SRINAGAR: In a tragic incident at Guchoo area of Pattan, Baramulla, a scuffle between two teachers resulted in one of them allegedly chopping off the ear of his colleague.
The injured teacher was immediately taken to the local hospital for treatment.
This is a developing story and it will be updated as more information becomes available.
SRINAGAR: The move by the administration to impose property tax on those falling under the jurisdiction of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Jammu and Kashmir from April 1 has come under fire, with the mayors of the twin capitals of the Union Territory speaking out against it.
Srinagar City Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, called the imposition of the property tax “arbitrary” and stated that the decision was not approved by elected ULBs.
He added that the SMC will explore ways to contest this move.
Meanwhile, Jammu Mayor, Rajinder Sharma, stated that the property tax was imposed by the Administrative Council of the Union Territory and not by the JMC.
He said that the aspirations of the people of Jammu must be taken into consideration, and an urgent General House Meeting (GHM) of JMC will be held on Friday to discuss the property tax and who shall be exempted from it.
“The JMC Commissioner, Rahul Yadav, will give a presentation to clear any misconceptions about the property tax, and the views and concerns of JMC Councillors will be collected and sent to the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, BJP J&K President, Ravinder Raina, and BJP National President, J.P Nadda for accommodating the concerns of the Councillors,” he added.
The mayors of both cities emphasized that the aspirations of the public and Councillors should be fulfilled, and that everything should be done to address their concerns.
SRINAGAR: The University of Melbourne, Australia is inviting applications for Masters’s and Doctorate programmes. Students with excellent academic records will be selected for a fully funded scholarship without any separate application. The last date to apply for admission is October 31, 2023.
All national and international students are eligible to apply. The duration is two years for a Master’s degree and four years for a doctoral programme. Students selected for the scholarship will get a full tuition fee waiver, living allowance, relocation grant, and overseas student health cover (OSHC). Approximately 600 scholarships will be awarded to students.
The students who apply for Graduate Research Course at the university will be considered for the scholarship and the selected students will be notified within ten business days after submitting the application.
The study fields available include Accounting, Actuarial studies, Agricultural sciences, Architectural engineering, Architecture, Arts and culture, arts, Language and STEM education, Asia (Asia and the Middle East studies will immerse you in the rich intellectual, legal, political, cultural and religious traditions of these vital regions), Audiology and speech pathology, Bioinformatics, Biological sciences, Biomedical sciences, Business administration, Chemical engineering, Chemistry, Civil, structural and architectural engineering, Clinical teaching, Composition, Computer science, Conservation, Construction, Creative arts and music therapy, Culture and communication, Dance, Data and analytics, Data science, Dentistry and oral health, Design, Earth and environmental sciences, economics, econometrics and analytics, Electrical and electronical engineering, Energy, Engineering business and management, Entrepreneurship, Environmental engineering, Environmental law, policy and sustainability, Film and television, Finance, Food science, General studies in education, Geography, Global and international education, Health sciences, Higher education, History and philosophy, Horticulture and landscape management, Indigenous arts and culture, Information systems, Information technology, Instructional leadership and management, International business, Jazz and improvisation, Landscape architecture, Language and linguistics, Learning intervention, Management, HR, and business administration, Marketing, Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical, aerospace and mechatronic engineering, Medicine, Music performance, Music theatre, Musicology and ethnomusicology, Nursing, Optometry and vision sciences, Performing arts, Physics, physiotherapy, Population and global health, Production, Property, Psychological sciences, Psychology and wellbeing, Public administration, Research in law, Social and political science, Social and political science, Social work, Software engineering, Spatial information, Specialist legal study, Teaching, Theatre, Urban and cultural heritage, Urban design, Urban planning, Veterinary science, Visual art and Writing.
SRINAGAR: The Department of Tourism has registered 251 complaints of various nature from tourists and visitors in respect of violations of J&K Tourist Trade Act-1978/2012 by respective service providers even as 247 of these were settled and fine to the tune of Rs. 21.95 lakh was recovered from the erring service providers.
The Department, during this one year, also ensured refund of Rs. 11.82 lakh from respective service providers in favour of prospective tourists for having charged them arbitrarily or not providing them the services for which they were charged.
The Department has taken a series of recent initiatives to bring transparency and promptness in addressing any complaints from the tourists. Separate monitoring teams have already been set up at all destinations comprising respective Resort Officers, representatives from Development Authorities and Tourist Police.
This is in addition to a central monitoring team comprising senior officers to check the compliance of J&K Tourist Trade Act and ensure that tourists are treated in a manner befitting to the hospitality traditions of the place, they feel safe and in no way have any complaints of cheating, touting, overcharging.
The Department of Tourism has advised all tourism service providers to desist from any sort of cheating or overcharging from the tourists. The Department has made it amply clear that relevant provisions of J&K Registration of Tourist Trade Act-1978/2012 and other penal laws would be invoked in case of deviant stakeholders.
Secretary Tourism, Sarmad Hafeez along with Director, Tourism Kashmir, Fazlul Haseeb during a recent review meeting of the Department had given clear instructions for close monitoring by Resort Officers in this regard and not to allow any single service provider to damage the reputation of the whole tourism sector or genuine service providers.
A spokesman of the Department said though it was good that we are witnessing a bumper season of tourist arrivals, it was incumbent upon the stakeholders and the Department to ensure that tourists are attended decently, properly and charged fairly for the services they utilize so that they return back with memories as beautiful as Kashmir is known for.
SRINAGAR: The minimum temperature dropped on Thursday below normal in twin capitals and Pahalgam even as the weather department forecast mainly clear to partly cloudy weather at most places in the next few days in Jammu and Kashmir.
Quoting a meteorological department official news agency GNS reported that Srinagar recorded a low of 0.6°C against the previous night’s 3.7°C. Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was ‘below’ normal by 0.3°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of 0.0°C against minus 0.2°C on the previous night and it was 0.1°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 4.4°C against minus 3.7°C on the previous night and it was 0.4°C ‘below’ normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of 2.1°C against 1.2°C on the previous night and it was 2.8°C above normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 3.8°C against minus 4.0°C on the previous night and it was 2.9°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at 0.3°C against 0.6°C on the previous night and it was 0.6°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 10.1°C against 11.1°C on the previous night. It was 0.5°C ‘below’ normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 6.8°C (above normal by 5.6°C), Batote 6.4°C (above normal by 2.9°C), Katra 10.6°C (2.1°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 2.2°C (1.6°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 9.6°C and 12.6°C respectively, the official said.
The MeT has forecast mainly clear weather at most places in the next 24 hours.
On February 24-25, he said, mainly clear to partly cloudy weather was expected at most places.
On February 26, he said, weather was likely to be generally cloudy with possibility of light rain and snow at scattered places. On February 27-28, he said, the weather was likely to be partly cloudy and on March 1-2, he said it is expected to be cloudy with possibility of light rain and snowfall at scattered places.
While Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period that started on December 21 and a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’ that followed it have ended, Kashmir is under grip of 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which ends on March 1.
SRINAGAR: Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a man for sexually assaulting a minor girl in Soura area of Central Kashmir’s Srinagar district.
“One person namely Mohd Ashraf Lone S/o Ali Mohd Lone R/o Tanghar pulwama arrested for sexually assaulting a minor girl at SKIMS soura.FIR No 07/2023 under section 354-A of IPC and sections 7, 8 POSCO act registered at Soura PS,” Srinagar Police said in a tweet.
One person namely Mohd Ashraf Lone S/o Ali Mohd Lone R/o Tanghar pulwama arrested for sexually assaulting a minor girl at SKIMS soura. FIR No 07/2023 under section 354-A of IPC and sections 7, 8 POSCO act registered at Soura PS. pic.twitter.com/I4XFNkPRVK
SRINAGAR: A residential house and some shops were damaged on Thursday after a landslide occurred in Noorabad area of Damhal Hanjipora in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Quoting an official the news agency KNO reported that landslide took place at Shalmachi Yarikhah in Noorabad in which almost 3-5 shops belonging to Fayaz Ahmad Hajam and Abdul Majeed Hajam got damaged.
“A house also suffered damage to some extent,” he said, adding that district administration Kulgam rushed to the spot to ascertain the facts.
He said district administration Kulgam is monitoring the situation.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Noorabad, Bashir-ul-Hassan said that Tehsildar concerned has reached the spot and affected people have been shifted to safer places.
The men and machinery have also been pressed into service to restore the road from debris, he said.
Years after the cricket body remained in news for all the wrong reasons, the JKCA is gradually emerging as a ‘game reserve’, reports Raashid Andrabi
A March 2022 photograph showing the JKCA managers and the cricketers. A JKCA photograph
Off late, Jammu and Kashmir’s cricketing reputation was upswing, both domestically and internationally. The region saw the emergence of a number of speedsters, some clocking speeds of over 150kmph. Now, insiders in the game red-flag JKCA’s alleged favouritism in selections and offering opportunities to ‘friends’ skipping merit. The cricket body was already mired in controversy for corruption and top federal investigators probed it for years.
This season, the JK Ranji Trophy squad faced the music. Their solitary victory against Vidarbha was largely down to the individual brilliance of Abid Mushtaq; as the team went on to suffer four substantial losses. Parvez Rasool and Abdul Samad were sorely missed, as the team faced setbacks and humiliations. The result of six losses from seven games was far from expected. One of the most well-known Kashmiri cricketers admitted to this reporter that the team had not been performing well and that the recent talent hunts held by the JKCA had been less than successful.
“During talent hunts, cricketers who weren’t prepared were forced to play for more than three straight days. Was it only to test their abilities, regardless of the injuries they sustain?” the cricketer, who wishes to stay anonymous said. “Even after excelling in the hunt, they are sitting at home because someone with a solid fraternity connection gets to participate.(This is why) we are playing poorly.”
While the region has produced some excellent players in the past, more work needs to be done to ensure that the game remains exciting. “Are we performing well? Since the beginning of time, we have consistently won games. Right now, the only difference is how much attention the organization is receiving from mainstream media.”
Selection Process
For the last many years now, JKCA has been news, not for cricket. Now, it is facing scrutiny over its selection process, with many current and former players voicing their discontent.
“I was part of the JKCA for around three years and was one of the best run scorers, but was suddenly kicked out of the club for playing a local match without their permission,” another cricketer told this reporter. “I had to play since I needed to provide for my family and JKCA was unable to do so. What is tragic, some players who joined me for local matches are still part of the club, likely due to divine connections.”
Questions are being raised about the JKCA selectors like on what basis did they select the teams? There are cries for more accountability and transparency.
Officials. however, have their claims. “JKCA has achieved something unprecedented; all of the Under-19, Under-25, and Senior Men’s teams have reached the knockout stages of the white ball cricket tournament for the first time in JKCA history,” Majid Dar, a former Ranji cricketer, currently in-charge of cricket development in Kashmir, said. Denying that players from the Jammu region received preferential treatment, Majidinsisted the selection process was based on skill and talent.
The new naya Kashmir JKCA is run by a three-member sub-committee appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India – Anil Gupta, MithunManhas, and Sunil Sethi.
A Bias?
“The IPL 2023 auction pool saw 21 players from Jammu and Kashmir, which is a testament to the strong performances of the JKCA teams in recent times,” Majid said.“With such a large representation of players in the IPL, JKCA has cemented its place as a leading cricket association in India.”
“I played for JKCA for more than two years and performed well consistently. I was dropped from numerous competitions. At the prime of my game, this could have been a life-changing moment for me, but instead, I was dropped, and someone with no recent performances was picked,” one promising Kashmir bowler said. “I am not saying that everything that JKCA does is improper. But the fact remains that bias and favouritism are currently at their peak. Check the roster for any recent domestic league; there are more players from the other side of the tunnel.”
In India, domestic cricket has remained plagued by nepotism. Now JKCA brought the same to the new naya Kashmir. Seemingly, JKCA is exhibiting a strong love for Jammu cricketers. The last match played by the JKCA team tells its own story. It had seven members from Jammu and one from Dehradun.
An Illustration
Mateen Teli is a star fast bowler from Sopore’s Arampora area. Now living in the United Kingdom for the last five years, he has a remarkable story to tell – a story of rejections and successes.
As a school kid, Teli would sneak out of his house to play cricket in the neighbourhood. Concerned that their ward is obsessed with cricket, his parents shifted him to a boarding school in Delhi. There, he continued playing cricket and was shortlisted for the Under-19 trials. Despite receiving offers from clubs like Bengal Railways and practising at the national cricket academies, he still had not received a final call for a full-time cricket contract. Then, one day, Teli’s instinct led him back to Kashmir.
“I amazed everyone after participating in my first trails in Kashmir. I was told that I would soon represent JKCA in the under-23 division, so I simply will have to stop by the nets for a while,” Teli said. “After five years, I continued playing for the nets, sweating it out in practice, but I was never given the opportunity.” Shattered, Teli eventually gave up cricket.
Later, he moved to the UK to pursue his studies where he occasionally played tape ball in the backyard. “One day, I was approached by a group of players from Cavaliers and Carrington Cricket Club, one of the premier cricket clubs in the UK, asking me to join their team as a bowler,” Teli said. “I picked up cricket again, and I was one of the best players that year, I was selected to play as a net bowler for the England cricket team. It is a huge accomplishment when a non-native gets to play alongside stars like Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow, and after wowing them all in the net I received recognition from superstars like Paul Collingwood.”
Teli said he regrets that back home, there was no opportunity but far away from home there were people who recognised his capacity and gave him a chance.
A Record Keeper
Kashmir-based sports journalist and cricket analyst Mohsin Kamal has been following JKCA for years, knowing both sides of the game. He believes cricket in Jammu and Kashmir improved significantly in recent years and players are disciplined and committed unlike before. “Almost five cricketers made it to IPL this year. But have they made it because of the system?” Mohsin said. “I would suggest you trace their stories. Better infrastructure apart, you need a transparency system and unbiased management.” He has reported JKCA’s all talent hunts, which was an impressive outreach. “Did most of the players who performed well in these matches made it to national teams?”