Mulberry Tree Falls, Injures Student in Srinagar

Ubeer Naqushbandi

SRINAGAR

An engineering student from Shopian Tuesday afternoon got injured when a mulberry tree fell over him at a construction site of ERA near Government Arts Emporium in Srinagar.

A Police official said that the student was walking on the road near Government Arts Emporium, when a huge mulberry tree fell, injuring him badly.

He was identified as Feroz Ahmed Bhat, 26, S/o Mohammad Shafi Bhat of Kellar Shopian. Earlier ERA workers were drilling the road near the site of the mishap where road widening is in progress.

The condition of the boy is, however, said to be stable in hospital.

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Briefing

BARAMULLA

A rare catch, the counter-insurgency grid has arrested Mohammad Sidiq, alias Shahid, a resident of Sialkot. At 18 years of age, he perhaps is the youngest militant in police custody, right now. Police says he is a Jaish recruit from Afzal Guru Squad who has been in Baramulla for almost a fortnight now. His last action in Kashmir was in Tangdar in November 2015. Arrested from Kanishpora, he has told police that he was part of a 4-member group that was launched from Ashmuqam.

DELHI

She is yet to claim the throne her father left but Ms Mehbooba Mufti is already the fourth powerful woman in India. As per the survey carried out by Delhi based Indian Express, Ms Mufti figures at 14th position, ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, BSP chief Mayawati and Priyanka Gandhi. The reason cited by the surveyor is that she played a pivotal role in shaping PDP which emerged as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014 elections.

 

DALGATE

Kashmir has been synonymous with protest for a long time now. By and large, every protest has been getting violent and that has been consistently adding new handicaps to the society. Last week, a group of women in Dalgate came out in protest against the denial of required food grains under the new food security act. Instead of shouting slogans against officials, they sung ballads highlighting denial of the food and later sat on a protest. Their peculiar singing protest attracted more people towards them.

DODA

It has been a grave tragedy. Kalyan Singh Parihar is a government officer posted at Jammu. As he was informed that his father died, he rushed with his entire family in a car. He was about to get into Doda that his car met a road accident. He died with his wife, and aunt. Many others are injured, some of them critically. His father lived in Jodhpur near Ghat.

CHANDIGARH

They wore a black ribbon and their employers sacked them. Six Kashmiri employees deployed in Mohali under central government run Skill Development Programme reported to their duties with black armbands. On the 25th anniversary of the Kunan Mass rapes, these students also distributed handbills. Soon, they got the pink slips. With Kashmir already in sharp focus in the backdrop of happenings in the JNU, it got lot of publicity. Next day, the employers restored their job.

DELHI

Agha Shahid Ali has written a lot of poetry on Kashmir and one of his 1997 poems was – The Country Without a Post Office. Recently some JNU students had converted this into a poster. This angered Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu who mistook the title for an indictment against Prime Minister Modi. “The heading of the poster says: ‘A country without a post office’. Is India without post office? The entire world is looking towards India under the great leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji today,” Naidu shouted in the Lok Sabha. “I am a Minister of Urban Development and I can tell you that 36 countries have approached me in the recent past saying that they want to invest in India because this is the best place and also it is a hope for investment. That is the mood. The world is respecting India and some people are putting up posters saying: ‘A country without a post office.’”

Almost 35 kms, which is around one-third of the total rail tunneling between Banihal and Katra is completed

 

Srinagar temperature was 20.6 degrees in February 1940 and 76 years later in 2016

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‘Fun Activity Week’ Thrills Students, Teachers; Evokes Good Response

Ubeer Naqushbandi

SRINAGAR

The first day of “Fun Activity Week” announced earlier by Director School Education Dr Shah Faesal in schools started Tuesday with the beginning of new academic session. The thrill among the students was visible as schools opened after a two month long winter break.

“Today we had interaction with teachers and a light amount of study,” said Faisal Mehraj, 11^th grade student of SP higher secondary school. His friend echoing his views said that as already announced by the authorities about ‘fun week’, he said that it was a kind of regrouping after a long break.

Another student Jazib of Tyndale Biscoe School said, “It is a good step being taken by authorities as after a long winter vacation, it needs time for streamlining and getting into mould of studies.”

The teachers were duly enthusiastic to interact with students. Naila, a lecturer at higher secondary said, “We just had an interaction with the students. They, too, felt very enthusiastic about it.”

Sheemu another lecturer at valley’s oldest school SP higher secondary school said that this is not for the first time that they have been doing this in the past and by official confirmation it got a “punch” which she feels was necessary.

Senior lecturer G.N. Shakir said, “we conducted morning assemblies and from the word go started to interact with students in a very cordial atmosphere. He said that it was necessary not only from a teacher’s perspective but from student’s perspective as well. “Student’s viewpoints are essential and help us to formulate our teaching methodology accordingly. “This fun activity would continue for a week and would bring vibrancy among teachers,” he said.

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SVC Slams SMC Over Violations in Srinagar Master Plan

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

The State Vigilance Commission (SVC) Tuesday while taking strong note of alleged violations of Srinagar Master Plan by a beneficiary in connivance and conspiracy with officers/officials of different Government Departments particularly with the patronage of the officials of Srinagar Municipal Corporation, sought action taken report from the Commissioner, SMC in the light of allegations levelled.

“The SVC by taking cognizance, sought report after enquiring from the Commissioner, SMC Srinagar, over a complaint lodged by the residents of Shah Anwar Colony, Hyderpora Bypass, Srinagar,” the SVC said in a statement, “regarding construction of a multi-storeyed building at Hyderpora Bypass Srinagar adjacent to National Highway, opposite Classical Hospital in gross violation of Srinagar Master Plan Guidelines.”

The violations, the SVC said, took place in contravention of Municipal laws and rules governing thereto, in connivance and by hatching conspiracy with the officers/ officials of various Government Departments viz The Pollution Control Board, The Labour Department and SMC Srinagar “who instead of initiating any action against the violator remained mute spectators thereon, besides, the violator had illegally leased out the said building to a private Firm for running commercial activities in residential area”.

“The report received from the Srinagar Municipal Corporation, prima-facie reveals that a multi-storeyed building had been raised by the violator in contravention of Srinagar Master Plan and the provisions of The J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000. Besides, no concrete measures seem to have been taken by the Authorities of SMC in order to stop the violator from constructing the building who has taken refuge of an order passed by The J&K Special Tribunal, showing the negligent and non-serious approach adopted by the officers/officials of SMC Srinagar in the matter amounting to acts of omission and commission by the concerned public servants.”

The SVC while ensuring that strict action is taken against the officers/officials of SMC Srinagar in the matter which has lead to gross violation of the Srinagar Master Plan and Municipal laws, “has directed the Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation to submit action taken against all those involved by next date of hearing”.

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Fire Gutted a Complex in Gund Kangan

Riyaz Bhat

SRINAGAR

Representational Pic

Fire broke out in a shopping complex at Gund in Kangan area of central Kashmir Monday.

The fire completely damaged the second storey of the complex.

“The fire erupted due to the short circuit in wires and there is no loss of life or injury reported.

Fire was brought under control with the help of locals and firefighters, the official said.

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Firm of Liberty

As the situation crowded the jails across the state, not many could afford to arrange their court battles. It was then a legal firm chipped in aiding hundreds of incarcerated—especially youth booked under stone pelting and foreigners awaiting justice for years, reports Tabish Khan

Far from political din of Srinagar, the firm of an advocate Shafqat Hussain seems busy as the battery of seven lawyer volunteers are enrolling the cases of under trial foreign militants and native Public Safety Act (PSA) booked boys. Since last 25 years, Hussain has been handling the cases of under-trials without making much of it.

Hussain’s firm works on cases of young stone pelters of valley and foreigners booked under “lawless law” PSA. Some of the cases he handles involve prolonged detentions. But what sets Hussain and his battery apart—is the legal help, they provide, free of cost.

“We do it for humanity’s sake, as it is our job,” says advocate Hussain. “We do it on our own without getting help from any government agency or NGO.”

Since 2008, the firm claims to have pleaded the cases of more than 800 young boys involved in stone pelting. Hussain says the boys mostly belonged to the underprivileged families who didn’t afford court charges. “We did our bit to provide some sort of relief to such families,” he says.

Hussain while recounting the cases he handled especially after 2008 Amarnath Land Agitation talks about the several cases wherein mostly educated boys were booked under the draconian act. “This has been done only to prolong their trail and keep them under custody for long,” he says.

When he started pleading the cases of those young boys, he found an undue delay in them before reaching to courtroom. This was happening as within 60 mandatory days, police wouldn’t produce challan in the court, he says. “Besides prolonging the trail, the FIR would be kept pending.” The treatment was making boys’ and their parents’ lives a tormenting affair, Hussain says.

This is where the firm intervened. The idea was to provide maximum legal aid to the boys of all districts of Kashmir. But the battery of the lawyers didn’t stop there only. The next move was to help in repatriating many foreign prisoners who were languishing in jails under PSA for many years.

For Hussain, the foray into foreign cases wasn’t new—as since 1990s, he has been handling such cases. But now, it was the matter of rising above the individual’s level to make it his firm’s legal mission. His legal acumen greatly aided his battery of lawyers—some of whom were still fresh pass outs from universities.

As the firm acted, hundreds could return to their homes. Last year, three Bangladeshis and three Pakistanis facing illegal detentions were sent home by the firm. “Many ask us, why are you doing it without charging a penny from your clients,” says a lawyer in the firm. “But then, it is not always the question of money. We do it, as we know those persons don’t have any other to look after.”

Among the wrongfully implicated cases, Hussain recalls the case of Saleem Rehman of Pakistan. Rehman was detained under Arms Act and was facing six years of detention. “We took his case on humanitarian grounds,” Hussain says. With the result, Rehman walked out of the jail innocent.

There was another case of Zubair Mughal from Pakistan. He was facing trial in three cases—out of which, one was related to Hyderpora Highway attack on army. But once the firm pursued his case, it was found that at the time of attack, Mughal was already in custody facing trail in another two cases. “How was it possible for him to be the part of an attack when he was already in custody,” asks Hussain. With the result, the third case slapped on Mughal was dropped. “His case is a blunt misuse of PSA,” Hussain says. “Even his FIR was pending—only to deny his deportation.”

Rate of these false implications is high in JK, says advocate Wajid, a firm member. “Cases which we have pleaded were proven falsely implicated,” he says. “Whosoever is foreigner faces pathetic situation here. The course correction is needed to re-impose faith in judiciary.”

Advocate Hussain says during all these years, the firm came across certain strange cases like that of Rubina—arrested in Jammu in 2014 along with one month old baby girl.

“She is illiterate and does not even know the place in Pakistan she hails from,” Hussain says. “Pakistan Embassy is also failing in tracing her locality. We filed a petition on her behalf in High Court and it was ordered she should be deported within three weeks, but even Pakistan is denying her nationality.”

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Sunday Graduates

Over the years Srinagar’s Sunday market has evolved into more than a flea market. It has become an alternative source of income for educated and jobless youth. But the livelihood comes with a price. Saba Khan reports

For Jan Mohammad, 25, who hails from Alamgiri Bazaar in Srinagar, Sundays were never the same after he completed his graduation. During his college days, Sundays usually meant playing cricket with friends, visiting relatives, making outings with classmates etc. It was the day to relax. But, that did not last for long. Jan, after completing his studies applied for a number of positions in both government and private sector, but to no avail. “I couldn’t have waited forever,” says Jan. “I had to do something to feed my family.”

After deliberations, Jan finally started his “business” from Srinagar’s famous Sunday market. “I sell utensils at the Sunday Market,” says Jan, with a hint of self-pity in his voice.

Since then, luck has been unkind. At least that is what Jan believes now, as he is supposed to get up at 5 AM every Sunday to make his ends meet.

Since 1990, Sunday market, stretching to almost two kms length – from Radio Kashmir to Jehangir Chowk – is a permanent fixture of Srinagar’s life.

Started as an alternative source of income for those who “failed to secure a government job” for one reason or another, Sunday market has now evolved into a fully organized market place. “There is something available for everybody,” says Ghulam Hassan, who has been selling second hand clothes for the last 20 years.

In 1990, the market was started by a group of educated but unemployed youth, mostly from Srinagar’s downtown areas, after securing a loan of Rs 50 thousand each from two local banks. Those were the formative years of this peculiar market.

Since then, every Sunday, vendors like Jan erect stalls and spread out their merchandise: including pillows, cushion covers, curtains, clothing and handicrafts etc. on the folding bunks.

The striking thing about this market is that the vendors are mostly educated youth with impressive graduate and post graduate degrees.

For instance, Showkat Ahmad, 30, a resident of Pampore, who has done his graduation from SP College, Srinagar in 2012, sells clothes to make his ends meet.

A few meters from Showkat’s stall, young Ehsaan is using his lyrical voice to attract customers’ attention. Ehsaan, 24, who hails from Hazratbal, has done B.Com from Islamia College, Srinagar. He sells grocery items to scrape out a living. “I submitted a number of forms for government posts, but nothing happened. I only ended up paying fee for these forms,” says Ehsaan.

A few yards away, opposite Mughal Darbar eatery, Sabir, 27, is busy negotiating with customers. He is a post graduate from Kashmir University.  “In absence of any job and pressure from my family to work, I had to choose this business,” he says.

Unlike Sabir and others, many youth denied giving details about identity fearing “shame” as they had been vending groceries and cloths despite lofty education background.

“Educated youth suffer because of unemployment,” one of the vendors told Kashmir Life. “It has become business of government to extract revenue on the name collecting forms and other things. Posts are already appointed for those who bribe them.”

Irfan, 26, a fresh graduate from Kashmir University, sells clothes and other items for living on Sundays. For rest of the week, he works with a private company. “Most of the jobs are given to rural people because they have backward certificates,” claims Irfan, “While youth from Srinagar are forced to do menial jobs despite good educational background.”

Another pressing issue that these vendors face is of constant harassment from police and other authorities, alleges Irfan. “For them (police) we all are criminals,” he says. “They look every vendor with suspicion as if selling goods for survival is a crime.”

Sabir alleges that it’s the police and municipal authorities who are pushing jobless educated youth further down the social ladder. “We have already put everything on stake for sake of our families. If this harassment continues, I don’t know where we will land up next.”

A senior vendor, who sells household items for living, reveals that it initially police was supportive as they thought this will keep youngsters away from crime and other anti-social activities. “But I don’t know why all of a sudden they have changed their minds,” he asks.

Kabir, 23, a youngster from downtown, who sells second hand jackets from a stall for living, alleges that he is being constantly harassed by the police. “All they want is money. But how can I let them have what I earn so hard,” alleges Kabir. “We just want to work respectfully.”

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