Page 4 - Srinagar

G20 meet: Security beefed up in Jammu, physical classes suspended in school

Ahead of a G20 meeting in Srinagar, security has been tightened in Jammu region, particularly in border districts, and more than 10 Army schools have been closed as part of precautionary measures. The security agencies have identified infiltration routes and stepped up security to prevent any infiltration from across the border, officials said on Thursday. The third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting will be held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal lake in Srinagar from May 22 to 24. Security has been heightened in Jammu, particularly in border districts, and around all vital Army and security establishments, the officials said. Multi-tier security of Army, Border Security Force, police and Central Reserve Police Force besides Village Defence Committees has been activated along the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC), they said. Security and checkpoints have also been strengthened along the Jammu-Pathankot highwa

Home Secy holds meet in Srinagar to review G20, Amarnath Yatra arrangements

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held back-to-back meetings in Srinagar to review the security arrangements for an upcoming G20 event, as well as for this year's Amarnath Yatra

Mental healthcare call centre in Srinagar receives over 10,000 calls

About 70 per cent of the 10,000-odd calls made to a mental healthcare call centre here were by women, with a study suggesting the digital facility has made it easy for women to talk about their issues from home without being stigmatised. The call centre under the central government's Tele MANAS initiative was established at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Rainawari here in November last year. Since its launch, the call centre has received more than 10,000 calls. "About 70 per cent of those calls were from women," Dr Arshad Hussain, a renowned psychiatrist working at the institute, told PTI. He said the institute conducted a study to ascertain why a majority of the distress calls were made by women. "What could be happening is that women may be finding it easy to call from their homes and talk about their distress without being stigmatised," Hussain said. "Recently, we had a guest faculty here. We were told that in other centres, there are more men calling. This

Chardham yatra halted at Srinagar due to bad weather at Kedarnath

Chardham Yatra has been stopped at Srinagar as a precautionary measure due to bad weather at Kedarnath and Badrinath, police said here on Sunday

Third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting to be held in Srinagar on May 22-24

The third G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting will be held in Srinagar from May 22 to 24, a move which will help in boosting tourist footfalls in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said on Sunday. Addressing a G20 Tourism Expo held at a luxury heritage hotel in Jaipur, he said that under India's G20 presidency, the tourism sector is providing an "unparalleled opportunity" to highlight the country's tourism offerings and share its success stories on the global stage. Of the over 200 events to be held across the country during the presidency, more than 100 have taken place already, the Union tourism secretary said. "Two Tourism Working Group (TWG) meetings of the G20 have already taken place in Bhuj and Siliguri, and now the third will take place in Srinagar on May 22-24," he said. "A team from the Tourism Ministry and the G20 secretariat is currently in J-K to assess the preparedness that will be needed to host the event in May," he told PTI on the sidelines of th

Srinagar airport to spruce up amenities to handle increased footfall

Setting up more baggage checking machines and introducing electric vehicles to ferry passengers are among the key measures to be undertaken to handle increased footfall at the international airport here ahead of G20 events and the tourist season, officials said on Friday. Besides these, a police unit to cater to complaints and grievances of tourists and a police facilitation counter would also be setup, they said. The measures were announced on Thursday at a meeting to review the security aspects and functioning of the Srinagar international airport, the officials said. It was conducted by Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and Director General Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Zulfiquar Hasan, and attended by top officers of the civil administration and police, the Central Reserve Police Force, the tourism department and the airport. During the meeting, measures to ease congestion such as increasing the number of baggage checking machines at the

Increasing number of brick kilns near Srinagar airport pose risk to flights

Mushrooming of brick kilns in the vicinity of the Srinagar airport, a defence installation, has given rise to aviation safety concerns and environmental degradation. The black fumes emanating from the furnaces of these brick kilns have prompted the authorities at the Air Force Station, Srinagar, to shoot a letter to the civilian administration to stop these activities. "The brick kilns operating around Air Force Station, Srinagar, are emitting large quantities of smoke and particulate matter. This smog has a direct adverse effect on the environment and in-flight visibility during the terminal stage of the flight. It has been noticed that during the last decade, the number of brick kilns is rapidly increasing," the letter written to Kashmir divisional commissioner on March 21 reads. The letter also mentions that the local apple growers had made a representation to the Air Force Station against setting up new brick kilns around residential and orchard areas. "There are illegal brick

Vande Bharat Metro train in Jammu once USBRL becomes operational: Vaishnaw

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) will be completed by December 2023 or January 2024 and a Vande Bharat metro train will be operated between Jammu and Srinagar once the project becomes fully operational, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday. Vaishnaw travelled on the first run of a track-mounted trolley on the world's highest arch bridge constructed on the Chenab river with railway officials and inspected the iconic bridge having a height of 359 metres from the Chenab riverbed. He also performed pooja at the bridge before the inspection. Addressing media persons, the minister announced setting up a special training academy for engineers at Jammu. Speaking on the progress of work, he said the track work on the Chenab bridge has been completed and now electric work will be undertaken, besides the installation of Kavach- an anti-collision safety device. The Chenab bridge was a difficult challenge as the terrain was a highly seismic activity-prone a

J&K L-G lays foundation stone of 1st direct foreign investment project

J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation stone of a mega-mall on Sunday in Sempora area of Srinagar district which is the first direct foreign investment project in the UT.

Paradise regained: J&K puts in elbow grease to get Srinagar ready for G20

The government notified a new policy for the industrial development of the region in 2021

Strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway reopened for traffic in record time

The 434-km strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway was reopened for vehicular traffic on Thursday in a record time of 68 days after its closure in January this year following heavy snowfall, officials said. A trial movement was conducted successfully and the decision to reopen the road for civilian traffic will be taken after a joint inspection by the civil administrations of the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. The highway was thrown open for traffic at the Zojila Pass, situated at an altitude of 11,650 feet, by Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary. Zojila is a strategic pass that provides a vital link between Kashmir Valley and Ladakh, and it is key to operational preparedness of the armed forces. It used to remain closed for about six months due to heavy snowfall. However, over the last few years, the BRO has been reopening it in less time. This year, it was cleared off in record time of 68 days. Speaking to reporters, Lt

10-day 'woman-led' food, cultural fair to be held in Srinagar next week

A 10-day "woman-led" food and cultural fair will be organised in Srinagar from March 15 to showcase diverse cuisines and unique indigenous products from across the country, an official said on Saturday. The 'SARAS Aajeevika Mela' would provide a platform to the participants to sell and promote their handmade products and create marketing linkages with various selling platforms, Mission Director, Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) Indu Kanwal Chib said. A national food and cultural fair was successfully held at Bagh-e-Bahu in the winter capital Jammu from February 4 to February 14, he said. "In total, 70 stalls, including 15 dealing with food, shall be put on display in the women-led mela which is unique in the sense that we are bringing different cultures from across the country to Kashmir for the first time," Chib told PTI. She said women self-help groups (SHGs) will display handicraft, handloom and natural food items from different rural areas across the country

Middle Eastern companies flock to J&K: Srinagar to house Emaar Mall

LuLu exports Rs 70 crore worth of apples, vegetables, walnuts and saffron

Jammu-Srinagar highway reopens after 38-hour closure due to landslide

The one-way traffic resumed on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Wednesday after remaining suspended for about 38-hours following a landslide in Ramban district, officials said. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Traffic (national highway), Banihal, Asghar Malik said the road clearance operation at the landslide-hit Sher Bibi near Banihal was still going on. Hundreds of vehicles were left stranded on the highway after a massive landslide blocked the arterial road at Sher Bibi around 2 am Tuesday. The road clearance operation was hampered by continuous shooting of stones from the hillock throughout the day. Despite intermittent shooting of stones, the road clearance agencies worked hard since this morning to ensure that the road is opened for one-way traffic which was allowed at around 4 pm (Wednesday), Malik said. No fresh traffic was allowed either from Srinagar or Jammu for the second day in the morning as authorities focused on road clearance operation and to clear the

Job aspirants protest in Srinagar, demand inquiry report to be made public

Job aspirants, who had applied for various posts in the Fire and Emergency Services, on Wednesday held a demonstration here demanding that the Jammu and Kashmir administration make public the report of the inquiry committee formed to probe alleged irregularities in the recruitment process. The protestors assembled at Press Colony on Residency Road here holding banners and placards, which read we want justice. I am a victim of injustice by the Fire and Emergency Services Department. We applied for the posts in 2012 but it was found that there was a 'scam'. Then we applied again in 2018 and again a 'scam' was found. Last year again another 'scam' was found, Bilal Ahmad Sheikh, one of the protesters, told PTI. Sheikh said the administration had formed a three-member panel headed by Additional Chief Secretary Home R K Goyal to probe the alleged irregularities in December last year. The committee was given one month to submit the report but now we are into the third month and the report

Landslide damages 9 houses, cowshed on Srinagar-Leh highway, says official

Landslide damaged nine houses and a cowshed on the Srinagar-Leh highway, said officials on Monday, adding that there was no loss of life

AAP govt resorts to hunger strike in Srinagar amid anti-encroachment drive

The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday said it is on hunger strike here to demand a formal order from the Jammu and Kashmir administration to spare poor residents and shopkeepers from the ongoing anti-encroachment drive. "Our vice-president Nazir Ahmad Ittoo started the hunger strike last night but due to security reasons, we were not allowed to sit at the Press Colony. We had to shift to our office," AAP youth leader Mudasir Hassan said. "The hunger strike will continue till a formal order is issued by the administration," he added. Hassan said the administration was making statements day in and day out that poor people will not be affected by the demolition drive. "We are asking the administration to issue a formal order to this effect," he said, adding that the party was not against an anti-encroachment drive against rich and influential land grabbers.

Srinagar to host first international summit since abrogation of Article 370

In the first international summit after the abrogation of Article 370, Srinagar is gearing up to host the G-20 meeting and the preparations are in full swing in Jammu and Kashmir

Adani-Hindenburg row: AAP holds protests in Srinagar, Jammu; demands probe

Police on Sunday prevented AAP workers from staging a protest outside the BJP office here over the Adani-Hindenburg row. Led by AAP's central Kashmir youth president Jibran Dar, party workers assembled in Jawahar Nagar area and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani. The protesters alleged that Modi was favouring Adani, but doing nothing for ordinary people. Before they could reach the BJP office in the area, the protesters were detained by police and whisked away to the local police station. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation, against it. The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as lies. The AAP also staged a protest outside the BJP office in Jammu over the issue and demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into independent India's "biggest scam". AAP workers led

'Shah's June 2019 Srinagar visit was to give final touch before abrogation'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Srinagar on June 26 in 2019 was to give the final touch to the government's resolve for carrying out the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Lt General (retired) K J S Dhillon has claimed in his yet-to-be-released book. 'Kitne Ghazi Aaye Kitne Ghazi Gaye', authored by Dhillon, will be released on February 14 as a mark of respect to the 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel who were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in 2019 near Lethpora in South Kashmir. Amit Shah's visit on June 26, 2019, was already touted to be a precursor for a dramatic announcement and "I got a call at 2 am in the morning, informing me of a meeting with the home minister at 7 am", Dhillon said in his book. Without divulging much about his meeting with the home minister, the retired Lt General, who was the head of the army's strategic Srinagar-based XV Corps, wrote that "a lot of sensitive issues and key points were on the table for discussion apart from