Bangalore:
Adding another feather to a long list of ‘firsts’, Kashmir’s cricketing poster boy Parvez Rasool became the first from Jammu and Kashmir to go under the hammer in India’s coveted domestic Twenty-Twenty tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 7. Rasool bagged a contract with the IPL franchise Hyderabad Sunrisers for 0.95 Crore Rupees. Given the fact that Rasool is uncapped yet and was tagged at a base price of just 20 lakh rupees makes the price, he managed to fetch, a decent one. There were 7 other players from Jammu and Kashmir lined up for auction in IPL-7; however all of them went un-auctioned, unsold.
Srinagar:
After much ado the tainted former Minister of Health, Shabir Khan, facing charges of assaulting a Lady Doctor sexually, landed in Srinagar Thursday. However that was not before he secured a bail from the Court of Law. The former Minister, seemingly unfazed with the accusations against him, drove straight to the high security Circuit house in Srinagar’s Church lane. He met the Investigating Officer of the case at Shaheed Gunj Police Station later in the evening, only after savouring his lunch at the State Guest house. Talking to media personnel Khan vehemently denied the charges against him and expressed hope that he will get justice from the Court of Law.
Kerela:
A barrage of hits and misses, with its date of release, later the Malayalam film ‘Salam Kashmir’ has made it to theatres Thursday. The Army based movie has almost entirely been shot in Kashmir and required clearance from many departments, including the Army and other defence circles. While a number of movies based on Kashmir have been made in Bollywood over the years, this is the first experiment of the South Indian film industry with the conflict ridden valley. Will the movie be yet another distortion of facts and history, like the Bollywood movies, remains to be seen.
Jammu:
Calling United Jihad Council (UJC) Chairman, Syed Salahuddin, an unavoidable party to the resolution of Kashmir issue, on the floor of the State Legislative Assembly is no joke. However nearing the end of his term as a member of the State Legislative Assembly, MLA Langate Engineer Rashid, has not lost his ability to amuse people. In reply to Governor N N Vohra’s address the independent MLA said that calling Syed Salahuddin a terrorist has no rationale as the Indian leadership has held dialogue with Hizb militants in the past.
Srinagar:
As private banks start to make their presence felt in Kashmir, the unfazed Jammu and Kashmir Bank continues to stride the purple streak. The Bank has posted a net profit of 321.29 Crore Rupees for the quarter ending December 2013. The profit posted has been a big leap of about 11 per cent as compared to the profit posted in the corresponding quarter last year. The total business of the Bank has reached Rs 106474.95 Crore Rupees, which is up by 14.82 percent when compared to Rs 92,732 Crore recorded during the corresponding period of the previous year.
Rajbagh:
Accommodation denied to Kashmiris in hotels across India is a stark reality people of the valley have been confronted with time and again. However being denied accommodation in Srinagar, for being a Kashmiri, comes as bit of shock. This is what happened with three lawyers from South Kashmir’s Shopian district at Hotel Sterling in Rajbagh. The lawyers now have taken the Legal route to mark their protest for the discriminatory policy of the hotel management. The hotel management reportedly have a policy of not allowing Kashmiris to stay at their facility.
2,396 people, including 139 foreign nationals, are in various jails of the State.
Rs 7.50 crore approved to ‘tackle Hepatitis-C in Kokernag’
