Srinagar: JK Congress Protests Detentions, NIT Faculty Among World Top Scientists, and J&K Open Ranji Defence
Srinagar saw political protests, an academic distinction for its premier technical institution, and a trekking rescue story this week. The JK Pradesh Congress Committee organised a black day demonstration that was stopped by police, while NIT Srinagar announced multiple faculty members made the World top two percent scientists ranking. Two youths who went missing during a Ganderbal trek were later traced, providing a moment of relief for local families.
🗳️ JK Congress Black Day Protest Stopped by Police as JKPCC Presses on Detentions
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee organised a black day protest march in Srinagar to draw attention to what party leaders described as ongoing detentions of political workers and civil society members in the valley. Rising Kashmir reported that JK Congress leaders led the demonstration but that police stopped the march before it could proceed along its planned route. A separate Kashmir Life report noted that the JKPCC had been observing a series of protest actions across the valley. Congress leaders at the protest alleged that detention without trial continued to affect party workers and that normal democratic activity remained constrained. The stoppage of the march drew criticism from opposition figures, who argued that peaceful assembly was being curtailed. Srinagar has been the venue for periodic protests and counter-measures as political parties seek to re-establish their ground presence in the post-Article 370 reorganisation environment. JK Congress has used black day observances as a symbolic tool to underscore their position that governance accountability issues remain unresolved. Police did not provide a public statement explaining the specific reason for stopping the march, according to available reports. [1]
🎓 NIT Srinagar Faculty Enter World Top Two Percent Scientists List
Rising Kashmir reported that faculty members from the National Institute of Technology Srinagar were included in the annual Stanford University and Elsevier ranking of the world top two percent scientists, one of the most widely cited global assessments of research output and citation impact. The recognition highlights NIT Srinagar as a research institution contributing to internationally recognised scientific output despite the operational challenges the valley has faced over successive years. Faculty who made the list typically have sustained citation records across peer-reviewed journals in their respective engineering and science disciplines. For NIT Srinagar, inclusion in this ranking is seen as a reputational milestone and an affirmation of the work done by its research faculty. The institution has been working to strengthen its research infrastructure and postgraduate programmes, and the global recognition is expected to help attract research collaborations and graduate students from across India. Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court also visited with judicial officers during this period, interacting with district judiciary members in a capacity-building session aimed at improving the functioning of lower courts across the union territory. [8]
J&K Begin Ranji Title Defence as Two Ganderbal Trekkers Found Safe
The Jammu and Kashmir cricket team opened their Ranji Trophy title defence as the domestic season commenced, according to a report in Kashmir News Observer. J&K won the Ranji Trophy in a previous edition and entered the new season as one of the stronger sides in the tournament, with their performance closely followed by cricket fans in the valley where the sport has a substantial following. The start of the Ranji season brought focus back to Kashmir as a sporting hub and provided a point of community celebration. Meanwhile, two Srinagar youths who had gone missing during a trekking expedition in the Ganderbal area were successfully traced and found safe, according to Kashmir Life reports covering both the missing incident and the subsequent rescue. The trekking routes in central Kashmir, including those near Ganderbal, are popular with young residents but can present hazards when weather deteriorates or groups take unfamiliar paths. The safe recovery of the two youths was welcomed by their families and by local civil society groups who had raised concerns. KPDCL also issued notices about scheduled power shutdowns across several Srinagar localities for maintenance work, reminding residents to plan around outages affecting various sectors of the city. [10]
Sources: [1] Rising Kashmir · [8] Rising Kashmir · [10] Kashmir News Observer