Jammu Apr 25 PTI Jammu and Kashmir unit of Congress on Monday organised an inter-faith prayer meet here with its leader G A Mir expressing serious concern over politics of hate and vendetta Mir led the Sarv Dharam Prarthana Sabha and said both the politics of hate and political vendetta are dangerous for the social secular and democratic atmosphere in the country Various religious leaders enlightened the gathering about the need for upholding the secular character and said no religion preaches hatred and intolerance They appreciated the Congress for the initiative and called for necessary steps to counter the forces who are trying to divide the peopleProvocative and mischievous activities are taking place with a nefarious design to disturb peace and the traditional harmony in the country attempts to vitiate the atmosphere of religious brotherhood is very dangerous for the multi religious multi lingual and multi-cultural nation Mir said He lodged a strong protest of the party over the politics of vendetta termed it political intolerance of Modi-led BJP government Congress party leaders like Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani are being booked and framed under stringent laws in order to deter opposition to speak against the ruling party he alleged He said it is dangerous for the democratic system and against the Constitution of the country which guarantees freedom of speech and expression and right to protest Meanwhile several senior Congress leaders led by Mir visited the residence of National Panthers Party supremo Bhim Singh to enquire about his health and also discussed in detail the current political and social scenario in the country They wished the 80-year-old veteran politician who is not keeping well for the past sometime due to age related issues speedy recoverySingh was very much concerned about the overall social and political atmosphere emerging in the country which is vitiating the age old secular fabric the Congress said in a statement The NPP leader said all the secular political and democratic forces must come together to maintain the harmonious social political and democratic atmosphere in the country He also called for a united struggle to seek restoration of the historical Dogra state without any further delay the release said PTI TAS RCJ

Srinagar Apr 22 PTI Jammu and Kashmir on Friday reported nine new Covid cases taking the infection tally to 453975 officials saidThe fresh cases were reported from Jammu division with Jammu district accounting for eight cases and Rajouri district one they said There are 55 active Covid cases in the Union Territory while the number of recoveries has reached 449169 they said The COVID-19 death toll stands at 4751 as no fatality was reported in the last 24 hours The officials said there were 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis black fungus PTI MIJ RHL

Jammu Apr 22 PTI The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association on Friday suspended work in protest against a terrorist attack hereAccording to officials two terrorists part of a suicide squad of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed JeM were killed in a gun battle in Jammu on Friday in which a CISF officer also diedThe Bar has decided to suspend their work in the high court subordinate courts including tribunals and forms today in protest against the terror incident its general secretary Surjeet Singh Andotra saidThis decision was taken at a meeting of officer bearers and members of the fraternity he saidThe terrorists had entered the Jalalabad locality after lobbing a grenade and firing at a bus carrying 15 CISF personnel around 425 am near the Chaddha camp area killing an assistant sub-inspector and injuring two othersThe association has strongly condemned the incident he addedThe terrorist attack took place two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit to Samba district in Jammu PTI AB RDT IJT

Srinagar Apr 20 PTI Jammu and Kashmir reported one fresh Covid case on Wednesday that took the infection tally to 453956 officials saidThe lone case was reported from Srinagar district in Kashmir division they saidThere are 53 active cases while the overall recoveries has reached 449152 officials saidThe COVID-19 death toll stands at 4751 No new Covid-relatedfatality was reported in the last 24 hours officials saidThere were 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis black fungus they added PTI MIJ 3282022 TDS TDS

Srinagar Mar 31 PTI Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday logged 17 new COVID-19 cases taking the infection tally to 453737 while no death due to the viral disease was reported officials saidThe death toll stood at 4750 they saidOf the fresh cases two were reported from the Jammu division and 15 from the Kashmir division according to the officialsSrinagar district recorded the highest number of new cases at 12 followed by two in Jammu district Fifteen of the 20 districts in the Union Territory did not report any new casesThere are 151 active COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir So far 448836 people have recovered from the disease officials said PTI MIJ RHL

Srinagar Mar 31 PTI Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday ordered the compulsory retirement of five employees hailing from the valley for not performing their duties efficiently The administration invoked powers vested in it under Article 226 2 of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations 1956 to order the retirement of the employees Article 2262 provides for constituting of a review committee to decide the functioning of employees who have completed 22 years of service or attained age of 48 years It also empowers the government to retire any such employee at any time if he or she is found not to be working efficiently honestly and with integrity The decision was taken after the records of the employees of the housing and urban development department were scrutinised by the administration an official said Those retired include executive officer Mohammad Asharaf senior town planner Hamid Wani divisional town planner Farzana Naqshbandi all under suspension executive officers Ghulam Mohammad Lone and Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar In its resolve to make administration efficient and transparent the government is taking firm action against the employees found guilty of misconduct and inefficiency a senior official said The administration ensures timely promotions and suitable training for the employees of Jammu and Kashmir but is also firm on weeding out inefficient and corrupt employees according to the official PTI MIJ AB RHL

Jammu Mar 29 PTI The Jammu and Kashmir government has received 4226 investment proposals worth Rs 47441 crore for land allotment to set up industrial units in the Union Territory The Jammu and Kashmir administration in January last year announced a new industrial developmental scheme with an outlay of Rs 28400 crore to encourage new investment and take industrial development to the block level The new policy which has been applicable till 2037 also paved the way for foreigners to invest in the region As many as 4226 proposals with an investment of Rs 47441 crore have been received through online mode for allotment of land for setting up units in the Union Territory UT a senior government official said These proposals are estimated to generate 197 lakh employment the official said adding that the clearance process of these proposals has already been fast tracked A total of Rs 150 crore have been provisioned for the development of new industrial estates in 2022-23 and the government aims at generating employment for around 45 lakh people under the new policy the official said He also said that Rs 1003 crore allocated to the industries and commerce department will complement the ongoing efforts being made to take industrial development in the UT to new heights Substantial amount will be spent on establishing new industrial estates in Jammu and Kashmir The industries department will also assist 2000 self-help groups for promoting handicrafts he said In this years budget Rs 200 crore has been allocated to provide financial assistance to young aspiring entrepreneurs of JK PTI AB AB BAL HVA HVA

Jammu Mar 29 PTI Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor LG Manoj Sinha visited the Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills in Reasi district on Tuesday and reviewed the arrangements for the upcoming Chaitra Navratri officials saidSinha paid obeisance at the shrine and also prayed for Jammu and Kashmirs development and the well-being of its citizens they addedThe hill shrine witnesses a huge rush of devotees during the Chaitra Navratri a nine-day festival to mark the first month of the Hindu calendar which is likely to commence on April 2Took the blessings of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji by paying obeisance at the Holy cave shrine Prayed for JKs development and well-being of citizens Reviewed the arrangements made by the Shrine Board for upcoming Chaitra Navratri the LG said in a tweet PTI TAS RC

Jammu Mar 25 PTI Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday termed the Rs 112 lakh crore annual budget as futuristic one and said that the union territory has got almost two-fold increase in the budget compared to that of erstwhile state of JK few years ago He said that a growth-oriented budget is aimed at ensuring developments of all sectors with focus on economic growth and fulfill the aspiration of the people The picture is clear The budget has almost doubled for this union territory as compared to Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh when it was not a union territory a few years ago This needs to be understood Sinha told reporters here Sinha elaborated his point by quoting the budgetary figures of the past few years In 2015-16 we had a budget of Rs 51670 crores followed by Rs 61480 crores in 2016-17 Rs 69728 crores in 2017-18 when Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh was a state In 2019-2020 the budget was Rs 88911 crores followed by Rs 101428 crores in 2020-21 and Rs 108621 crores in 2021-22 This year it has gone up to Rs 112950 crores he said Thanking the union government for increasing budget support the LG said that the aim is to ensure overall development in all the sectors and journey of continued peace and progress This budget will fulfill the aspiration of 115 crores people of Jammu and Kashmir It is a futuristic and growth-oriented budget he said The LG spelt out various components of the budgets and said that out of Rs 41335 crores of capital expenditure 61 per cent of this amount will be spent on social and infrastructure sectors and Rs 8085 crores will be spent on rural development The immediate goal is to accelerate the peace economic development in the union territory and make it multi-dimensional he said Sinha said that the budget reflects the needs and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and commitment of the UT administration for peace progress and prosperity The LG said that GDP for the year 2022-23 has been projected at Rs 203716 crores which shows a growth of 75 per cent Sinha highlighted the main focal areas of the budget on horticulture and tourism will be the main thrust areas He said that tourism has been the backbone of JKs economy and we will once again ensure that the tourism sector reaches the same height where it was a few decades ago The worlds highest rail bridge will be ready in the Reasi which will connect Kashmir with Kanyakumari by September this year he added PTI AB MR

Srinagar Mar 24 PTI Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday recorded 31 fresh cases of coronavirus taking the infected number of people to 453626 while no death due to the virus was reported in the last 24 hours officials saidOf the fresh cases 30 were from the Kashmir division and one was from the Jammu division they saidSrinagar district recorded the highest of 22 cases they saidFourteen of the total 22 districts in the Union Territory did not report any fresh cases they saidThere are 134 active cases in the Union Territory while the number of recovered patients is 448742 officials saidThe death toll stands at 4750Meanwhile there are 51 confirmed cases of mucormycosis black fungus in the Union Territory as no fresh case was reported since Wednesday evening PTI SSB RHL