CELEBRATED: Residents of Bomai in Sopore celebrated ‘demilitarization’ of their village as the camp that killed two youth in the area was shifted after triggered a storm in the belt. A shopkeeper led a successful resistance and threatened migration in case the camp was not relocated.
After lot of controversy, the army said they have found three of its personnel responsible and the camp began to move out. Interestingly, it entered the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences (SKUAST)’s Wadoora campus and triggered massive protests by the students and the faculty. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had to intervene to allow the RR troopers move in.
RECONSTITUTED: Governor N N Vohra reconstituted the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) for a three year term. The new members include E Sreedharan, Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Santoor Maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ms Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation Bangalore, Dr S S Bloeria, former Chief Secretary and Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Chief Justice of High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
RESURFACED: Engineer Rashid (MLA), who resigned from a lucrative job to contest polls from Langate, disappeared last week, leaving his security wondering. He resurfaced to reveal that he has surrendered his security to protest the police high-handedness in his constituency. Every week, he said, over 200 people are forced to attend police stations and Public Safety Act has been slapped on three youth. He threatened resignation from legislative assembly if the situation does not improve.
FOUGHT: Militants and troops fought a pitched five day battle in Shamsbari forests in Kupwara. 17 militants and 13 soldiers were reported killed. Lashkar-e-Toiba said the slain militants were its recruits. Slain soldiers included Shabir Ahmad, a 20-year-old commando, who was inducted into the army after completing his schooling from a local army school. The burial was covered by various TV crews at Dub Ganderbal.
CAMPAIGN: Vidhu Vinod Chopra of Mission Kashmir fame has thrown his weight behind the campaign for banning polythene use in Kashmir. Last week he addressed a news conference on behalf of an NGO. He said he will cancel all his appointments for the ‘cause’.
AIRED: Mehrajuddin, child playback singer of yet to be released film Sikander appeared on BIG 92.7 FM to jointly host a chat show with RJs Sophie and Haya. The 12-year-old school boy sang a song titled ‘Aarzoo’ from the film co-produced by BIG Pictures & Sudhir Mishra’s Cine Raas Ltd. Director Piyush Jha discovered the boy during his location hunt for the film in Kashmir and persuaded his family to allow the boy to sing in his film.
HONOURED Fayaz Kabli, a Kashmir born photo journalist who works with Reuters, was judged runner up of Silver Award in Spot News by China International Press Photo Contest held at Shanghai.
