E-Paper
Vice President arrives for maiden 2-day Kashmir visit
On Thursday, the Vice President is scheduled to deliver the address at the 21st convocation ceremony of University of Kashmir in Srinagar
Vice President (VP) of India CP Radhakrishnan arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday evening on his maiden two-day visit to Kashmir. He was received by chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Elaborate security arrangements were in place in Srinagar for vice president’s visit. There was an increased deployment of security forces in various sensitive areas of the city, including routes leading to Kashmir University and Srinagar Airport.
The random checking of people and vehicles around the venue has also been intensified. “The forces’ deployment has been made at various strategic spots while additional checkpoints have also been installed,” said a police officer.
On Thursday, the Vice President is scheduled to deliver the address at the 21st convocation ceremony of University of Kashmir in Srinagar. “During the visit, the VP will grace the convocation ceremony of University of Kashmir in Srinagar as the chief guest,” the vice-president’s secretariat said. The VP will stay for night at Lok Bhawan.
Lieutenant governor and KU chancellor Manoj Sinha will preside over the convocation, and CM, and pro-chancellor KU, Omar Abdullah will attend the convocation as guest of honour. In addition, minister for higher education, Sakina Itoo, senior officers of the civil administration, police department, faculty members and officials of the University administration will also be a part of the event.
KU vice chancellor, Prof Nilofer Khan said that the presence of VP at the ceremony reflects the growing national recognition of the University’s academic and research contributions.
She said a total of 59,558 degrees including 44,910 undergraduates, 13,545 postgraduates and 620 PhD shall be conferred during the convocation.
The University of Kashmir is the only University from Jammu and Kashmir to feature among the top 50 universities in the country. The institution holds NAAC A++ accreditation, is ranked 34th in the NIRF rankings, and is placed among the top 08 State Public Universities in India.
Traffic advisory issued for Thursday
Traffic advisory has been issued for Thursday. “In view of a VVIP visit on February 26, no traffic will be allowed towards Nishat, Shalimar, or Harwan via Badyari Chowk & Gupkar, and no traffic movement will be allowed from Ram Munshi Bagh to Grand Palace,” the traffic police has said.
There will be no traffic movement on the Dalgate, Khayam, Khanyar, Rainawari, Saidkadal and Hazratbal road stretch during the restriction period.
On February 20, inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir Zone, V K Birdi, had chaired a high-level security review meeting regarding preparations for the visit of Vice President of India’s to J&K.
“Special emphasis was laid on securing critical infrastructure and safeguarding vital installations. The strategic deployment of counter intelligence quick response teams was also discussed to ensure swift response to any emerging situation,” a police spokesperson had said.
