Author: Fida Iqbal
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The Looming Threat
Are we in for the next flood? 2014 floods taught us much bigger lesson. This flood exposed our preparedness against such natural disaster of higher magnitude. Kashmir valley over the period of time has experienced a definite cycle of floods and may be our flood managers drawing hypothetical conclusions from the flood cycles and patterns…
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Once called Sun city
Srinagar is now caught in utter darkness! Once a splendid city, lying on the banks of river Jhelum Srinagar city was known for its beautiful gardens, rich culture, distinctive architecture and clarity in almost all fields of life. This city has a long history; some historians have documented it as Surya Nagar meaning ‘Sun City’…
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An open letter to youth of Kashmir.
Here is a way that leads to dignified Kashmir. It was just a coincidence, when I conceived this piece one gentleman and widely read columnist Chetan Bhagat had already given words to his desire regarding youth of Kashmir, but with a different shape. Even after my views being quite contrary to Mr. Bhagat’s conception my…
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Food that Kills.
How long will these adulterators be allowed to play with human lives? A recent finding of health experts regarding widespread cases of cancer in Kashmir is alarming. Gastrointestinal malignancies are more common than other forms of cancer. Most of the health experts attribute this steep rise in gastrointestinal cancer to our food habits, particularly to…
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Deliver or Perish
The message holds good for this government and for all governments to come! With his three months of perfect rule, Narinder Nath Vohra has created new benchmarks in governance. This brief period of all development and less mess-up can be treated as a case study for good governance. No one can deny this three months…
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An open letter to Mehbooba Mufti
Now that you are about to take charge, you have some grave issue to address! After more than two months of being in denial mode you are about to take charge of state government as its first woman Chief Minister. We all know you are under tremendous pressure both at your own party and coalition…
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Redefining Nationalism!
Any attempt to rewrite nationalism to the satisfaction of certain disgruntled elements will prove counterproductive. There are many literary and academic descriptions of nationalism. But to my humble mind the best and justified definition of nationalism is ‘ultimate possessiveness about one’s motherland in a dignified and more honorable way’. Being nationalist with patriotic zeal is…
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March, the month of pointless expenditures!
One wonders why do we compulsively spend our precious capital just to complete the financial year. During my more than three decades of service with the state government I had great experience of duty, subordination, rights and working of our administration. Inheriting and carrying the British legacy of administrative structure which was more a system…
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Governance with a difference!
All it takes is honesty, impartiality and sincerity. I believe in and practise democracy by conviction. So, in any case these lines should not be interpreted as a campaign to denigrate political governance and people’s participation in governance—democracy in political parlance. For the last several weeks our state is under governor’s rule, certainly a provision…
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Bleak Srinagar Landscape!
Materialism has done the damage. On universal garden and landscape scenario only two forms of gardens are documented as formal and informal. Almost all Mughal gardens are formal and the rest all landscape is categorized as informal. So, most of our landscape in Srinagar is formal. Formal pattern of landscaping suit well to topography of Kashmir…