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Several chinar trees, which line the iconic Polo View Road in Srinagar, have been lopped by the authorities as part of the Smart City project, leading to an outcry by environmental activists, reported PTI. The authorities defended the move saying it was done following the set procedure. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Specified Trees Act-1969, some tree species such as mulberry, walnut and chinar cannot be felled or lopped in view of their importance in local economy or heritage. Raja Muzaffar Bhat, an environmental activist, said chinar trees are a heritage of Kashmir and if the government had to cut down these trees because of road-widening projects or construction of flyovers, there is a provision of transplantation. ''Even if the trees are 300 to 400 years old, they can be tran...

Jammu Kashmir is likely to receive 300 additional companies of paramilitary troopers for the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath. As per a news report by Daily Excelsior, a high-level review will be conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs that will involve high-ranking officials from the police and civil administration, focusing particularly on the additional deployment of paramilitary forces to ensure the smooth running of the pilgrimage. Quoting unnamed officials, the Jammu based newspaper reported the Jammu Kashmir Police is preparing to request an additional 300 paramilitary companies for the annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji. Additionally, 200 companies will be mobilized internally for this purpose. The pilgrimage that has been extended this year to 62 years is sched...

The Jammu Kashmir Police has posted a series of tweets to denounce the claims made by the Sehar, daughter of Hurriyat leader Shabir Ahmed Shah, languishing in jail since 2017. Earlier, the daughter of the separatist leader had claimed that the Government forces raided the house of a senior separatist leader in the Srinagar district of central Kashmir ahead of the G20 meeting in the valley. "This video shows army men, black cat commandos leaving my home and the damage they caused following this massive devastating raid," Sehar wrote in a tweet. She wrote that her mother was accompanying half of them while they searched the top level of the house and the rest were checking the ground floor and other rooms. "They destroyed the drawing room's furnishings and scattered objects all over," ...

After a gap of 32 years, Kashmiri Pandits from different parts of the country on Friday thronged the Regenya Mata Asthapan temple at the Badipora area of Chadoora in central Kashmir’s Budgam district and performed Maha Yagye (Hawan). They expressed joy over returning to their native village after such a long time and celebrating the festival “with our Muslim neighbours”. They said the event was a “symbol of hope and reconciliation” for all the communities in the valley. Setting an example of communal harmony and brotherhood, the local Muslims came together to extend best wishes to Pandits and helped the devotees in the smooth celebration of the religious event. ‘’This event was held after 32 years and we received a lot of love from the local residents,” a local devotee, Bhushan La...

The Wire has learnt that former Jammu and Kashmir governor and BJP-appointed governor for four other states Satya Pal Malik, who made many revelations about national security and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach to corruption in an explosive interview with Karan Thapar, has been called in by the country’s apex investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), “for questioning” on April 28. He will be going to the CBI’s office in New Delhi to answer questions. It is reliably learnt that the ‘questioning’ will be on the Reliance Insurance issue – the scheme that RSS and BJP leader Ram Madhav was allegedly pushing Malik to pass while he was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and which Malik cancelled. On April 14, Malik had given an explosive interview to Karan Tha...

Danishwar Hameed A woman allegedly hanged herself to death in Devsar area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. An official told The Kashmiriyat that on Tuesday morning a woman (name withheld) hanged herself to death at her residence in Sopat Devsar village of Kulgam. He said she was rushed to district hospital Kulgam where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Meanwhile, police have taken cognizance of the incident and started further investigations.

Internet has been suspended in parts of Punjab as the state Police launched a crackdown to arrest Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh. Several social media users including journalists said that internet had  been suspended in parts of Punjab. https://twitter.com/Gagan4344/status/1637014860834942977?t=c8OP_uY-rNnILQ_JViOjlw&s=19 On Saturday, the Punjab Police arrested six associates of Amritpal Singh, however, Amritpal has not been arrested as of yet, as per media reports. The Police has raided the house of his close aides, after he managed to escape when intercepted by Police near Mehatpur in Shahkot Punjab. As per media, Amirtpal is being searched in a kidnapping case registered against him by local Police. As per media reports, the Home Ministry has asked Punjab Police to ...

Scores of Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) job aspirants gathered here in Press Enclave on Wednesday to protest against the purported grant of contract to APTECH Ltd. for conduct of various exams. The protesters, as per the GNS, demanded that the LG administration must investigate as to why paper leak and scam issues only occur in Kashmir. “All blacklisted companies should be banned in Jammu and Kashmir, until action is taken against these blacklisted companies, no student will sit for any competitive exams,” the protestors opined. The protesters pointed out that APTECH Ltd. has been involved in numerous scams in other parts of the country including in Rajasthan, Leh, Ambala, and others. “Many national papers have also highlighted these scams, nothing significant...

State Investigation Agency (SIA) Kashmir on Saturday said that it has presented chargesheet against four accused in NIA Court in Srinagar on in a militant –OGW nexus before Court of special judge designate Under NIA Act in summer capital Srinagar. In a statement the agency said ” SIA On 04.03.2023 charge sheeted four terror accused namely Umar Mushtaq Khan S/o Mushtaq Ahmad Khan R/o Begum Bagh Kakapora Pulwama, Murtaza Rashid Dar S/o Ab. Rashid Dar R/o Samboora District Pulwama, Sajjad Ahmad Dar S/o Gh. Nabi Dar R/o Dethoo Herpora Shangus District Anantnag and Ali Kashif Jan @ Jan Ali Kashif S/o Gohar Ali R/o Village Doisrah Tehsil/District Sharsadda, Khyber Pakhtunwa, Pakistan of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist outfit based / operated from Pakistan before the Special Judge Designate under N...