Srinagar, Oct 04: President, Kashmir Chamber of Horticulture Hakim Khalid Ahmed on Saturday emphasized the need to address the pressing issues confronting the horticulture sector urgently.

In a statement issued, he said that given the sector’s seasonal nature, every passing day has severe implications for stakeholders, particularly growers who have invested immense hard work and finance with dedication and commitment.

While acknowledging the authorities’ efforts to restore the highway and initiating apple transportation by train, he stressed that much more needs to be done to prevent further deterioration of the sector.

He suggested the authorities to check the export of lower grade fruit, which he said causes severe damage to the good quality fruit.

He urged the concerned authorities to take cognizance of the weather forecast and have a proactive approach so as to avoid any further losses. He said that the recent appeal made by PICCA president is appreciable. We must have strong awareness programmes so as not to let the growers Panik and at the same time prevent the losses incurred due to mis-communication. Expressing solidarity of KCH with the growers and various representative organizations, he urged the concerned authorities to to take immediate action on several fronts, including: continuing the un hindered movement of fruit Laden trucks on the National Highway to enable timely arrival of quality fruit to respective markets; increasing the number and frequency of the rail racks and adding more collection/loading points Especially the Sopore mandi, which is one of the largest and busiest markets, handling a substantial volume of apple trade; compensating the growers by introduction of effective scheme to mitigate the effect of the present situation to some extent immediately with further delay; re-introduce the (MIS) Market Intervention Scheme to cultivators/Growers as a breather for at least sustaining the brunt of the recent unfavorable situation; and create a user friendly mechanism for real time information to growers from various mandies in the country.

He also reiterated his earlier suggestion to constitute a committee involving Government officials and stakeholders on urgent basis to identify issues that require immediate attention and redressal and oversee the implementation of various schemes. This he said should be done on priority and without loosing more time.

He emphasized the need for encouraging stakeholder engagement and consultation to ensure that the concerns of growers, traders, and other stakeholders are taken into account on a regular basis and while formulating policies and programs for the long term.

Srinagar, Oct 04: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Saturday trapped and arrested Head Constable for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000.

A spokesman in a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the complainant alleged that after being detained in a case, he was granted interim bail by the Court on July-25-2025 with the condition to report daily at PS Mahore between 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

“However, during this period, HC Mahroof Ahmed harassed the complainant, kept him at the police station beyond the prescribed time, and demanded a bribe of Rs 8,000 for permitting timely release. The bribe was paid on 01.10.2025 inside the police station premises,” it reads.

ACB in a statement also said, “After two days, the accused again threatened the complainant and his associate, demanding an additional bribe of Rs 12,000 for the release of their tractor and for allowing their timely release during prescribed hours.”

“He further threatened to book them under PSA (Public Safety Act) if they failed to pay. The amount was later negotiated to Rs 8,000,” it reads.

The ACB statement also said that “Unwilling to pay further, the complainant approached ACB. After verification, FIR No. 02/2025 U/S 7 of PC Act 1988 (as amended in 2018) was registered at ACB Udhampur. A trap team headed by a Gazetted Officer successfully caught the accused red-handed while demanding and accepting Rs 8,000 in the presence of independent witnesses.”

ACB also said that further investigation of the case is in progress.

Jammu, Oct 04: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Tarun Chug Saturday slammed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his statements on Ladakh, stating that he failed to fulfill any promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir before the elections.

Speaking with reporters, Chugh asked CM Omar to focus on addressing issues in J&K rather than diverting attention to Ladakh

He also said that whenever there is an atmosphere of joy in the country, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the rest of the INDIA block parties start playing the tune of mourning.

He said that India’s Gen-Z is engaged in making the country self-reliant and is being advanced by following PM Modi’s policies.

“PM Modi has given a goal to Gen-Z and is continuously working for the welfare of the youth. The result of this is visible across the entire country,” he said.

On Ladakh situation, Chug said that the Central government is actively discussing Ladakh with several rounds of talks ongoing.

He said that the BJP created the Union Territory of Ladakh, carving five districts out of two, and granted UT status to those seeking separation.

Chug added that under PM Modi’s leadership, Ladakh, like Jammu & Kashmir, is witnessing a new chapter of progress and development—(KNO)

Srinagar, Oct 4: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has announced 15 percent relaxation for class 10th students in their upcoming annual examination.

As per the official document, the class 10th annual examination is likely to commence from November 3 of 2025. The timing of the papers has been fixed from 11am to 2pm.

“Around 95000 students will appear in the class 10th annual exams,” the official document reads.
As per the date- sheet, the exams will commence on November 3 for Mathematics subject followed by Social Science on November 7.

*The examination for Science subject has been scheduled on November 11 while English paper will be held on November 14,” it reads.

The examination for Urdu and Hindi papers have been scheduled on November 17 and vocational subjects on November 2.

“In between, Computer Science paper will be held on November 19,” it reads.

The examination will conclude on November 27 on which Painting/ Art and Drawing subjects are scheduled.

“In between, subjects with smaller number of candidates like Home Science will be held on November 23, Music on November 25 and additional/ optional subjects including Kashmiri/ Dogri/ Bhoti/ Punjabi/ Arabic/ Urdu/ Hindi/ Persian/ Sanskrit have been scheduled on November 24,” it reads.

In consideration of the disruptions in the academic calendar caused due to heat wave, torrential rains and cloudbursts and floods, the JK BOSE has granted concession of 15 percent syllabus, making attempt of 85 percent marks equivalent to 100 percent.

“The students are urged to prepare seriously for the examinations,” the official document reads.
JKBOSE has exhorted invigilators to be completely professional while discharging their duties in order to safeguard the purity and integrity of exams and requested School Education Department (SED) to extend cordial support in smooth and fair conduct of the examination.

Jammu, Oct 04: BJP to Field 3 Candidates in RS Polls: Sunil Sethi KNO Special Correspondent Jammu, Oct 04: The BJP on Saturday announced its decision to contest all Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for election on October 24.

BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi said, “We have decided to contest all seats. We are fielding three candidates.”

While the BJP will field one candidate each for the first two seats, it will field only one candidate for the remaining two seats, for which only one election will be held.

The BJP is expected to field the first two candidates for a ‘symbolic’ fight against the ruling NC-led alliance, which will win both these seats comfortably. However, the party is expected to field a heavyweight candidate for one of the two remaining seats, where it has strong chances of winning.

The BJP’s announcement to field candidates on all seats will ensure an election for the first two seats, which usually went uncontested in the past, as the ruling party would win them.

Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Sethi said that the focus of the meeting was on the kind of individuals needed to represent the party in the Rajya Sabha.

“It was not about specific individuals, but rather the qualities of individuals who can effectively represent the party in the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

He added that the views of the core group would be conveyed to the party high command.

As reported by KNO last evening, Sunil Sethi, former president Ravinder Raina, and former deputy chief Minister Nirmal Singh are among frontrunners for RS ticket.

In the House, the National Conference-led alliance has 53 members, while the BJP has 28 members. The non-BJP opposition bloc comprises seven members.

The meeting was attended, among others, by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and BJP national general secretary and J&K in-charge, Tarun Chugh.

However, Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma was not present in the meeting—(KNO)

Srinagar, Oct 04: National Conference senior leader and MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has expressed solidarity with the people of Ladakh following a viral video of a local school teacher who broke down while alleging that government employees were being warned against expressing opinions on social media and were being transferred to remote areas for doing so.

Reacting to the video, Mehdi wrote on X that the BJP and RSS regime may have divided Kashmir and Ladakh geographically, but has united them in “pain, suffering, subjugation, and oppression.” He said the ordeal long faced by the people of Kashmir was now finding expression in Ladakh.

“The BJP & RSS regime might have divided us (Kashmiris & Ladakhis) geographically on paper, but they have united us in pain and suffering, subjugation and oppression. The pain which the people in Kashmir have endured for a long time finds an expression from Ladakh today,” Mehdi wrote.

The Srinagar MP said Kashmiris never wished any other society to experience such injustice. “We in Kashmir never wanted any other society to experience it. We only wanted to be heard. When we cried injustice, everyone else thought that it’s only upon Kashmiris, it will never come upon us. But today from Ladakh (J&K) to Kanyakumari, people are slowly but surely being subjected to the miseries and subjugation that Kashmiris have been subjected to since long ago,” he wrote.

Assuring the people of Ladakh of Kashmir’s support, Mehdi added, “I can assure my fellow citizens in Ladakh, though we were alone, but we won’t let you be alone in your (our) rightful cause and struggle.”

The video that triggered the reaction shows a Ladakhi school teacher in tears, alleging that employees were being directed not to post anything on social media. She claimed that those who expressed opinions or highlighted grievances were being transferred to far-flung areas as punishment. [KNT]