Jammu Apr 24 PTI Seven panchayat members including three from north Kashmirs Baramulla were handed over National Panchayat Awards on Sunday for their outstanding work in implementation of various government schemes during the financial year 2020-21 an official spokesman said Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha presented the awards to Panchayati Raj Institution PRI members of Jammu and Kashmir at Raj Bhavan here on the occasion of the National Panchayat Day the spokesman said He said the Union Minister and the Lt Governor congratulated the awardees and impressed upon them to continue their work as vital members of the grassroots democracy in the Union Territory The PRI members received awards under different categories of the National Panchayat Awards 2022 which are Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for improving delivery of services and public goods Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar for outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development by involving Gram Sabhas Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award for developing its GPDP on the model guidelines and Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award for adopting child-friendly practices The panchayats and village councils were evaluated for the work undertaken by them during the appraisal year 2020-21 the spokesman said He said DDC Chairperson Baramulla Safeena Beigh Block Development Council Chairperson from Baramulla Mir Iqbal Sarpanch from Rajouri Anju Sharma and Sarpanch from Kupwara Parveena Begum received Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar under National Panchayat Awards-2022 while Sarpanch from Doda Romal Singh received Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award Sarpanch from Baramulla Khazir Mohd Mir received Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award and Sarpanch Kupwara Zainab Jan received Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar award PTI TAS CK

Srinagar Apr 22 PTI Three Lashkar-e-Taiba LeT members including a top commander of the proscribed outfit Yousuf Kantroo who was one of the longest-surviving terrorists in Kashmir were killed in an over-36-hour-long encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district police said on FridayEarlier police had claimed that four terrorists were killed in an operation in Baramulla but later they said three bodies were retrieved from the encounter siteSecurity forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Malwah area of the north Kashmir district in the early hours of Thursday acting on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists thereTwo terrorists including Kantroo were killed on Thursday and another ultra was killed on FridayFour soldiers and a police personnel had sustained injuries during the initial exchange of fire on ThursdayOnly 03 dead bodies of terrorists recovered from the encounter site the Kashmir zone police said in a tweetPolice identified the slain ultras as Yusuf Dar alias Kantroo Hilal Sheikh alias Hanzalla and Faisal Dar -- all affiliated with the LeTArms and ammunition were seized from the site of the encounter police said adding that the operation has been concludedSrinagar-based defence spokesperson Colonel Emron Musavi said the security forces made sincere efforts to make Faisal Dar surrender but the other terrorists did not allow him to do soThe security forces came to know that one of the terrorists was Dar who was newly recruited A sincere call for him to surrender was made His parents were also brought to the encounter site and even they appealed to him to lay down arms The terrorists who were with him did not allow him to surrender and forced him to retaliate Colonel Musavi saidPolice said Kantroo was involved in the killings of several security personnel as well as civilians and was among the top 10 most-wanted terrorists in the Kashmir valleyKantroo started out as an overground worker OGW of the Hizbul Mujahideen HM terror outfit and was arrested in 2005 He was released in 2008 He again joined the terror ranks in 2017 and started killing innocent civilians police personnel and political workers Subsequently he joined the LeT police saidKantroo was involved in dozens of cases of civilian atrocities and killings of security personnel they said adding that he was involved in the killings of Special Police Officer Mohammad Ishfaq Dar and his brother Umer Ahmad Dar in March BDC Chairman Sardar Bhupinder Singh at Khag in September 2020 and CRPF personnel Riyaz Ahmad Rather a resident of Nawgam Anantnag at Kanihama in December 2017He was also involved in the killings of several political workers grenade-throwing incidents and abductions and killings of police and Army personnelInspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar congratulated the forces for conducting a successful anti-terrorist operation and eliminating one of the most-wanted terrorists in the valleyHe described Kantroos killing as a major success PTI SSB MIJ RC

Srinagar Apr 21 PTI A Lashkar-e-Taiba LeT terrorist was killed while three soldiers were injured in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district on Thursday police saidBased on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in Malwah area of Baramulla in north Kashmir security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation there a police official saidThe search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired upon the forces who retaliatedIn the initial exchange of fire 03 soldiers received minor injuries Operation in progress Further details shall follow Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar said on TwitterIn the ensuing gunfight one LeT terrorist was killed the official saidArms and ammunition have been recovered the official said adding the operation is in progress PTI SSB SSB DV DV

Srinagar Apr 21 PTI Three soldiers were injured in an encounter between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district in the early hours of Thursday police saidBased on specific inputs about the presence of militants in the Malwah area of Baramulla in north Kashmir the security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation there a police official saidHe said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon the forces who retaliatedIn the initial exchange of fire 03 soldiers received minor injuries Operation in progress Further details shall follow Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar said on Twitter PTI SSB IJT

Srinagar Mar 19 PTI National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday stressed on the need to identify the internal and external enemies of Jammu and Kashmir and said the unity of people will not let nefarious plans of such forces workAddressing a public gathering at Harinara Singhpora in north Kashmirs Baramulla district Abdullah also said the incumbent regimes normalcy peace and development narrative is hardly visible on the groundPeople are yearning for their democratic constitutional and human rights which have incessantly been abridged since 2019 he said referring to the abrogation of Article 370 in that yearCautioning people against divisive forces contriving to divide the people of Jammu and Kashmir on religious regional and sectarian lines the MP from Srinagar said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are confronting a two-front battle -- one with those peddling divisive agenda nationally and the other one locallyHe also stressed on the need to identify the internal and external enemies of Jammu and Kashmir NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah always maintained that a day will come when there will be a leader in every street and corner of Kashmir The prevailing circumstances have attested to his forewarning Abdullah saidToday we see mushrooming of political parties and leaders in every nook and corner of Kashmir The risky political vacuum created by the decisions of August 2019 cannot be filled by such airdropped leaders It is a genuine popular representative government that will meet the challenge of instilling faith in the hearts of people he saidAbudllah said in spite of their failures to make inroads into Kashmir even with the help of their A and B teams the communal forces are now up to creating leaders in every mohalla street and villageIt is a warning sign for us The people of Kashmir must remain cautious of such forces who want to divide our society on regional religious communal and sectarian lines he said PTI SSB SSB ANB ANB

Srinagar Dec 22 PTI There was a slight increase in minimum temperatures in most places in Kashmir but they remained below the freezing point meteorological department officials said on Wednesday The department has also forecast three days of snowfall and rain from Sunday in the region There was an improvement in the minimum temperatures on Tuesday night at most of places in the Kashmir Valley on the second day of Chilla-i-Kalan big cold the officials saidSrinagar recorded a low of minus 18 degrees Celsius on Tuesday night a degree up from the previous nightThe city had recorded a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius for two consecutive nights on Saturday and Sunday which is the lowest of the season so farThe resort town of Gulmarg in north Kashmirs Baramulla district recorded a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius a degree up from the previous night the officials saidPahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra recorded a low of minus 52 degrees Celsius they saidThe mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at minus 29 degrees Celsius in Qazigund the gateway town to the Valley at minus 3 degrees Celsius and Kokernag recorded a low of minus 19 degrees Celsius the officials saidThe meteorological office has forecast snow spell of greater intensity during December 26 evening to 28 forenoon with main activity on December 27 they saidThe Chilla-i-Kalan which began on Tuesday is the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the ValleyThe chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas especially in the higher reaches receive heavy snowfallThe Chilla-i-Kalan will end on January 31 but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long Chillai-Khurd small cold and a 10-day-long Chillai-Bachha baby cold PTI SSB MIJ ANB ANB

Srinagar Dec 21 PTI As the 40-day harshest winter period in Kashmir started on Tuesday the minimum temperature settled well below the freezing point across the valley officials said Srinagar recorded a low of minus 28 degrees Celsius on Monday night slightly up from minus 58 degrees recorded the previous night The city had recorded a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius for two consecutive nights on Saturday and Sunday which was the lowest of the season so farGulmarg resort in north Kashmirs Baramulla district recorded a low of minus 5 degrees CelsiusThe officials said Pahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra recorded a low of minus 37 degrees CelsiusThe minimum temperature in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 38 degrees CelsiusQazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded minus 26 degrees Celsius while Kokernag also recorded a low of minus 33 degrees CelsiusThe weather office has forecast colder nights over the next couple of days as further fall in the minimum temperature is expectedThere is also a possibility of light to moderate snowfall from December 22-25 Chilla-i-Kalan big cold which started today is the 40-dayharshest winter period when acoldwave grips the region and thetemperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodiesincluding the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply linesin several parts of the valleyThe chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas especially in the higher reaches receive heavy snowfallChillai-Kalan will end onJanuary 31 Thecoldwave continues even after that in Kashmir with a20-day-long Chillai-Khurd smallcold and a 10-day-long Chillai-Bachha babycold PTIMIJ DV DV

Srinagar Nov 29 PTI The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir valley settled several degrees below the freezing point officials said on MondaySrinagar recorded a low of minus 11 degrees Celsius on Sunday night down from minus 02 degrees Celsius the previous night the officials saidThey said Pahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra recorded a low of minus 34 degrees CelsiusGulmarg resort in north Kashmirs Baramulla district also recorded a minimum temperature of minus 22 degrees CelsiusThe mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 16 degrees CelsiusQazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded minus 2 degrees Celsius while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 05 degrees CelsiusThe MET Office has said the weather will most likely remain dry but cold till December 3The wintry conditions in the valley set-in much ahead of the beginning of extreme harsh weather conditions which usually start around the third week of December Chillai Kalan the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir begins on December 21 every year PTI MIJ DV DV

Srinagar Nov 28 PTI The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir dropped on Sunday as cold conditions returned across the valley and mercury settled below the freezing point met department officials said The temperature last night dropped across the valley except in the Kokernag town in the south they said They said Srinagar recorded a low of minus 02 degrees Celsius last night -- down from 04 degrees Celsius the previous night they said Pahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra recorded a low of minus 30 degrees Celsius Gulmarg resort town in north Kashmirs Baramulla district also recorded a minimum temperature of minus 15 degrees Celsius Mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 14 degrees Celsius Qazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded minus 13 degrees Celsius while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 02 degrees Celsius The Met office has said the weather will most likely remain dry but cold till December 3 The wintry conditions in the valley set in much ahead of the beginning of extreme harsh weather conditions which usually start around the third week of December Chillai Kalan the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir begins on December 21 every year PTI SSB VN VN

Srinagar Nov 26 PTI Cold conditions returned to Kashmir on Friday after two days of respite as the night temperature at most places in the valley settled below the freezing point officials saidKokernag town in south Kashmir was the only recorded place where the minimum temperature stayed above the freezing pointSrinagar recorded a low of minus 13 degrees Celsius on Thursday night 17 degrees down from 04 degrees Celsius the previous night the officials saidThey said Pahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra recorded a low of minus 33 degrees Celsius down from minus 02 degrees Celsius on the previous nightThe south Kashmir resort was the coldest recorded place in KashmirGulmarg resort in north Kashmirs Baramulla district recorded a minimum temperature of minus 18 degrees Celsius The MET office has said the weather will most likely remain dry but cold till the end of this monthThe mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 19 degrees CelsiusQazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded minus 12 degrees CelsiusKokernag registered a low of 06 degrees CelsiusThe MET Office has said the weather is most likely to stay dry but cold over the week aheadThe wintry conditions in the valley set-in much ahead of the beginning of extreme harsh weather conditions which usually start around the third week of December Chillai Kalan the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir begins on December 21 every year PTI SSB DV DV