First FDI ‘Mall of Srinagar’ to create jobs for 7500 persons

Mubashir Aalam Wani

Srinagar, Nov 23 (KNO): The ‘Mall of Srinagar’, which is the first Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Jammu and Kashmir is going to create employment opportunities for more than 7000 persons, documents reveal.

Earlier in March this year, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation stone for a ₹250-crore mega shopping mall at Srinagar’s Sempora area “Mall of Srinagar”.

The Mall is being constructed by Dubai-based Emaar Group, which built the world famous Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates.

The foundation stone of the state-of-the- art mall was laid almost a year after CEOs from several Gulf countries visited the Valley to explore investment opportunities.

As per the document available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), “Mall of Srinagar” will create jobs for 7500 people, thereby becoming the first single mega job creating asset of Jammu and Kashmir.

Documents said that “Mall of Srinagar”, is likely to be a state-of-the-art shopping and entertainment destination, with an investment of Rs 250 Cr.

“This will contribute to the region’s economic growth by creating employment opportunities of 7500 for the local population,” it said.

Launched by Emaar in collaboration with Magna Waves Buildtech, the mall is set to become operational by 2026.

Officials said the “Mall of Srinagar” will become one of the prime attractions for people and tourists visiting the valley from different corners of the world.

“It will be like the Dubai mall, which is the largest mall in the world and equally famous for offering a unique experience to the visitors. The mall will be a one- stop shop for the people. It will be equipped with avenues of entertainment. It will be one of the largest malls in the region with over 500 shops.” they said.

Officials said the “Mall of Srinagar”, which is coming up in the outskirts of Srinagar, will get due promotion by the government throughout its promotional programmes.

“Given that the mall is being constructed on 10 lakh square feet of area, it will have a direct relevance with the tourism sector of Jammu and Kashmir. While there are many investments coming in Kashmir, this particular mall will be a mega investment,” they said.

Pertinently at the time of laying of foundation stone, Lieutenant Government Manoj Sinha said Mall of Srinagar will have a transformative impact on UT and boost infrastructure, employment generation and ease of living—(KNO)

KU’s Kupwara campus fails to attract students

Academicians rue ‘wastage of human resource, infrastructure’

Srinagar, Nov 23 (KNO): The Kashmir University’s satellite campus in remote Kupwara district has failed to attract students for three courses which were started from this academic session, rendering the facility virtually a non-starter more than a decade after its sanctioning.

According to sources privy to admissions, the MSc programme in Energy Studies has drawn just one student out of 30 seats allocated for it, while the MSc programme in Physics has drawn six students out of the 30 allocated seats.

These two courses were started by the University after pleading before the University Council headed by LG that these were “futuristic” and “market-driven” as per the Varsity’s assessment, the sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

The poor response to the two courses belies the University’s argument and also reflects poorly over the quality of its homework before the launch of new courses, the sources said.

“The entrance test for two courses was held in June but since then the Campus hasn’t been able to fill up the vacant seats,” said an official at KU, wishing anonymity.

The University also started an integrated BA-MA programme in Arabic at the Kupwara Campus from this academic session, but again failed to attract the students despite keeping the eligibility open for all 10+2 passouts.

On November 21, the Director of Kupwara Campus issued a fresh notification for spot admission for the BA-MA programme in Arabic, calling any 10+2 applicant who is interested in getting admitted for the course.

The notification was issued despite the Director Admissions officially announcing closure of all admissions from November 13, after keeping the admission process open for nearly seven months for the first time in the University’s history.

“Making calls for spot admissions is simply lowering the academic standards. It is better to shut these courses rather than get anyone, even with a lower merit, to get admitted. This is not the way campuses are run. This is a sheer waste of resources and finances,” said an academician, pleading anonymity.

He said that campuses cannot be run for two or three candidates per course. “If you can’t have a student strength in a far off campus like Kupwara, it will drain the University’s exchequer without yielding any dividends.”

Notably, it has been more than a decade since the Kupwara Campus was sanctioned to take higher education to the doorsteps of its aspirants.

However, despite spending crores of rupees on building infrastructure, the University hasn’t succeeded in introducing courses that would draw students in large numbers.

One of the reasons for delay in the start of courses as well as for poor response to admissions is said to be the official apathy. The Kupwara Campus has never seen a full-fledged Director who could dedicatedly focus on its affairs and management. Even as on date, the Campus is manned by a Professor who is heading his own parent department at the Main Campus in Srinagar.

“Will the In-Charge Director look after his own department at the Main Campus or after the Kupwara Campus which is located more than 100 km away?” said the sources, adding that lack of adequate supervision was contributing to decay of the Campus on the academic front.

“Some non-teaching staff members are virtually running the affairs of the whole Campus in absence of a dedicated Director who could stay there round the clock,” the sources added.

Many argue that J&K Higher Education Council headed by LG Manoj Sinha should discuss declining admissions at KU campuses on priority and make course corrections to prevent misuse of human resources and infrastructure—(KNO)

KPDCL collects Rs 8 cr pending arrears from consumers in 1 day

Says 1082 consumers disconnected for non-payment of bills

Srinagar, Nov 23 (KNO): Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has further intensified its inspection drives across all district of Kashmir division to check incidents of hooking and power theft, which are primarily responsible for power outages and distress cuts.

As many as 566 drives were conducted across all 19 Electric Divisions and a penalty of Rs 7.84 lakh was imposed on those found hooking wires on bare conductor and bypassing the meters. Meanwhile, 64 Domestic Transformers (DTs) were also reported damaged on Wednesday due to overloading.

Giving details about the inspections conducted, a KPDCL spokesperson today stated that 183 drives were conducted in Circle II Srinagar, 60 in Circle I Srinagar, 123 in Circle Ganderbal, 71 in Circle Pulwama, 35 in Circle Bijbehara and 94 in Circle Sopore.

The spokesperson further stated that 1082 domestic, commercial and industrial connections were also disconnected for non-payment of energy dues for more than three months. This includes 371 domestic, 549 commercial and 157 industrial consumers.

Exhorting consumers to treat DTs as their own assets, the KPDCL spokesman said 64 DTs were reported damaged across all Electric Divisions. “While those fully damaged are being transported to Central Workshop at Pampore, the rest are being repaired at divisional-level workshops,” he said, adding that KPDCL is committed to replace the damaged transformers within the stipulated timelines.

KPDCL has also urged all domestic, commercial and industrial consumers to pay their long-pending energy dues or face disconnection. “The Corporation is actively pursuing recovery of pending arrears and Rs 8.00 crore were collected on Wednesday alone from the consumers,” he said, adding that KPDCL will make all out efforts to achieve the target of revenue realization fixed by the government—(KNO)

USBRL rail project almost completed: CPRO Northern Railways

Train to arrive Kashmir by early next year: Officials; Stations being modified for passengers: CAM Northern Railways

Umaisar Gull Ganie

Srinagar, Nov 23 (KNO): To connect Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, the much-awaited Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project is almost completed, top railway official said on Thursday.

Talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Northern Railway, Deepak Kumar said the work on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project is almost completed.

“95 to 96% of the work on the 111-km-long Katra-Banihal rail line has been completed, with only a small portion of work remaining,” he said.

He said, “Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has already announced that Udhampur-Banihal track, connecting Jammu with Srinagar, will be completed by December this year, or early next year.”

Meanwhile, another top official, wishing not to be named, told KNO that the work on the topographically challenging 111 km section between Katra and Banihal is ongoing.

He said once completed, the direct train service will directly run from Jammu and other parts of the country.

The project will probably take a month or two, which means train service is likely to start from January or February, he said.

“The USBRL project comprises 38 tunnels covering 119 km, with T-49 being the longest at 12.75 km, making it the country’s lengthiest transportation tunnel. Additionally, 927 bridges, the iconic 359-meter-high Chenab Bridge and only cable-stayed rail bridge in the country were constructed across the steep slope of Anji Khad River,” he said.

Chief Area Manager, (CAM) Kashmir, Northern Railways Sakib Yousuf said they are expecting the trains to run very soon from all parts of the country towards Kashmir valley as most of the work on USBRL project almost is completed.

To facilitate the passengers from outside the state, he said, several works are being executed in Kashmir valley and some works are in pipeline.

“Budgam station is an Amit station, for passengers waiting halls and others facilities are being developed there, similarly in Anantnag station, work for goods terminal (goods shed) is currently going on,” he added—(KNO)

BJP government created difficulties for Kashmiris, says Mehbooba

Anantnag, Nov 23 (KNO): Peoples Democratic Party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said that the ruling BJP led government has made life of people in Kashmir very difficult in the name of militancy.

She said arrests are being made on a daily basis, monitoring and surveillance continues while none is allowed to talk.

Talking to reporters, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), after addressing party workers in Larnoo Kokernag, she questioned the government’s claim of curbing militancy in the face of the killing of four soldiers in Rajouri.

Reacting to reports that Jamaat-e-Islami was behind the creation of PDP, Mehboba said that Jamaat-e-Islami has suffered a lot and it was doing great welfare work by running schools with low fee and quality education.

“When Mufti Muhammad Sayeed became CM for the first time, he worked for the welfare of people affiliated with Jamaat and others. They had left their homes due to various issues so that they can live their life with respect,” She said. “I am very much surprised why A teams and B teams have been making an issue of Jamaat-e-Islami.”

On the termination of government employees, the former chief minister said that the government has terminated more people than giving jobs to people since 2019.

“The government is acting as a court, agent and judge itself. It is a collective punishment for Kashmiri people as they think Kashmiris are their enemies,” she added.

Replying to a question on ban on Halal certified products in Uttar Pradesh, Mehbooba said that BJP has nothing to show as they failed to create job opportunities and work for the welfare of people—(KNO)