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From plush restaurants to modest roadside stalls, the use of artificial tasting powders to enhance the flavour of food has become a rampant practice across Kashmir. Despite repeated concerns about its health impact, no meaningful checks are being carried out, leaving consumers exposed to unsafe food habits. Tasting powders, particularly monosodium glutamate (MSG), are commonly used to boost the flavour of soups, gravies, fried snacks and even street-side dishes sold by masala vendors. Though small amounts of MSG are considered safe by global food regulators, doctors caution that excessive or routine consumption can trigger health issues, especially among people suffering from hypertension, kidney problems, or heart-related ailments. “Restaurants and even small vendors are liberally usi...

Murtaza Bilal With a warm smile on his face, these were the words with which Farooq Uncle always welcomed me whenever I went to his shop. Though that interview of mine had countless flaws, it was his favourite, and he never missed a chance to remind me of it. He was a man of routine. Each morning after fajr prayers, he would open his shop, sweep and clean, then sprinkle water on the road — not just in front of his own shop, but around the neighbouring ones too. Small acts of care that reflected his big heart. Most mornings, as I left for college, I would stop by his shop to buy chewing gums, Lays, chocolates, or something small to eat. He always had something to say — jokes, prayers, or little orders. The most recent one I remember was just a few weeks ago, when he asked me to fet...

The Union government on Tuesday introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, proposing new legal provisions for the removal of the Chief Minister or any Minister of the Union Territory if they are arrested and detained for serious criminal offences. The Bill, moved by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeks to amend Section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, to address what the government described as a “serious legal vacuum” in cases where elected representatives continue to hold ministerial office despite prolonged custody in criminal cases. Key Provisions of the Amendment The Bill, of which a copy is available with The Kashmiriyat, proposes that if a Minister is arrested and remains in custody for 30 consecutive days on al...

Syed Imran  When a cloudburst struck the Paddar region of Kishtwar on August 14, triggering massive landslides along the route of the Mata Machail Yatra, chaos and fear gripped the thousands of pilgrims caught in its wake. Amid the devastation, one man stood out for his extraordinary courage, Arif Rashid, a 108 ambulance driver from Kijiyai village, who single-handedly saved the lives of more than 50 people. Adil had been on duty, stationed along the yatra route, when the disaster struck at around 12:30 in the afternoon. “A loud bang came from the mountain, and within moments the slope came crashing down, carrying trees, boulders, and mud,” he recalled while speaking to The Kashmiriyat. “I barely escaped being buried, but then I saw an old woman crying for help. Only her face a...

Jammu Kashmir Police in in Awantipora apprehended four persons for transportation of Saffron seed outside Jammu Kashmir. A police team led by SHO Awantipora, along with IC PP Toll Plaza, set up a checkpoint and intercepted a Swift car (JK02DG-5090). Upon searching the vehicle, police recovered four bags containing approximately 150 kilograms of saffron seeds. The arrested individuals have been identified as Ashok Kumar, son of Roshan Lal, a resident of Sonipat, Haryana; Prem Singh, son of Ram Ji Lal, a resident of Goyal Vihar, Delhi; Gulzar Ahmad Khan, son of Ab. Rehman Khan, a resident of Seer Mattan; and Ahmad Din Choudhary, son of Mohd Albar Choudhary, a resident of Gujar Nagar, Jammu. Police handed over the seized saffron seeds to the Agriculture Department for further proc...

  Between April 2022 and October 2024, the Jammu Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) spent ₹70 crore on print advertisements, according to RTI replies filed by Mohammad Iqbal Wani and Bilal Ahmad Mir. Ad rates ranged from ₹75/cm² to ₹135/cm² depending on size and placement. Five newspapers received 26% of the total spend: Rising Kashmir (₹7.73 crore), Aftab Daily (₹3.7 crore), Srinagar News (₹2.5 crore), Kashmir Images (₹2.26 crore), and Kashmir Monitor (₹2.1 crore). Some publications saw sharp declines, Greater Kashmir’s ad revenue dropped by 65%, while Brighter Kashmir's ad space fell from 1.2 lakh cm² to just 34,000 cm². Front page analysis during 18 key political events showed sustained government visibility, News Laundry reported. Rising Kash...

Meer Irfan A vlog recorded by a doctor inside a Maternity Hospital in Srinagar has triggered fresh outrage in Kashmir’s healthcare sector, just days after a major doctor’s strike shut down emergency services at SMHS Hospital. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMu98h_v7lO/?hl=en In the undated video, which surfaced on Wednesday, the doctor is seen walking casually through various restricted areas of the hospital, including the labor room and later the operating theater, all while filming himself and his colleagues. “We went to the labour room, there was nothing, so we are going to the OT,” he says, before flipping the camera to show a live surgical procedure being conducted on a patient. In one clip, he stops in a corridor to pose for selfies with fellow doctors, many of whom are seen...

A 20-year-old Thar driver has been booked for attempted murder after he deliberately tried to run over an elderly man following a collision in Jammu’s Gandhi Nagar area, an incident that was caught on CCTV and has since triggered widespread outrage online. The victim, identified as Kamal Dutt (68), a resident of Gandhi Nagar and owner of a vehicle spare parts shop, was riding a scooter when the Thar vehicle—reportedly driven by Manan Anand of Nanak Nagar—hit him at high speed near Green Belt Park on Sunday afternoon. CCTV footage shows that after knocking the elderly man down, the accused reversed his vehicle and ran over him again while the victim was attempting to stand up. Shockingly, after the second hit, the accused got out of the vehicle, verbally abused the victim, and fled th...

A recent recruitment examination in Jammu Kashmir has left hundreds of general category aspirants disillusioned, as data reveals that despite scoring high marks, many were unable to secure a place due to the shrinking availability of seats under open merit. The exam, held for 176 government posts, saw only 71 positions earmarked for open merit (OM), roughly 40 percent of the total. What has triggered widespread concern is that even these 71 seats were not entirely accessible to general category candidates. According to official figures, only 55 OM posts went to general category aspirants, while the remaining 16 were filled by candidates from other categories qualifying through the open merit list. “This means the actual opportunity for unreserved candidates was far smaller than adver...

In a development that has left residents both stunned and awestruck, the bodies of an elderly couple, buried years apart, were found in an extraordinary state of preservation after their graves were unearthed by a landslide in the Chaitri Ari Kandi village of Mendhar tehsil in Jammu Kashmir’s Poonch district. The incident unfolded earlier this week when a massive landslide, triggered by continuous rainfall, hit the hilly terrain of Ari Kandi. Among the areas impacted was a small graveyard where the couple, Molvi Muhammad Ibrahim, who passed away 24 years ago, and his wife Kaneez Khatoon, who died four years ago, had been laid to rest side by side. To the astonishment of locals and relatives, both bodies were found in a largely undecayed state, their white shrouds still intact. The...