KEG regrets adding another newspaper in ad ban list by govt

Srinagar: Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) regretted that while it was expecting the lifting of the ban on government business to two major newspapers – The Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader, the government has added Kashmir Uzma to the list. The ban, as usual, is unexplained and implemented without conveying to the newspaper. “The ban, as we have conveyed earlier, is continuation of the onslaught that the Kashmir media has been subjected to, since 1989 in particular,” the KEG said in a statement issued here. “The onslaught has led to the untold miseries to the institution of media and the shaking of the faith in the institution of democracy.” KEG that met on Tuesday discussed the fresh ban order reiterated its stand that the ban was not only strangulating the media but is also impacting the idea of democracy. “Interestingly, the ban came in the midst of the electoral process that is governed by the Moral Code of Conduct. The Information Department has not conveyed the ban formally.” The Editors, the statement said, are at loss to understand the wisdom behind the undemocratic decision-making, especially at a time when the electioneering is in progress. The editors said that the media in Kashmir is one of the most professional media in this part of the world and will continue to report the happenings in the turmoil hit state professionally, objectively and honestly. The Editors also conveyed to the larger media outside Kashmir that they should take note of the happenings in Kashmir seriously because it is also part of their business and their mandate. The Guild has already approached the Press Council of India and will send yet another communication at the earliest.

The registration for the annual Amarnath Yatra through Baltal and Chandanwari routes began on Tuesday, officials said.

Nobody will be allowed to undertake the yatra without securing a permit which is valid for a specified day and route, they added.

The registration of pilgrims is being undertaken through 440 designated branches of the Punjab National Bank, the Jammu and Kashmir Bank and the YES Bank, located in 32 states and Union Territories.

The 46-day-long yatra will begin on July 1, the day of Masik Shivratri, and would conclude on August 15, the day of Shravan Purnima.

In addition to the existing ways of registration, the board has approved a proposal for online registration of a limited number of intending pilgrims each day on a pilot basis, the officials said.

The website will contain an application form and state-wise list of bank branches which the people can visit for registration.

The pilgrims will have to furnish a Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC) while registering.

A state-wise list of doctors and medical institutes authorised to issue CHCs has been put on the website of the shrine board to ensure authenticity.

Children under the age of 13 years or elderly above 75 years of age and women who are more than six weeks pregnant will not be registered for the yatra, the officials said.

Those who plan to travel by helicopter do not require advance registration as their chopper ticket shall suffice for this purpose.

However, they will have to produce the CHC in the prescribed format before they are allowed to travel, he added.