It provides all-weather access to Sonamarg, replacing the avalanche-prone Z-turn road.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
The ruling National Conference's traditional bastion Ganderbal is set for a triangular fight with People's Democratic Party, National Conference and an Independent contesting the polls after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided not to contest from the constituency which goes to polls on November 25.
Very sensitive items -- such as apples, which carry political weight and are closely tied to farmer interests in states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand -- may face restricted concessions.
Sheikh Sajjad Gul, the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), has been identified as the mastermind behind the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people in April. Gul, who is based in Pakistan, has a history of planning terror attacks in Kashmir, including targeted killings, grenade attacks, and ambushes of police personnel. He was designated a terrorist by the NIA in 2022 and a reward of Rs 10 lakh was placed on his head. The TRF claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, where tourists were shot at point-blank range after being asked their religion. Gul's history includes a 2002 arrest in Delhi for planning serial blasts and a subsequent 10-year prison sentence. After his release, he moved to Pakistan and became the leader of the TRF in 2019, a move orchestrated by the ISI to present a facade of an indigenous terror movement in Jammu and Kashmir.
Defying apprehensions of the horrific April 22 terror Pahalgam attack casting a shadow on the Amarnath Yatra this year, hundreds of pilgrims from various parts of the country lined up at the registration centre in Jammu on the first day.
Dr Dar and six labourers were killed when terrorists struck a tunnel construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in Ganderbal on Sunday evening.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
Over 2.5 million voters will decide the fate of 239 candidates in the fray for 26 Jammu and Kashmir assembly seats in the second phase of the election to be held in the Union territory on Wednesday.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started interviewing eyewitnesses, including tourists, in connection with the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. The attack, carried out by terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22. Initial investigations suggest that five to seven terrorists were involved, aided by local militants trained in Pakistan. Security forces are conducting massive operations to hunt down the terrorists in the dense jungles of the Pir Panjal range.
'INDIA will easily cross 50 seats out of 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.'
Normal life was thrown out of gear in Kashmir on Saturday as most areas of the valley received snowfall, disrupting flight and railway operations and also leading to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, officials said.
To accommodate the huge number of devotees, a high-tech kitchen has been established at Baba Satyapal Maharaj's pandal, ensuring seamless food preparation and distribution.
There are two constituencies in the district, including Kangan and the prestigious Ganderbal constituency from where National Conference president Omar Abdullah is pitched against eleven other candidates, including Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the People's Democratic Party and Sheikh Mohammad Ashfaq of the Congress.
Ganderbal was once the bastion of the Abdullah family but this time around, the electoral battle in this north Kashmir assembly constituency is being fought sans the Abdullah's.
Sinha called for justice to the victims as he blamed Pakistan for "still trying to kill innocent people" in the region to disrupt peace.
Police sources said the slain terrorists were believed to be a group of foreigners, who might have infiltrated into the Valley recently.
This is a third attack on non-local labourers in Kashmir in the past one week.
'I went to jail and met my father to convince him to join politics and believe in the Constitution.'
Two persons from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Friday evening, officials said.
Modi also met the construction workers who worked meticulously amid harsh conditions to complete the tunnel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that he would keep promises he had made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a statement seen as an oblique reference to the demand for restoration of statehood voiced strongly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
Omar Abdullah will have to negotiate at every step with the lieutenant governor's office and the Modi government at the Centre.
'I am committing suicide because I was subject to torture and humiliation in the police station.'
University of Delhi on Monday said the purpose of Right to information (RTI) was not to satiate a third party's curiosity as it challenged the central information commission's order over disclosure of information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree.
'Me contesting elections from two seats is not a proof of weakness, it is a proof of the strength of the National Conference.'
The assailants believed to be Pakistani terrorists, meticulously studied the site layout before executing their plan.
Results for assembly polls in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir were declared on Tuesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party scoring a hat-trick in Haryana while the National Conference-Congress alliance emerged victorious in J-K. Here's how some big names fared.
The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years.
He also said if security forces, the Union Territory administration and people come together, then terrorism could be eliminated from the region in a year.
Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.
This restoration, according to the officials, is seen as a crucial step towards initiating a healing process, reinstating constitutional rights and safeguarding the unique identity of the region's residents.
Umar Ganie captures tourists enjoying the snow horse cart sculpture in Sonamarg.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
They said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicle at Botapathri near Nagin post.
National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah Tuesday asserted that there should be no "fiddling" with the mandate of people in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Centre and the Raj Bhavan must not indulge in any "machinations".
Abdullah said if the terrorists think they can establish Pakistani writ in Jammu and Kashmir by indulging in such acts, they are mistaken.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
