SRINAGAR: The flight operations at Srinagar international Airport resumed on Saturday after remaining temporarily suspended due to the snowfall and low visibility, officials said.
Quoting Director Srinagar Airport, Kuldeep Singh news agency KNO reported that the flight operations have resumed at Srinagar airport.
“The flight operations have resumed at Srinagar airport and no flight has been cancelled,” the official said.
Earlier in the morning, the flight operations were suspended temporarily at Srinagar airport due to the snowfall and poor visibility.
SRINAGAR: Vehicular movement on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was partially restored partially on Saturday after remaining closed for three days, officials said here
Quoting an official the news agency KNO reported that the highway was blocked since Thursday evening due to landslides and shooting stones triggered by rains near Mehar, Panthyal, Magarkot and Cafeteria Morh.
He said after completion of clearance operation, movement of vehicles has been partially restored on the highway.
The official said that due to the blockade of the highway, around 1000 of Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) and Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) were stranded at various locations since three days.
“The movement of vehicles would remain normal if weather remains fair,” he added.
An artist’s song went viral because everyone hated it. Welcome to the world of cringe choices, writesRaashid Andrabi while listing the top Kashmiri music content that people consumed online in 2022
An artwork displaying the age-old dictum – do not watch, do not talk and do not hear.
On August 5, 2018, when the switches on communication were put off, the depression loomed large over Kashmir. Gradually the home-restricted enforced idleness, in a class of people paved way for content creation. It was slow, painful and costly but it got some youngsters busy. On February 2021, when the 4G internet was finally restored after around 18 months, there was a spike in content consumption. As the demand shot up, the content creators scrambled to keep the supplies ready for upload.
From news to music, people now consume everything online. Unlike past when overcrowded buses and the shop fronts would decide which number is popular, the internet now offers the precise details of who did what and how it topped the chart. In 2022, the top ten ‘songs’ offer an interesting mix. What is interesting is that Noor Mohammad who was No 10 in TheNewsCaravan 2021 listing is part of the No 1 in the 2023 list for 2022. Barring Ishfaq Kawa and Umar Nazir, none of the seven others is in the top 10 in 2022 music content consumption in the Kashmiri language.
Nazneen
Finally, the tinsel town took over. Mumbai’s music composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant tied up with Raj Pandit and featured Kashmir’s folk singer, Noor Mohammad to make a perfect number. Premiered on November 18, 2022, it has one crore views on YouTube, 57k on Facebook and 345k on Instagram. Mostly Ghulam Nabi Doolwal’s poem Yareh Myaneh Nazneeeh Yeh Chu Mulaqat, the song starts with a Lal Ded Vaakh. Nazneen means charming.
A perfectly choreographed number, it has a bunch of 15 singers and instrumentalists with Suliman on a Tumbakhnari. The focus remains on the Rabab-playing Noor Mohammad, a remote north Kashmir singer discovered for the virtual world by TheNewsCaravan, nearly five years ago. Raj Pandit, who also sings with Noor, termed the response “overwhelming” and “absolutely unreal!”.
Dilbar
The rise of Ishfaq Kawa from Shadipora (Sumbal) is phenomenal. Introduced to Kashmir by Nundi Bani, a tearful melancholy dedicated to mothers who lost their sons, the 2-years old song has already been watched by more than 1.5 crore people. In 2022, it was his Dilbar (lover) that already has 70 lakh views on his YouTube, 300k on Facebook. In the Reels section of Instagram, the song has been remixed for more than 5000 times making it one of the most viral Kashmiri songs of 2022.
Ishfaq Kawa, one of the Kashmir singers who rules the virtual world of Kashmir music
“In 2019, when I returned to my room after my performance in a show, all of a sudden, a melody started playing in my head,” Kawa said. “I devoted a week to writing this and I released it after around three years.”
With simple lyrics sung in a powerful soulful voice, the romantic number is popular with teenagers.
Sang Dil
Maahi Aamir (singer)
In October 2017, Mahi Aamir, a young performer started Kashmiri Rounders, a YouTube channel, now with more than 10 lakh subscribers. It is mostly about comedy but sometimes it dabbles with music too. In March 2022, it uploaded a ‘song’ Sanag Dil (Hardheartedness) that got a whopping 53 lakh views. Though filmed well, the romantic number’s lyrics are “manufactured” by Umi A Feem. Despite being watched hugely, its lyrics were adversely commented on. “This video does to poetry what WhatsApp has done to English,” one broadcaster commented when approached by this reporter. Regardless of this, it was watched by 30 thousand people on Facebook too.
Mohabatuk Niyaai
Sun by Moin Raja and Aahil Raja, Mohabatuk Niyaai (conflict of love) was watched by 40 lakh people. This is despite the fact that many people think it isn’t music at all. “Music is a serious art form,” a well-known Kashmir-based composer and singer said. “The level of degradation has been so great now even laymen can be singers.”
The song uploaded on the youtube channel Moin Raja Official (90k subscribers) was seemingly recorded in a room. The song’s lyrics are not particularly romantic. The duo vocalists have made an attempt to sing the traditional Kashmiri song in a contemporary style, but they have failed horribly.
Roye Choun
With Roye Choun (Your Face), Ishfaq Kawa is taking the second slot in the top-singer singer10 chart of 2022. It has cumulative views of nearly 40 lakh including almost half of a million on Facebook. Co-written by Kawa and Muntazir Yassir, it is Kawa’s voice that is the prime attraction. Basit Fazli of Qalaam Studio produced the music, and Sheikh Gufran and Faiz Allie served as the DOP and director respectively.
Be Dard Dadi Chane
Released by Mashq TalksPodcast YouTube channel on August 21, 2022, this song by the singing sensation Ayaan Sajad’s was watched by 30 lakh times and is still growing. Given the new discovery, Ayaan was profiled by formal and social media that garnered millions of views on other platforms.
On TheNewsCaravan’s diverse platforms, his interview mixed with the song had more than 16 lakh views. The song has been praised all around the world by Kashmiri-speaking populations for the mesmerizing voice of the young Ayaan Sajad as well as the composition. It is sort of a fusion using famous Kashmir sufi poet Shamas Fakir and the mesmerising voice of the emerging singer Ayaan Sajad, who hails from the Anantnag. The song was recreated in the remix section of reels more than 40 thousand times making it one of Kashmir’s most famous songs of 2022.
Lealli
Sung by Umar Nazir, Lealli song got 26 lakh views on YouTube. A skilled singer, Nazir began singing as a young boy and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Mumbai. The song is an emotional outburst of a lover who praises her lady love in absentia and ‘rips’ his heart out while crying about his desperation and frustration. Lealli in Kashmir is what Laila is to the world. Unlike lyrics, visuals are powerful and it features the traditional bache kout, a dancing lad in mustard fields with modern exhilarating dance sequences as well.
Umer Nazir (Singer)
“I anticipated the affection and support from Kashmir. I have been singing for a while, and although I sing in a variety of genres, I tend to favour upbeat music,” Umar said. “Traditional Kashmiri songs pique my attention, and I may sing them in the near future.”
Zooni
Arafat Bhat, 11, uploads on his Rap-Kid Arafat YouTube channel. Hailing from Prechoo village in Pulwama, the young boy’s talent has been praised throughout Kashmir. More than 15 lakh people have watched his song Zooni. Besides, it has about 350 thousand views on Facebook and Instagram. The song is a mashup of Kashmiri and Urdu. Loosely written lyrics, the number addresses an elusive, Zooni, a lover and tells her what the rest of the world feels about her.
Tata Sumo
Though neither well-written nor better-performed, Tata Sumo is one of the many pieces of cringe content that people like. Sung by Mir Parvaiz and Amreena Bhat, it has garnered around 15 lakh views on YouTube. Besides, the ‘song’ has about a million views on several pages that are unrelated to the song’s actual vocalists. It is basically a “musical” conversation between two lovers, one of whom is a Sumo driver.
10. Jhaanjar
The song Jhaanjar (Cymbals), sung by Adil and the lyrics written by Basit Malik gathered around 1.3 million views in just four months on the personal youtube channel of the singer Adil Lucky.
The song is produced by Dardil Shabir while the music to it was given by JCI studio. The song has received a lot of praise for using the basic traditional Kashmiri style with all the local instrumentals like Tumbaknari and Jhaanjar.
SRINAGAR: Snow is continuing to fall in Kashmir Valley including Srinagar and hilly areas of Jammu region on Saturday morning, officials said. Also minimum temperature recorded a drop across J&K with Gulmarg recording a low of minus 8.3°C.
“Widespread light to moderate snowfall and rain was expected in Kashmir and hilly areas of Jammu with chances of heavy snowfall over higher reaches during next 24 hours,” news agency GNS quoted a meteorological department official as having GNS. The snow started this morning and when this report was filed, it was continuing.
Meanwhile, he said, Srinagar recorded a low of 0.5°C against 0.7°C on the previous night. Today’s minimum temperature, he said, was above normal by 0.3°C for the summer capital.
Qazigund, he said, recorded a low of 0.0°C against 1.8°C on the previous night and it was 1.0°C above normal for the gateway town of Kashmir.
Pahalgam, he said, recorded a low of minus 2.4°C against minus 0.3°C on the previous night and it was 2.6°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.6°C against minus 0.6°C on the previous night and it was 0.4°C below normal for the place, the officials said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 8.3°C against minus 4.0°C on the previous night and it was 2.1°C below normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, he said.
In Kupwara town, he said, the mercury settled at minus 1.0°C against minus 0.5°C on the previous night and it was 0.2°C above normal for the north Kashmir area.
Jammu recorded a low of 9.5°C against 12.8°C on the previous night. It was 0.6°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal, he said, recorded a low of 1.8°C (above normal by 0.6°C), Batote 2.4°C (below normal by 0.2°C), Katra 8.8°C (0.7°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 1.1°C (0.9°C above normal).
Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 10.4°C and minus 6.7°C respectively, the official said.
While Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day long harsh winter period that started on December 21 has ended, Kashmir is under the grip of a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’. It will be followed by a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 1.
SRINAGAR: All flights have been delayed due to continuous snowfall, Srinagar airport director Kuldeep Singh Rishi has informed.
The visibility is only 500 metres, he added. To avoid inconvenience and congestion, passengers have been asked to check the status of the flight before coming to the airport, Rishi added.
visibility reduced to 500 M continuous snowfall No flight operations since morning We are waitning for weather to improve
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Government has unveiled a scheme to give Rs. 2.5 lakh to inter-caste marriages involving a dalit.
The scheme has been unveiled after the Administrative Council gave a go-ahead for the same. The scheme has been framed for implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1995 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities), Act 1989.
To avail benefits of the scheme, one of the spouses in the inter-marriage caste should belong to Schedule Caste community as mentioned under Scheduled Caste List (out of 13 Castes) specified in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 for J&K and the other is a non-Scheduled Caste Hindu.
As per guidelines of the scheme, the marriage should be valid as per the law and duly registered under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and a registration certificate to this effect issued by the competent authority must be furnished by the beneficiaries.
The case for assistance shall only be valid if submitted strictly within six months from the date of marriage, as indicated on the marriage registration certificate produced at the time of submission of application.
The total amount of incentive will be released to the eligible couple in a single installment through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode to the joint account of the couple in any government/nationalized bank in the form of fixed deposit (FD) with a lock-in period of three years.
SRINAGAR: The 3rd edition of Khelo India National Winter Games began at Gulmarg with the message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the participating players.
The mega sports event was declared open in the presence of Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha and Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and I&B, Anurag Thakur.
I invite all our guests, who have come from every corner of the country to enjoy our hospitality, to enjoy the games and to enjoy the incredible sights and sounds of Jammu Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/xqurQyHH5h
During the biggest winter sports tournament, more than 1500 Athletes from all over the country will compete in 11 different winter-sports disciplines.
Union Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur lauded the J&K Government for developing sports facilities at grassroot level and achieving unprecedented progress in the sports sector in a short span of time.
What Jammu and Kashmir has done in the world of sports in just three years is a matter of great pride. Indoor stadiums have been built in every district and every village has a playground. Where once there used to be incidents of stone pelting, today football, wushu and various sports are played there. This is the picture of new Jammu Kashmir, he added.
The Union Minister assured full support and cooperation in developing Center of Excellence for Winter Games in the UT.
Sharing my speech at the inauguration of 3rd edition of Khelo India National Winter Games at Gulmarg.https://t.co/82eTBlJiLf pic.twitter.com/uoiFLzCypC
It is the vision of PM Narendra Modi ji to create sporting infrastructure across India. The setting up of a National Centre of Excellence in the valley will support the athletes of J&K, he said.
In his address, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said, Narendra Modi’s message and blessings to the players participating in 3rd Khelo India National Winter Games will encourage & inspire them.
Khelo India Winter Games will celebrate & honour sporting excellence and witness the contests of skill and endurance of athletes. It is a great occasion to strive for the greatest victory, to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship, peace, equality, friendship & respect for the competitors. The spirit of oneness, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat will make us stronger, the Lt Governor said.
“The entire country at the moment is united by the 3rd Winter Games dream. Each player participating will become the best ambassador of J&K. With the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, this sporting spectacle will strengthen the bond of goodwill & unite all the players as one family,” the Lt Governor said.
On behalf of the people of J&K, the Lt Governor welcomed the players, officials and sports enthusiasts and invited all the guests, who have come from every corner of the country to enjoy J&K’s hospitality, to enjoy the games and to enjoy the incredible sights and sounds of Jammu Kashmir.
The Lt Governor also highlighted the transformation in J&K’s sporting culture under the leadership of Prime Minister.
In the past few years, J&K has given many sporting heroes to the country. Continuous efforts of the UT Government in developing world-class sports infrastructure and facilities in every nook & corner of UT, vibrant sports culture & sports budget at par with bigger states have added a new dimension to J&K’s Sports sector, said the Lt Governor.
Welfare of sportspersons is our priority. Special efforts are being made to ensure dignified life for our sportspersons and to encourage youth to choose sports as a career. The participation of more than 50 lakh youth in various sporting events last year is a testimony to this commitment, he added.
With the help of Union Sports Ministry we will work for establishing Center of Excellence for Winter Games. The location has already been identified. All efforts are being made to provide opportunities to sportspersons to excel in their career, the Lt Governor noted.
On the occasion, Lt Governor and Union Sports Minister e-launched 40 Khelo India Centres across Jammu Kashmir. The Centres have been dedicated to all the budding sportspersons of J&K UT.
It is a great occasion to strive for the greatest victory, to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship, peace, equality, friendship & respect for the competitors. The spirit of oneness, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat will make us stronger. pic.twitter.com/CidADlaMFY
Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary, Youth Affairs & Sports J&K and Nuzhat Gul, Secretary, J&K Sports Council shared the achievements of the J&K UT in national & international sports arena.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla, GOC, 15 Corps; representatives of various sports organizations, prominent sports personalities and sports-lovers witnessed the inaugural ceremony.
SRINAGAR: A Government teacher, posted in Middle School Dhargaloon in Balakote zone of Mendhar sub division of Poonch district, has been arrested by police for allegedly molesting and misbehaving with two girl students of his school.
Pertinently, the teacher has also been placed under suspension by the education department.
The teacher identified as Mohammad Taj Nayazi has been booked in a case under FIR number 10/2023 under sections 354, 8/10 POCSO Act in Police Station Gursai.
Quoting police officials the news agency KNO reported that a complaint was registered in Gursai police station in which it was submitted that the teacher had molested and misbehaved with two minor girl students of the school after which a case was registered against him and was subsequently arrested.
They said that further investigation into the matter is going on.
The teacher has already been suspended by Zonal Education Officer Balakote, who also visited the school after the incident.
SRINAGAR: Ministry of Mines announced the discovery of 5.9 million tonnes of Lithium by the geological survey of India on Thursday. Lithium is discovered for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, in the Salal Haimana area of the Reasi district. Mines are at the preliminary stage of exploration known as G3.
Lithium is a non-ferrous metal used in batteries, mobile phones, watches, solar panels, and electric vehicles. Lithium has low density, a high energy-to-weight ratio, and stores large amounts of energy. Lithium is found in a crystalline form alongside rocks and other mineral deposits in the Earth’s crust. It makes up 0.002 per cent of the Earth’s crust. It is then refined to transform into metal form. It is commercially sold in metal form.
Union Minister of Coal, Mines, and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi addressed the 62nd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting on February 9, 2023. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) organised the meeting under the Ministry of Mines. During the meeting, Vivek Bharadwaj, secretary of the Ministry of Mines handed 51 mining block reports and memorandums to State Governments which included two geological reports of the lithium blocks to Jammu and Kashmir Mining Secretary, Amit Sharma. “Out of these 51 mineral blocks, 5 blocks pertain to gold and other blocks pertain to commodities like potash, molybdenum, base metals, etc. spread across 11 states of Jammu and Kashmir (UT), Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana,” the ministry said.
A news report quoted Sharma saying, “Jammu and Kashmir has made history in the mining sector with the discovery of critical mineral lithium.” “Lithium blocks which are a rare thing and much demanded global manor mineral for electric batteries which is the future, shall be explored and eAuctioned so that J&K figures on the global map so far as availability of Lithium reserves in the world are concerned,” he added.
India imports Lithium from Australia and Argentina. India imports the second highest quantity of lithium at 198 thousand shipments through 4,509 importers from 7283 suppliers. Chile reserves the highest quantity of lithium at 9.2 million tonnes followed by Australia and Argentina at 5.7 million tonnes and 2.2 million tonnes respectively. China refines almost 75 per cent of the world’s total lithium.
At the 62nd CGPB meeting, Bharadwaj said that critical minerals are needed everywhere, whether it be for a solar panel or a cell phone and it is crucial for the nation to identify key minerals and then process them in order to become self-sufficient.
The discovery of lithium in such high quantities is believed to fulfil India’s plan to expand EV penetration by 30 per cent by 2030 as it is a key component of electric vehicles. Currently, less than 1 per cent of the new cars sold in India are electric. Lithium can boost the manufacture of electric vehicles, hence leading to a decrease in carbon emissions.
