Srinagar, Sep 1: For the first time, a female IPS officer has been appointed as Inspector General (IG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Srinagar sector, one of the militancy-affected areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
Charu Sinha, IPS officer of the 1996-batch Telangana cadre, will now be heading the Srinagar sector for CRPF as the Inspector General. This is not the first time when she has been assigned such a tough task, earlier also, she had worked as IG, the Bihar sector in CRPF and has dealt with Naxals.
Under her leadership, various anti-Naxals operations were carried out. Later, she was transferred to IG Jammu in CRPF where she spent a long and successful tenure. On Monday, a fresh order came appointing her as the IG Srinagar sector.
Current Director-General CRPF AP Maheshwari headed the Srinagar sector as IG in 2005.
The sector, which started functioning in 2005 never had a female officer at the IG level. This sector involved in anti-militancy operations and closely worked with the Indian Army along with Jammu and Kashmir police.
“Srinagar sector is located at Brein Nishat, Srinagar (J-K). It started functioning in 2005. Srinagar Sector has operational jurisdiction over three districts of J-K- Budgam, Ganderbal, and Srinagar and Union Territory of Ladakh,” the CRPF said.

“It includes 2 ranges, 22 executive units, and 3 Mahila companies. Apart from it, Srinagar Sector has administrative control on Group Centre-Srinagar,” the paramilitary force added.

Sinha will also be heading all operations involved in this sector.

Besides this, 6 IPS officers and 4 senior cadre officers have also been transferred or inducted in CRPF. IPS officers Maheshwar Dayal (Jharkhand sector), PS Ranpise (Jammu sector), Raju Bhargava (Work) have been inducted into the CRPF.
PS Ranpise will replace Charu Sinha as head of the Jammu sector.

Similarly, Rajesh Kumar who was heading operations Kashmir in the J-K zone has been transferred and Sanjay Kaushik will head the Dehradun sector.

Others who have been transferred are Rakesh Kumar Yadav, RNS Bahad, and Pramod Kumar Pandey.

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Sep 1: The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Mains for admission to engineering colleges were held on Tuesday amid stringent precautions and social distancing measures in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
Staggered entry and exit for candidates, sanitisers at the gate, distribution of masks and maintaining social distancing as candidates queued up, were among the scenes witnessed at the exam centres across the country.
The first shift of the exam began at 9.30 am while the second shift at 2.30 pm.

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Sep 1 : The Jammu and Kashmir Government today informed that the issuance of Domicile Certificates have been accelerated as about 12.5 lakh of these certificates have been issued so far with over 99 percent being erstwhile PRC holders.

Addressing a press conference here, Principal Secretary Power Development Department and Information Department, Rohit Kansal, who is also Government spokesperson said that the process of issuance of Domicile Certificates is picking up rapidly and certificate issuance is being monitored regularly.
Kansal was flanked by Principal Secretary and Financial Commissioner Revenue, Dr Pawan Kotwal and Director Information and Public Relations, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar.
“About 12.5 lakh Domicile Certificates have been issued so far. Over 99% of those issued certificates include erstwhile PRCs or including Kashmiri Pandit migrants. The process of issuance will be further accelerated and the issuance will be monitored to ensure that pendency is brought down to the lowest,” Mr Kansal informed.
He added that so far 11398 West Pakistan Refugees, 415 Valmiki community members, 10 Gorkha community members and 12340 Registered Migrants have been issued Domicile Certificates.
Giving a background about the Domicile Certificate procedure, he said that the Government had notified the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020, which is the basic eligibility condition for appointment to any post under the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir following amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, 2010.
Kansal reaffirmed that the rules provide a simple and time bound procedure for the issuance of the Domicile Certificate so that no one is put to any inconvenience, besides there are provisions for time bound issuance for certificates including an Appellate Authority whose orders will be binding as well as who has revisional powers.
“The rules have a provision that applications for grant of Domicile Certificate can be submitted either physically or electronically online. The Competent Authority can also issue domicile certificate(s) electronically,” he said.
He also mentioned that the Permanent Residents of the erstwhile State of J&K in whose favour Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) has been issued by the competent authority before October 31, 2019 shall be eligible for receiving their Domicile Certificates on the basis of PRCs alone and no other additional document shall be required for such residents.
Similarly, he noted that for Kashmiri migrants, a very simple procedure has been prescribed for they can get the Domicile certificate on production of either a PRC or Certificate of registration of migrant and added that further for bonafide migrants and bonafide displaced persons who have migrated but have not registered with the relief department, there is a special limited provision for registration.
He further explained that in order to further simplify the process and ensure issuance of domicile in the bare minimum time, the Government has issued a notification SO 263 dated: 25th of August, 2020 whereby the Competent Authority has been bound to issue the Domicile Certificates provided under clause 1(a) and clause 4(a) within a period of five working days from the date such application is received by it.

Tasaduq Hussain/ Peerzada Waseem
Baramulla, Sep 1: The army on Tuesday said that Pakistan has adopted a new trend to drop arms and ammunition close to the line of control (LoC) to fuel militancy in the valley but the same has been blocked by the security agencies jointly.
Addressing a press conference, General officer Commanding (GOC) of 19 Infantry division, Baramulla, Major General Varinder Vats said that Pakistan is frustrated due to blockade of infiltration and cooperation between the security agencies had forced it to push more advanced weapons into the valley. “But the halt in supply chain has left militants high and dry. In South Kashmir, militants possess only pistols,” he said.
He said that Pakistan is unrelenting in its effort to push in arms to strengthen militancy in Kashmir but alert troops along the LoC have been able to defeat the attempts.
The tactics used by Pakistan to smuggle weapons into India after facing frustration as all its infiltration bids have failed and that it was now trying to push in weapons by dumping the same in the areas close to the LoC, the army officer said.
“Pakistan task the Over ground workers (OGWs) who reside in villages close to the LoC to deliver the weapons to militants. But so far all such bids have failed,” he said, while referring to the multiple hideouts busted by the army in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Talking about the arrest of two local youth believed to be involved in yesterday’s grenade attack in Baramulla, the GOC said that two arrests have been made apparently and these individuals are suspected to be involved in the grenade lobbing. “We can’t connect the two with today’s development of busting of multiple hideouts,” the GoC 19 Infantry said. (KNO)

Srinagar, Sep 1: The Army Tuesday claimed to have busted multiple hide-outs along the LoC in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and recovered huge cache of arms that were meant to be delivered to militants.
Defence spokesman in Srinagar Rajesh Kalia told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that alert troops detected movement of suspicious persons along the Line of Control in Rampur Sector, Baramulla district on August 30.
“The movement was from a village close to the Line of Control and the suspects crossed into Indian Territory. Due to terrain of thick foliage and weather condition an alert of likely infiltration attempt was sounded,” the Colonel Kalia said, adding that “The Surveillance Grid was beefed up all across the area and along the likely infiltration routes; ambushes were sited to thwart any attempt of infiltration. Surveillance continued throughout the night.”
He said that subsequently, next morning at around 5 am a search of the area was carried out.
“After extensive search of seven hours, a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from well concealed locations in two hideouts in Rampur Sector (of Uri area of Baramulla. “The cache of arms recovered comprises of five AK Series Rifles (along with six magazines & two sealed boxes with 1254 rounds of AK ammunition), Six pistols (with nine magazines & six rounds), Twenty-one grenades, two UBGL grenades and two Kenwood Radio sets with one antenna,” the Defence spokesman said.
He said that the area has villages ahead of the anti-infiltration fence. “The suspected modus operandi is to drop war like stores in caches near the Line of Control, subsequently OGWs or militants would pick the same for further transportation into the hinterland for militant activities,” Colonel Kalia said, adding that “as reported earlier, similar attempts were made on 22 July 20, when inputs were received regarding likely weapon drop along the Line of Control ahead of the anti-infiltration fence.

During the search operation along the Line of Control in Rampur Sector, Baramulla, 01 AKS-74U with magazines, 05 pistols (one with Chinese markings) & magazines, 24 grenades & other warlike stores were recovered.”
The army spokesman said that the modus operandi shows desperate attempts by Pakistan based militant groups to infiltrate weapons into J&K for terror activities, with active connivance of Pakistan Army. “Robust surveillance and Line of Control domination activities will continue to deny all such misadventures,” the defence spokesman said.

Peerzada Waseeem
Baramulla, Sep 1: A day after twin grenade attacks took place in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the district police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested two persons allegedly involved in grenade throwing incidents.
Police said the duo was affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a militant outfit.
Notably, seven civilians were injured in one of the grenade attack in Azadgunj area of Baramulla district while the other grenade exploded without causing any injury or loss of life.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla, Abdul Qayoom told KNO that two persons involved in grenade attack in Baramulla, were arrested during nocturnal raids.
“During the course of investigation on the basis of human and technical intelligence, two suspects identified as Fayaz Ahamd Kumar alias Narismha, Aqib Shafi Bhat of Baramulla were detained,” he said, adding that they were affiliated with LeT.
He further said that there are 37 FIRs registered against Fayaz Ahmad Kumar alias Narisma and has been detained seven times under Public Safety Act (PSA) in past while three FIRs are registered against Aqib Shareef Bhat.
He further said as per the investigation, their aim was to revive militancy in Baramulla town, which they have been directed by their mentors across LoC. He added the arrest of duo is a big success in terms of maintaining peace and tranquility in the Baramulla town.
The case is under investigation, he added.

Prays for peace, progress, and prosperity
Srinagar, Sep 1: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today paid a visit to the Hazratbal Shrine, the historic holy shrine located on the banks of the Dal Lake and took stock of the facilities being put in place for the facilitation of the devotees coming to the shrine.
The Lt Governor paid obeisance at the magnificent shrine and prayed for peace, progress, and prosperity in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and well-being of its people.

He also interacted with the religious and spiritual leaders there and urged them to play an effective role in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic by spreading continuous awareness among the people on adopting the necessary precautions for containing the spread of infection and further advised the people to follow all COVID related SOP’s issued by the Government.
Later, the Lt Governor took a round of the premises and reviewed the facilities being provided to the devotees.
While taking an assessment of the progress on the works taken under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD), the Lt Governor instructed the concerned Officers for speeding up developmental works taken up under the scheme.
He stressed on the officers to ensure the best possible facilities for the visiting devotees.
Pertinently, Hazratbal Shrine is one of the Religious Shrines getting revamped under the Government of India’s ambitious programme – Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).
Baseer Ahmad Khan, Advisor to Lt Governor; Pandurang K. Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir; Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar; Dr. Mohammad Haseeb Mughal, SSP Srinagar, and other senior officers accompanied the Lt Governor during the visit.
Coffee Table Book of Floriculture, Gardens and Parks Department titled “J&K in Bloom” released

Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Sep 1: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today called for making the commercial floriculture sector more remunerative and employment generative.
He directed the Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Floriculture, Gardens and Parks Department for submission of a comprehensive proposal for promotion of commercial floriculture within a period of one month.
The Lt Governor passed these directions during the release of the Coffee Table Book of Floriculture, Gardens and Parks Department titled “J&K in Bloom” here at Raj Bhavan, Srinagar.
Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad, Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Floriculture, Gardens and Parks Department was present on the occasion.

Underlining the importance of effective implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, the Lt Governor directed to take up the matter with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in connection with the establishment of Hitech Poly Carbonated Green Houses for their suitability in the region during winter months. He directed the Department to provide handholding to those engaged in the sector and ensure that the benefits under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes must reach to every beneficiary.

He laid special emphasis on training and exposure visits to progressive States/UTs to keep the officers/field functionaries abreast with latest interventions and technologies in commercial floriculture.

On the issue of marketing of flowers, the Lt Governor called for exploring modalities for effective and profitable marketing of flowers and flower products within and outside J&K.

The Lt Governor observed that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, has a glorious heritage, owing to its unique geo-climatic setting and has been endowed with unmatched natural beauty. The department needs to constantly improve its functioning and put in dedicated efforts to further strengthen the network of gardens and parks and upgrade them throughout the J&K, which will ultimately attract more tourists, making J&K one of the prime tourist destinations across the globe.

While enquiring about the future course of action of the department, the Lt Governor was appraised about the establishment of Flowering Cherry Theme Garden (SAKURA) on the analogy of Japan in the foothills of Zabarwan along the periphery of Tulip Garden which will serve as an added tourist attraction.

Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Floriculture, Gardens and Parks Department briefed the Lt Governor about the latest developments with regard to the listing of six Mughal Gardens in UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage sites and subsequent conservation and restoration efforts of the department.

Highlighting the importance of Tulip Garden as major USP for the attraction of tourists, the Lt Governor was also briefed about the worldwide acknowledgment of Tulip Garden, Srinagar by World Tulip Summit Society, who adjudged the garden as 2nd and 4th Best Tulip Destination in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Pertinently, the Coffee Table Book highlights the role of the department in the promotion of garden tourism and commercial floriculture. It also showcases the ornamental floral wealth of J&K.

Precious Kashmir News

Bandipora, Sept 1: District Commissioner Bandipora Owais Ahmed on Tuesday suspended 14 employees for remaining unauthorized absent from their legitimate duties while a show cause notice was also served to five District Officers (DO’s).

On the directions of Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, a team of officers lead by Assistant Commissioner Revenue Reyaz Ahmad Beigh conducted surprise inspection of various government offices stationed at Mini-secretrait Bandipora to check the attendance of  employees.

14 employees were found absent from the duties and were put under suspension immediately. Five District Officers were also put on notice as show cause notice have been served to them asking them to explain the reason of absence from their offices.

Owais instructed all the other employees to remain punctual to their offices and warned that no laxity on their part towards their duties will be tolerated.

He said the district administration shall take  tough action against absenteeism  to ensure smooth functioning of government departments and prompt deliverance of services to the people.

Srinagar, Sep 1: After recording below normal mercury during the past few days following intermittent rain, weather turned pleasant on Tuesday with bright sunshine in the Kashmir valley, where warning for flash flood, landslides due to scattered light to moderate rain and thundershowers will continue during the next 24 hours.
Barring in world famous ski resort of Gulmarg and frontier Kupwara, the mercury witnessed surge in the Kashmir valley due to dry weather after recording below normal temperature for the past few days due to rain.
A Met department spokesman said this evening that there could be scattered light to moderate rain and thundershowers in Kashmir and Jammu during the next 24 hours. During the subsequent two days there could be fairly widespread light to moderate rain and thundershowers, he said.
However, he said due to this weather disturbance there is possibility of flash flood, landsliding and shooting stone on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway during the next 48 hours.
He said Srinagar after recording about four to six degree drop in the maximum temperature due to rain during the past one week, the mercury was on Tuesday near normal. Weather was pleasant and the maximum temperature was 29 degree while the minimum temperature was 16,9 degree, 1.2 notches above normal in Srinagar.
He said the sky would be partly cloudy to light rain and thundershowers in Srinagar during the next 24 hours.
Gulmarg about 55 km from here in north Kashmir, where fresh rain was experienced on Tuesday, recorded 16.5 degree maximum temperature today which was 3.8 notches below normal. The minimum temperature was 9 degree, 1.7 degree below normal.
Famed health resort of Pahalgam recorded 25.4 degree which was near normal while the minimum temperature was 13.4 degree, 2.4 notches above normal.