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Time of India
11-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
J&K government trains weavers to keep famed Kashmiri carpets alive
Image used for representative purposes SRINAGAR: With many carpet weavers weaning away from the craft in recent years due to a slump in the international market, Jammu and Kashmir govt is training new artisans to keep the tradition alive. On Thursday, officials stated that around 11,000 workers from various districts of Kashmir Valley have received training in carpet weaving. 'The weavers have been trained on modified carpet looms which shall go a long way in penetrating niche markets for the famed hand-knotted carpets, which is the second-most exported handmade product from Kashmir,' Zubair Ahmad, director of Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT), Srinagar, said. Ahmad said distinguished master weavers were roped in to train skilled and semi-skilled carpet weavers in several batches. 'This training will go a long way in safeguarding the rare skill of weaving intricate hand-knotted carpets, which have a huge demand within the country and abroad,' he added. To make the training programme lucrative, IICT offers a monthly stipend to trainees. 'For these short-term training programs, which last four to six months and accommodate 20 trainees each, the monthly stipend ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,750 under various skill-based schemes of the Union textiles ministry,' Ahmad said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 검버섯, 레이저말고 이렇게 해보세요 에스테틱최원장 Undo Despite a global recession, ongoing international conflicts, and wars in the Middle East — a key market for Kashmiri handicrafts — exports of hand-knotted carpets from Kashmir reached Rs 838.7 crore in the past three financial years, Ahmad said. Kashmir's carpet tradition is believed to have begun during the time of Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani and Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin in the 14th and 15th centuries, when artisans from Iran and Central Asia were brought to the region. According to Saleem Beg, convenor of INTACH Kashmir, large-scale production took off during the Mughal era, when master craftsmen settled down in Srinagar and helped build a weaving community. For generations, carpets have been central to Kashmir's handicrafts sector, providing jobs and sustenance to thousands across the Valley.
Hindustan Times
01-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
‘Moral decay of society': Court denies bail to man accused of raping 70-yr-old tourist at Pahalgam hotel
A court in Anantnag district made some scathing remarks on the society while denying bail to a youth accused of raping an elderly tourist from Maharashtra in April. The accused sought bail, inter alia, alleging the police harbored some personal grudge against him and his father, on account of which he has been falsely implicated in the case. (File) Principal sessions judge Anantnag, Tahir Khurshid Raina, while rejecting the bail application of the accused, Zubair Ahmad from Ganeshbal Pahalgam, said that the incident ought to have jolted the 'conscience of this society'. 'The investigation in the case is going on and the perusal of the Case Diary (CD) file prima facie reveals the commission of offence of rape on a senior citizen by the accused in a highly dastardly manner. This is what she has carried from the Pahalgam for the rest of her life where she had come to enjoy the beauty of Kashmir,' the order announced on Friday read. Officials said that the 70-year-old woman from Maharashtra, a widow, who was visiting Kashmir with her family, was allegedly sexually assaulted by the accused. According to the police investigation, the accused unlawfully entered the septuagenarian woman's hotel room when she was alone, gagged her mouth with a blanket, raped her, inflicted injuries and fled through the window. The assault was so brutal that the victim was unable to sit and move and remained in pain for several days. The accused sought bail, inter alia, alleging the police harbored some personal grudge against him and his father, on account of which he has been falsely implicated in the case. 'The appreciation of the material on record which includes the complaint, the statements of the witnesses viz-a-viz of the prosecutrix (who happened to be the star witness in the case), the medical opinion, FSL Report, TIP, etc collectively and prima facie negates the grounds of bail advanced by the accused,' the order said. 'The alleged incident is highly unfortunate, condemnable by all possible words, and ought to have jolted the conscience of this society- which claims its moorings to be based on rich ethical values and culture- but now stands shaken to the hilt,' the judge made the remarks. 'It is not an isolated act to be ignored, but a reflection of a highest degree of depravity and sick mentality prevailing in the society-which must bow its head down in shame and invites a serious introspection as to what it stood for, and how that has now collapsed,' it said. This court, which every day witnesses the reflection of the probity level of this society, expressed its concern that it is hopelessly getting eroded on various fronts. 'No sooner the sheet-anchors, conscious keepers, watch dogs, and philanthropists of this society will rise to the occasion to check what is going wrong on the moral front of the society, the better will be for saving the Kashmir as the paradise on earth in its true sense,' the court said. 'Mere meadows, mountains, lush green fields, forests, springs, rivers, rivulets and gardens will not come to the rescue of Kashmir as a desired tourist destination,' the order stated.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
DGMOs get on hotline, Army warns Pakistan over ceasefire breach
Amid mounting tension and exchange of fire at multiple places along the Line of Control after the Pahalgam terror attack, nominated officers from the Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan spoke over the hotline Tuesday. Sources in the Defence establishment said although it was a weekly call, the Indian side strongly objected to the multiple ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC and warned the Pakistan Army against unprovoked firing. Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged fire for the sixth day Wednesday. As the LoC hots up, worried residents of border areas have begun renovating and cleaning bunkers — their refuge during shelling. The ceasefire, effected in 2003 and again in 2021, appears to be very fragile now given the repeated exchange of fire ever since the Pahalgam terror attack. The Army accused Pakistani troops of violating the ceasefire. 'Unprovoked small arms firing by Pakistan Army was also reported from their (Pakistan) posts across the Line of Control in Baramulla and Kupwara districts as well as across the International Border in Pargwal sector,' the Defence spokesman said. 'Indian Army troops responded appropriately.' Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire ever since April 23, the day after the Pahalgam terror attack. It was also the day India announced a raft of measures against Pakistan, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. This is a timeline of the violations: April 23: Pakistan opens fire in Tattapani and Mendhar sectors in Poonch, Jammu. April 25, 26: Pakistan fires at multiple places on the LoC in the Valley and Jammu regions. April 27: Ceasefire violations reported in Tutmar Gali and Rampur sectors in the Valley. April 28: Pakistan Army opens fire in Poonch and Kupwara. April 29: Pakistan opens fire on the Chenab post in the Pargwal sector of Akhnoor on the International Border. April 30: Pakistan Army opens fire on Indian positions in Baramulla and Kupwara districts. Also fire at an Indian position in the Pargwal sector. The repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan and targeting of Indian posts have sent tensions soaring in the border areas. Fearing a return to the days before the 2003 ceasefire, residents have begun renovating bunkers. Farooq Ahmad, a resident of Churanda village in Baramulla's Uri sector, said over the phone: 'Barring a few incidents, the LoC was peaceful for more than two decades.' 'We had left our bunkers unattended and they were crumbling. But now, we have started to renovate them,' he said. Zubair Ahmad, a resident of Sopore, has already started stocking supplies. 'People are worried… I have stocked some essential items.'
