THE KASHMIRIYAT

Asserting that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir has changed after the abrogation of Article 370, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the technical survey on the 175-km Gurdaspur-Jammu gas pipeline has been completed. A final decision on the prestigious project will be taken this month, he added. The Union Minister of Housing, Urban Affairs, Petroleum, and Natural Gas said the real estate summit is on the cards in Srinagar shortly after the successful first-ever such event in Jammu in December 2021. Puri, who was here to highlight the nine-year achievements of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government, said the petrol and natural gas regulatory board is evaluating the bids with regard to the Gurdaspur-Jammu gas pipeline project. Talking to me...

Jammu Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Tuesday said that four to five more Yatri Niwas are coming up to accommodate and facilitate Amarnath Pilgrims while a road from Chandanwari to Baltal is also in the pipe-line. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Jammu, LG Sinha said that four to five Yatri Niwas will come up at Baltal, Nunwan Camp and one at entry point to Kashmir near the Walnut factory. “This will help accommodate pilgrims and facilitate them smoothly,” he said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO). The LG said that a road from Chandanwari to Baltal is also in the pipe-line. “DPRs of the road stretch will be completed shortly. The road will save the time of pilgrims and help more devotees have the glimpse of holy Shiv Lingam at the cave shrine o...

Sitting MP and former chief minister of JK, Dr. Farooq Abdullah Sunday said that National Conference is ready to take part in assembly elections whenever it will be held and hinted that party is “considering over alliance” in the upcoming polls in order to throw the party out which is spreading hatred and divide. “I don’t know about other parties but our party NC is ready to take part in assembly elections whenever it will be held. We are also thinking about alliance in upcoming polls as we have to throw the party out that is leading us towards hatred and divide,” Dr. Farooq Abdullah as per KNS said while dedicating first of its kind hydraulic roller at Shaheed-e-Millat Sports Stadium at Lal Bazar Srinagar. He said this sports ground was dedicated to youth by Omar Abdullah in past an...

PDP president and former Jammu Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has been issued a passport with 10-year validity, sources said on Sunday. After a prolonged legal battle in the Delhi High Court, the passport was delivered to Mehbooba. Her travel document expired in 2019 and since then she had been seeking its renewal. It came barely two days ahead of a hearing in Jammu and Kashmir High Court where Menbooba’s daughter Iltija’s plea challenging the decision of the passport office to give her a country-specific passport is to come up. The passport given to Mehbooba, who was the last chief minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state before it was bifurcated in 2019, is valid from June 1, 2023, till May 31, 2033. In the Delhi High Court in March this year had asked the passpor...

The Border Roads Organisation on Saturday said that it will complete the restoration works on Amarnath Yatra track by Jun 15 even as the Yatra is scheduled to commence from July 1. In a statement, issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), a spokesperson said that Amarnath Yatra tracks were handed over to BRO in September 2022 for further maintenance and upgradation. “Earlier the yatra track from Baltal to Holy Cave was maintained by PWD (R&B) and the one from Chandanwari to Holy Cave was maintained by Pahalgam Development Authority. Restoration works on the tracks could however, commence only in March 2023 after the necessary funds were released to BRO by the government. The basic scope of work involved snow clearance, widening of the track, restoration of all foot b...

A photojournalist working at a local daily has expressed disappointment that nobody from the administration called on him after he lost his eyesight in an accident nearly two weeks ago while covering the Srinagar Smart City development ahead of the G-20 Summit. Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Bilal Ahmad, from the Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, said he was “not merely an observer but an active participant” in highlighting the government’s development in the city. Recalling the fateful incident, Bilal said he was assigned to cover the night view of the Srinagar Smart City. “After completing the coverage, I was walking alongside a path in the city centre Lal Chowk near a construction site. It had no lights at all. I suddenly fell into a water...

A driver and a helper of Jal Shakti department died after a tanker fell into a gorge in Rain Chowgund village of South Kashmir's Anantnag district on Friday. An official told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a water tanker of Jal Shakti department skidded off the road near Rain Chowgund area of Verinag and fell into a gorge. He said that in the incident driver and helper of the vehicle died on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Gowhar Hussain Lone (driver) and Wazir Ahmad Khan (helper). Meanwhile, police have taken cognisance of the incident—(KNO)

The Waqf Board on Friday ordered the re-designation of the posts of 323 employees, who have failed to submit a genuine 10th pass academic qualification certificate to date. According to an order issued by Executive Magistrate Tehsildar, Ishtiyaq Mohi-ud-din, J&K Waqf Board, a copy of which lies with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) the J&K Waqf Board has recruited, engaged several categories of employees over the years without prescribing well-defined criteria. "Such employees have been randomly given designations like Chowkidars, Sweepers, Peons, Orderlies, Tehveeldars, Bus Conductors, Malies, etc., and their services have only been utilized as per their designations," reads the order. It reads that no fresh recruitments have been made after the constitution of...

Amid controversy over the imposition of property tax in Jammu Kashmir, the administration of Union Territory has extended the deadline for filing property tax returns. The Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD) has amended the rules governing the imposition of property tax in Jammu & Kashmir after the deadline for furnishing of property tax returns elapsed. The amendment in the Rules governing the imposition of property tax in Municipal Corporations and other Municipal Bodies state that the particulars of the property and the tax due thereon for the financial year 2023-24, shall be furnished by July 31, 2023. “Provided that the particulars of the property and the tax due thereon for the financial year 2023-24, shall be furnished in Form-1 by July 31, 2023,” rea...