Friday, December 19Latest news and updates from Kashmir

THE KASHMIRIYAT

Four injured in gas cylinder blast in Poonch

Four injured in gas cylinder blast in Poonch

REGIONAL
At least four people sustained injuries in a cylinder explosion in Jammu Kashmir's Poonch on Monday. According to a report, the injured persons were immediately taken to a hospital for their treatment. Later, the doctor informed that out of the four injured persons, three had sustained minor burns while the other was majorly injured. Reportedly, the person who suffered major burns referred to the medical college and the rest of the injured are stable. Details emerging
Fire damages residential house in Kupwara village

Fire damages residential house in Kupwara village

REGIONAL
A residential house was damaged in a fire incident in Lolab area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district this afternoon. Reports reaching GNS said that a fire broke out in a residential house in Cheepora village of Lolab area belonging to one Abdul Gani Khan, son of Late Gulab Khan. Soon after intimation, the Fire and Emergency Department reached the site and doused off the flames. An F&ES Department official told GNS that the residential house was partially damaged in the incident. (GNS)
Earthquake of magnitude 4.1 strikes Jammu Kashmir

Earthquake of magnitude 4.1 strikes Jammu Kashmir

REGIONAL
An earthquake of magnitude 4.1 struck Jammu and Kashmir early Sunday morning, National Center for Seismology said. The earthquake struck at 5.15 am, with a depth of 5 km. The latitude and longitude were reported to be 35.06 and 74.49 respectively. "Earthquake of Magnitude:4.1, Occurred on 30-04-2023, 05:15:34 IST, Lat: 35.06 & Long: 74.49, Depth: 5 Km, Location: Jammu and Kashmir, India," National Center for Seismology said in a tweet. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to set up state-of-art Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) in all 20 districts to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters as it falls in a high seismic zone, and is also highly prone to flood damage, according to a government statement. The process of construction of the EOC ha...
Court denies bail to Nayeem Khan in militancy funding case

Court denies bail to Nayeem Khan in militancy funding case

REGIONAL
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed the bail plea of separatist leader Nayeem Ahmad Khan in a case related to alleged terror funding under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) before the Delhi High Court, Live Law reported. Khan has been in judicial custody since August 14, 2017, and has been accused by the NIA of “creating unrest” in the Kashmir valley. He was arrested on July 24, 2017, and charges for various offences under the Indian Penal Code, including sedition and UAPA, were framed against him by a special NIA court on March 16 last year. The NIA has submitted that evidence collected in the case clearly establishes a prima facie case against Khan and that he was involved in terrorist and funding activities. Certain letters were found during search and ...
Erratic weather forecast till May 7 in J-K

Erratic weather forecast till May 7 in J-K

REGIONAL
The meteorological department here on Sunday forecast “erratic” weather in Jammu and Kashmir May 7. “A brief spell of rain may occur in the evening at some places today, although chances are less,” a MeT official here told GNS. On May 1, he said, mainly clear weather is expected while a brief spell of rain/thunderstorm may occur at a few places towards late afternoon or evening(60% chance) . From May 2- 3, he said widespread light to moderate rain (light snow over higher reaches)//thunderstorm with hailstorm and gusty winds at few places during the period. Overall weather is very likely to remain erratic between May 2 to 7 Regarding temperature, he said, Srinagar recorded a low of 10.5°C against 7.4°C on the previous night and it was 1.2°C above normal for the summer capital...
‘Apprehend militant associates’, ADGP tells officials during  security review meeting in Anantnag

‘Apprehend militant associates’, ADGP tells officials during security review meeting in Anantnag

REGIONAL
ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar on Saturday held a high-level meeting at South Kashmir’s Anantnag district on NHW security special focus on the emerging threat of VBIEDs and other modes of potential militant attack. In a handout, the police said that the army’s GOC Victor Force Maj Genl Prashant Srivastava, IG CRPF Kashmir Ops Sector M S Bhatia, IG BSF Ashok Yadav, Joint Director IB, Army’s sector commanders in South Kashmir, DIGs of police, CRPF, SSB, ITBP & CID and SSsP of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Awantipora attended the meeting. According to police spokesman, during the meeting, potential threats from militants on NHW were discussed in detail and more counter measures were decided. SOP of convey movement were also discussed and accordingly upgraded. All field officers given thei...
Irrigation canal turns into dumping site in south Kashmir; authorities unmoved

Irrigation canal turns into dumping site in south Kashmir; authorities unmoved

REGIONAL
An irrigation canal passing through Darbagh (Shopian district) and ZahidBagh (Pulwama district) has been turned into the dumping site and authorities are unmoved. Locals told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that in 2014 floods a siphon bridge through which the water was reaching to agricultural fields got damaged and since then canal is without water. In May 2020, a pipeline was laid through to divert water of the canal to river Ranbiara, however, pipes were so narrow that just few drops of water were passed through these pipes and it worked for just a few days. The stagnant water and water of bathrooms thrown into by some locals is creating a lot of problems for passersby and there is no intervention from concerned authorities, said Gulzar Ahmad, a local resident. He ...
Kashmiri political parties condole Prakash Singh Badal’s demise

Kashmiri political parties condole Prakash Singh Badal’s demise

INDIA, REGIONAL
Parkash Singh Badal was a leader who worked for the country and fought for the truth, and his passing away is a huge jolt, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said here on Wednesday. The Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch, who straddled the politics of Punjab over seven decades and was chief minister five times, died on Tuesday. He was 95. “The news about Badal’s demise is very unfortunate. He was a tall leader in India. In fact, I will say that there was no leader like him. No one can forget the sacrifices he made for the country,” Farooq Abdullah told PTI. He said there is no leader in the country who is not paying tributes to Badal as “he worked (for the people) and treated everyone equally, irrespective of religion, language”. “He (Badal) worked for the country. T...
Don’t make sale, purchase or register any vehicle to minors: RTO

Don’t make sale, purchase or register any vehicle to minors: RTO

REGIONAL
Authorities in the Regional Transport office here on Friday asked all the registered dealers, officers, officials of the Motor Vehicle Department and insurance agencies not to make any sale, purchase or register any vehicle involving a minor. A circular, issued by the Office of the Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Kashmir, a copy of which lies with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), reads that it has observed that motor vehicle dealers have sold and registered motor vehicles in the name of minors, which amounts to a violation of Section 10 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. In the circular, it is underlined that under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, any sale agreement executed with a minor is deemed void abinitio, adding that a registered motor vehicle along with its registe...
‘Tip of iceberg’: Human trafficking increased by nearly 16 per cent in J-K

‘Tip of iceberg’: Human trafficking increased by nearly 16 per cent in J-K

REGIONAL
The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Thursday said human trafficking increased by 15.56 percent in Jammu Kashmir last year as compared to the 2021-22 financial year but it is “just the tip of an iceberg”. “In the last few years, we have seen in Kashmir also that women are getting targeted. The NCRB data shows that it has increased 15.56 per cent last year compared to 2021-22. And this is just the tip of the iceberg because the data does not give the true picture,” Sharma told PTI, ahead of the anti-human trafficking workshop organised by the NCW. Sharma said the purpose of holding the workshop in Kashmir was to make people aware of the menace of human trafficking. “We must now work to save our daughters and our children. This is the main purpose of ...