Srinagar, June 4: Communist parties have threatened to launch a public stir if the government goes ahead with a possible fuel price hike.

"We will stir a public agitation against the price hike. It is due to the pressure put by the Left that the government has not been able to raise the fuel prices as decided by it. The government had plans to hike the price of petrol by rupees 20, diesel by rupees 11, LPG by rupees 150 and rupees 15 on kerosene to recover the losses," said CPI (M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury.

Srinagar, June 3: Engineers in Kashmir have indigenously designed a low cost machine to clear the snow in narrow lanes and link roads in the region.

Made in one-and-a-half-months by the Mechanical Engineering Department (MED) of Kashmir, the 'Snow Cat 2007' will help in clearing snow on the narrow roads especially in far-flung areas.

"Whenever we used to visit the far flung villages, we felt the need for a machine which is small and could be easily taken to narrow places. We have less number of machines and they cannot be used everywhere. So, the need for such a machine was being felt for a long time," said Abdul Qayoom, machine maker and operator.

Srinagar, June 2 : Doabgah Rafiabad village in Baramulla District was granted as backward status by the Jammu and Kashmir Government today.

Addressing a public rally at Doabgah, Social Welfare Minister Abdul Gani Vakil said the village deserved the status for not only being remote, but also for lagging behind in education, infrastructure, landholdings and other development parameters.

He said this status would brighten employment prospects for the youth of Doabgah and will also pave a way for speedier and integrated development of the village.

Vakil said the Congress works for unity and integrity of the State.

Srinagar, May 31 : An old air base in mountainous Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir, that was closed 43 years ago, was made operational by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday.

The air base was set up in 1962 during the Indo-China war and closed in 1965.

It overlooks the strategic Karakoram pass and is located eight km south of the Chinese border.

AN-32, a transporter plane carrying Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (Western Air Command) P K Barbora landed at the Dawaltbaigh Oldi air strip around 0850 hours after taking off from Chandigarh.

Srinagar, May 29 : Security forces recovered ten kgs of RDX today, in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir which they claim was intended to trigger blasts during the forthcoming Amarnath yatra.