PAMPORE
Scientists are developing robotic machines to harvest saffron flowers, remove weeds and extract delicate red stigmas to reduce dependence on manual labour in Kashmir’s saffron industry. Experimental machines were demonstrated at SKUAST-K’s Advanced Research Station for Saffron and Seed Spices at Konibal, Pampore, under a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology-supported project. The evolving machines will have vision systems for flower harvesting and mechanical units for stigma separation. Producing one kilogram of dry saffron requires extracting stigmas from approximately 1.6 lakh flowers. Researchers said mechanisation could address labour shortages, improve productivity and make saffron cultivation more attractive to younger farmers. The programme also covers technological interventions in apple and walnut cultivation.
KASHMIR
Kalhana’s 12th-century Rajatarangini, one of the earliest systematic historical chronicles of a region in the Indian subcontinent, has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register. The manuscript, preserved at Srinagar’s Oriental Research Library, received recognition alongside the Mahabharata and Kautilya’s Arthashastra at the register’s 11th session in Jakarta. Distinguished by its chronological detail and critical engagement with historical sources, the Sanskrit chronicle documents Kashmir’s rulers, dynastic struggles and political transitions. The recognition brings international attention to Kashmir’s exceptional tradition of historical writing and manuscript preservation.
KASHMIR
Kashmir’s local militancy has dwindled to a single active militant, with foreign militants providing him support, Kashmir Police Chief, Sujit Kumar said. Identified him as Mohammad Lateef Bhat of Kulgam, he carries a reward of Rs 15 lakh and is wanted in connection with attacks in South Kashmir. Kumar described the nexus between militancy and narcotics as a major security challenge. Police have registered over 1500 NDPS cases and arrested nearly 2000 people in 2026, so far, besides recovering Rs 1.10 crore, attaching properties and freezing 567 bank accounts linked to drug trafficking.
BOULEVARD
Srinagar’s autumn tourism calendar has gained a new attraction with the opening of Bagh-e-Gul-Dawood, the Chrysanthemum Theme Garden, at the Botanical Garden, Chashma Shahi. Chief Minister inaugurated the Chrysanthemum Show 2026, featuring 3.5 lakh locally grown plants representing more than 70 varieties and producing nearly 12 million blooms. Spread over 100 kanals along the Zabarwan foothills, the garden features colourful flower beds, water features and visitor amenities. Tourism stakeholders say the attraction fills a seasonal gap when autumn tourism traditionally depended largely on Chinar foliage. Launched last year, the initiative is intended to establish autumn alongside spring, when Srinagar’s Tulip Garden draws visitors. The government plans to introduce additional features annually to sustain the garden’s appeal.
JAMMU KASHMIR
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has granted 495 film-shooting permissions since introducing its Film Policy in 2021 but has not disbursed a single rupee in subsidies. Directorate of Information and Public Relations has received nine subsidy applications, all still under process, while reporting no expenditure from the Film Development Fund. The policy envisaged a Rs 500 crore fund over five years, with an annual allocation of Rs 100 crore, to support film production, festivals, training and destination marketing. The government notified a separate Film Policy in March 2024, valid for five years.
JAMMU
Madan Lal Mantoo, 74, a former Deputy Director of Public Relations in Jammu and Kashmir and a seasoned government communicator, died of a cardiac arrest last week. A native of Baramulla, Mantoo served as Press Officer to then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah after 1996 and later held senior positions, including at Raj Bhawan. A law graduate with a postgraduate diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication, he was widely respected for his writing skills, professional competence and cordial relations with journalists. After retirement, he remained associated with public affairs, serving as National Conference spokesperson and heading its Jammu Media Cell. He was also executive editor of a Jammu-based newspaper. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
BEMINA
Two people, including a 15-year-old boy from Delhi, died after a fire destroyed nearly 50 temporary shelters of scrap dealers in Durbal, Bemina, on the outskirts of Srinagar. The blaze, which took nearly five hours to extinguish, also destroyed several vacant shelters. The adjoining settlement, which housed Bangladeshi workers, was reportedly empty following the detention and deportation of its occupants last month. Police identified the deceased as Mohammad Noor Alam, 27, and Mohammad Ameen, 15. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh for each bereaved family.
BANGLADESH
A medical student from Sopore was found dead in Bangladesh on November 4, 2026, nearly two days after he went missing, leaving his family seeking urgent diplomatic intervention to bring his body home. Adnan Altaf Rather, son of Mohammad Altaf Rather of Bunapora Dangerpora, was pursuing his MBBS at Eastern Medical College in Cumilla. His body was recovered from a waterbody in Burichang Upazila. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death remain unclear, and authorities have yet to establish the cause. His family said they had lost contact with him two days earlier and subsequently learnt that he was missing. His mother, who had accompanied him to Bangladesh recently, was hospitalised following the tragedy.
DELHI
A high-profile wedding in New Delhi has brought the erstwhile royal families of Jammu and Punjab into yet another matrimonial alliance. Rhea Badal, daughter of former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, married Martand Singh, grandson of Congress veteran and Dogra royal Karan Singh. The marriage links Punjab’s politically influential Badal family with Jammu’s Dogra dynasty. The celebrations also brought together several royal houses already connected through marriage, including the Scindias of Gwalior, the Patialas of Punjab and the Rampur-Bushahr family of Himachal Pradesh. Among the existing ties, Vikramaditya Singh, son of Karan Singh, is married to Chitrangada Raje, daughter of the late Madhavrao Scindia. Capt Amarinder Singh’s grandson Nirvan is also married to Karan Singh’s granddaughter Mriganka.
JAMMU KASHMIR
Open Merit candidates have been allocated 137 of the 356 postgraduate medical (MD/MS) seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while 219 seats have been earmarked for reserved categories, including 14 for Ladakh, according to the provisional selection matrix issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE). The distribution leaves 38.5 per cent of seats in the Open Merit pool and 61.5 per cent under reservation. The first-round counselling list shows 134 allotments against the Open Merit seat category. Of these, only 96 went to candidates without reservation, while 38 were reserved-category candidates selected on merit in the common pool and marked for adjustment under Rule 17. The distinction is between a candidate’s category and the category of the seat secured. Reserved-category candidates who qualify on merit can obtain Open Merit seats. Rule 17 provides for an adjustment during the first counselling round where such candidates opt for a discipline available in their reserved category, releasing the corresponding Open Merit discipline for adjustment in that category. The High Court has clarified that the provision operates in the first round.
BASHOLI
Former Jammu and Kashmir minister Prem Sagar Aziz has rejoined the Congress, ending his five-year association with the BJP and returning to the party he served for nearly 45 years. A former MLA from Bani, Kathua, he joined the Congress in May 1972 and served as state vice-president, chief whip and Minister of State in the PDP-Congress coalition government. He left the Congress for the National Conference before joining the BJP in October 2021.
JAMMU
BJP national vice-president Ram Madhav’s Jammu visit came amid political uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir, with the ruling National Conference facing internal turbulence following Aga Ruhullah Mehdi’s resignation from his parliamentary seat and growing demands for political course correction among party legislators. However, Madhav’s public remarks focused largely on national politics, accusing the Congress of attempting to create unrest and undermine democratic institutions after repeatedly failing to win elections since 2014. Defending the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, he accused Rahul Gandhi of spreading misinformation and alleged that the Opposition was seeking regime change through unrest rather than democratic means. He said India was neither Bangladesh nor Nepal.
KISHTWAR
A 55-year-old Special Police Officer (SPO), Bashir Ahmed, was allegedly buried alive after being attacked by his cousin and the latter’s son over a longstanding land dispute in Kishtwar’s Trigam village. Police arrested Bashir Ahmed Dar and his son Nazir in connection with the murder. The SPO went missing on October 15 while returning home after a night shift at a forest post barely 800 metres away. Initially suspecting militant abduction, investigators traced his mobile phone and recovered his rifle and handset from separate locations. A subsequent search led to his body in a freshly dug pit. Police said the accused allegedly struck him on the head with an iron rod, stuffed his mouth with stones and soil to prevent him from raising an alarm, and buried him while he was still alive. The killing reportedly stemmed from a land dispute that the cousins had settled several years earlier.
JAMMU
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the Public Safety Act detention of a 26-year-old Pulwama man, ruling that the mere use of encrypted applications or VPNs and alleged contact with people linked to terrorist organisations cannot justify preventive detention without supporting evidence. Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal observed that the detention dossier against Ajaz Ahmad Seh lacked specific details of alleged communications, including dates and the nature of information exchanged. He also questioned the District Magistrate’s independent application of mind, noting substantial reproduction of the police dossier in the detention grounds. The court said alleged activities could be investigated and prosecuted under applicable criminal laws, but preventive detention could not substitute ordinary legal proceedings. It ordered Seh’s release unless required in another case.
REASI
The deaths of 26-year-old Village Defence Guard member Javed Ahmed and his 22-year-old wife, Shaheena Akhter, in Reasi have renewed questions over firearm safety and supervision of armed civilian volunteers. Preliminary reports suggest Javed’s weapon discharged while he was cleaning it, hitting both. Police are investigating whether the firing was accidental or deliberate. Introduced in 1995 and revised in 2022, the VDG scheme places armed volunteers under district police supervision to protect vulnerable villages and installations. The scale is substantial: the Ministry of Home Affairs recorded 4,985 sanctioned groups in 2022-23, of which 4,153 had been constituted. The reported replacement of vintage .303 rifles with SLRs after the 2024 Jammu attacks has made regular training and safe handling more critical. Media-reported incidents between August 2019 and November 2026 reportedly involve 18 deaths and four injuries, figures requiring official verification. The Reasi deaths underline the need for mandatory training, inspections and accountability.
