Srinagar, July 05: Another batch of 6,979 Yatris left Jammu on Saturday for Kashmir amid tight security arrangements to perform pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine as more than 26,800 pilgrims had ‘Darshan’ during the last two days, officials said.

The officials added that more than 26,800 pilgrims had ‘darshan’ inside the holy cave shrine cave during the last two days since the 38-day-long Amarnath Yatra started on July 3.

“Another batch of 6,979 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar Yatra Niwas in the morning in two escorted convoys of 312 vehicles for the Valley.”

“Of these, 2,753 are going to Baltal base camp while 4,226 pilgrims are going to Nunwan (Pahalgam base camp),” officials added.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, inaugurated a Yatri Niwas in Baltal base camp on Friday.

The complex includes a disaster management centre.

Part of the ONGC’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, Baltal Yatri Niwas has become functional while those in Bijbehara, Nunwan (Pahalgam) and Sidhra in Jammu are nearing completion.

These locations feature dormitories, sewage treatment plants, and other essential utilities.

The Sidhra site (8,500 square metres), designed as a sustainable G+5 structure equipped with solar panels, is expected to be operational by September 2026.

Collectively, these projects, covering over 30,955 square metres, will provide safer and more comfortable facilities for the people.

Authorities have left no stone unturned in providing a multi-tier cover to this year’s Amarnath Yatra, as this takes place after the cowardly attack of April 22 in which Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians after segregating them on the basis of faith in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

An additional 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been brought in to augment the existing strength of the Army, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, and the local police.

All the transit camps en route to the two base camps and the entire route from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu to the cave shrine are secured by the security forces.

Locals have extended complete cooperation to this year’s Amarnath Yatra as they have always done in the past.

To send out a powerful signal that Kashmiris were deeply shocked by the Pahalgam terror attack, locals were the first to welcome the first batch of Yatris with garlands and placards as the pilgrims crossed the Navyug Tunnel to enter the Valley at Qazigund.

This year, the Yatra started on July 3 and will end after 38 days on August 9, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.

Yatris approach the holy cave shrine situated 3,888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas either from the traditional Pahalgam route or the shorter Baltal route.

Those using the Pahalgam route have to pass through Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni to reach the cave shrine, covering a distance of 46 km on foot.

This trek takes a pilgrim four days to reach the cave shrine.

Those using the shorter Baltal route have to trek 14 km to reach the cave shrine and return to the base camp the same day after performing the Yatra.

For security reasons, no helicopter services are available to the Yatris this year.

The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon.

Devotees believe that the ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.

Shri Amarnath ji Yatra is one of the holiest religious pilgrimages for the devotees, as legend says Lord Shiva narrated the secrets of eternal life and immortality to Mata Parvati inside this cave.

Two pigeons accidentally happened to be inside the cave when the eternal secrets were being narrated by Lord Shiva.

Traditionally, even to this day, a pair of mountain pigeons flies out of the cave shrine when the annual Yatra begins.

Srinagar, Jul 4: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha Friday said that he was proud to see women breaking barriers in agricultural sciences and technology.

In his address at the 6th convocation ceremony of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), the LG said, “Proud to see our daughters breaking barriers and achieving success in Agricultural Science and Technology. It reflects a bright future for J&K and the nation.”

During the convocation, of the 5250 degrees of undergraduate, master’s, and PhD, 2661 degrees were awarded to women, of the 150 students conferred with gold medals, 115 were women, and of the 445 Certificates of Merit, 334 were conferred to women.

LG Sinha, who is also the Chancellor of J&K universities, asked the SKUAST-K graduates to uphold curiosity, innovation and lifelong learning as core values, saying these were essential for personal growth and national development.

He said that the greatest divine gift bestowed upon humankind was “curiosity of the mind.”

“I urge every graduating student to keep the flame of curiosity alive throughout their life. It is this curiosity that drives innovation, leads to discovery, and enables one to contribute meaningfully to society and the country,” the LG said.

He said that ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Jammu Kashmir’ and ‘prosperous farming community’ were the resolutions of the J&K administration.

“The Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is committed to developing J&K as a hub of horticulture,” LG Sinha said.

He congratulated SKUAST-K for creating a competent and competitive human resource, shaping up the farm sector in J&K, besides showing remarkable improvement in its ranking.

In his address, the LG also spoke on the transformative reforms taking place in agriculture and allied sectors in J&K over the past few years.

“The agriculture and allied sectors have truly become the mainstay of India’s economy under the visionary leadership of PM Modi,” he said.

LG Sinha said this change was strongly reflected in J&K’s agricultural landscape.

“Today, the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) has emerged as a role model of agricultural revolution in the entire country,” he said.

The LG said that J&K has set four major goals for agriculture and allied sector in the last five years which include transforming the agriculture sector into a sustainable-commercial agriculture economy, creating an agri-business ecosystem with value chain, farmer and community-centric approach for holistic development of agriculture, increasing the income of farming families, and securing their livelihood.

“I urge the graduating students to make their valuable contribution to innovation and progressive farming and take the lead in agri-technology, food technology, and groundbreaking innovation. Your passion and ideas will shape the future of India’s agriculture sector,” he said.

LG Sinha said that education was not preparation for life but life in itself.

“I firmly believe that if education is in accordance with the time and the needs of the global industry, then it is the most precious asset of society,” he said.

The LG also commended Vice Chancellor SKUAST-K, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai and his team for developing modern, state-of-the-art infrastructure and a new-age educational platform.

“New academic programmes, centres of excellence, and research in modern technology areas – Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Gene Editing, Regenerative Medicine, Speed Breeding – have brought J&K closer to achieving its goal of becoming a knowledge economy and provided an opportunity to promote J&K’s bio-economy,” he said.

Srinagar, Jul 4: On the occasion of 8th Muharram-ul-Haram, the National Conference organised multiple refreshment camps in different parts of Kashmir for the mourners participating in the mourning processions including the one from Chota Bazar to Dalgate.

The initiative was taken following the directions of party General Secretary Haji Ali Muhammad Sagar, with active efforts from MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq, MLA Lal Chowk Ahsan Pardesi, MLA Hazratbal Salman Ali Sagar, MLA Chadoora Ali Mohammad Dar.

The camps provided water and refreshments to the mourners, reflecting the party’s commitment to the universal and eternal teachings of Hazrat Imam-e-Aalimakam (AS), a press release said.

Srinagar, Jul 4: Vice Chancellor Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Friday said Jammu and Kashmir was the first in the country to implement the ‘Evergreen Revolution’ under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP).

Speaking at the 6th convocation, VC SKUAST-K said, “Post ‘Green Revolution’, J&K has become the first in the country to conceptualise and implement a visionary policy for the ‘Evergreen Revolution’ under the HADP, based on three important verticals – food, nutritional, and economic security; equity and inclusiveness of marginal farmers and fringe communities; and sustainable ecosystems.

He said that J&K spearheaded the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 across the country, built its implementation framework in agri-education and positioned itself as the top innovation-led university.

Ganai congratulated the graduating students and said these young minds carry the responsibility of shaping the future of the society, state, and the country, besides carving out a niche for themselves.

“I am confident that they carry forward the legacy of SKUAST-K and contribute meaningfully to a peaceful, progressive, and inclusive knowledge society,” he said.

“SKUAST-K-developed agri-education model under NEP-2020 that has been adopted by ICAR’s 6th Dean’s Committee for nationwide curriculum reform,” the VC SKUAST-K said. “Our education model at the undergraduate level is Degree by Design, which is a flexible, multidisciplinary and choice-based system,” he said.

Ganai said that SKUAT-K stands as the 5th best State Agriculture University (SAU) in the country as per the NIRF ranking 2024. “This position not only reflects our performance indicators but also symbolises our excellence,” he said.

The SKUAST-K VC said that the student enrollment at the varsity doubled in the last two years from 2500 to 5300, the highest increase in Gross Student Enrolment (GER) in any SAU across the country.

“Our university has 30 percent of the students from other states and UTs. SKUAST-K is first agricultural university in the country to institute a four-year B Tech programme in Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture with IIT Mandi, B Tech Bio Technology, B Tech Food Technology, B Tech Bio-Chemistry, B Sc Microbiology, B Tech Dairy Technology as well as four-year B Sc Economics with Data Science,” he said.

Ganai said SKUAST-K offers 67 Master’s, 55 PhD programmes, 70 Diploma and Skill courses, and 102 certificate courses that cater to the needs of a diverse student community. “Through our structured R&D programmes, we aim to address 12 of the 17 SDGs and improve our ranking on social development indices. Our goal is to double our agri GDP to 8 billion US dollars by 2030 and 80 billion US dollars by 2047,” he said.

The VC SKUAST-K said the varsity had scripted the game-changing HADP policy that was poised to transform the agricultural landscape of J&K.

“This project has been approved at a cost of Rs 5013 crore and with an additional support of Rs 1800 crore under J&K CIP, offering unlimited opportunities to give new directions to the agricultural economy of J&K,” he said.

Ganai said that through their innovative extension and community outreach model, SKUAST-K had transformed progressive farmers into champion farmers through knowledge, skill, and technology backing.

“Under HADP, the government has already established 500 Kisan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs), which are a vital part of our outreach strategy, bringing specialised guidance directly to the farmers and offering tailored technology support,” he said. The VC SKUAST-K said the varsity was the first in the country to make students adopt a panchayat or group of villages throughout their degree programmes, in contrast to other universities where students take up such programmes in the last year of their degree.

“Our focus is on reaching out to the people with the basket of our technologies and solutions through our agri-tech melas,” he said.

Ganai said that during the last four years, the university had earned 85 IPRs and established 72 startups and stands tall in the league of IITs and IISCs, much ahead of SAUs that had made SKUAST-K Numero Uno in innovations and startups among all 78 agri-varsities.

“We are among the very few universities that qualify for the QUAD Nations Programme on AI-ENGAGE. We have put up a joint proposal with Japan, Australia, and the US. For this, we seek the support of our Union Minister in this endeavour so that we can partner with these institutions for capacity building in these areas,” he said.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Raj Singh Chouhan was the chief guest while Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is the Chancellor of the university, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is Pro-Chancellor SKUAST-K, were the guests of honour on the occasion.

Minister for Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Javid Ahmad Dar, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Principal Secretary Agriculture Production Department, Shailendra Kumar, and Deputy Director General (Education), ICAR, GoI, Prof R C Agrawal were also present on the occasion.

At the 6th convocation of SKUAST-K, 5250 candidates, including 3051 undergraduates, 1611 Master’s degree holders, and 588 doctorates, were conferred with their degrees.

On the occasion, 150 toppers were awarded gold medals while 445 meritorious students were awarded certificates of merit.

Srinagar, July 04: The Chief of Staff (COS) Northern Army Command Lieutenant General Vijay B Nair on Friday visited south Kashmir to access the security framework and operational preparedness in the region.

During his visit, he underscored the imperative of unrelenting vigilance, cutting-edge training and adaptability to respond to emerging security threats. He also interacted with the troops and commended them for their exemplary morale.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Northern Command – Indian Army said: “Lt Gen Vijay B Nair, #COS, #NorthernCommand visited South Kashmir to assess the security framework. He was briefed on the current security situation and operational preparedness under Chinar Corps”.

“During the visit, he underscored the imperative of unrelenting vigilance, cutting-edge training, and adaptability to respond to emerging security threats. While interacting with the troops, he commended them for their exemplary morale, high standards of training, and combat readiness,” the Army said on X.