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Kashmir exported its famed handicraft and handloom products worth Rs 2,567 crore in over last two fiscal years, officials said on Sunday. This export figure is expected to touch Rs 3,000 crore by the end of this fiscal year (March 2025). "The world-famous handicraft and handloom products worth Rs 2,567 crore have been exported from Kashmir valley in the last two financial years and the first three quarters of the current fiscal(2024-25)," an official said. However, the exports in the current financial year have been hit by global conflicts. As per the figures available with Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, while Kani and Sozni shawls exports stood at Rs 1,105 crore, hand-knotted carpet shipments were worth Rs 728 crore in the last three years. The other products exported include crewel, papier mache, chain stitch and wood carving. The officials said the department would facilitate the export of hand-made Kashmir products for which a subsidy scheme is available, givi
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday listed for hearing on February 24 a plea by jailed MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Engineer Rashid on the issue of lack of a forum to decide his bail plea in a terror funding case. Justice Vikas Mahajan deferred the hearing after he was informed by the counsel for the high court administration that the Supreme Court on Monday clarified that the NIA court dealing with the case could hear the bail plea. Rashid had moved the high court earlier, alleging he did not have a remedy after the NIA court dealing with his bail application left him in a limbo after his election to the Lok Sabha last year on account of it not being a special MP/MLA court. As an interim relief, Rashid was on Monday allowed a two-day custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session on February 11 and 13. In view of the development in the top court, Justice Mahajan on Tuesday orally asked Rashid's lawyer to approach the NIA court for bail. The MP's counsel, however, urged the c
Jammu and Kashmir's government began the process of geo-tagging in its bid to preserve heritage Chinar trees in Kashmir on Thursday.Dr Syed Tariq, Scientist at Forest Research Institute said, "Chinars are oxygen producers. Chinar has its own scope, it plays a major role. Keeping this in view, we thought of keeping a track on the stock of Chinar in the Valley. With the advancement of technologies, we provided 'Digital Aadhaar' to these trees. Now, every Chinar has its own 'Aadhar' number. We have linked it to Digital India. We have installed scanable QR codes. Every district has its own district code with the number of Chinars. So far, we have identified and geo-tagged 28,560 Chinar."He further said that forest areas have come to the rescue of Chinar."We have collected their readings, physical characteristics and locked them with QR scan. You can scan the QR code and know everything about them. We have also appealed for 'Save Chinar'. This is a very positive step because we will make a
The remote Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district was on Wednesday declared a containment zone and prohibitory orders imposed on all public and private gatherings in the wake of the death of 17 people belonging to three families, officials said. Another person belonging to the village has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition, they said. The containment orders have been imposed under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remedy nuisance or dangers. According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones the first covering all families where deaths have occurred. The houses of these affected families shall be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family ...
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the registrar general of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to ensure proper video-conferencing facilities at a Jammu special court hearing two cases against jailed JKLF chief Yasin Malik and others. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan further directed the Delhi High Court registrar general to ensure proper video-conferencing facilities in Tihar jail where Malik is lodged in a separate terror financing case. Both high court registrars were directed to file the status reports on February 18 by the bench, which posted the hearing on the CBI plea on February 21. "We have perused the observations made by the (special) judge (of the Jammu court). At two places, he has recorded that the video-conference system in his court was not functioning properly," the court said. The bench therefore directed the registrar general of Jammu and Kashmir High Court to look into what was "stated by the learned judge" and "take immediate steps for .
Cold weather conditions persisted in parts of north and west India on Sunday with the mercury dropping several notches in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan. Kashmir and the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh received some respite from the intense cold as minimum temperatures rose. The respite for Kashmir is likely to be short-lived as the meteorological department has predicted a cold wave in parts of the valley over the next three days. Delhi's minimum temperature dropped to 4.9 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches below normal, but cold wave conditions did not prevail, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The mercury settled at a low of 8 degrees Celsius in the city on Saturday. The capital recorded a maximum temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 0.2 notches below normal, the IMD said. The weather department has forecast moderate fog in Delhi on Monday. The minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to settle at 5 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius ...
The ruling National Conference (NC) on Saturday sought an inquiry into the spike in terrorist attacks in the Valley since Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was sworn in, saying some elements were trying to defame an elected government. "Violence is taking place. There should be an investigation into it. Those involved should be arrested alive. We will get to know who is doing it because there are attempts to defame us," NC president Farooq Abdullah said at a function here. Abdullah said the peaceful assembly election was a big achievement for the people of Kashmir, and it united the entire community. "We need to remain united, keeping our egos aside. Enemies are trying to attack us from all sides but we have to fight them," he added. His statement comes after four security personnel were injured in an encounter in the Khanyar area here on Saturday. Following the attack, security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the densely populated locality of Khanyar in the interior c