Mangaluru (PTI): Banners appeared near the Kadri Sri Manjunatha temple fair prohibiting Muslim traders from carrying out business activities near the temple.

Police sources said the banners, put up by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, were removed on Thursday.

The fair started on January 15 and will end on January 21. The banners put up by right wing outfits were seen on Thursday which mentioned the cooker blast and alleged that the primary target of the accused in the case was the Kadri Manjunatha temple.

The banner also said people with such a mindset and those who opposed idol worship cannot engage in trade and business during the fair near the place of worship.

The banners also stated that only traders who believed in the rituals and ceremonies of the Hindu religion will be allowed to continue with their trade and business.

The temple administration which falls under the Religious Endowment department did not approve of the banner that was put up in the vicinity of the temple fair.

The police removed the banners with a view to maintaining peace and harmony. No complaints have been filed so far in this connection, police said.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Srinagar (PTI): Night temperatures in Kashmir dropped several degrees below the freezing point, even as a thick layer of fog engulfed parts of the valley, with Srinagar recording a low of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, officials said on Saturday.

Shopian was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, they said.

The mercury had on Thursday night settled above the freezing point at most places in the valley, providing huge relief to the residents from the biting cold conditions.

However, temperatures dropped across Kashmir on Friday night, bringing back the freezing cold, the officials said.

On the Friday night, the minimum temperature in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- settled at minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, a sharp drop from 0.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.

The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara, and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir's Kokernag, the officials said.

Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg lodged minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and Konibal town in Pulwama district recorded minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.

The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on December 6-7, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.