JAMMU, Mar 19: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a high level meeting to review identification of land parcels for creation of a land bank to support developmental projects besides facilitating compensatory afforestation in lieu of forest land diverted for infrastructure projects, in compliance with Supreme Court directives. The Chief Secretary directed both the divisional and district administrations to identify...

Wages Of NHM Employees Revised From 15% To 17% With 5% Annual Increase: Sakeena Itoo
Regularisation of NHM employees to be taken up with GoI JAMMU, Mar 19: Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo, today informed the house that the wages of all NHM employees in J&K had been revised from 15 percent to 17 percent during the year 2021-22 with a 5 percent increase being given annually. The Minister was replying to...

Terror Funding Case | Delhi Court To Decide On Mar 21 Bail Plea Of MP Engineer Rashid
New Delhi, Mar 19: A Delhi court would on March 21 pass its order on the bail plea of jailed J&K MP Engineer Rashid in a terror funding case. Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh, who was scheduled to pass order on Wednesday, deferred the pronouncement. The judge on September 10 granted interim bail to Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popular as...

No Proposal To Change Retirement Age Of Govt Employees: Centre
New Delhi, Mar 19: The government is not considering any proposal to change the retirement age of its employees, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, he also said the government has no policy to abolish vacancy created by retirement of employees. “No proposal to change the retirement...

Sajad Lone questions police verification process
Asks Govt to clear its stand on terminated employees, address concerns of FAT students Jammu, Mar 19 : Slamming the existing verification procedures, Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone on Wednesday asked the J & K Government to clear its stance on the employees terminated during the central rule in Jammu & Kashmir. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly during grants...

Govt to take up establishment of FMGE exam centres in Kashmir with GoI
Waris Fayaz Srinagar, Mar 19 : The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday said that it will take up the matter of establishing Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) centers in Baramulla, Anantnag, and Srinagar with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Minister I/C Health & Medical Education Department confirmed that the matter would be taken up...

Gaganyaan Astronauts Kept Out Of Public Glare To Ensure No Distractions: Jitendra Singh
New Delhi, Mar 19: The four astronauts selected for Gaganyaan, India’s first human space flight mission, have been kept out of the public glare to ensure that there were no distractions, as they were undergoing certain acclimatisation and training programmes, the government said on Wednesday. Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan and Shubanshu Shukla have been selected...

No ration halted to BPL families due to verification concerns: J&K Govt
Waris Fayaz Srinagar, Mar 19 : The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday denied any stoppage of ration to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families due to verification issues. In response to a query by MLA Mir Saifullah, the government, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) stated that all eligible households are receiving their entitled food grains under the...

Earth Missed You: PM Modi As Sunita Williams, Others Return After Nine Months In Space
New Delhi, Mar 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her fellow Crew-9 members as they returned to Earth after a prolonged mission to the International Space Station, saying their unwavering determination will forever inspire millions. “Welcome back, Crew9! The Earth missed you,” Modi said in a post on X. NASA astronauts Williams, Nick...

SC Fixes April 16 For Hearing Pleas Against Appointment Of CEC, ECs Under 2023 Law
New Delhi, Mar 19: The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed April 16 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh fixed the date for hearing the pleas after advocate Prashant Bhushan said the matter is...

Stuck In Space For Over Nine Months, Sunita Williams Returns To Earth
NEW DELHI, Mar 19: For NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, an eight-day mission to the International Space Station turned out to be a challenge of a lifetime as problems cropped up on their Boeing space flight that stretched her stay in orbit to over nine months. Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore bid farewell to the International Space Station, their home...

NIA raids 12 locations in Jammu over terrorist infiltration case
Jammu, Mar 19 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted searches at 12 locations in Jammu in connection with a case related to terrorist infiltration from across the border. Officials told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that the raids were carried out at premises linked to overground workers (OGWs), hybrid terrorists, and sympathizers of terror outfits. The case...

Contractors Served Notices For Repairing Of Roads In Udhampur West: Javed Dar
Jammu, Mar 18: Minister for Rural Development Department, Javed Ahmad Dar, today informed the House that the roads being constructed by PMGSY in Udhampur West constituency are under Defect Liability Period (DLP) for a period of 5 years. If any damage is found after construction or during the maintenance period then it is being rectified by the Contractor, he added....

Blossomed Almond Trees At Badamwari Source Of Attraction For Tourists In Srinagar
Srinagar, Mar 18: With the arrival of spring in Kashmir, Srinagar’s historic Badamwari—the sprawling almond garden in the old city—has come to life , drawing a surge of tourists. As the first major attraction to awaken after the valley’s harsh winter, Badamwari has long been a herald of spring’s arrival. With the recent spell of sunny and pleasant weather, it...

Construction of additional block at SDH Habbak halted by LCMA: Govt
‘Nearly 4,000 trained in Basic Life Support to handle emergencies in Banihal’ Jahangeer Ganaie Srinagar, Mar 18 : The Jammu and Kashmir government said on Tuesday that the construction of an additional block at Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Habbak in Srinagar has been halted by the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA). Responding to a question from MLA Salman Sagar, Health...

No proposal for upgrading PHC Herman, DK Pora: Govt
Building at CHC Hiranagar old, needs repair, safety audit Jahangeer Ganaie Srinagar, Mar 18 (KNO): There is no proposal before the government to upgrade the PHC Herman and PHC DK Pora in South Kashmir’s Shopian district to a level of CHCs, the government informed the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. Replying to a question of MLA Showkat Hussian Ganaie, the concerned...

NHM employees contracts renewed on performance basis: Health Minister
Jahangeer Ganaie Srinagar, Mar 18 : Health Minister Sakina Itoo on Tuesday informed the Legislative Assembly that National Health Mission employees are hired for one year and their contracts are renewed on the basis of their performance. Replying to a question of MLA Daleep Singh Parihar the Health Minister, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, “The National...

High-Security Alert Sounded In J&K After Recent Terror Attacks In Pakistan
Jammu, Mar 18: A high-security alert has been sounded across Jammu and Kashmir in view of the recent terror attacks in Pakistan, including the killing of a top commander of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), officials said on Tuesday. All the protected persons, including politicians, have been advised to be conscious and strictly follow the security protocols for their safety, the...

Delhi HC Lists Engineer Rashid’s Plea To Attend Parliament For March 25
New Delhi, Mar 18: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday listed a plea filed by jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid seeking permission to attend the ongoing Parliament session for hearing on March 25. A bench of justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup J Bhambhani deferred the hearing after the counsel for the National Investigation Agency (NIA)...

Attacker, Victim Put On Par: Jaishankar On Kashmir
New Delhi, Mar 18: The “longest-standing” illegal occupation of a territory after World War II has been experienced by India in Kashmir, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday as he highlighted the selective application of global rules on issues pertaining to sovereignty and territorial integrity. In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar batted for establishing a...

No plan to provide stipend to unemployed youth: J&K government
3.70 lakh jobless youth registered with Employment Department Jammu, Mar 17 : The Jammu & Kashmir Government on Tuesday informed the Legislative Assembly that it has no plans to provide stipend to unemployed youth in the Union Territory. In a written response to a question of MLA Samba Devinder Kumar Manyal, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Minister in-charge...