Seventy Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party activists were arrested as they clashed with police during a bandh called by them in protest against Jammu and Kashmir government's decision not to hand over forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board. Nine persons were injured in baton charge and stone-pelting during the clash, sources said.
A near total general strike, public protests and widespread processions marred life across Kashmir on Friday. Thousands of people marched from various localities of summer capital Srinagar, converging on Lal Chowk, the city centre where they shouted slogans against the government and the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).
Violent protests continued throughout the capital Srinagar and other towns on Thursday against the allotment of forest land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board as the Kashmir valley remained shut for the third consecutive day.
Security forces lobbed teargas shells to disperse stone-pelting mobs in different parts of Srinagar as the overall situation in the Kashmir Valley remained tense in the wake of spontaneous strike crippling normal life for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday. The demonstrators were protesting against the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board.
Widespread violence and protests rocked Srinagar on Tuesday, as members of various outfits protested the allotment of forest land to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board by the state government.One person, who was critically injured during the protests on Monday, succumbed to his injuries in the Soura Medical Institute late in the night.Feroze's death further fuelled the angry protests in Srinagar. Stone pelting mobs stopped traffic and forced closure of businesses, schools and colleges
rediff.com asked prominent experts their opinion on the crisis and their suggestions to the central government on how to tackle the issue.
Dr Singh and Gandhi, along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had the discussion with Advani on the issue during the State dinner hosted for visiting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in New Delhi on Monday.
Although the curfew was lifted on Tuesday from Jammu and the adjoining areas, the region witnessed protest rallies yet again, demanding the removal of Governor N N Vohra and the restoration of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.
Over five thousand pilgrims who left for the holy cave of Amarnath on Tuesday morning from north Kashmir's Baltel route had to abort the arduous uphill trek as the weather turned worse.
Fresh violence erupted in Indore on Friday, leading to the imposition of curfew in the entire city, a day after four persons were killed in clashes during the Bharatiya Janata Party Vishwa Hindu Parishad sponsored bandh against the revocation of land to Amarnath shrine board.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the Jammu and Kashmir Government's decision to revoke the transfer of land to Amarnath Shrine Board but directed the authorities to provide security to pilgrims stranded in the state due to the turmoil over the issue.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal on Wednesday warned that they will not allow pilgrims to reach the Ajmer Dargah, where the annual Urs has begun, unless the Jammu and Kashmir government withdraws its latest order revoking the transfer of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.Bajrang Dal Rajasthan unit's convenor Mahendra Singh Meena said that Hindu activists of the saffron outfits would block buses carrying pilgrims in Rajasthan during the two-day bandh.
Due to the volatile situation that erupted on Tuesday in the entire Jammu city after the state government revoked the land allotment order to the SASB, the authorities have now deployed more units of paramilitary and police forces in Jammu city. The police were seen asking people to return to their homes in view of the indefinite curfew. The administration is worried about the the deterioration of the situation in Jammu city despite round the clock curfew.
Inclement weather could delay the annual Amar Nath Yatra, hinted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
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.
Two BJP activists were injured in skirmishes with the police as demonstrators burnt tyres and torched effigies of the governor, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the police said.
A Central Reserve Police Force jawan was injured in fresh clashes between security forces and protesters here over the controversial land transfer to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board even as life in the city and other major towns of the Kashmir valley remained crippled for the fifth day on Friday.
About half a dozen senior leaders of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference were on Monday put under house arrest to prevent them from participating in the scheduled demonstrations against the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. However, police raided the Hyderpora residence of chairman of the breakaway HC Syed Ali Shah Geelani several times, who had already left for some undisclosed place.
Restaurants with 50 per cent capacity, weekly markets and religious places will reopen in Delhi from June 14, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday, saying the COVID-19 situation has significantly come under control in the city.
Normal life remained badly affected on Friday as shops and market places were closed and vehicles off the roads in response to a bandh over the Amarnath land transfer issue. The bandh, called by Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti to demand transfer forest land to the shrine board, entered the 62nd day on Friday amid no signs of immediate rapprochement between the Samiti and the government.
Curfew remained clamped for the fourth straight day in the Kashmir Valley on Wednesday even as no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the region.
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.
The All Party Sangharsh Samiti has rejected the government's decision not to recall Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra, according to Dr Ajay Churangu, one of the Punan Kashmir leaders.Churangu could not attend the all-party meeting in Delhi because of the traffic blockade on the highway.The members of the coordination committee of the All Party Sangharsh Samiti met late on Wednesday evening and discussed the press statement issued by the Centre.
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Farooq Abullah has defended his son and National Conference chief Omar Abullah's controversial statement on the Amarnath land row -- during the trust vote on July 22. The Jammu and Kashmir government had revoked its order to allot forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board after violent protests against the decision brought life to a standstill in the valley.The Army was called in today and curfew was imposed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has toned down its nationwide protest against the cancellation of allotment of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board and has termed it as an aam hartal. BJP leaders on Wednesday assured that the nation-wide hartal on Thursday would not affect essential services."We are calling it a national strike and not Bharat Bandh," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told rediff.com in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Rajnath Singh, president of Bhartiya Janata Party, has called for a nationwide bandh on July 3, to protest against the recall of the cabinet order by Jammu and Kashmir government of the land that was allotted to the Amarnath Shrine board.
A recommendation had been made for the appointment of a total of 62 priests, including 26 from forward caste, it said
VHP International General Secretary Dr Pravin Togadia told a press conference at the VHP's Delhi office, "The agitation is limited to four hours. We are resorting to this to press for our demand that Jammu and Kashmir government rescind its order not to hand over land to the SASB."
The Yatra has been suspended as there has been snowfall at several places.
Politicians might say that the Amarnath issue is not about religion, but it is all about religion.
Eleven persons, including 10 devotees, have died due to medical reasons during the ongoing pilgrimage to Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
The board will also provide modern shelters made of pre-fabricated material, J&K Governor Sinha added.
The task for RS Rawat to enter the assembly might not be easy, especially with the ongoing situation arising out of Covid-19, lack of vaccines and allegations of poor hospital facilities, reports Shishir Prashant.
Dhillon told reporters that IPS Section 304 slapped against the Nihang could be converted into Section 302 (murder) following further investigation.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, the apex temple body which manages the shrine, on Tuesday said a portion of the gold-plated roof would be opened on August 3 to take stock of the leak.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of 4,890 pilgrims from the Jammu base camp.
The board outside St Michael's Church at Mahim in north central Mumbai often has messages that bring a smile to the faces of drivers and passengers hurrying in thick traffic outside the church which draws worshippers from all faiths to its novena every Wednesday.
What should be made out of the Madras high court order involving non-Hindus' entry into Hindu temples, when many non-Hindus are among the hundreds of thousands that have been worshipping at these temples for generations, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Board, which also comprise the state government nominees, told a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that it is high time that a particular class not be discriminated on the ground of 'biological attributes'.
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