Srinagar, Dec 17: With ‘Chillai-Kalan’ beginning on December 21, Srinagar endured its coldest night of the winter so far with temperatures plummeting to minus 6.4 Degrees Celsius, weatherman said on Thursday.
The mercury also recorded a plunge overnight in other parts of the Valley even as Gulmarg, the world famous skiing resort, recorded a low of minus 11.0 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night.
A meteorological department official told GNS that today’s minimum temperature in Srinagar was almost six degrees below the normal for this time of the year.
However, he said, Gulmarg remained the coldest place in Kashmir Valley even as Pahalgam, the famous tourist destination of the Valley, recorded minus 8.9 degree Celsius against 7.4 on previous night, Qazigund minus 4.9°C, Kupwara minus 5.8°C, Kokernag minus 4.8°C, and Srinagar (IAF) minus 5.7°C.
Due to the harsh weather conditions, people are facing a lot of problems. The water from taps has frozen in many places, causing a lot of inconvenience to the people who mostly start their activity late in the morning. Some portions of the Dal Lake were also frozen due to the cold wave. The scheduled and unscheduled power cuts have made things worse for the inhabitants too.

The weatherman has forecast mainly dry weather over Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for next few days. ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the 40-day period of harshest winter in Kashmir, begins on December 21. While it will end on January 31, the cold wave, however, continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold). (GNS)

‘We’re open for business, come partner with J&K and embark on the journey of growth and development’
Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, Dec 17: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today called for unlocking the potential of Jammu Kashmir in a multi-dimensional fashion, through systemic interventions at the individual and community level. The purpose of such interventions is to effectively support and encourage young individuals to achieve their true potential, he said.
The Lt Governor was addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit-2020 organized through virtual mode.
During his address, the Lt Governor underscored the significance of the Summit and observed that the theme – ‘Partnership for Lives, Livelihood & Growth’ is very important for two reasons- First, we have to realize that a country cannot exist as an island, and, secondly, each and every sector of our economy is interwoven.
Since we are pulling ourselves together to restart the engine of economic growth that was partially disrupted due to the global pandemic, we cannot live and grow alone. We have to be together to multiply comprehensive development in every sector, he added.
He further called for joint efforts by the Government, Private Enterprises, and Civil Society Groups to overcome Social, Ecological, and Economic challenges for a post-COVID world.
To revive economic growth, we need to act innovatively and at a pace faster than pre-COVID era. Each and every sector of our economic wheel is interdependent on one another just like the countries in a globalized world are deeply connected for economic cooperation and speeding up industrial growth while improving living conditions for their own people, said the Lt Governor.
When the Prime Minister announced a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs.20 Lakh Crore for AatmaNirbhar Bharat, he gave a vision that self-reliance is different from being self-centered and India has a lot of potential to contribute to the development of the entire humanity, he added.

The Lt Governor congratulated CII on its 125th anniversary and commended the organization for doing a great job for growing new business and being the voice of change and leadership for existing ones.
“I am greatly enthused with the idea that CII and its members have incubated and led centres of excellence in various States/UTs”, he added.
The Lt Governor observed that Jammu and Kashmir, the crown jewel of India possesses great growth potential having talented young English-speaking population, coupled with established supply chains, ease of doing business, single-window clearances, competitive regulatory and policy landscapes assured part insurance covers, and rich natural resources.
He called upon the CII and its members to partner with J&K and be the change that one truly wishes to see reflected on the ground, besides shaping up a magnificent future and to invest in a truly greenfield project.
“We’re open for business. And we’re set for growth, which is sustainable and builds businesses with purpose. Come and partner with us! And enrich this partnership summit with your ideas and your inputs” remarked the Lt Governor.
“I want to see industry, jobs, skilled workforce, modern villages, and world-class infrastructure walk hand-in-hand together in Jammu Kashmir in 2021. We will therefore do our utmost to ensure prosperous development of this Union Territory with your support. In order to attain this goal, I promise to work with you on the necessary interventions. We’re planning to host the J&K Global investor’s Summit soon and CII is the partner organization for it as well”, said the Lt Governor.
Highlighting major initiatives taken by the UT Government, the Lt Governor said that the present dispensation, supported by the best team of officers, has taken over 150 new initiatives and reforms in under 100 days.
The UT Government has given 5% interest subvention; 50% reduced prices for electricity and water for a year; For ease of mobility a grant of Rs 5 lakh rupees for replacing old buses that ply; Reduced the registration fee by 50%; Undertaken a massive outreach program connecting with villages in Kashmir called “Back to the Village”, where we have given a grant of upto Rs 10 lakh rupees for two youth per Panchayat reaching over 12,000 young men and women for entrepreneurship and local small and medium businesses, observed the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor expressed hope to see expressions of interest from business on the themes of Livelihood generation, Education and Skill Development, Sports & Recreation, CSR, Social impact projects, Financial assistance / Fellowships/ Philanthropic giving, Media, Art & Culture, Agriculture, and allied industries.
He suggested for investing more in rural infrastructures like connecting India’s villages to the nearest towns, more infrastructure for crop storage, and access to quality public transport ensuring emission standard vehicles for a sustainable new business model. Each and every issue starting from jobs, clean energy to credit growth has to be tackled in-depth to mitigate problems threatening the current financial stability, he added.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor expressed delight and described faster re-engineering and re-processing of policies, which are happening across the country for the resilient and self-reliant India, as a key vehicle to achieve a strong growth trajectory and to have a robust balanced development. He informed that despite sudden disruption for a few months, Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory has brought order in on the ground implementation of projects in several sectors and has achieved number one position in Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and enhancing the storage capacity for both agriculture and horticulture produce.
The manufacturing sector is witnessing re-engineering processes to boost productivity. In the last 6-7 years, the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of a simplified regulatory procedure is paying rich dividends and it is visible in India’s current improved ranking in ease of doing business reports, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor also called for enhancing marketing support to MSMEs, Industrial incentives, and promotion of village industries. He said that with new start-ups, unique innovations, new technology products, and by transforming India into a global manufacturing hub, we will be able to trigger a much-needed productivity spurt in 2021.
In manufacturing, we need to give an additional push to the sectors which are based on competitiveness and have employment potential. In the new decade, we may have to create new quantifiable and measurable milestones for these sectors which should be monitored regularly, he added.
While speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor informed that J&K has more than 07 lakh Micro and around 03 thousand Small Industries. Like any other sector, this sector too has an important role in providing employment opportunities. We are addressing twin issues of investment and improving productivity levels. We have committed lot of resources and implemented 20-point reforms to ensure there is a permanent shoring up in productivity, he maintained.
Speaking on growth opportunities in major sectors, the Lt Governor observed that Industry and Services along with Agriculture are going to play a major role in achieving inclusive growth, enhancement of Financial Inclusion, and improvement in Social Equity without overstretching the available revenue sources.
Soon we are going to witness scaling up of investment in several sunrise sectors aligned with policies that will support global priorities by emphasizing the re-engineering and re-alignment of business policy for sustainable growth, enhanced production, and consumption, the Lt Governor maintained.
It is my aim to create a stable policy and regulatory ecosystem for businesses so that they can build for scale and create a thriving startup ecosystem in J&K UT, said the Lt Governor.
He expressed his firm belief that start-ups in Information Technology Enabled Services will play a major role in shaping the global architecture for 2021 economy.
Automation and the fourth industrial revolution also meant rethinking, renewing, and recharging approaches to problem-solving, he added.
While concluding his address, the Lt Governor recalled the Swaraj Movement which was also started 125 years ago, and called for a Gram Swaraj. “We all should do our Karma but in a selfless, dedicated, and cooperative way in the world and society we are living in”, he said.
He further suggested for inclusion of four other most important factors in the action plan – Quality Education, Best Health Care facilities, Skill Development, and Continuous Farmer-centric initiatives to achieve social equity. Gender equality and environmentally sustainable businesses will also be crucial for global well-being. Our utmost and immediate priority is to execute the policies for a smooth social and economic transition and bridge the gaps in global cooperation for a sustained business environment, observed the Lt Governor.

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, Dec 17: 68.43 percent and 58.64 percent voter turnout was recorded in the Seventh Phase of vacant Panch and Sarpanch by-polls respectively held the other day.

The information was given today by the State Election Commissioner, K.K Sharma.

While giving out the details, SEC informed that by-polls for Panch vacant seats were held in 438 vacant seats in the seventh phase. Out of a total of 76866 electors (including 39727 males and 37139 females), 52599 voted and 1000 candidates were in fray.

The SEC while giving out the overall percentage said that Jammu division recorded 72.95 per cent and Kashmir division recorded 68.22 per cent voter turnout during the 7th phase of Panch by-elections.

Similarly, he said 58.64 per cent voting was registered on vacant 69 Sarpanch constituencies in which a total of 112856 electors (including 59114 males and 53742 females), 66175 voted to choose their representatives.

He further added that 74.92 per cent polling was registered in Jammu division whereas 52.72 per cent polling was recorded in Kashmir division in Sarpanch by-polls.

SEC said that in Jammu division in Sarpanch by-polls, Udhampur district recorded the highest voter turnout of 81.38 per cent followed by Reasi with 80.16 percent and Rajouri by 77.68

Similarly in Kashmir division, Bandipora district topped with 68.82 per cent followed by Budgam with 54.54 per cent and Baramulla with 53.02 per cent.

While giving information about the highest voter turnout in both the divisions, the SEC said that in Panch by-polls, Bandipora recorded the highest voter turnout with 75.66 per cent in Kashmir division followed by Ganderbal with 75.06 per cent and Kupwara with 71.22 per cent.

Similarly, Rajouri topped the polling percentage with 84.85 per cent followed by Reasi with 83.98 percent and Doda with 78.38 percent, he added.

While giving an overview of the polling process, SEC said that the polling was peaceful and smooth across the region at all polling stations.