Srinagar, Minimum temperatures in several parts of <keyword id="19896255" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="kashmir" source="keywords">Kashmir</keyword> have dropped below the minus three degrees Celsius-mark as a cold wave sweeps the region. Kashmir is currently in the grip of "Chilla-i-Kalan", a 40-day harsh winter period, when temperatures drop considerably leading to freezing of water bodies, including the <keyword id="19978600" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dal-lake" source="keywords">Dal Lake</keyword>, as well as water in supply lines. The chances of snowfall are the highest during this period and most areas, especially the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall. "Chilla-i-Kalan" will end on January 31 and will be followed by the 20-day "Chilla-i-Khurd" and the 10-day "Chilla-i-Bachha". The minimum temperature dropped to minus 3.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night in Srinagar from Tuesday night's minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, officials said. The visibility in Srinagar city and its adjoining areas was below 50 metres for the second day due to dense fog. The transport department has issued an advisory for motorists in the city and termed foggy conditions the worst in recent memory. Though fog has not affected operations at the Srinagar international airport, but flights arriving from other cities in north India, including Delhi, are delayed due to bad weather conditions there, according to the Airports Authority of India. Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual <keyword id="19906360" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="amarnath-yatra" source="keywords">Amarnath Yatra</keyword>, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night, down from the previous night's minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, the officials said. <keyword id="19914743" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gulmarg" source="keywords">Gulmarg</keyword>, a famous ski resort in Baramulla, recorded a low of minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, slightly up from the previous night's minus 2.8 degrees Celsius, they said. Qazigund recorded a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, <keyword id="19909442" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="kokernag" source="keywords">Kokernag</keyword> town minus 2 degrees Celsius and Kupwara minus 4.3 degrees Celsius, the officials said.

Cold wave: Kashmir in the grip of 'Chilla-i-Kalan'

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56082055.cms" /> Surat in <keyword id="6354766" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gujarat">Gujarat</keyword> is one of the major diamond hubs in India. Widely known for its diamond and textile industry, Surat’s proximity to the Arabian is the major reason for development of foreign trade. In 18th century, the diamond cutters migrated from <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword> and settled in Surat. Some of the <keyword id="375903" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guajarati">Guajarati</keyword> community has mastered the art of processing, polishing and cutting. The demands for labourer increased and people started migrating from other parts of country to Surat for jobs. 
 So how have the art of polishing of diamonds in Surat evolved in the last few decades? <keyword id="2534994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jonathan-Kendall">Jonathan Kendall</keyword>, President of the International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research (IIDGR) accompanied with his signature smile replied, “Had you asked me this question even 15 years back, I would have answered differently.” 
 
The industry surely has to face problems like lack of technical expertise in the manpower. However, with improving skills the Surat diamond jewelry industry is now getting orders of larger and pricier stones. The irresistibly lucrative market processing the diamond jewelries are day by day getting bigger. Not only diamond polishers, the state is aiming to develop the laborers as jewelry makers in the true sense with an overall development. 
 
 To make things work better, <keyword id="367170" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="De-Beers-Group">De Beers Group</keyword> that runs IIDGR has announced the launch its first ever education service to cover the entire diamond pipeline and support further growth in the Indian sector. The service, scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2017, will be run out of Surat and comprise courses that cover essential subjects for India’s diamond sector, including polished diamond grading, diamond foundation and synthetics. 
 <keyword id="254393" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kendall">Kendall</keyword> further said, “From cutting and polishing rough diamonds to consumer demand for diamond jewellery, India is vital to the diamond industry and the diamond industry is vital to India. Through the IIDGR, <keyword id="138872" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="De-Beers">De Beers</keyword> Group is investing in innovations to ensure India maintains its position as a global diamond hub, as well as ensuring that the sector has the skills and tools to meet the challenges of tomorrow.” 
 
Representing a key source of export earnings for the national economy, the diamond sector is vital to India. Around 90 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds are cut and polished in the country, with the sector employing around 800,000 people in highly-skilled jobs. 
 India has also experienced almost uninterrupted growth (in <keyword id="6355302" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rupee">Rupee</keyword> terms) in consumer demand for diamond jewellery in the last 20 years and now makes up eight per cent of global demand. Diamond jewellery demand from Indian consumers represents 8% of global demand and has enjoyed almost uninterrupted growth in the last 20 years (in Rupee terms). 
 
Around nine out of every 10 diamonds are cut and polished in India. The Indian diamond industry’s midstream sector employs more people than the diamond sector in any other country around the globe, with about 800,000 people employed in highly skilled diamond roles in the country. 
 
India is the third largest national consumer market for diamond jewellery sales globally, only behind the US and China in the global league table. In the ten year period leading up to 2014, the value of consumer sales of diamond jewellery in 
 
India almost trebled to around Rs 22,000 crore (Rs 220 billion) / around USD4 billion. Around 25 lakh (2.5 million) pieces of diamond jewellery were acquired by Indian women in 2013, roughly six times the number acquired in 2002.

For the last 15 years Surat's diamond polishing Industry has evolved at jet speed. Here are the reasons why

<keyword id="19896255" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="kashmir" source="keywords">Kashmir</keyword> is likely to receive light snow and rain next week, bringing an end to the prolonged dry spell in the valley, the weather office said on Friday. It said dry weather is likely to continue till January 24 with generally cloudy weather on Saturday evening. There is a possibility of light snow at isolated places in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir on January 25, an official of the <keyword id="19938289" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="met-department" source="keywords">MeT Department</keyword> said. He said from January 26-28, light rain or snow is likely over scattered places in J-K. "From January 29-31, as per the indications of different models, the possibility of light to moderate rain/snow at many places is very likely, the official said. A dry and largely snowless winter in Kashmir has resulted in freezing nights and warmer than usual days. Kashmir is currently under the grip of "Chilla-i-Kalan", a 40-day harsh winter period when a cold wave sweeps the region and temperatures drop considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies as well as water in pipes. The chances of snowfall are the highest during this period and most areas, particularly the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall. However, Kashmir has been going through a prolonged dry spell and a 79 per cent deficit in rainfall was recorded for December while there has been no precipitation in most parts of the valley in the first fortnight of January. 'Chilla-i-Kalan' will end on January 31. However, the cold conditions will continue after that with a 20-day 'Chilla-i-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day 'Chilla-i-Bachha' (baby cold). <keyword id="19910854" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="srinagar" source="keywords">Srinagar</keyword> city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, dropping slightly from the previous night's minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, the officials said. Qazigund recorded a low of minus 5 degrees while in the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir it was minus 3.6 degrees Celsius, they said. Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature in Kokernag town settled at minus 1.4 degrees Celsius and in Kupwara at minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Kashmir's dry spell likely to end next week

Ahead of <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s blockbuster clash against arch-rivals <keyword id="3001" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="pakistan" source="Orion">Pakistan</keyword> on Saturday, some fans have threatened to boycott the match on social media due to Pakistan's involvement in terrorism, once again sparking a 'Boycott' trend and debate that if sports and politics/international relations can be kept separate. Earlier on September 13, an Indian Army Colonel commanding a Rashtriya Rifles Unit along with a Major and a Deputy Superintendent of Police were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the Kokernag area of Kashmir's Anantnag district. The pictures, and videos of Pakistan players receiving a warm welcome for their matches in the World Cup in India have gone viral after this encounter, with many questioning why Pakistani players are being treated this way when the instances of terrorism continue from Pakistan's side, causing loss of life and property in India, especially of soldiers, security and police forces. The announcement of a pre-match show in <keyword id="5065" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ahmedabad" source="Orion">Ahmedabad</keyword>'s Narendra Modi Stadium, featuring Bollywood singers Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, and Sukhwinder Singh by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (<keyword id="6354756" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="bcci" source="Orion">BCCI</keyword>) also made plenty of fans furious. It is notable that no opening ceremony was held for the ICC Cricket World Cup, being hosted in India for the first time ever. India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2013 and India last travelled to Pakistan for the 2008 Asia Cup. Since 2013, India has only played Pakistan in ICC tournaments like the T20 World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy, and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournament, Asia Cup. The viral media of Pakistan players receiving a warm welcome and announcement of the pre-match show in Ahmedabad ahead of the IND-PAK clash led to many social media users voicing out their displeasure, threatening to boycott the show and the match itself. "What BCCI and <keyword id="210899" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="jay-shah" source="Orion">Jay Shah</keyword> have done in the honor of the Pakistan team will not be tolerated at all. Our soldiers are fighting bravely against Pakistan-supported terrorists on the border. #BoycottIndoPakMatch #BoycottIndoPakMatch," said a user. "Cricket match is nothing infront of our Soldiers. Enemies are always enemy. Pakistani doesn't deserve this type of welcome. #BoycottIndoPakMatch #INDvsPAK #IndiaVsPakistan #AUSvsSA #INDvPAK #INDvsAFG #INDvAFG #RohitSharma #TrainAccident #ViratKohli #BoycottIndoPakMatch," said another user. India and Pakistan will both want to continue their winning momentum Coming to the match, India have begun their World Cup campaign with comprehensive wins over Australia and Afghanistan, while Pakistan have also emerged victorious in their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Fans are counting on the likes of Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj to come up with the goods again as the hosts go to battle against their bitter rivals. India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav. Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.

India vs Pakistan World Cup clash has a section of fans irked and threatening 'boycott'

The new year arrived in <keyword id="6354495" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="kashmir" source="Orion">Kashmir</keyword> on a freezing note as the famous tourist resorts of <keyword id="15864375" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gulmarg-and-pahalgam" source="Orion">Gulmarg and Pahalgam</keyword> experienced the coldest night of the season so far, officials said on Sunday. Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, which also serves as a base camp for the annual <keyword id="44352" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="amarnath-yatra" source="Orion">Amarnath Yatra</keyword>, recorded a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius -– the lowest there so far this season. The resort was also the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir. The minimum in <keyword id="108228" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gulmarg" source="Orion">Gulmarg</keyword>, the famous ski resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, was minus 8.2 degrees Celsius - the season's lowest, officials said. The MeT office has forecast a dry weather over the next few days for the region leading to colder nights and slightly warmer days. The mercury in Srinagar settled above the freezing point for the second consecutive night. The city registered a low of 0.5 degree Celsius. Qazigund, the gateway town to the Valley, was another place where the mercury settled above the freezing point last night. It registered a low of 0.3 degrees Celsius. In Kupwara, a frontier district, the minimum temperature settled at minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 0.5 degree Celsius, the officials said. Kashmir is currently under the grip of Chilla-i-Kalan, the 40-day harshest weather period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent. 'Chilla-i-Kalan' begins on December 21 and ends on January 30. The cold wave continues even after that with a 20-day-long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold) following it. Most areas of the valley received snowfall on Thursday.

Gulmarg, Pahalgam in J&K experience season's coldest night

(Eds: Updates with fresh inputs) Srinagar, May 18 () Three persons, including two women who had tested positive for COVID-19, died at a hospital here, taking the coronavirus death toll in Jammu and Kashmir to 16, officials said."A 75-year-old man from the Kokernag area of Anantnag district, who was undergoing treatment at the SMHS hospital here, died in the morning," an official said.He said the man was shifted to the chest disease hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.A 65-year-old woman from Kulgam died due to cardiac arrest soon after she was admitted to a hospital here for treatment as she had tested positive for COVID-19.She was admitted in the surgical ICU at the SMHS hospital, where she was undergoing treatment for subdural haemorrhage.Another woman, 75, also died due to COVID-19 at a hospital here. The woman, also hailing from Kokernag, was suffering from thyroid cancer, the official said. The number of COVID-related deaths in the Union Territory has now risen to 16. MIJ RC

With 3 fatalities, COVID-19 death toll climbs to 16 in J&K

Srinagar, May 18 () A 75-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman died due to coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, taking the toll to 15 in the union territory, officials said.The man, a resident of Kokernag area of Anantnag district, was undergoing treatment at SMHS hospital for other ailments. He was shifted to Chest Disease Hospital here after testing positive for the disease. The woman from Kulgam died due to cardiac arrest soon after she was admitted to a hospital here for COVID-19 treatment. MIJ DPB

Two more COVID-19-related deaths in J-K, toll rises to 15

(Eds: Updating with death of another patient) Srinagar, Jun 22 () Two more COVID-19 positive patients died in Jammu and Kashmir during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll due to the disease in the union territory to 85, officials said on Monday. A 65-year-old man, hailing from Pulwama district of south Kashmir, was suffering from bilateral pneumonia, hypertension and diabetes. He died at SMHS hospital on Sunday night, they said. "His COVID-19 test results came back positive this morning," they added. The second patient, a 58-year-old man from Anantnag district's Kokernag area, died this afternoon at Chest Diseases Hospital, according to the officials. They said he had been shifted to the hospital from Government Medical College, Anantnag on June 19 after he tested positive for COVID-19. With these two deaths, the number of fatalities due to COVID-19 has risen to 85 in Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said. MIJ DIV DIV

J-K records two more COVID deaths, toll rises to 85

<keyword id="41568" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Srinagar">Srinagar</keyword>, Kashmir was cut off from rest of the country on Monday as the arterial <keyword id="720343" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jammu-Srinagar">Jammu-Srinagar</keyword> national highway and Mughal road were closed due to snowfall across the valley, leaving nearly 4500 vehicles stranded. "The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway is closed due to accumulation of snow at many places, especially around <keyword id="924005" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jawahar-tunnel">Jawahar Tunnel</keyword>," an official of the traffic control department said. He said snow clearance operations were in full swing and efforts were on to restore movement of stranded vehicles along the 260 kilometre road. The official said nearly 4500 vehicles, mostly trucks carrying essentials to the valley, are stranded along the highway at various places. Mughal Road, which connects the valley to <keyword id="6357972" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="jammu">Jammu</keyword> division through Shopian-Rajouri axis, has been closed for several days due to heavy snowfall in the region. The officials said south Kashmir's Kulgam district received highest snowfall with two to three feet of snow accumulated at some places. Anantnag district has also received heavy snowfall between one foot and two feet, they said. The flight operations to and from Srinagar remained suspended for second consecutive day due to poor visibility, the officials said. The <keyword id="6437100" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="minimum-temperature">minimum temperature</keyword> improved in most places in the valley due to the snowfall but still stayed below the freezing point, the officials said. Srinagar city -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius -- up from the previous night's minus 1.5 degrees Celsius, they said. The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist resort remained unchanged at minus 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday night compared to a night earlier. Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius - plunging from minus 1.45 degrees Celsius on the previous night, the officials said. Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius, Kupwara, in the north, minus 0.3 degrees Celsius and Kokernag, minus 1.4 degrees Celsius. The MET Office said moderate to heavy snowfall, with isolated very heavy snowfall, was most likely to take place, especially in south Kashmir, Gulmarg, Banihal-Ramban, Poonch, Rajouri, Kistawar and Zanskar, Drass as well as on the higher reaches of Ladakh UT, over two days from Monday. "Overall, the snowfall will continue from Sunday to Tuesday forenoon with the occasional break. This may lead to the disruption of surface and air transportation, water-logging in plains of Jammu and Srinagar cities," the MET Office said. Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley. The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall. While 'Chillai-Kalan' - which began on December 21 -- will end on January 31, the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold). SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-stocks-to-watch-beml-hcl-tech-infosys-tech-mahindra-tcs-ril-tata-motors-hero-moto-tvs-and-others/articleshow/80089765.cms">Top stocks to watch — BEML, HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, RIL, Tata Motors Hero Moto, TVS, and others</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/checkout-upcoming-new-cars-in-year-2021/slidelist/80025993.cms">Upcoming new cars in India in 2021 of Maruti, Tata, MG, Audi</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/questions-arise-about-jack-ma-whereabouts-as-alibaba-faces-scrutiny-from-the-chinese-government/articleshow/80090457.cms">Where is Jack Ma? Questions arise about the billionaire’s whereabouts as Alibaba faces scrutiny from the Chinese government</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/big-money-chasing-bitcoin-takes-the-cryptocurrency-to-a-new-record-high-of-34000/articleshow/80090730.cms">Big money chasing Bitcoin takes the cryptocurrency to a new record high of $34,000</a>

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