Apple farmers fear that high-density farming may imperil the apple industry in Kashmir. Shopian โ Orchardists in the southern Shopian district who had invested in high-density apple farming and were hoping for bumper returns are hopeless as the market rates for this variety have plunged to the lowest ever in recent years.ย They lament that…
Shopkeepers urge people to shop locally to help keep Kashmir businesses afloat. Srinagar โ As the business establishments in Kashmir valley struggle to stay afloat due to three years of the crisis caused by political upheaval and pandemic, the traders in the region are grappling with evolution in spending habits of people, something they find…
The slain police officers’ colleagues in Kalmoona said the unprecedented cycle of violence took Arshid away from us. SRINAGAR โ Pall of gloom descended on Kalmoona villageโ20 kilometres from northern Kashmirโs Kupwara townโon Sunday afternoon as the news about the killing of Arshid Ashraf spread.ย Arshid, 27, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in…
โGeelani was a father figure, a centre of gravity and a measure of morality for resistance politics in more than one way.โ SRINAGAR โ The death of nonagenarian Hurriyat patriarch Syed Ali Geelani is being seen as a big setback to the resistance politics in Jammu and Kashmir. There is none within the rank and…
SRINAGAR โ Kashmirโs top separatist leader, Syed Ali Geelani, who died late Wednesday evening was laid to rest at a local graveyard, against his will, and amidst extraordinary security measures. The funeral was tightly controlled by Police as only a few relatives of Geelani and some neighbours were allowed to participate in the prayers. Geelani,…
Prominent pulmonologist Naveed Nazirโs tweet about the possibility of a second Covid wave has only shifted focus on Kashmirโs vaccination drive still grappling with misinformation and speculations. Inside his crowded clinic at Sanat Nagar junction in Srinagar, a doctor stands isolated. Attending patients behind a transparent glass wall and addressing them through a mike, he…
Covid and cardiac caseloads have redefined the routine practice of conflict-hardened community medicos in Kashmir. In his old-world charm clinic in Srinagarโs Rainawari area, Dr. Majeed Ahangar stands immaculately dressed in a black woollen cap, black feather jacket and brown baggy pants. The poorly-lit infirmary reeks with medicine whiff, while the plywood walls pasted with…
Four JK lawmakers in Rajya Sabha are retiring in coming weeks. In absence of J&K Legislative Assembly that is the electoral institution via which the new members would be elected, the speculation and the debate within the political circles remain about the empty benches in the Indian parliament. Before Kashmirโs โabrogatedโ political landscape would create…
Kashmirโs โstranger than fictionโ facts resurfaced when a cop tasked to intern insurgents in โgodforsakenโ land received his siblingโs dead body at the fag-end of the plagued year. But then, what happened at Sonamargโs sprawling conflict cemetery has been happening in the valley since the 1990s now. The news came when he was on his…
The year branded for the so-called โMission 2020โ ended up unleashing another crippling phase in Kashmir. Amid paralysis, the valley stood resilient despite strife bleeding it through a thousand cuts. After surviving sixteen-month-long lockdownโthe phase she mostly fended for herself indoors amid flaring up moods and depressive phasesโZainab Nisar is finally breathing easy in her…