Greater Kashmir

Jammu, Jul 23: The northern railway on Thursday operated a special train from Srinagar to Katra to facilitate the movement of more than 600 tourists and other passengers stranded in the Kashmir Valley due to slow traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway following heavy rainfall. The special train was operated by the Jammu Division on the directions of Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal to ensure safe and comfortable travel for stranded passengers, officials said. The train

New Delhi, Jul 23: Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday urged supporters of the ongoing students' movement to remain peaceful, saying he was pained by reports that anti-social elements were trying to provoke violence elsewhere while the protest at Jantar Mantar remained peaceful. Marking the 26th day of his indefinite hunger strike, Wangchuk said in a post on X, Peace and only peace is my way. While at Jantar Mantar the protests remain peaceful, I'm pained to learn that elsewhere some antisocial

New Delhi, Jul 23: India on Thursday strongly rejected comments made by Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister at the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum, accusing Islamabad of misusing a multilateral platform to spread falsehoods and divert attention from its record of sponsoring cross-border terrorism. In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India categorically rejects the baseless and unwarranted comments made by the Pakistani leader. It is no

New Delhi, Jul 23: Several leaders of the Congress and INDIA bloc parties on Thursday paid homage to all those students who took their lives due to paper leaks, and said they stood strongly behind the agitating students and their demands. The opposition leaders first assembled at the residence of Rahul Gandhi on 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, and reiterated their full support for the demands of the protesting students. From there, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, led them to the G

1 crore sounds substantial. It can clear a loan, support household expenses, and create a financial cushion after the loss of an earning family member. Yet insurance should not be judged by how impressive the sum looks today. Its value depends on how long the money must last, which responsibilities remain, and how inflation affects future expenses. A 1 crore insurance policy can suit some households but leave others underinsured. The answer becomes clearer after examining income, debts, dependan

Srinagar, July 23: As part of its sustained efforts to maintain peace, public order, and security in the district, J&K Police in Baramulla conducted search operations at the residences of Jammu & Kashmir natives presently living in Pakistan (POK), their family members, and other closely associated premises falling within the jurisdiction of Police Station Bijgama. Officials said the searches were conducted strictly in accordance with due legal procedure in a professional and orderly manner, with

Ganderbal, July 23: The Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA) on Thursday suspended the movement of tourists and visitors to the Thajiwas area for the next two days in view of incessant rainfall and the heightened risk of flash floods and landslides. In an advisory issued by the Chief Executive Officer of the Sonamarg Development Authority, the restriction has been imposed as a precautionary measure amid prevailing inclement weather conditions across the region. In view of the prevailing inclemen

Srinagar, Jul 23: National Conference Additional General Secretary and Member of Parliament Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan on Thursday expressed solidarity with students protesting over the alleged NEET paper leak, demanding compensation for the families of students who allegedly died by suicide and reiterating the party's demand for the resignation of the Union Education Minister. In a statement, Chowdry Ramzan said the entire nation, particularly the opposition stands with the youth who have been see

Mumbai, July 23: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday told protesters at Jantar Mantar that their struggle was a test even bigger than the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), urging them to persevere in the fight against injustice and corruption. Addressing the gathering, Mufti said those participating in the protest had left behind their homes and families and were enduring the scorching heat for a larger cause. All of you have left your homes and famil

Jammu, July 23: The death toll in the recent rain-triggered flash floods and landslides across Jammu region rose to 26 on Thursday with the recovery of the body of a 25-year-old woman from Poonch district, officials said. The body of Khalida Kouser, wife of Yasar Iqbal of Murrah village, was recovered near the Fazalabad footbridge in Surankote during a search operation. She had been washed away in the devastating flash floods that struck the area on the night of July 18, they said. Officials sai

BSNL prepaid plans cap daily data at 1 GB to 5 GB per day. After the cap, speed drops to 40 Kbps. Here is how to match your plan to what you actually do online, whether streaming or browsing. Most people pick a mobile data plan based on two things: price and how many days it lasts. With BSNL data plans, there is a third factor that matters more than either of those: the daily data cap. When a BSNL plan runs out of high-speed data for the day, the speed drops to 40 Kbps, as confirmed on BSNL's of

Srinagar, July 23: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for a people-centric approach to tackling terrorism, saying security measures alone cannot bring lasting peace and warning that demolishing houses and carrying out mass arrests could prove counterproductive.He also urged the Centre to engage with protesting youth, saying their concerns could no longer be ignored. Addressing reporters after attending a startup event in Srinagar, Abdullah said defeating terrorism

Srinagar, July 23: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today chaired a high-level security review meeting with senior officials from the Army, J&K Police, Civil Administration, CAPFs, and key security agencies. He directed officials to remain highly vigilant, step-up intelligence-led anti-terror operations and proactively neutralize emerging security threats. The meeting was attended by Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command; Atal Dulloo, C

Jammu Police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have rescued two persons stranded in the River Tawi near Prambli, Phallian Mandal, following a sudden rise in the water level, officials said today. The rescued persons have been identified as Farman Ali, S/o Bashir Ahmed, R/o Allora, aged 25 years, and Farooq Ahmed, S/o Ali Hussain, R/o Sohanjana, aged 28 years. Both had gone in the morning along with their cattle for grazing near the river when the water level suddenly increased, leavin

Srinagar, Jul 23: The committee on privileges of the Jammu and KashmirAssembly will meet here on Friday to hear the motion against PDP MLA Waheed Para in a breach of privilege case. The assembly secretariat has asked Para to present himself before the nine-member committee on privileges headed by Hasnain Masoodi at 11 am on Friday. A breach of privilege notice was issued to Para in November 2024 based on a complaint by National Conference MLA Nazir Ahmad Gurezi. Gurezi accused the opposition MLA

Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Sunil Kumar Sharma on Thursday said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have not forgotten how Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rewarded the main accused in the biggest MBBS entrance scam by not only granting him an extension, but also appointing him to a postsuperannuation job as consultant. In a statement, Sharma said that Omar Abdullah should be the last person to sermonize on transparency and accountability, as he holds the ignominious dist

Srinagar, Jul 23: OpenAI has revealed that an autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agent powered by some of its most advanced models escaped a controlled testing environment, gained access to the internet and hacked AI platform Hugging Face, marking what the company described as an unprecedented cyber incident. According to Reuters, the incident occurred during an internal security test in which OpenAI was evaluating the capabilities of its frontier AI models inside what it described as a hig

Srinagar, Jul 23: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday rejected Union minister J P Nadda's claim linking his government to the SSB paper leak in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the incident occurred under the LG administration in 2022, long before his government took office in 2024. Abdullah was responding to remarks made by Nadda during a press conference on Wednesday, where the Union health minister accused the NC and the Congress of remaining silent on paper leak scandals. You are absolutely co

New Delhi, July 23: Senior Supreme Court advocate and distinguished fellow at the International Law Centre, Ashok Bhan, has said that recent reports of police action against a peaceful protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party raise serious constitutional concerns and underscore the need to safeguard democratic dissent. While speaking at a meeting of young lawyers organised by Lawyers Guild, Bhan said the Constitution of India not only permits peaceful protest but expressly protects it thr

Mumbai, Jul 23: A police attempt to shift student protesters in a van in Mumbais Chembur area was foiled when a man casually walked up and opened the latch, allowing several youths to gush out and escape, according to a viral video. The incident occurred during a student protest held on Wednesday afternoon at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyan Chowk within the jurisdiction of the Chembur police station. The demonstration was held in violation of prohibitory orders, police said. According to the police,

Srinagar, July 23: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will chair a high-level meeting to review security situation and Amarnath Yatra at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar today, sources said. Sources said that the meeting will begin at 11:00 am today. The meeting comes a day after a policeman was killed in a terror attack in Anantnags Lal Chowk area on Wednesday afternoon. Sources said heads of all intelligence and security agencies will attend the meeting. Sinha will be briefed about the si

Banihal, Jul 23: A massive boulder rolled down a hillside and struck a vehicle on the BagwahDeesa road in Doda district on Thursday, causing extensive damage to Mahindra pickup vehicle and triggering panic among commuters. The impact completely crushed the vehicle. Officials said no injuries or loss of life have been reported in the incident. The incident comes amid continuous rainfall across Doda and the Chenab Valley, which has triggered landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones at several vu

Banihal, July 23: Continuous heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir has led to a sharp rise in the water level of the Chenab River, damaging the temporary cofferdam at the under-construction 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Power Project in Kishtwar district, officials and sources said on Thursday. Sources said the surge in river discharge, triggered by incessant rain and increased inflows from the upper catchment areas, affected the project's temporary cofferdama structure built to divert river wate

Jammu, Jul 23: The Jammu-Srinagar national highway remained closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday following multiple landslides and shooting stones triggered by relentless rain in Jammu region. The rains, which have been continuing for the past five days, have left 23 people dead and seven missing, officials said. Rescue teams have intensified their search for the seven missing persons in the flood and landslide-hit border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, where additional personnel w

Srinagar, Jul 23: Keran block in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir has secured the first position in the country in the Delta Rankings of NITI Aayog's Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) for the January-March 2026 quarter. An official said Marwah block in Kishtwar district bagged the second position in the overall performance rankings, the official said. The rankings were released by NITI Aayog as part of its outcome-based monitoring framework for underdeveloped blocks across the country, of

Srinagar, July 23: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir of the Crime Branch has filed a chargesheet against four accused in connection with a multi-crore shawl cheating case involving the alleged fraud of over 2.50 crore. According to an official statement, the chargesheet in FIR No. 55/2022 under Sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) was filed before the Court of the Sub Judge Small Causes, Srinagar. T

New Delhi, Jul 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the government has decided to establish fast-track courts to ensure the swift trial and stringent punishment of those involved in examination paper leak cases. Stressing that the welfare and future of the country's youth are of paramount importance, the Prime Minister said the decision is part of a series of measures aimed at protecting the interests of students and preserving the integrity of examinations. Nothing is mor

New Delhi, Jul 23: Sixteen Delhi Metro stations, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Mandi House, ITO and Khan Market, were closed on Thursday morning till further instructions due to security reasons, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said. The development comes as the crowd swelled at the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar. However, interchange facility shall remain available at Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House and Central Secretariat metro stations. Lok Kalyan

Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Wednesday said he would end his indefinite hunger strike if the Centre gives an unequivocal assurance that no punitive or retaliatory action would be taken against students and youth who participated in the protest against alleged examination irregularities. He also said that Union ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh had already assured him that the government would positively consider his two other key demands. In a letter addressed to the two ministers, Wangchuk s

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday intensified his attack on the Centre over the NEET paper leak and the ongoing CJP-led student protests, saying there had been 154 examination paper leaks in the past decade but not a single conviction, Targeting the government over the police action against protesters, Rahul Gandhi questioned the use of force on students and reiterated his demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The question is why is this happening to

Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were disrupted for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as the Opposition remained adamant on its demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak and police action against student protesters. According to national media reports, Congress MP K.C. Venugopal raised the issues of the paper leak and police action on students in the Lok Sabha, while Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharg

The Centre has introduced a series of digital governance and pilgrim welfare measures for Haj 2026, including the launch of the Hajj Suvidha App 2.0, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply, Rijiju said the upgraded app will provide pilgrims with end-to-end services, including travel schedules, accommodation details, baggage information, emergency contacts, health advisories, SOS support and grievance redressal. The Hajj application

The Settlement Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Finance Corporation (JKLFC) met under the chairmanship of the Managing Director to consider settlement of seven Non-Performing Asset (NPA) loan accounts under the Settlement Scheme-2026 (SS-2026). The Committee approved settlement proposals in respect of six NPA loan accounts involving a total settlement amount of approximately Rs 84.43 lakh, subject to the borrowers depositing the approved settlement amounts within the stipulated peri

Two researchers from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) have secured the coveted Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) National Post-Doctoral Fellowships, among Indias most competitive funding programmes for early-career scientists, for pioneering research on crop disease resistance and next-generation diabetic wound care. The fellowships have been awarded to Dr. Aasiya Nabi and Dr. Sofi Imtiyaz Ali for high-impact translational resea

Director Agriculture Kashmir, Sartaj Ahmad Shah, today chaired a virtual review meeting with all Chief Agriculture Officers (CAOs) of the Kashmir Division to assess the prevailing flood situation and review the preparedness of the Agriculture Department in view of the inclement weather conditions. During the meeting, the Director took a detailed district-wise assessment of the situation, including reports on waterlogging, crop damage, and the preparedness of field staff to respond promptly to an

A high-level delegation of the Kashmir Traders & Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), led by its President Mohammad Yaseen Khan, on Wednesday visited Beerwah to express solidarity with traders affected by the recent flash floods that caused widespread devastation in the town. The delegation inspected the damaged market, where several shops suffered extensive losses and an entire shopping complex was washed away by the force of the floodwaters. Members of the delegation interacted with affected trade

Government debt across the euro area increased to 88.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2026, up from 87.7% at the end of 2025, according to data released by Eurostat. Across the broader European Union (EU), the government debt-to-GDP ratio also edged higher, rising to 82.9% from the previous quarter. Among member states, Greece recorded the highest government debt level at 143.5% of GDP, followed by Italy at 138.9% and France at 117.6%. The latest figures underscore the

The government has approved the construction of two unity malls, one each in Srinagar and Jammu, at a cumulative cost of Rs 255 crore, in a major push to promote local artisans, handicrafts, handloom products, and other indigenous goods. The Office of the Chief Minister, J&K, in a post on X, said: The government has approved the construction of two unity malls, one each in Srinagar and Jammu, at a cumulative cost of Rs 255 crore. It said that the projects would provide a dedicated platform for l

Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources Regulatory Authority (JKWRRA) held its meeting after reconstitution and cleared various Bore-well cases requiring approval of Authority. As per an official press release, Chairperson, JKWRRA, Suresh Kumar Gupta, chaired the meeting which was attended by Rajesh Sharma and Manoj Gupta Members of JKWRRA besides Ashwani Sharma, Secretary and other senior officers of the Authority. Secretary of the Authority along with Vaneet Vaid, Superintending Engineer made Power

Amid growing concerns over environmental degradation, shrinking wetlands, pollution of rivers and lakes, rampant encroachments, poor solid waste management and increasing ecological pressure on tourist destinations, the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly Committee on Environment will hold a crucial meeting on July 23, 2026 to review the environmental performance of the Tourism department and allied agencies. The meeting will be chaired by Committee chairman Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, MLA. The m

Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Indu Kanwal Chib on Wednesday appealed to the public to stay away from water bodies in view of the prevailing weather conditions and rising water levels. Addressing the media during her field visit to Sonerwani, Bonar Nallah and other adjoining areas, the Deputy Commissioner advised residents not to venture near water bodies and to strictly adhere to all safety advisories issued by the district administration and other concerned agencies. She also called upon paren