With thousands of devotees from different parts of the country visiting the Amarnath cave in south Kashmir Himalayas every day since the start of yatra on June 29, it is expected that a record number of yatris may perform the pilgrimage this year. According to officials over 3.86 lakh devotees have visited the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas in the last 22 days. The 52-year-old yatra, which started on June 29, would culminate on August 19 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals. The Amarnath cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 metres above sea level in south Kashmir Himalayas.
4 lawyers arrested in one month
Police have arrested four lawyers, including two former presidents of J&K High Court Bar Association in about a month in the Valley. On Tuesday evening, police arrested former General Secretary of J&K High Court Bar Association Mohammad Ashraf Bhat from his residence at Rawalpora area in uptown Srinagar. He has been booked under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) and lodged in Kathua jail in Jammu region. Police has not given any reason for Bhat’s arrest. Bhat is the fourth senior lawyer arrested by police in over a month.
Rs 1 lakh fine on former IAS officer
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has imposed a fine of `1 lakh on former IAS officer Ashok Kumar Parmer for filing a “mischievous and frivolous” plea against J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and other top bureaucrats. The order passed by CAT’s Jammu bench Judicial Member Rajinder Dogra stated that it was a service-related matter and instead of impleading the Union and the J&K governments, Parmar had impleaded J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and other authorities by their names. It observed that the applicant (retired IAS officer) has made top officials as party along with Lt Governor by name to settle his personal scores.
Fayaz wani
Our correspondent in Jammu and Kashmir
fayazwani123@gmail.com