at Bhatta Durrian on April 20, 2023, at 3 pm taking advantage of rains and thunderstorms. While one militant used grenades to stop the truck, another opened calibrated fire towards its fuel tank, triggering a massive blaze as yet another militant opened fire at onboard soldiers. Four of five Rashtriya Rifles soldiers are from Punjab.
In order to hunt down the assailants, authorities have suspended civil traffic in the Bata-Doriya area. An NIA team is visiting the area for investigations.
How will the attack impact the cold relations between India and Pakistan remains to be seen. Interestingly, Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to lead a delegation to India for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on May 5 that Goa hosts. It would be the first visit by any Pakistani Foreign Minister since Hina Rabbani Khar’s in 2011.
LG Manoj Sinha says Kashmir will produce Mustard oil worth Rs 800 crore in 2023.
PUNJAB
State Investigation Agency
In a first of its kind, Jammu and Kashmir Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) has attached a Punjab resident’s property for “his links with militants”. Identified as Amarbhir Singh of Baba Darshan Singh Enclave at Ram Tirath Mahal in Amritsar, he is living in Dubai but is wanted in many cases in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The SIA seizure with the help of Punjab Police was in a case of recovery of Rs 15 lakh hawala money at Nagrota from two alleged JeM associates Parvez and Farooq, who were arrested in 2021. This is the first action taken by the SIA outside Jammu and Kashmir.

Formally opened on November 4, 2022, the Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) has received 10000 calls from people in distress. Women callers constitute 70 per cent.
SRINAGAR
High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
The High Court has quashed a series of detention orders under the Public Safety Act, including the one against journalist Fahad Shah. In the case of Srinagar resident Peerzada Mohammed Waseem, the court said the prosecution accused him of rioting and stone pelting in 2020 when the person was in jail since 2017. “How can a detenue already in jail and facing trial participate in rioting and stone pelting during that intervening period?” Judge Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal asked.
Wildlife officials said the direct sightings during the biennial census reveal improved numbers of Hangul within Dachigam National Park. In 2021, 261 Hangul were counted.
KASHMIR
Ramzan 2023 was the most peaceful month of fasting in the last more than three decades. In Kashmir, there were no killings of militants or by militants. There was one encounter but the militants managed to flee. In Ramzan 2022, 19 militants, two civilians and two security personnel forces also lost their lives in militant violence. More than 20 militants were killed in Ramzan 2021.
Peace, however, did not help markets that remained struggling to earn. The inclement weather added to their crisis. Even though the month of fasting was extended to 30 days, the last days did not help the market revive. Lal Chowk remained deserted unlike in the past and part of the credit goes to the ongoing smart city works.
However, Ramzan 2023 would be remembered for the mess that Kashmir’s so-called grand Mufti, Nasirul Islam landed in. He was in a controversy at the beginning of the month when he declared that his “moon-sighting committee” could not locate the Ramzan crescent. People defied his claim and started fasting as Shia ulema had moon-sighting evidence. On April 19, a brief recording came on social media in which he was saying that his committee could not locate the crescent of Shawaal month on April 20, so Eid is being celebrated on Saturday, This triggered a serious controversy leading Nasir to send a formal request to Jammu and Kashmir Police to investigate the issue. He said he had been recorded for Doordarshan in advance. DD insider confirmed it saying this is the tradition. “We keep two versions recorded and then run the one that he permits at the appropriate time,” an insider said. The question, however, remains – how can anybody record something in advance when he or she lacks knowledge of it? On the flip side of it, police have investigated the issue and have answers. Will they ever reveal? Wait.
Against Rs 217.43 crore, the Government generated Rs 260.94 crore with the e-auction of 257 retail liquor vends for the year 2023-24. Some more vends are auctioned soon.
KISHTWAR
A youth was killed and his brother survived injured in a mysterious blast in their own kitchen at Chitran village in Kishtwar’s Simbol area. The dead young man was identified as Shabir Ahmad, 20, and the one struggling to survive as Mohammad Yaseen, 18. Gucchi mushroom hunters, the two brothers had located something in the hospital and were heating it when it exploded. In another interesting incident, Ghulam Hassan, an ex-serviceman, from Angloe area opened fire on his wife, Rubeena, and Yasmeena, his minor daughter and rendered them injured. He used a 12-bore rifle. He lost his cool when his wife and daughter pleaded with the drunkard not to have liquor. Now, he is being tried for an attempt to murder.
Kashmir’s mutton requirements are expected to go up post-Eid from the prevailing 35 truckloads of sheep a day to 160.
DELHI
Jammu and Kashmir’s erstwhile foot-in-mouth governor, Satya Pal Malik has landed in yet another controversy for accusing Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and NSA, Ajit Doval, of making him silent on February 2019 Pulwama attack. The tragedy pushed India and Pakistan to the brink of a war in which the US had to intervene.
“CRPF personnel had requested aircraft to transport their personnel because such a large convoy does not normally travel by road. They had made the request to the Home Ministry, then held by Rajnath Singh, who refused. If they had asked me, I would have provided the aircraft. They had requested five aircraft,” Malik told Karan Thapar. “I told the Prime Minister the same evening (after the incident) that it happened due to our mistake. If we had provided them with aircraft, it could have been averted. He (PM) told me, ‘You keep quiet for the time being.’ I had already told one or two TV channels about it. He (PM) said, ‘Don’t talk about it. This is something else…’. Ajit Doval (NSA) also told me the same thing, ‘Satpalbhai (brother), you don’t talk about it. Please stay silent on this’.” Malik said, it took him a bit of time to realize “that the blame will now be shifted towards Pakistan, so I better keep quiet.”
Though Malik made several claims and told some very interesting stories about the politics in Delhi, it was the Pulwama attack that people have focused on. Congress is seeking a white paper on the Pulwama attack that killed nearly 40 CRPF personnel, days ahead of the national election. “Satya Pal Malik has brought out the explosive satya (‘truth’) which is more explosive than the Pulwama explosion itself…but this is nothing new. People were aware at the time that some Indo-Pakistan incident would be manufactured for political gain. Was the terror attack staged with the aim of winning elections?” Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanhjay Rauat has said. “Was there a plot to get 40 jawans killed for political gain? We [Opposition] had repeatedly tried to ask such questions at the time but were silenced by the ruling party and branded as ‘traitors’.”
The anti-climax of the controversy is that even Pakistan is using Malik’s statement. “His [Malik’s] disclosures demonstrate how the Indian leadership has habitually used the bogey of terrorism from Pakistan to advance its sham victimhood narrative and the Hindutva agenda, clearly for domestic political gains,” a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
Nearly four lakh people have visited Tulip Garden in the last month.
KATHUA
Kathua
An embarrassed Jammu and Kashmir government had no option but to admit that little Seerat Naaz’s video clip about the condition of the government high school in Lohai-Malhar is “not far from truth”. Naaz addressed the Prime Minister in the 5-minute video that she shot and commented on. After introducing herself as a student of the particular school, she goes on a virtual tour of her school. “Modi-ji, mujhe na aap se ek baat kehni hain (Modi-ji, there is something I need to tell you.)” Seerat then pans the phone camera towards an uncovered concrete surface, right in front of two closed doors which she identifies as the “principal’s office and the staff room” and comments: “Dekho humara farsh kitna ganda ho chuka hain. Humein yahan niche bithate hain (Look how dirty the floor is. They make us sit here).”
“Chalo mein aap ko bari si building dikhati hoon aapne school ki (let me show you the big building where our school is),” she goes on, “Yeh dekho, pichle 5 saalon se, dekho kitni gandi building hain yahan pe. Chalo mein aap ko andar se dikhati hoon (Look how unclean the building has been for the last 5 years. Let me take you on a tour of the inside of the building)”.
It was againt this backdrop, she makes a reqiest: “Please, aap se na request karti hoon, aap na achha sa school bana do. Humein niche baithna parta hain aur hamari uniform gandi ho jati hain aur phir humein Mamma marti hain. Humare pas bench bhi nahin hain (I request you to build us a nice school. We have to sit on the floor because of which our uniforms get dirty. My mother often scolds me for this. We don’t even have benches to sit on).” She adds: “Please Modi-ji, mein aap se request karti hoon ki achha sa bana de yeh school. Meri bhi baat sun lo (Please Modi-ji, I am requesting you to make my school better. Please grant my wish)”. She even films the toilet: “Dekho, humara kitna ganda toilet aur tut gaya hain (Look how filthy and broken our toilet is).” She then directs her lens towards a pit where the students go to relieve themselves. “Humein iss naali mein jana parta hain (We need to head to this pit to relieve ourselves.)”
The Government will now offer an ex-gratia relief of Rs 25 lakh (Rs 20 lakh out of UT Budget and Rs 5 lakh out of SRE) to the families of personnel who die in the line of duty and are from Jammu and Kashmir.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 24, 2023
Briefing March 26 – April 1, 2023

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PAMPORE
A DIPR photograph showing Lt Gov Manoj Sinha laying the foundation stone of Dubai based Emaar Group’s Kashmir Mall on March 19, 2023.
Burj Khalifa developer who runs Emaar Group makes an entry in Kashmir and his Mall of Srinagar witnessed the bhumi pujan by LG Manoj Sinha last week. Spread over 10 lakh sq feet, the mall will have around 500 shops. The group is also constructing an IT tower in Sempora and Jammu. Emaar Properties CEO Amit Jain said that most of the shops in the mall are expected to be run by companies based out of the UAE. The group is pumping Rs 500 crore including Rs 250 crore in the mall. “This is the start, we should inspire people, and people should aspire to follow us. This is a one million square feet mall with 500 shops and will generate around 7,000 to 8,000 jobs,” Jain said. “As Emaar group, we bring along strong relationships with leading retail brands of UAE, most of which will be launching their presence in India through this initiative,” Jain said. Emaar and Magna Waves Buildtech, the mall is set to become operational by 2026. Lalu Group which is already working with Kashmir will also operate from this mall with a 100 thousand sq ft anchor store. Sinha termed the day historic as it was the first FDI in Kashmir ever since the industrial policy was announced.
For the first time in history, the Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation Ltd, which runs the Gondola Gulmarg, recorded a turnover of Rs 100 crore.
GWALIOR
Lt Goverbnor, Manoj Sinha addressed the Republic Day gathering in Jammu in 2023.
Courted a controversy, Jammu Kashmri LG, Manoj Sinha said that Mahatma was only a matriculate and a diploma. “There is a misconception among educated people that Mahatma Gandhi had a law degree. Gandhi had no degree,” Sinha said while delivering Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Memorial Lecture at ITM Gwalior. “Who will say Gandhi was not educated? I don’t think anyone can dare to say so. But do you know that he did not have a single University degree or qualification? There are many of us who think that Gandhi had a law degree. No, he didn’t. His only qualification was a high school diploma. He qualified to practice law but did not have a law degree. He had no degree. Just look how educated he was. He became the father of the nation.”
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir VK Bidhuri said the day-long job fair is aimed at providing employment opportunities to 2500 youth in 141 companies.
JAMMU
social media
The employees of the government in Jammu and Kashmir can neither criticise the government nor can comment upon any policy, according to the new social media rules made public by the government. The Deputy Commissioner’s and heads of department have been directed to “immediately proceed against the employees indulging in unwarranted debates, discussions and sharing/commenting/posting inappropriate posts/content on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Instant Messaging applications like WhatsApp and Telegram etc.” The directions have been issued after invoking the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Conduct Rules, 1971. “No Government employee shall, in any radio broadcast or in any document published in his own name or anonymously, pseudonymously or in the name of any other person or in any communication to the press or in any public utterance make any statement of fact or opinion which has the effect of an adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the Government of India, Government of Jammu and Kashmir or any other State Government,” the direction said. Besides, the employees have been prevented from “unauthorized communication of official information” or “dissemination of patently wrong or misleading information, airing of political or communal views etc under their real or assumed identities.” Employees have been asked not to publish a post or release “any information on social media that is considered confidential or that is not meant for public dissemination”.

2022 witnessed around 648 road accidents in which 93 persons were killed on Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
WASHINGTON
A number of Kashmiris are making news while being offshore apparently engaged in diplomacy. A news report said six separatist loyalists were forcibly removed from the National Press club in Washington when they repeatedly disrupted a panel discussion Kashmir: From Turmoil to Transformation. Moderated by columnist Se Hoon Kim, it was addressed by Mir Junaid, and Touseef Raina. Reports appearing in the media said the separatist-loyalists disrupted the discussion when Junaid was responding to a question on the reasons why the Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders were in jail. They had gone to the US at the invitation of the International Centre for Peace Studies.
In Geneva, two Kashmiri women – Tasleema Akhter and Bushra Mahajabeen spoke at the UNHRC. Akhter has praised the development that is happening in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of article 370. She has said developmental projects worth US $700 million are under implementation right now. Reports said Tasleema works for women’s empowerment and rehabilitation of terror victims, whereas Bushra Majajabeen is a terror attack survivor. The latter has lost her sister in a 2003 militant attack and lost her hand in an attempt to snatch the killer’s gun. Former lawmaker Shuaib Lone also spoke to the UN Body.
In their last of the five-year term, the Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) including Municipal Corporations, Councils and Committees are expected to get Rs 1550 crore in 2023-24.
TEETWAL
A brand new Sharda Peth temple is coming up at Teetwal (Karnah0 on the banks of Kishanganga river, barely at a stone’s throw from the Line of Control.
In 2023 Navreh, the idol of goddess Sharda was installed in the new Shrada Devi Temple that was constructed on the Line of Control. The spot had a temple that was devastated in 1947. The idol was installed amid chanting of Vedic hymns by more than 100 Pandits from Shingeri Math in Karnataka where the murti was brought. The temple existed till 1947 and it was the base camp for undertaking a journey to Sharda path, located on the other side of the LoC. A gurdwara also existed there on the banks of the Neelum river. Save Sharda Committee’s Ravinder Pandita was the main person who led the reconstruction of the temple. Pandita said Swami Nand Lal Ji was the last Kashmiri Pandit Saint who used to worship at this temple prior to partition. The foundation stone for the temple and Gurdwara was laid at Teetwal on December 2, 2021. Home Minister, speaking on the occasion said his government will make efforts to open a corridor in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) for Sharda Peeth pilgrimage on the lines of the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab. He addressed the occasion virtually. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday welcomed the opening of the Sharda Devi Temple near the Line of Control (LoC). “This is very good. We have always been saying that we need to engage, reconcile and resolve things. The opening of Sharda temple is a very good thing. It is something that the Kashmiri Pandits were looking forward to, they really wanted it to be opened,” Mehbooba told reporters. “I also hope that the business which was conducted on Muzaffarabad Road and Rawalakot road, also is resumed.”
National Commission for Women (NCW) has received 412 complaints of atrocities against women in last three years – 79 in 2020, 157 in 2021, 144 in 2022 and 32 till March 2023.
AHMADABAD
‘Dr’ Kiran J Patel, the Gujarat conman who took Jammu and Kashmir administration for a ride for most of February till he was arrested on March 3, 2023. This photograph shows the so called PMO officer at Kama
Finally, the arrest of Conman, Kiran Patel in Srinagar has started impacting the ground. Gujarat police have booked the Ghodasar (Ahmedabad) resident for posing as a top official of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), on cheating and criminal conspiracy charges for trying to usurp a senior citizen’s bungalow here using the same tactic. In the Gujarat case, Malini Patel, his wife, is a co-accused. Patel has four cases against him registered in Gujarat and all of them are of the same nature. The latest case accuses him of attempting to grab a bungalow in a posh Shilaj locality in Ahmadabad by winning the trust of its owner, Jagdish Chavda, 63, through false claims of being a “Class 1 officer in the PMO” and having close relations with politicians. Under intense pressure from Delhi, the two other Gujarat residents – Amit Pandya and Jai Sitapara, who were with Patel the day he was arrested but were freed by police, were summoned to Srinagar for interrogation. Pandya is the son of an additional public relation officer of the Gujarat Chief Minister’s office. The PR man in Gujarat CMO has finally given up his position after serving the institution for a very long time.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said 56 foreign militants were killed in counter-insurgency operations in 2022.
DODA
Doda town, an aerial view
Residents of Malanu village in Thathri (Doda) have accused the village sarpanch of allowing the construction of a volleyball ground on the sole helipad meant for medical emergencies. Evacuations of critically ill patients were done from this spot thrice since 2007 when it was constructed. Now, the district administration has asked the Jammu, and Kashmir Sports Council and the PWD to provide information about it. Sarpanch Zafarullah Magray is holding Sports officials responsible. “I showed them two places but they said machines wouldn’t be able to reach those sites. They asked me to allow construction on the helipad. I asked them to get a no-objection certificate before starting the work,” he said. “The helipad has been used twice or thrice since its construction in 2007. The construction of the volleyball ground started in December last year. No one spoke at that time, but they are now accusing me of scam.”
DELHI
Irfan Mehraj, A Kashmir based Journalist
Federal investigator, the National Investigation Agency arrested Srinagar-based freelance journalist Irfab Mehraj in connection with an ongoing probe into Kashmir-based non-profits that are facing accusations of sponsoring activities “prejudicial to the unity, integrity, sovereignty and security of India.” A resident of Mehjoor Nagar, Irfan was summoned to the local NIA office and later flown to Delhi where a court has given the investigator a 10-day remand. The arrest was condemned by the Press Club of India, the Editors Guild of India, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Amnesty International. NIA said he was arrested under UAPA. Irfan has contributed to a number of media organisations during his journalism career. NIA has also taken custody of JKCCS coordinator Khuram Parvez and he is also on 10-day remand. Irfan has worked with him at the JKCCS.
SRINAGAR
Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) cast her vote for Ram Noth Kovind as the president of India on July 17, 2017.
Mehbooba Mufti has said she won’t contest the Assembly election till Article 370 is restored. “I am never going to fight Assembly elections as long as Article 370 is restored. It’s more of an emotional issue for me,” she said. ““Whenever I took an oath, it was under two Constitutions- the Constitution of India and the Constitution of J&K – with two flags at the same time. It’s more of an emotional issue for me.” Her counterpart, Omar Abdullah feels the elections are being deferred because BJP was “not brave enough to face voters’’. He said: “They are not ready to face people but are escaping from (Assembly) elections on one pretext or the other. They used the pretext of delimitation of constituencies and revision of electoral rolls which stands completed long back. They talked about the weather not being conducive but have no justification to further delay the polls.”
BEJBEHARA
A team of doctors at Sub District Hospital (SDH) Bijbehara is being praised by all for their unwavering commitment to their patients as they performed an emergency LSCS (Lower Segment Caesarean Section) during the intense tremors. It was incidentally recorded on phone and went viral. The team was led by Dr Shabeena Shah, the gynaecologist. “Alhamdulillah, it was a team effort. At the moment, my whole team was there for the patient. Patients are our first priority, we stood despite the earthquake and thankfully we successfully performed the LSCS,” later said. “While the memory of the recent earthquake in Turkey lingered in the back of our minds, the team pushed forward, ultimately delivering a healthy baby and ensuring the patient’s well-being.”

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 27, 2023
Briefing March 12-18, 2023

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DODA
social media
Within a fortnight after the Chief Secretary told the heads of departments to oversee what the government employees are doing on social media, the Jammu Kashmir Police arrested a government employee, a peon, for allegedly posting ‘hateful’ comments on social media. Identified as Amrik Singh, a resident of Beoli Doda, he is posted as a class-IV employee in CEO’s office. The data he uploaded, police believe, could trigger law and order problems in the district.
Nearly 6000 Kashmiri Pandit employees called off their 310-day-long protests after the government stopped their pay. They were seeking transfer out of Kashmir on security grounds.
JAMMU
Yet again, the official recruiter, the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) is back in news. This time for managing the examinations of the aspiring employees through Aptech Ltd, a hiring firm that has been blacklisted by other states. As the details of the firm’s shady detailed appeared in the media, there were protests in Kashmir and Jammu. In Jammu, police used force and made arrests of the protesting young men and women. The company was blacklisted in 2019 but re-hired in May 2022. The crisis erupted in wake of serious credibility issues involving the SSB and the third parties it hires. In July 2022, the administration cancelled the selected list of 1200 police sub-inspectors, 1300 junior engineers and 1000 finance account assistants (FAA) following allegations of paper leaks and malpractices. The CBI that is investigating the case has charge-sheeted 24 persons including a BSF commandant and many of them were arrested as well. Though the SSB is justifying the re-hiring, the protesters were insisting that once blacklisted how the company can be trusted now especially when job rackets are investigated by the major agency. The political class especially the JKNC and PDP have strongly reacted to use massive force against the job seekers. “On what basis, and at whose behest, has the company, which is blacklisted by other states, been awarded the contract to conduct the recruitment here,” Mehbooba Mufti asked. Aptech is blacklisted in UP, Rajasthan and Assam. “Laws were changed to make sure it gets the contract.”
65 benches of the special Lok Adalat settled 224 of the 669 matrimonial cases and awarded Rs 51,10,500 as compensation and settlement amount.
SRINAGAR

Jab Jab phool Khilay, a 1965 blockbuster featuring Shashi Kapoor and Nanda reinforced the belief that if it is love, it is Kashmir
Love is not a lollipop. Sometimes, it backfires. In the last 10 days, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed three tragedies suggesting that Cupid always does not protect lovers from each other. On March 1, a boy and a girl jumped into river Jhelum in Baramulla. It triggered panic and somehow the girl was rescued but the body was recovered dead many hours later.
In Jammu, a young lady, 27, who was about to be a trained dentist, was found stabbed to death at the house of her male friend in Pamposh Colony (Janipur). On March 7, evening, police said the man’s relatives informed them that he had uploaded a message on his Facebook announcing that he will commit suicide. As they rushed to his flat, it was locked from the outside. They broke the door and were shocked to see a young woman stabbed to death. The accused was also found in critical condition in his washroom with the same kind of cuts. The slain lady – who was pursuing MDS in Delhi and had come on vacation – has been cremated and the man is in hospital and now being probed for murder.
On March 9, in Srinagar, a non-native survived with serious injuries after his wife allegedly stabbed him with a knife in Jawahar Nagar. Identified as Rakesh Kumar (Amritsar), he is recovering in SMHS Hospital in Srinagar.
More than 100 thousand tourist arrivals were recorded in February 2023, a record in itself.
BARAMULLA
An aerial view of Baramulla. Pic: Baramulla News FB page
The new Naya Kashmir has too many colleges and a lot of many students. The problem is there are no teachers. Now a degree college in Baramulla has thrown up a model. In absence of teachers, the Government Women’s College, Baramulla has asked non-subject faculty to have “engaging classes of the departments without staff”. Now, the faculty of Education, Physical Education, and Sports Departments has been assigned the duty to engage the classes of Political Science. Chemistry Department has been asked to take care of Public Administration Department and Botany Department has been asked to engage classes in Economics and the Zoology department would engage the students of Social Work. Mathematics Department will teach Philosophy. Now I know, one scholar wrote on Facebook, why Baramulla creates polymaths. Seemingly it is the beginning. Now every Kashmiri student will be a polymath, courtesy chatbot.
20.8 per cent of adults in Jammu and Kashmir are using tobacco.
WASHINGTON
Foreign ministers of India and China, S Jaishankar and Wang Yi
The American intelligence community has told US lawmakers that it apprehends increased tension between India and Pakistan and India and China with the possibility of a conflict. The three nuclear-armed neighbours are in a tense relationship for their own reason. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they have said “is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to Pakistani provocations”. While India-Pakistan relations are at a historic low, Sino-India relations are not cordial because of the Ladakh stand-off. The intelligence assessment coincided with the renewed public speech by a number of politicians that within a few years India will retrieve its parts of Kashmir from Pakistan.
The administration has decided to scrutinise more than 700 thousand ration cards in Kashmir.
AMSHIPORA
The bodies of three slain youths who were killed in Amshipora fake encounter were exhumed in Gantmulla Baramulla on Saturday, September 3, 2020. Image: Social Media
Finally, the Court Martial vindicated the residents who, from day one, insisted that the killing of three Rajouri labourers in Shopian village on July 18, 2020, was a fake encounter. Last week, a general court-martial (GCM) recommended life imprisonment to Captain Bhoopendra Singh, a verdict subject to confirmation by the Army headquarters in Delhi. The encounter saw the killing of Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar who were dubbed ‘terrorists’. The CGM followed a Court of Inquiry and a Summary of Evidence found the officer has abused the powers vested under the AFSPA. The Court of Inquiry was completed in the last week of December 2020. A JKP SIT had also established the captain’s culpability along with two civilians. Singh would operate in the area under an assumed identity, Major Bashir Khan. The slain trio were from the same village and two of them were close relatives. After the “encounter”, LG Manoj Sinha personally visited the Rajouri families, expressed his sympathies and assured them all of the help. So far, however, they have not been given jobs which the families desperately require.
LG Manoj Sinha revealed that in the last three years, more than 30,000 vacant government posts were filled and 20,000 more vacancies are being filled.
SRINAGAR
Royal Springs Golf Course, an aerial picture
The Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to outsource the Royal Springs Golf Course taking the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route. The world-class golf course is not the only property. Reports said “some properties of JKTDC and Directorate of Tourism Jammu and Kashmir” are being outsourced. The 300-acre 18-hole RSGC is operational since 2001 when Robert Trent Jones Jr worked for years on the erstwhile city forest to make it one of the wonders of Kashmir. Earlier, the officials identified 12 JKTDC assets including the Pahalgam Club, Jammu’s Ashoka Hotel, and various huts at Patnitop for outsourcing. Of the 12 properties, 11 have been divided into three bundles. Bundle I includes the Pahalgam club and convention centre and Pahalgam Hutments and Hotel Alpine with an estimated project cost of Rs 108.44 crore. Bundle II bracket envisages three properties – facilities at Sanasar Lake, tourist bungalow Kud and Hotel Maple Kud with an estimated project cost of Rs 48.89 crore. Bracket III includes six properties – Ramban Cafeteria, Tourist Bungalow at Ramban, Tourist Bungalow Seri-Ramban, Tourist Bungalow Banihal, Hotel Maple Banihal and Cafeteria Qazigund at an estimated project cost of Rs 6.86 crores. JKTDC has invited proposals from reputed national or international entities, and joint ventures for undertaking the Development, Operation and Maintenance of select tourism assets (bundle-wise) with 30 years concession period for I and II Bundles and 15 years for Bundle –III.
Kashmir’s Chest Diseases Hospital reported 47 positive H3N2 infections from a sample basket of 103 in 50 days.
HANDWARA
The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered an enquiry into the alleged misconduct of the president Municipal Committee, Handwara. Earlier, a similar investigation along with a formal police case was registered against a councillor of MC Pulwama. He had abused doctors on duty. In September 2022, the government removed Bilal Ahmad Bhat, President of the Municipal Committee, Awantipora from his office on the grounds of abuse of his official powers.
SMC officials have said Srinagar has Swachh Bharat Mission 730 toilets and 35 toilet blocks are being built.
GANDERBAL
On the Srinagar-Leh national highway, the government has completed the construction of a new Wayil bridge, a first-of-its-kind arch-truss-girder design bridge. It has been constructed using a unique combination of truss and arch bridge elements and girders and will replace the old single-lane bridge that caused frequent traffic jams and delays. The two-lane bridge, with a span of 110 meters and a width of 10.50 meters, was funded by the World Bank and will be ready at an investment of Rs 23.79 crore.
LG Manoj Sinha said around 350 modern health infrastructure projects are coming up in Jammu and Kashmir.
SRINAGAR
Regional Transport Officer Kashmir has suspended the registration of two-wheelers (JK01AG-5841) used in the commission of eve-teasing. It was a quick follow-up to the Srinagar police arresting two boys for allegedly stalking and intimidating a girl on March 4.
A woman employee whose infant dies will have a paid leave for 60 days.
DODA
VDC members led by BJP leader Sunil Sharma submitted a memorandum to Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday, March 2, 2022. Pic: Social Media
Arvind Kumar, a 35-year-old man allegedly shot himself dead with his brother’s rifle, at his ancestral Sindra (Bhaderwah) village in Doda district today, a police officer said. The rifle belonged to his elder brother, a Village Defence Guard (VDG) member. This is the second murder after the government revived and rebranded the erstwhile VDCs into VDGs.
MeT calculations suggest Jammu and Kashmir received 176 mm overall precipitation in January and February against the normal of 225 mm, which means 17 of 20 districts received deficit rainfall.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 14, 2023
Congressional briefing on Silicon Valley Bank failure postponed

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“The Treasury Department and FDIC must communicate loudly and clearly that depositors will be protected,” he wrote. “The investors and executives of SBV should bear risk and lose. But this should not mean that workers go without paychecks on Monday or small businesses collapse.”
Most of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits were not insured by the FDIC because they were over the $250,000 limit for federally backed deposits.
The bank’s depositors had included many Silicon Valley startups and health care businesses that are now scrambling to meet payroll demands after the bank’s failure.
The briefing comes as California lawmakers also brace for flooding in their state after heavy storms. The extreme weather could help alleviate drought conditions but could also bring heavy property damage in certain areas.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 11, 2023
Hispanic lawmakers are getting a briefing from Alejandro Mayorkas about reports the Biden administration was considering reinstituting a family detention policy.

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Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said he thought the policy might have only been “internally floated for discussion.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 7, 2023
Briefing March 5 -11, 2023

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UNITED KINGDOM
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while speaking at the prestigious Cambridge University said that he confronted militants during the Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra’s entry into Kashmir. Gandhi stated, according to a report from India Today, “I spoke to my people and expressed my desire to carry on walking. We kept going when an unidentified man came up to me. He said he wanted to speak with me.” Rahul Gandhi went on to say that the man questioned him as to whether or not the Congress leaders had actually travelled to the Union Territory to hear about the problems of the populace. Later, the man pointed to certain bystanders and claimed they were all militants. “I believed I was in danger because militants would likely kill me in such circumstances. Yet, they did nothing as a result of the power of listening,” Gandhi added.
Central Wool Development Board (CWDB) has approved a Rs 50 lakh project for creating a wool raw material bank in Jammu and Kashmir.
KASHMIR
Representational image
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached the house of banned al-Umar Mujahideen Chief Mushtaq Zargar in the Gani Mohalla area of the Nowhatta in Srinagar. NIA action comes as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared Zargar, “presently in Pakistan”, as designated “terrorist” under the UAPA, a stringent act legislated to control militant activities. An NIA team, assisted by local police and paramilitary CRPF, attached Zargar’s property.. According to an NIA spokesperson, Zargar’s two marlas house (Khasra No 182) at Ganai Mohalla, Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta, Srinagar, has been attached under the provisions of UA(P)A. Zargar was arrested on May 15, 1992, and later “released” in 1999, along with Jaish chief Masood Azhar and Sheikh Omar in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999.
Earlier in the week, NIA also attached the property of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Basit Reshi in Sopore. Reshi is a resident of Yemberzalwari Shiva Dangerpora and is presently in Pakistan. Pertinently, the Jammu and Kashmir police have started the process to attach properties of nearly 168 militants from Jammu and Kashmir who are operating from other the side of the LoC.
As per the New York-based internet advocacy watchdog, Access Now Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 49 internet disruptions in 2022 out of a total of 85 across India.

SRINAGAR
Jammu Kashmir LG, Manoj Sinha felicitating a young cadet of JK Police at PTS Kathua on March 3, 2023. Pic: DIPR
The Amarnath cave shrine that used to be open for pilgrimage for a short summer period may be accessible for a long period in a year as the LT Governor Manoj Sinha administration is planning to make it accessible by road. Sinha chaired a meeting of the officers and Border Roads Organization (BRO) in which the scope for undertaking the widening, restoration and maintenance of the stretch of the Amarnath Yatra track was discussed.
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has put the current unemployment percentage in Jammu and Kashmir at 17.1 against 21.8 in January 2023, indicating an appreciation of 4.7 per cent for the month of February 2023.
SRINAGAR
GMC Srinagar
The government has confirmed Prof Dr Masood Tanvir as the Principal of Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar. Dr Masood is head of the medicine department and was given the charge of GMC principal in November 2022, replacing Dr Samia Rashid.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has issued a non-bailable warrant against 13 Kishtwar-based militants operating from across the border.
JAMMU
The Kashmir crisis is getting so serious that even Congressman and former Sadar-e-Riyasat of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State, Dr Karan Singh is pitching for the restoration of the statehood along with the need for assembly polls which haven’t been held since 2014. Such a demand coming from Dr Singh is interesting because he presided over the state apparatus till 1956 during which the head of the state, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was deposed and imprisoned. Speaking at an event in Jammu, Dr Singh said that there is a lack of communication between the public and bureaucrats in Jammu and Kashmir. When asked to comment on the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, Dr Singh said, “We should look ahead rather than looking back and added that the same remained his principle in life.” Replying to a question about taking back the regions of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan, he said that it was not easy as the same could not be materialized without a war which only brings deaths and destruction.
Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) has urged the administration to exempt educational institutes from the ambit of property tax.
AWANTIPORE
Paramilitary CRPF showcased its bulletproof armoured vehicle, named CSRV (critical situation response vehicle) in the Padgampora encounter with militants. The all-terrain sophisticated CSRV is used for house interventions during encounters. “This acts like a force multiplier, in situations like narrow lanes and by-lanes where you need to sort of intervene in a room or house where a terrorist is held up,” IG CPRF (Kashmir Operations) MS Bhatia was quoted as saying. “This vehicle has a bulletproof Morcha. It has a hydraulic system and can be raised to the second floor of the house as well. It has steer and skid technology, it can revolve 360 degrees, in narrow lanes and by lanes, and it can enter easily.”
Jammu and Kashmir Police said that one of the two militants killed in the Padgampora was behind the killing of Sanjay Sharma who was mowed down in his Achan village, last week. And two of his brothers and parents had not migrated from the village in the 1990s. A bank security guard, Sanjay’s killing was the first attack on a Hindu civilian in Jammu and Kashmir in the last four months.
A preliminary census by Wular Lake Conservation and Management Authority (WCMA) has revealed that over 50,000 migratory birds have made their way to the famous Wular Lake in northern Kashmir.
KUNAN
Kunan (Kupwara) family protests in Srinagar on December 21, 2022, seeking whereabouts of their son, Abdul Rashid Dar
Exactly 75 days after going missing, the body of Abdul Rashid Dar of Kunan (Kupwara) was retrieved and handed back to his family. “In continuation to missing of Abdul Rashid Dar of Kunan area of Kupwara on December 16, 2022 today early in the morning a dead (the body was) recovered from Zurhama-PK Galli forests,” a police spokesperson said in a statement, adding, “The body was brought to SDH Kupwara where it was identified by the relatives of (the) missing person. After completing all medico-legal formalities including post-mortem by a team of doctors, he said, the body was handed over to the family members for burial. “Cognisance of the matter has been taken for further investigations,” he said, adding, “Further details will be shared.” At a presser, a police officer had said that the man was allegedly picked up by the army for questioning in connection with a militancy-related investigation. However, the officer said that he fled from custody. The family, which carried out a series of protests seeking the whereabouts of their ward, had allegedly that Dar picked up by the army for questioning. Dar was a driver.
LG Manoj Sinha said almost 40 per cent of the residential structures in urban and semi-urban areas in Jammu and Kashmir are exempted under the newly created property tax rules.
BAKSHI STADIUM
A group of more than 24 cyclists were flagged off in Srinagar for a race from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The participants shall peddle the 3651 km length in Solo, Team of 2, Team of 4 with a cut-off time of 12 days, 10 days and 8 days respectively. The race route passes through 12 major states, three major metropolises and over 20 major cities. None of the cyclists was from Jammu and Kashmir. In Pune, Veeranarayan Kulkarni left on a cycle for Kashmir to make people aware of diabetes. He will be cycling a distance of 4,000 km in 40 days.
PULWAMA
Within days after a video showing Bilal Rather, a councillor of MC Pulwama, allegedly misbehaving with a doctor on duty at the District Hospital (DH) Pulwama, went viral, the district administration ordered an inquiry. ADC Pulwama is probing the incident. Rather was seen shouting at a doctor on duty, and even hurling the choicest abuses. After the incident, the staff of the hospital wrote to the administration detailing how a “few miscreants” accompanied a “mob” barged into the room and misbehaved with them. Hospital management also registered a police case against the identified miscreants.
KASHMIR
The thought process (L to R) in male and female brains. Graphics: Economist
India’s largest-ever dementia study has shown that Jammu and Kashmir has the highest prevalence of the condition, a report in a British newspaper said. Some 11 per cent of the region’s over-60 population have developed dementia, according to a joint study published by the University of Southern California and AIIMS-Delhi. “Since the study’s publication, experts have called for further research to establish whether a 26-year insurgency that has raged in Jammu and Kashmir could be a reason for the region’s high prevalence of dementia,” the report said. Earlier in 2019, a survey by Médecins Sans Frontières found 70 per cent of Kashmiri adults had witnessed the sudden or violent death of someone they knew, while the average adult living in the territory has experienced 7.7 traumatic events during their lifetime. “The association between trauma and dementia is a fast-growing area of research,” the report quoted Dr Katrin Seeher, a mental health specialist in the Brain Health Unit at the World Health Organisation, saying. “We do have more and more evidence that exposure to adversity, particularly in early childhood, changes our brain architecture and the ways the brain changes to deal with stress. We do see that early childhood adversity might be linked to later life dementia diagnosis.”

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#Briefing #March
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 7, 2023
Briefing February 26 – March 4, 2023

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KATHMANDU
The Shopian Sqay Association players have won medals in two championships, 14 gold and four silver medals at South Asian Sqay Championship and Tri-National International Championship. The 7th South Asian Sqay Championship and tri-nation international 2023 was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The players include Khatija Tul Kubra, Shahzadi Lariba, Tawqeer Ashraf, Shahzaib Shakeel, Junaid Shafi and Faizan Ayoub Khan have won gold medals under different categories and Faizan Gulzar and Durdana Yousuf won the silver medal in the championship. In the Tri-National international championship 2023, Tahneet Mushtaq, Anish Zahoor, Zaid Bin Hassan, Mohd Huzaif, Shafeeq Ah Malik, Owais Mushtaq, Danish Aijaz and Haamid Rashid won gold while Umer Masood and Khansa Bashir have won silver medals.
Our Little Squay Champion Abid Aijaz from Ganderbal after returning from 7th South Asian Squay champinship Katmandu
Nepal with a silver medal. pic.twitter.com/7sc8rzkWBo
— hasanalogy (Gh Hassan) (@hassanalogy) February 23, 2023
The Jammu and Kashmir government enhanced the wages of daily engaged Daily Rated Workers, including Casual Labourers from Rs 300 per day to Rs 311 with effect from October 2022.
LADAKH
Retired Brigadier Dr BD Sharma took over as Ladakh LG on February 19, 2023. This photograph was taken after clicked after he was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Jammu and High Court Mr Justice N Kotiswar Singh.
Brigadier (Dr) B D Mishra (Retired) has taken oath as the new Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh. He became the second LG of the Himalayan region by replacing R K Mathur, who held the office since 2019 when Ladakh became the union territory. The 83-year-old Mishra is a former brigadier of the Indian Army and the former Commander of the Counter Hijack Force of the National Security Guard (NSG), popularly known as the Black Cat Commandos. His appointment came on the heels of a stalemate in Ladakh where the Kargil Democratic Alliance and Leh Apex Body have been asking for statehood to the region along with a legislature, schedule-VI safeguards, and an additional parliament seat.
The government has started the Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir with Rs 463 crore earmarked for creating 2000 Kissan Khidmat Ghars, which will serve as a One Stop Centre for extending farmer-oriented services
RAMBAN
Landslides damage 5 houses in J&K’s Ramban
At least 13 houses and a road stretch of 200 meters was damaged in an incident of ‘land erosion’ at Duksar Dal areas of Gool in Ramban district. The affected families were shifted the safer places. The land sliding had been witnessed in the area for three consecutive days. DC Ramban said a requisition has been sent for expert advice from geologists to ascertain the reasons. Meanwhile, in the Rezan area of the Ganderbal district, soil erosion led to damage to several houses. In the Noorabad area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, a landslide damaged five shops belonging to Fayaz Ahmad Hajam and Abdul Majeed Hajam. A house also suffered minor damage.

As per official figures, Kupwara’s Hagnikoot and Nichahama have 9 Lakh metric tonne Lignite deposits while Awoora and Zirhama have 8 lakh metric tonne high-quality Marble deposits
SRINAGAR
Racing for career, Kashmir young girls at a JK Police recruitment rally at Humhama Srinagar in June 2021. Photo: JKP
The government cancelled the results of two Border Battalions of Jammu and Kashmir Police after “observing” some discrepancies. The examination for 1300 Constable posts in JK Police Border Battalion was conducted in October last year and the results were declared in January 2023. An official notification issued by Additional Director General of Police Coordination PHQ Danesh Rana stated that after the declaration of the final result issued on January 25, 2023 in respect of candidates of UT of Jammu and Kashmir who have participated in the recruitment process for the post of Constable in two Border Battalions of Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted in terms of the above-referenced advertisement notifications, some discrepancies in the said result were observed.
QAZIGUND
Thousands of fish at a spring in the Babapora (Qazigund) died after the water body developed a low concentration of oxygen. In a never-before incident, the dead fish were flushed towards the mouth of the spring. Spring is the natural exit point at which groundwater emerges out of the aquifer and flows onto the top of the Earth’s crust to become surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere as well as a part of the water cycle.
As per officials, a spring located at Babapora with good discharge for the past many years was selected as a source for this water supply scheme for villages – Babaporateng, Mandhole and Chandian Pajan. They said there was a reduction in the discharge of the spring in such a way that almost all the fish (in quintals) which were initially inside the spring under the hillock came out towards the mouth of the spring, which has never happened before. This created panic for us as well as the local people, they said.
SRINAGAR
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry elected its new leadership on February 22, 2023.
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCC&I) elected its new executive committee with 21 candidates in the fray emerging victorious. The KCC&I later elected its office bearers and the Executive Committee with Javid Ahmad Bhat (Tenga) elected as President, and Ashaq Hussain Shangloo and Fayaz Ahmad Punjabi being elected as Sr. Vice President and Jr. Vice President respectively. Faiz Ahmad Bakshi has been elected as Secretary General while Dr Umar Nazir Tibetbaqal is the new Jt. Secretary-General and Zubair Mahajan has been appointed as Treasurer. Akib Chaya bagged the highest number of votes with 453 voting in his favour followed by Umar Nazir Tibatbaqal with 444 votes.
PATTAN
In a strange incident, a government school teacher posted in the Pattan area of Baramulla district assaulted his colleague and bit his ear. The incident took place on February 21 after the two teachers entered into a verbal brawl over some discussion on managing charge of school assignments. As the teachers exchanged heated arguments, one of the teachers attacked his colleague and bite his ear. Following the incident, the J&K Police in Pattan arrested a teacher for assaulting his colleague and registered an FIR in the case as well. An official said the teacher who was attacked has got around 6 stitches in his ear. Meanwhile, the district education authorities in Baramulla have ordered an inquiry into the matter and are mulling taking departmental action against the teacher.
SRINAGAR
Jairam Ramesh
Former colleagues, Jairam Ramesh and Ghulam Nabi Azad are at loggerheads once again, as Azad has slapped the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh with a defamation notice for reportedly calling him a “slave”, “Mir Jafar” and a “vote- cutter”. In the notice, which has been sent through Azad’s legal counsel Naresh Kumar Gupta, the DAP chief seeks compensation of Rs 2 crore from the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh for causing damage to his “unblemished reputation”. It is pertinent to mention that earlier in January, the senior Congress leader took a jibe at Ghulam Nabi Azad’s DAP by calling it the “Disappearing Azad Party” after the exit of the leaders from the newly formed DAP. Earlier during Bharat Jodo Yatra’s J&K leg, Ramesh had called DAP chief “Mir Jafar” and alleged that he had been propped up by the BJP to cut the Congress’ votes in J&K.
RAMBAN
social media
A teacher has been suspended for allegedly criticising policies of the government on social media platforms in the Ramban district. According to an order, Joginder Singh, teacher GPS Chanderkote was suspended for criticising policies of the government on social media platforms. The teacher, as per the order, has been attached to the office of chief education officer Ramban and an inquiry committee has also been constituted, which will be headed by additional district development commissioner Ramban to probe the matter.
KARNATAKA
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed various groups after inaugurating various development projects in Srinagar on Monday, October 25, 2021. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that by reading- down Article 370, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the “merger” of Jammu Kashmir forever with India. Speaking at an election rally in Sandur, Karnataka Shah praised the government’s move and highlighted the significant improvement in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation. Shah refuted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of a bloodbath in the region, stating that the abrogation has led to the lowest figures of terrorism-related incidents. The Home Minister also added that the move has led to a lot of positive changes in the region. The abrogation of Article 370, which had caused harm to the country, was a significant move made by the BJP-led government in 2019, Shah said. Despite opposition from various political parties, the government’s decision has permanently ensured Jammu and Kashmir’s integration into India. The improved situation in the region has been well-received and is a cause for celebration for the entire country, he added.
PULWAMA
Robbers brandishing toy guns loot the Sopore family
In a bizarre incident in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, five villagers were allegedly looted by extortionists holding a “toy gun’. The incident was reported from Trichal village barely 3 kilometres away from the Pulwama district headquarters. As per reports, five villagers who were intending to enter the mosque to offer Fajr prayers were stopped by three extortionists who were probably carrying toy pistols. The victims have been identified as Tawseef Ahmed Bhat son of Ali Muhammad Bhat, Muzafar Ahmed Dar son of Ghulam Hasan Dar, Javaid Ahmed Mohand son of Ghulam Hasan Mohand, Haji Ali Muhammad Dar and Muhammad Shaban Bhat son of Ali Muhammad Bhat.
KOKERNAG
Saddam Nab Azad, with his right hand, raised, son of Ghulam Nabi Azad has joined the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP). He was seen at the party’s youth convention at Nigheen Club on February 26, 2023.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), has announced that if his party wins the upcoming assembly elections, he will bring back the Roshni Act in the Union Territory. The Act, which provides ownership rights to occupants, was initially passed in 2001 by the National Conference government but was repealed in 2018 by the then-governor Satya Pal Malik. Addressing a rally at Larnoo Kokernag, Azad expressed his concern over the economic crises in Jammu and Kashmir and said that his aim is to build the region as a welfare state, where the economy grows to the extent that people are willing to pay taxes themselves. He emphasized that the poor are being crushed by rising electricity bills, water charges, and property taxes.
SRINAGAR
High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh directed the authorities to proceed with the termination of an 18-20-week pregnancy of an alleged minor rape victim after having a fresh examination of the victim and after the father of the minor gives “extra high-risk consent.” The victim’s father had approached the court seeking termination of the pregnancy of the minor. In the rape case, an FIR was registered at a police station in north Kashmir on February 14.

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#Briefing #February #March
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 28, 2023