SRINAGAR: Parvez Rasool, an International Cricketer from J&K, today called on Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan.
He briefed the Lt Governor on his endeavours to promote sports in the region.
#SRINAGAR: The number of pilgrims who paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir crossed the three lakh mark on Sunday as nearly 15,000 yatris had darshan of the naturally formed ice lingam, officials said here.
KISHTWAR: The revered Annual Yatra of Shri Ashtadash Bhuja Mata Sarthal Devi Ji commenced today in Kishtwar, marking the beginning of a joyous and spiritually significant event.
The yatra commenced with a grand Hawan ceremony held at Gori Shankar Mandir Sarkoot, where devotees offered “Aahuti & Puran Aahuti.”
Accompanied by an impressive Shoba yatra, the Chari Mubarak (holy procession) proceeded through Chowgan ground, Sheedhi Chowk, and the Bus stand, starting from Gori Shankar Mandir.
Thousands of devotees, including men, women, and children, enthusiastically chanted religious slogans and bhajans while traditional drum beats resonated along the procession route.
The local communities from various neighborhoods extended a warm welcome to the Holy Chari.
At the Bus Stand, devotees boarded buses and other vehicles to make their way to the historic Sarthal Devi Temple in Kishtwar. Tomorrow morning on 15 July a MahaYajna (grand religious ritual) will be performed at Sarthal Devi Mandir.
The district administration and police have made meticulous arrangements for security, drinking water, power supply, transportation, and other essential facilities at Sarthal and Kishtwar to ensure a smooth and comfortable experience for the devotees.
Sarthal Devi Ji is revered as the “Kul Devi” (patron goddess) of the region. The historic yatra has been organized every year since the Dogra Regime, and each devotee holds a deep and unique faith in this sacred pilgrimage.
The yatra is annually organized by the Shri Sarthal Devi Ji Trust, under the patronage of Dr. Karan Singh, the sole trustee, and Vikramaditya Singh, Chairman Trustee of the Trust.
Accompanying the yatra were esteemed dignitaries, including Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kishtwar Abdul Qayoom;ASP Kishtwar Pawan Kumar, Former Minister, Sunil Sharma and prominent civil society members, Religious personalities including Surinder Sen, President of Sanatan Dharma Sabha; and Sanjeev Parihar, Vice Chairman of Shri Sarthal Devi Ji Trust, among others also accompanied the holy Yatra.
Govt committed to develop J&K’s own syncretic Culture: Union MoS
ANANTNAG: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, today threw open the ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Uma Bhagwati for the devotees at Brariangan in Shangus Tehsil, Anantnag.
The temple has been reopened after a gap of nearly 34 years.
The Union Minister was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid, Senior Superintendent of Police Anantnag, Dr G V Sundeep Chakravarthy, officers from the district administration and office bearers of Uma Bhagwati Asthapan Trust.
During the re-opening ceremony, the idol of goddess Uma, brought from Rajasthan was placed in the sanctum sanctorum.
The Union Minister, while addressing the gathering of devotees, expressed confidence that a large number of devotees shall visit the temple on its re-opening. He said that the government’s commitment towards a developed J&K and the UTs own syncretic culture shall go a long way to develop J&K into a prosperous and peaceful region.
Notably, Uma Bhagwati temple at Brariangan is an ancient shrine where devotees used to come in large numbers from different parts of the J&K to pay obeisance to the Goddess. The temple is situated amidst five springs including “Brahma Kund, Vishnu Kund, Rudhra Kund and Shiv Shakti Kund”.
#JAMMU: Under the patronage of Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice N.Kotiswar Singh and guidance of Judge High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice Tashi Rabstan, a plantation drive was held today in the High Court Complex, Janipur here.
Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice N.Kotiswar Singh, Justice Tashi Rabstan, Justice Atul Sreedharan, Justice Sindhu Sharma, Justice Puneet Gupta, Justice Rahul Bharti, Justice Mohd. Yousuf Wani and President, J and K High Court Bar Association, Jammu keenly took part in the plantation drive and also gave message of plantation to youth by planting trees of different varieties.
Principal Secretary to Chief Justice, M.K. Sharma; Director Judicial Academy, Y.P.Bourney; Registrar Rules, Rajinder Sapru; Registrar Judicial, Jammu Wing, Sandeep Kour; Member Secretary, J&K Legal Services Authority; Amit Kumar Gupta; Secretary, High Court Legal Service Committee, Prem Sagar; advocates and officers/officials of the registry were also present on the occasion.
The event was organized with an aim of enhancing the concept of Van-Mahotsav and making people aware about environment and importance of green cover around us.
#KATHUA: In Jammu and Kashmir, in order to track down the terrorists involved in the Kathua ambush in which five soldiers were martyred, over 20 persons have been detained for questioning while a massive hunt entered its forth day today.
A massive hunt is going on from Kathua, Bhaderwah, and Udhampur sides despite intermittent heavy rains and fog in dense forests. Meanwhile, questioning of some people in the backdrop of the Kathua ambush is also underway. Joint search parties of Police, Army, and paramilitary forces were carrying out intense searches in the forest area around the incident spot.
Terrain is very difficult and no stone is being left unturned to track down the terrorists involved in the deadly attack. Army and Police personnel had been deployed in dense forests across Udhampur, Samba, Rajouri, and Poonch districts. Fresh searches have been initiated in the Lala Chack area of Samba, the Manjakote area of Rajouri, and the Surankote area of Poonch districts since Wednesday morning. Elite paratroopers of the Army have also been deployed to conduct the searches.
The search teams are supported by helicopter and UAV surveillance while sniffer dogs and metal detectors are also being used, particularly in the dense forest areas. The National Investigation Agency visited the ambush site and was assisting the Police in the investigation. Worth to mention, the terrorists on Monday opened fire at two Army vehicles on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountain road near Badnota village in Kathua district, resulting in the killing of five army soldiers and wounds to five others. Meanwhile, the search operation to locate terrorists in the Doda district entered its third day today.
On Tuesday, there was a heavy exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces in the Ghadi Bhagwah forest area of Doda. Police and security forces believe at least two terrorists were injured in Tuesday’s exchange of fire.
#JAMMU: In Jammu and Kashmir, the administration has established a seven-member panel to identify foreign nationals who have been illegally overstaying in J&K for the past 13 years.
The initiative aims to facilitate the deportation of these individuals and address the issue of illegal immigration. The committee has to identify foreign nationals illegally overstaying in the Union Territory since 2011. Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department issued an order in this regard.
The panel will be chaired by the Administrative Secretary of the Home Department and includes key members such as the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) of Punjab, representatives from the Criminal Investigation Department (Special Branch) of Jammu and Srinagar headquarters, all district SSPs and SPs (Foreigners Registration), and the state coordinator of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The committee’s primary responsibilities include gathering biographic and biometric details of illegal migrants and maintaining an updated digital record. They are required to prepare a monthly report and submit it to the Union Home Ministry by the fifth day of each month.
Additionally, the Home Department has instructed the panel to coordinate and oversee efforts related to tracing and deporting foreign nationals residing illegally in J&K. The panel is also tasked with disseminating information on ongoing cases in various courts and monitoring and updating the status of these cases for relevant stakeholders.
#JAMMU: In Jammu and Kashmir, a massive joint search operation was today launched by the security forces to track down terrorists responsible for the deadly terror attack in Machedi area of Kathua district yesterday that left five army personnel dead and five other injured.
The ground search teams are being supported by helicopter and UAV surveillance. Sniffer dogs and metal detectors are also being employed in the operation with a focus on some dense forest areas in the belt.
The joint cordon and search operation was launched by army, police and CRPF in Machedi, Badnote, Kindli and Lohai areas of the Kathua district. Three to four terrorists, mostly foreigners, are believed to have executed the attack.
They are part of the same group which was involved in Basangarh attack in which a village defence guard Mohd Sharief was killed in an encounter with terrorists on April 28 in Panara village.
11,450 consumers also disconnected for non-payment of dues; No tariff hike, only calibrated rationalisation of load as per consumption
#SRINAGAR: Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has added 13,719 fresh connections to its domestic consumer base of 9.81 lakh, adding load of 7.5 MW in the system.
To curb power theft and bring down losses, as many as 55,321 inspection drives were carried out by Kashmir DISCOM from April to June this year.
In a statement issued here today, a KPDCL spokesperson stated that vigorous enforcement drives are being undertaken on a daily basis at Subdivisional level to crackdown on incidents of power pilferage, primarily by hooking and bypassing of meters in urban areas and exceeding of sanctioned load in rural areas. “Strict directions have been given to SDOs to recover dues for energy unauthorizedly consumed, raise Writ of Demand and present their cases for imposition of penalty before the Designated Courts,” he explained, adding those found using electricity unauthorizedly shall be dealt with an iron hand.
Giving details, the spokesman said 1949 new connections were added in Kulgam, 1630 in Budgam, 1269 in Sopore, 982 in Anantnag, 935 in Tangmarg, 843 in Ganderbal, 812 in Shopian, 747 in Awantipora and 611 in Bijbehara Electric Division.
Apart from above, KDPCL has also intensified action against tampering of smart meters with several FIRs registered in concerned Police Stations. “Nearly 600 applications have been filed for registration of FIRs for smart meter tampering and other thefts like hooking,” he added.
Expressing concern over unauthorised use of electricity by consumers, the KPDCL spokesman said that even in peak summer months, reports of damage to distribution transformers are being received from some parts of Kashmir Valley. “KPDCL advises its consumers to avoid using crude heating gadgets like heaters and boilers, which have been banned by the Government,” he added.
The spokesman further stated that KPDCL has disconnected 11,450 consumers for non-payment of pending dues during the first quarter of the current financial year. This includes 8,655 domestic, 2,697 commercial, 94 hoteliers and 34 industrial units. “Outstanding arrears amounting to Rs.43.26 crore have also been recovered from the consumers,” he added.
Urging the consumers to ignore rumours on tariff hike, the spokesperson once again reiterated that KPDCL has not hiked electricity tariff in both metered and non-metered areas. He, however, stated that calibrated rationalization of load as per actual consumption in unmetered areas is being carried out by all Electric Subdivisions, following Supply Code regulations. “Consumers can opt for metered billing, if they find flat-rated charges disproportionate to their consumption,” the spokesman advised.
IT Department conducts surprise check of CSCs
#SRINAGAR: To achieve the goal of Digital India by providing seamless online services to the general public, Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, issued directions to set up new touch points for CSCs in various Government offices like Deputy Commissioner offices, Block Development offices, Tehsil offices, Social Welfare offices, ARTO offices, Colleges and Universities.
Directions have been issued to all Deputy Commissioners to allocate the spaces in all such offices for setting up of new touch points.
Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs) of all districts have been nominated as nodal officers to facilitate and accelerate the opening of new touch points. As on date, 625 new CSCs have been established so far and 13081 CSCs including 537 PACs and 2160 FPS are active and providing services on Digi-Seva Portal in the Union Territory of J&K.
UT administration is implementing strict monitoring and regulatory mechanism to ensure that CSCs adhere to notified rates. In this regard, regular audits and inspections are being carried out by dedicated Divisional Level Inspection teams of IT Department to identify and penalize those engaged in overcharging.
Deputy Commissioners, who are the Chairperson of District e-Governance Societies (DeGs) have also been asked to ensure strict enforcement of notified rates in their respective districts so that general public does not suffer on this account.
Acting strictly on the complaints of overcharging by CSCs, Commissioner Secretary IT Department, Prerna Puri, ensured regular surprise inspections of various Common Services Centres (CSCs) across Jammu and Kashmir to cross check and verify their adherence to government notified rates.
The inspection teams supervised by Aijaz Qaiser, Additional Secretary IT Department, were sent to district Rajouri in the Jammu Division and Pulwama in Kashmir Division.
During the surprise checks, 31 CSCs of Rajouri district were inspected in Jammu division, whereas 49 CSCs in Pulwama were inspected in Kashmir division.
The inspection teams have recommended cancellation of licenses of 7 CSCs (3 in Jammu division and 4 CSCs in Kashmir division). Pertinently, the IT Department has notified rates to avail various online services which envisages Rs. 50 per service for government to citizen service and Rs. 75 for government to business services. Acting on certain complaints of overcharging, 664 CSC licenses have been cancelled in the past 1 year (624 in the financial year 2023-24 and 40 in this current financial year 2024-25).
Meanwhile, Vice President CSC-SPV J&K has been directed to ensure that the notified rates are prominently displayed at a conspicuous place in each CSC sensitizing all village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) regarding notified rates. It has also been directed to ensure availability of VLEs by developing a proper certified mechanism so that general public can avail online services seamlessly.
