110 days and life in Kashmir still in limbo

SRINAGAR: Even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the situation in Kashmir was completely normal, fresh incidents of violence were reported in Srinagar and many parts of Kashmir as youth were seen asking shopkeepers to pull down their shutters and some shops were torched in Srinagar. Due to fresh violence, only a few state buses were seen on the roads. On Friday, most of the main mosques in Srinagar, including Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, were closed by the authorities for collective prayers.

According to police, posters were seen in many areas of Kashmir, asking the people to observe a complete shutdown. Police told the media that soon, the people responsible for pasting such posters would be arrested.

Shops and business establishments remained closed after some miscreants torched four shops in downtown Srinagar. The police were seen enforcing a curfew in many parts of South Kashmir, including Kulgam, as some gunmen were seen enforcing a shutdown in Kulgam. Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Chaudhary said that people who are bent on disrupting life in the city would not be spared.

Even after 110 days since the abrogation of Article 370, government offices saw very poor attendance.

Fresh trouble began when Amit Shah told Rajya Sabha that the situation in Kashmir was normal. For the past few days, shops and business establishments had remained open for the entire day and even traffic jams were seen in the Srinagar city. However, the mention of Kashmir in both the Houses of Parliament during the winter session debate resulted in a fresh wave of disruption of life in the Valley.

Meanwhile, internet services, both broadband and mobile services, remain suspended and even journalists reporting from Kashmir after several protests, are waiting for the restoration of their internet services.