SRINAGAR
On the third anniversary of September 2014 floods, there was another anniversary – that of photo journalist Shafat Sidiq who was devoured by the waves of the flood waters outside the civil secretariat. He left behind his wife, his kids, aged parents and a divorcee sister. Tragic it may be, his divorcee sister died of a cardiac arrest in the Jamia Masjid market on the eve of Eid. Third anniversary and second death: double tragedy.
KOKERNAG
Naira Jan, 14, an orphan, became the first Kashmiri victim of mysterious braid chopping epidemic that has taken north India by storm. Jammu already has more than fifty cases and Rajouri has half a dozen. Even Bhadewah reported an incident. The unsolved riddle has triggered panic everywhere. Naira’s parents said she felt someone attempting her suffocation following which she fell unconscious.
QAZIGUND
After supporting the act of infamous human shield row of Major Gogoi, cricketer Gautam Gambhir could attract headlines again by committing funding education of slain ASI Abdul Rashid’s five years old daughter Zohra. Her wailing photographs clicked during the funeral broke a million hearts across the world. A day after, state police publicized its Welfare Fund bank account number.
SRINAGAR
Archeologists who discovered a 4000 year old pitcher from a Kashmir orchard early 2017 have named it Kim, after Kim Kardashian, an American reality tv personality, socialite, actress, businesswoman and model, because of its “voluptuous shape”. Name apart, find is precious. It is one of the rare finds that helps archeologists to understand the pre-historic Kashmir better and explain why Harapans did not impact them.
DEWAR
Nasrullah Ahmad, who had an argument with an army officer, has disappeared allegedly in army custody. His friend Manzoor Ahmad, however, was recovered half dead and is in hospital for acute renal failure because of torture. In response to protests by the residents, Corps Commander Lt Gen Sandhu visited the belt and announced a joint inquiry team comprising Police and Army.
PULWAMA
Among various separatists, the NIA have arrested a freelance photojournalist Kamran Yousuf, 21, allegedly for mobilising youth and clicking protest pictures for various local and non local media organisations. His colleagues who protested in Srinagar against the arrest said police had warned him before summoning him to a local police station on September 4, a day ahead of his handover NIA. Back home, his mother, a divorcee, who had taken a mere job of a clerk in a private school to support his education, is left alone.
DELHI
Kent, the water purifiers company, has come up with a 6.29 minutes film Dil Se Kashmir- celebrating Kashmir. It starts with Amitabh Bachan and concludes with Hema Malini, both giving a message of peace. Its conclusion reads: “A message of peace and love for our brothers and sisters in Kashmir, from you sisters and brothers across this beautiful nation.”
