Curfew-like restrictions were imposed on Saturday in parts of Kashmir, including Srinagar city, and Amarnath yatra suspended as authorities apprehended protests in the Valley, where tension prevailed following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces.
'The jungles of Doda covers about 250 km.' 'Sleeper cells are providing active help to the terrorists.' 'The terrain and situation is such that it is not possible to keep track of every inch.'
Demanding deployment of army in Kashmir to bring back normalcy, Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangrash Samiti, which had spearheaded the land agitation in Jammu last year, on Friday gave a call for a Jammu bandh on Saturday to protest the alleged attempts to disrupt the pilgrimage.
The yatra was suspended for three hours as explosives experts removed the IED and then checked the entire area all over again, official sources said.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is least excited at the selection of Duncan Fletcher as thr coach of Team India and said someone like Mohinder Amarnath would have been a better choice.
The green panel ordered removal of iron grills in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the 'Shiva Linga' so that devotees could get a better view of it and said there should be no noise pollution near the sacred structure.
The Amarnath yatra was suspended on Saturday due to closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the wake of a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Udhampur district of the state.
The Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (AYSS) on Thursday asked the local Congress leaders to have the demand for restoration of land to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) conceded by the UPA government or else resign from the party and join the agitation.
Militants have blown up a bridge on the route to the holy shrine of Amarnath.
All 10 members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board sent in their resignations to Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Wednesday.
The ongoing Amarnath yatra was suspended from Jammu on Saturday due to inclement weather and to control heavy rush of devotees thronging the 13,500 feet cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
The annual Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on June 28 and culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raskha Bandhan festival on August 22, officials said.
Those familiar with intricate Kashmir politics do not rule out further delay in the assembly elections. Primarily, because the BJP having 'invested' so much for so long in Kashmir would try its best to wait a little longer if only to secure the 'gains' it believes to have achieved after its deafening action on August 5, 2019, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday chose former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath as the recipient of the C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. Amarnath scored 4,378 runs from 69 Test matches, in a Test career that stretched from 1969 to 1988. He also played 85 One-Day Internationals, in which he scored 1,924 runs.
A meeting of senior police and civil officers under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal was held on Friday to review the yatra arrangements.
The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will begin on June 28 this year and it will be spread over 55 days. The yatra schedule was announced after a meeting of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board chaired by SASB Chairman and Governor N N Vohra.
As former selector Mohinder Amarnath and other former players launched an offensive against Mahendra Singh Dhoni by questioning his place in the Test side, the Indian captain was calmness personified on the eve of the fourth and final Test in Nagpur.
The first batch comprising 1,160 Amarnath yatris was on Friday flagged off by the state tourism minister from Jammu base camp to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Sheikh Salim Gafur has been selected for the honour as he displayed some rare grit and bravery and continued to drive the bus of the Amarnath pilgrims, which came under attack by the terrorists on July 10, 2017, in Jammu and Kashmir, a home ministry official said.
Voicing concern over nearly 100 deaths in the course of the Amarnath Yatra, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded extension of the pilgrimage period and proper medical facilities and accommodation for the pilgrims.
Sixty-seven villages in Assam's Lakhimpur district have been battling flood waters for the last six months.
A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists
A prominent Indian diaspora body has urged various agencies of the US government, universities and student associations to work towards addressing the spike in the deaths of Indian-origin students in the US in recent months.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said there was no increased threat perception to this year's Amarnath yatra compared to previous years and fears of attack as reported in the media were "gross exaggeration".
The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday under a tight security cover, with the first batch of 1,272 pilgrims leaving the Jammu base camp for the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 3,338-metres.A cavalcade of 53 vehicles carrying the devotees under tight security was flagged off by Tourism and Culture Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora from the Amarnath base camp at Bagwatinagar Yatri Niwas at approximately 5 am. Security is being provided by the Central Reserve Police Force
Almost 3,000 Border Security Force personnel have been airlifted to Kashmir from New Delhi to guard devotees embarking on the Amarnath yatra, that commences from July 1, and protecting the route.
Sixty-year-old Nirmala Tripathi, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, died of cardiac arrest at the 3,880 metre high cave shrine after paying obeisance to the naturally formed ice-shivlingam on Thursday night, the officials said.
The Amarnath yatra resumed on Friday, after it remained suspended for the last three days due to inclement weather, with a batch of 1,860 pilgrims leaving from Jammu for their onward journey to the cave shrine in south Kashmir.
The crisis over the start date of the Amarnath Yatra deepened with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad showing no signs of relenting and a top VHP leader on Tuesday stating that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti will lead a contingent of devotees to the cave shrine on June 3. The board has left sadhus all across India angry by disobeying him, he added.
Yashasvi Jaiswal stole the limelight with a classy century on Day 2 of the first Test on Thursday.
Tension gripped the north Kashmir Baltel base camp of the annual Amarnath yatra following clashes between security forces and locals on Thursday evening.
Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti (AYSS) on Wednesday announced the launch of civil disobedience movement in Jammu region.
The decision to revoke the order was taken by the state cabinet which met in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Saturday's batch left in a fleet of 126 vehicles, including 89 buses, under proper escort, they said, adding the motorcade of vehicles have already crossed Batote around 0940 hours and would be stopped at Chanderkote near Ramban as road ahead is blocked.
Restrictions have been imposed in five police station areas of Srinagar, a police official said.
After finishing the Amarnath Yatra, Saina Nehwal is enjoying the beautiful sights around Kashmir.
Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Naveen Choudhary on Saturday said, "from 7th May on wards, the interested Yatris can reserve their heli-seats for Amarnath yatra through the web based on-line Reservation System by logging on to the Shrine Board's website".
Three persons, including two devotees, were killed and over 10,000 pilgrims stranded as heavy rain lashed parts of Jammu and Kashmir prompting authorities to suspend the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath on Sunday.
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