Tears, prayers, and heartfelt hopes filled the air at Haj House Bemina here on Saturday morning as Kashmir’s first batch of Haj pilgrims prepared to depart for Saudi Arabia. The departure marked the beginning of the Valley’s annual spiritual journey to Islam’s holiest sites, with families bidding an emotional farewell to their loved ones embarking on the sacred pilgrimage. According to the details available, from the early hours, hundreds of family members gathered at the busiest Haj House premises in Srinagar to bid farewell to their kith and kin and friends chosen this year for the pilgrimage. Some embraced in…
Author: KNO
Controlled Atmosphere (CA) cold storage units across Jammu and Kashmir are once again proving their importance for apple growers, as farmers continue to fetch encouraging returns despite recent fluctuations in market rates. Growers said that although apple prices witnessed a dip for a brief period of one to two weeks last month, the rates have now rebounded, offering them profitable returns—though still slightly below the peak levels recorded during January and February. According to estimates from the horticulture sector, around 20–30 per cent of the apple stock is still lying in cold storage units, giving growers the flexibility to release…
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the INDIA bloc must collectively decide its response to the proposed parliamentary bill, stressing that a unified stand was necessary. Speaking with reporters in Srinagar, the Chief Minister, raised concerns over past delimitation exercises, alleging that constituency restructuring had politically favoured the BJP and its allies. He said he would attend an INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi to be held at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, where the opposition is expected to formulate a joint strategy on the proposed bill. He said the INDIA bloc will have to decide together what…
by Umer Maqbool The legislations proposed to be tabled in Parliament by the Union Government empower a delimitation commission, to be constituted by the Union Government, to determine the number and boundaries of Assembly segments in the Union Territory. The Commission will also decide Jammu & Kashmir’s share in Lok Sabha seats among the Union Territories, which have been allocated a maximum of 35 seats. Assembly seats According to the proposed amendments to the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall consist of such number of members, to be…
Police have arrested eight persons for their alleged involvement in vandalism during a student protest in Sopore, while 25 others have been identified in connection with the incident, officials said on Tuesday. An official said, that the arrests were made following incidents of damage to public and private property during protests that erupted after allegations surfaced against a lecturer in the town. He said those arrested were involved in ransacking property and damaging vehicles during the protest. “Eight miscreants have been arrested so far, while 25 others have been identified. Strict action will be taken against all those involved in…
Hajj flights from Srinagar are scheduled to commence from April 18 and continue till May 20, with a total of 4,704 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir set to undertake the pilgrimage this year. Executive Officer of the Hajj Committee, Dr Shujat Ahmed, informed that that 3,990 pilgrims will depart via Srinagar embarkation, including 323 from Ladakh, while 1,000 pilgrims will travel through Delhi and 50 through Mumbai. He said the flights will operate for around 10–15 days from Srinagar, with schedules subject to adjustments due to operational requirements. Ahmed said new guidelines issued by Saudi authorities include stricter health screening,…
Jammu and Kashmir’s premier tertiary care hospital, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, is grappling with an acute manpower crisis, with more than half of its sanctioned posts lying vacant, raising serious concerns over patient care and healthcare delivery in the Valley. According to details accessed, out of a total sanctioned strength of 2,262 posts at SKIMS Soura, only 1,040 employees are currently in position, while a staggering 1,222 posts remain vacant, reflecting a shortage exceeding 50 per cent. A further breakdown of the figures reveals that out of 250 sanctioned faculty positions, only 152 are filled, leaving 98…
Even though the State Election Commission has initiated the process of revising Panchayat electoral rolls, the chances of holding local body elections in the near future appear bleak. Sources said that the elected government is not keen on conducting Panchayat polls anytime soon. “There are no chances of the polls in the near future. The earliest window for any such exercise would be between September and December this year,” sources disclosed. A minister in the NC-led government, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the polls would be held at an appropriate time. “The matter has not been discussed yet,” he…
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are likely to face nearly eight percent power deficit against the total availability during the peak hours in the ongoing month of April. According to the official documents, Northern Regional Power Committee (NRPC) has anticipated a power deficit of minus 7.7 percent during the peak hours for the month of April-2026. The officials have projected that there will be a total of 2880 Megawatts (MWs) power availability in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh against the total anticipated requirement of 3119 MWs during the peak hours. It also said that there will be surplus power of…
Dal Lake has lost more than 10 per cent of its open water area over the past decade, with a government audit flagging encroachments, untreated sewage and weak monitoring as key factors behind its ecological decline. According to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), the lake’s open water spread reduced from 15.40 square kilometres in 2007 to 12.91 square kilometres in 2020, marking a decline of 10.15 per cent. The audit noted that the shrinking water area coincided with an increase in human activity within and around the lake. Floating gardens expanded significantly, while areas…