Srinagar, Sep 20: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday inaugurated the valley’s first multiplex in Sonawar area of the city, ending the three-decade wait of the movie buffs to watch their favourite stars on the big screen.
“Inaugurated INOX multiplex theatre in Srinagar. Congratulations to the people, Sh. Vijay Dhar & INOX Group. A major socio-economic revolution is sweeping through J&K in the last 3 years,” Sinha tweeted soon after inaugurating the multiplex.
He said, “It is a reflection of a new dawn of hope, dreams, confidence and aspirations of people.” The mulitplex management held a special screening of Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Lal Singh Chaddha’ after the inauguration ceremony.
The regular shows will start from September 30 with the screening of Vikram Vedha, starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan.
The first multiplex in Kashmir will have three movie theatres with a total capacity of 520 seats. The premises will also have a food court aimed at promoting the local cuisine.
The opening of the multiplex, which will be operated by INOX, comes close on the heels of the Lieutenant Governor inaugurating multipurpose cinema halls — one each in the twin Pulwama and Shopian districts.
The cinema halls have reopened in the valley after three decades as theatre owners downed their shutters in the Valley due to threats and attacks by militants in 1989-90.
The Valley had seen nearly a dozen stand-alone cinema halls functioning till the late 1980s, but they had to wind up businesses after two militant outfits threatened the owners.
Though authorities made attempts to reopen some of the theatres in the late 1990s, militants thwarted such efforts by carrying out a deadly grenade attack on Regal Cinema in the heart of Lal Chowk in September 1999.
Two other theatres — Neelam and Broadway — had opened their doors but had to shut business due to poor response. (Agencies)

Doda, September 20: District Development Commissioner, Vishesh Paul Mahajan today convened an interaction meeting with media persons here at Conference Hall DC Office Complex.

The meeting was attended by SSP Doda Abdul Qayoom, GM DIC Doda, SE PWD, SE JPDCL, Deputy Director Employment Doda, District Information Officer Doda, besides media persons representing different print, electronic and social media organisations.

The media persons highlighted different issues being faced by the media and general public of the District. Thorough discussions were held to ensure better coordination between the district administration and media agencies to facilitate dissemination of factual information through media. Suggestions were also sought from the media persons for addressing the problems being faced by them in connection with the dissemination of developmental activities being carried out in the district.

Speaking on the occasion, SSP Doda said that real essence of democracy is posible only with the healthy journalism. He ensured all possible help from District Police for upholding the free fair and healthy journalism in the district.

DDC while speaking on the occasion said that media plays an important role in getting public feedback so that administration can implement thoroughly various government welfare schemes and other activities and can work on the lines of public aspirations for inclusive development. He thanked all the media persons and extended his best wishes to them. He ensured full cooperation of the administration for healthy journalism and urged for fair, unbiased, responsible and professional reporting/ journalism in highlighting the issues of public importance. He also urged that journalists should be aware of welfare schemes and government programmes so that they can report the anomalies which will ultimately help the public at large.
DDC also sought their cooperation in making Nasha Mukht Bharat campaign, Swatchta Compaign and Summary revision of the Electoral Roll programme a great success.

NEW DELHI, Sept 20: IAS officer Shah Faesal has withdrawn his petition from the Supreme Court challenging the Presidential order to scrap Article 370, that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Bar & Bench reported.
Faesal was among 23 petitioners who had challenged the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370.
Shah Faesal’s decision to withdraw the petition comes months after he was taken back into the Indian Administrative Service in April this year and appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Culture.
Faesal resigned from service in protest in 2019 to float his own political party in Jammu and Kashmir. However, his resignation had never been accepted by the government and he withdrew it later. (AGENCIES)

JAMMU, Sept 20: After former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti accused the central government of spreading the BJP’s “Hindutva” agenda, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former J-K Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta slammed the PDP leader for making everything controversial. Calling out Mufti’s remarks, Gupta said that “may the PDP leader be blessed with good thoughts”.
“Mehbooba Mufti tries to make everything controversial. She has been trying to mislead the public regarding the bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ being sung in a school in Kashmir,” Gupta said. He further slammed Mufti and said,” The bhajan also has ‘Ishwar Allah tero naam, sabko sanmati de bhagwaan’. May Mehbooba Mufti get this sanmati.”
His remarks came after the PDP leader on a micro-blogging site shared a video from a school in the valley. The school is located in Kulgam where the teachers can be seen singing a bhajan while the students join the tune and wave their hands. Taking to Twitter, she slammed the government and wrote, “Jailing religious scholars, shutting down Jama Masjid and directing school kids here to sing Hindu hymns exposes the real Hindutva agenda of Government of India in Kashmir. Refusing these rabid dictates invites PSA and UAPA. It is the cost that we are paying for this so-called ‘Badalta J&K’.” (Agencies)

BARAMULLA, Sept 20: The State Investigating Agency (SIA) on Tuesday morning raided the office of Falah-e-Aam Trust in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district in connection with a terrorism funding case.
SIA sleuths accompanied by Police conducted raids at the trust premises in Sopore today morning.
Similar raid was also conducted at another Falah-a-Aam Trust office in Nowgam area of Srinagar today morning.
The raids were underway when reports last came in.

SRINAGAR, Sept 20: Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi, whose crew was pelted with stones last evening, on Tuesday said it has been an absolute joy shooting in Kashmir.
Hashmi who is currently stationed in the Valley shooting for his next movie “Ground Zero” clarified that he was not injured in the stone pelting incident.
On Monday evening, stones were pelted at Hashmi’s crew during the shooting at Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort in Anantnag district.
Police later said it arrested a miscreant for pelting stones on crew members and an FIR was registered in Police Station Pahalgam.
The people of Kashmir have been very warm and welcoming, it has been an absolute joy shooting in Srinagar and Pahalgam. The news of me being injured in a stone pelting incident is inaccurate, the actor tweeted.
Kashmir used to be the favourite location for shooting of Bollywood movies before militancy started.
After over 30 long years, the J&K government is trying to bring back filmmakers to the valley.
The union territory administration claims it has received more than 500 applications from filmmakers across the country for granting permission to shoot in the Kashmir Valley. (AGENCIES)

Weather department on Tuesday forecast mainly dry weather in Kashmir Valley and isolated rain and thunder in Jammu division for the next 24 hours.

A meteorological department official said that isolated rain was expected on Wednesday in J-K and dry weather on 22 September.

Regarding the minimum temperature, he said, Srinagar recorded a low of 12.6°C, same on the previous night. The temperature was 0.7°C above normal for the summer capital during this time of the year, he said.

Qazigund recorded a low of 11.0°C against 9.8°C on the previous night. The temperature was 0.7°C above normal there, he said.

In Pahalgam, he said, the mercury settled at 7.8°C against 8.0°C on the previous night and it was normal for the south Kashmir resort.

Kokernag recorded a low of 11.3°C against 10.7°C the previous night and it was 0.6°C above normal for the place, he said.

World famous Gulmarg resort recorded a low of 9.0°C against 8.0°C on the previous night. It was 1.1°C above normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.

In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at 10.3°C against 9.8°C the previous night, the official said. It was 0.1°C above normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.

Jammu recorded a low of 23.8°C against 22.7°C on the previous night. It was 0.4°C below normal for J-K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of 0.4°C, Batote 16.0°C, Katra 21.6°C and Bhadarwah 14.2°C.

Srinagar first multiplex: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha inaugurated the new INOX multiplex in Srinagar today, where Bollywood film Laal Singh Chaddha’s special screening took place. With this, people in the valley got the opportunity to enjoy Bollywood movies on the big screen for the first time, in a long time.

The first show will be on September 30 when the Hrithik Roshan-starred movie Vikram Vedha will be screened in the multiplex. India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma was a special Guest of Honor at the inauguration event.

As per reports, the INOX multiplex has the same facilities, as that of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or any other city in the country. This multiplex has three screens and a total seating capacity of approximately 520 people.

Cinema halls in the valley were closed in the early 90s after terrorism found its roots in the Kashmir region. The state had around 15 cinema halls at the time, out of which nine were in Srinagar, but all of them were forcefully closed by terrorists decades ago.

The government during 1999-2000 tried to re-open a few cinema halls but subsequent terrorist attacks forced them to close the cinema halls. After thirty long years, cinema is returning to the Kashmir valley.

To maintain Kashmir’s art and design, a kashmiri wood “khatambandh” is used in the lobbies which gives it a kashmiri culture look, Farooq Ahmed, a local artist told India TV. This multiplex has many food courts and other entertaining facilities which will attract the children as well. INOX has made every possible effort to match this multiplex with the country’s other top multiplexes, the owner of the multiplex Vikas Dhar told India TV.

“All the latest Bollywood releases will be screened here and we would love to see families coming to watch them. My purpose for this complex is to provide the youth with the same recreational facilities as they get in the rest of the country,” Dhar said.

Alok Tondonm INOX Manager said, “We are pleased to introduce INOX multiplex here in Kashmir and after decades the people of Kashmir will get their entertainment back.” LG Manoj Sinha already inaugurated two cinemas in Pulwama and Shopian in South Kashmir yesterday.