SRINAGAR

All roads leading to martyrs grave yard at Khawaja Naqashband Sahib shrine in the downtown Srinagar were closed with barbed wire to prevent assemble of people on the Martyrs’ Day on Tuesday July 13,2021. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur

A year after dropping July 13, as the public holiday, authorities sealed off the martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar’s Khawaja Bazaar to prevent a routine ceremonial tribute by Kashmir political parties. Kashmir has been observing the day since 1931 when 22 civilians were mowed down by Maharaja troops when they assembled to witness a political trial. NC and PDP said they had applied for formal permission from the Collector’s office but it was rejected.

As many as 40 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) officers and 28 Jammu and Kashmir Police Services (JKPS) officers are expected to be inducted into IAS and IPS, respectively.

TANGMARG


Cousin sisters, Eishaha, 19, and Utba, 17, were washed away in Ferozpora rivulet near Drang when they were posing for a selfie with Imad, and Utba – two other relatives.  Locals rescued Imad and Eishah’s friend, but Eishaha and Utba drowned. They were smashed with boulders and had serious injuries before dying. Reports said water from a neighbouring powerhouse discharged without warning. A civil officer is reportedly investigating the case. The cousins, enrolled in Srinagar Convent, were residents of Srinagar.

JAMMU

In the latest 11 employees who were sacked by the Jammu and Kashmir government under Article 311 of the Constitution is Raziyah Sultan, a school teacher from a Bejbehara village, whose father lost the 1987 election by a whisker. A respected lawyer from south Kashmir, Mohammad Sultan Bhat was assassinated in 1996 and his killers are still unidentified and the government gave Raziya a job on compassionate grounds. After putting in more than 25 years, and reaching the status of a headmaster, she was sacked. Reacting to the decision, she alleged she was sacked over “baseless and imaginary allegations”. Others whose services were terminated include two sons of Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Sued Salahuddin and two cops.

Police recovered 18 cell phones, 13 SIM cards, five blue-tooth devices, nine mobile chargers, 13 earphones and a knife were recovered from Kot Bhalwal Jail.

JAMMU

Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha administers Swachhta Pledge to Officers, officials of Raj Bhavan and Civil Secretariat on October 2, 2020. Pic: DIPR

The grapevine says the BJPDP alliance has reduced to the household level. During her recent 4-day visit to Jammu, PDP president, Ms Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the entry of prominent Jammu lawyer Anil Sethi into the party. Son of late R P Sethi, a high court judge and respected for his contributions in Jammu and Kashmir, Anil is the brother of BJP spokesman Sunil Sethi. Now Sethis’ are Jammu’s second family where two brothers choose two political parties. The other family is that of Ranas’ where Jitender Singh is a minister in the PMO and Devinder Singh heads NC in Jammu.

If you are a government employee for 22 years or have attained the age of 48 years, the government under Article 226(2) of Jammu & Kashmir Civil Service Regulations can retire you.

LADAKH

Tourist enjoy in Pangong Lake in Ladakh Kashmir, Pangong Lake is a salt water lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m (14,270 ft). The lake was made famous by the 2009 Bollywood film ‘3 Idiots’ and has become a popular tourist attraction. Pangong Lake is 134 km long
PHOTO BY BILAL BAHADUR

Aamir Khan who made Leh an exciting destination for domestic tourists with his 3 Idiots, made his first post-divorce visit to Kargil for shooting certain sequences of his upcoming movie Laal Singh Chaddha. Kareena Kapoor Khan accompanied him. He earlier visited the area in May. The cast includes Telugu star Naga Chaitanya. Interestingly, however, the Bollywood star was the only visitor to Ladakh. On July 6, the Chinese army drove in five vehicles in the Dalocamgo village of the Demchuk belt and protested over the residents celebrating the 86th birthday of the Dalai Lama. This was followed by External Affairs Minister, Dr Jai Shanker meeting his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of a regional summit.

GANDERBAL

The lake has a maximum length of two and a half kilometres and maximum width of one kilometre.

The Army’s 34-Assam Rifles has launched a cleaning drive at Gangabal Lake. One of Kashmir’s famed high altitude lakes, Gangabal is situated on the foothills of Harmukh peak in Ganderbal district. It has been a tourist destination since 1902 when British explorers put it on a hiking map. Given the accessibility and lot of footfalls, there is a lot of garbage around.

Police said they killed 78 militants (39 of them from Lashkar) in 2021, so far

JAMMU

It was a flip-flop. Days ahead of Eid-ul-Azha on July 21, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir ordered a literal ban on the sacrificing of cows, camels and calves. The order came at a time when most of the people have made their purchases. The order issued by the Director of Planning, Animal, Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries Department has suggested Divisional Commissioner stop “illegal killings/sacrifices of cows, calves, camels, and other animals and taking action against the offenders for violation of transport of animals, rules on the occasion of Bakra Eid”. The order is a follow up to the central Animal Welfare Board communication seeks adherence to the entire law basket including Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960; Transport of Animal Welfare Rules, 1978; Transport of Animals (Amendment) Rules, 2001; Slaughter House Rules, 2001; Municipal Laws and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India directions “for the slaughtering of animals (under which camels cannot be slaughtered) during the festival.” However, when the people reacted, the government said there is no ban. The order, they said was a routine communication between two departments.

BARAMULLA

Indian Army has renovated the grave of Maqbool Sherwani, a political activist who is credited for misleading the November 1947 raiders by showing them the wrong direction thus preventing the fall of Srinagar. The renovation had started in old town Baramulla in April. As they realised, they caught Sherwani, tortured and eventually crucified him before firing 14 bullets at him. His body was nailed to a plank and tied to two pillars of Khan Hotel, near Regina Cinema, which kept on hanging for several days. His corpse was removed on November 7, 1947. Two weeks after his death, Mahatma Gandhi paid tribute to him in a prayer meeting in Delhi.

SRINAGAR

Passengers boarding the bus boat launched on a trial basis in river Jhelum in Srinagar. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur

If the trial run of a luxury boat imported by a third party from New Zealand succeeds in navigating the Jhelum, the possibility of reviving the river transport is possible. Sukhnag Enterprises, a private party, in some association with JKTDC, launched the boat that has 35 seats excluding the drivers and four rescue operators. The trial run took place between Lasjan to Peerzoo Island, a distance of 9-km. Till recently, Jhelum was Kashmir’s main highway. In 1924, Kashmiri Muslims submitted a detailed memorandum to visiting viceroy Lord Reading on the banks of the river near Khanqah. In 1945, Nehru, and Indira were accompanied by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from Srinagar to Sopore in a boat procession. Experts say the success of the boat could revive the old Srinagar city as 13 temples and 13 shrines and mosques and a gurudwara are located on the river banks. The operator will hand over a fleet of five boats including one bus-boat, two 20-seater taxi boats, one leisure boat and one rescue boat to the JKTC.

RAMBAN

The Kadola village, almost 12 km from district headquarters finally saw the electric bulb lighted up as the supplies reached the Ladadhar mountain hamlet for the first time in history. It has 25 houses fed by a 25 kV transformer that is connected by a 3 km span of HT line set up on 69 poles beside a 2.8 Km of local transmission line involving 50 poles. The entire project cost Rs 28.64 lakh under the Sobhagya Yojna.

ACHABAL

Representational image

Federal investigator NIA said it arrested six persons including the head of a seminary in Dalal Mohalla, Nawab Bazar, Srinagar, Sirajul-Uloom, Adnan Ahmad Nadvi for his alleged links with ISIS. Besides, it said it raided Pushroo, Sunsooma and Achabal (Anantnag) and arrested five people – Javaid Ahmad Mir, 28, an MBA, currently running a shop, and Umar Bhat, a readymade shop owner, besides Ovais Ahamad Bhat, Tanveer Ahmad Bhat, and Zeeshan Ameen Malik. They have been accused of “radicalizing” impressionable youth and running India-Centric online propaganda magazine The Voice of Hind. The other side of the story, if any, is not known.

 

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