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  India   All India  10 Aug 2019  Curbs to be eased in Jammu today

Curbs to be eased in Jammu today

PTI
Published : Aug 10, 2019, 6:16 am IST
Updated : Aug 10, 2019, 6:16 am IST

The J&K authorities, meanwhile, airlifted a fresh batch of 20 “potential troublemakers” from Srinagar to Agra, officials said on Friday.

Rapid Action Force personnel patrol a street during restrictions in Jammu on Friday. Restrictions have been imposed in several districts J&K after the state lost its special status. (Photo: PTI)
 Rapid Action Force personnel patrol a street during restrictions in Jammu on Friday. Restrictions have been imposed in several districts J&K after the state lost its special status. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar/Jammu: After being confined to their homes for several days, people in Kashmir offered Friday prayers in their local mosques as restrictions were eased for this purpose, officials said, adding the Valley was largely peaceful barring minor incidents of stone-pelting in the apple-growing town of Sopore in the north.

People who had been virtually been kept indoors because of the heavy security deployment in the wake of removal of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir and the state’s bifurcation, were allowed to go to the mosques in their localities without being asked any questions by the security personnel.

With no untoward incident, the situation, as of now, was reported to be fine in Srinagar and south Kashmir, the officials said, but added that reports from all areas were yet to arrive. The Jammu district administration on Friday withdrew the prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC imposed here on August 5 in view of the Centre abrogating the constitutional provisions that accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, according to an official order. According to the order by Jammu’s district magistrate Sushma Chauhan, all schools, colleges and academic institutions may resume normally from August 10. The officials said there were minor incidents of stone-pelting in Sopore town, 50 km from Srinagar, but was contained immediately and the crowd dispersed.

The J&K authorities, meanwhile, airlifted a fresh batch of 20 “potential troublemakers” from Srinagar to Agra, officials said on Friday.

The people, who have a history of being involved in separatist activities, were taken out of the Kashmir Valley in an Indian Air Force plane, they said. They are alleged to be active members of separatist groups in the Kashmir Valley.

They were taken in a special IAF plane to Uttar Pradesh and lodged in Agra Central Jail. The authorities had airlifted 25 people, including J&K high court bar association president Mian Qayoom, on Thursday as a precautionary measure in the wake of the constitutional changes made by the government. Besides Mr Qayoom, Mubin Shah, an office-bearer of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce, was also a part of the group. Mr Qayoom is a well-known lawyer and has been representing cases in which the separatist leaders were booked by the police.

Restrictions were eased to allow people in Kashmir to offer Friday prayers in local mosques, the officials said, as the security forces were put on high alert across the Valley in an apparent move to prevent possible protests.

The decision to ease the restrictions was taken after national security adviser Ajit Doval told the authorities to ensure that no Kashmiris were harassed, they said.

Mr Doval, who has been camping in Srinagar since Tuesday, spoke to locals and security personnel during a quick tour of the sensitive downtown area here on Friday, an official said.

The NSA, accompanied by his aides and senior police officers, visited the Eidgah locality and stopped at various places to interact with locals. He later spoke to the police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel and thanked them for their wonderful work in keeping law and order intact.

The security forces have been put on high alert across the Kashmir Valley, preempting possible protests against the scrapping of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir and dividing the state into two Union territories, another set of officials said.

The clampdown in Kashmir was imposed on Monday, hours before the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and split it into two new Union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

The security forces have been deployed in huge numbers across the Valley, particularly in Srinagar city and major towns, and barricades have been erected every 100 metres, and the only people allowed to pass are those with medical emergencies.

All telephone and Internet links have been snapped in the Valley and only three news channels, including the state-run Doordarshan, can be accessed through cable TV networks.

Locals had stocked up essentials like foodgrains, fuel and medicines in the run-up to Monday’s announcement by home minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha about revoking provisions of Article 370.

During the easing of restrictions in some parts of the city, especially in the Civil Lines areas on Thursday, the movement of people remained thin, while a few shops mostly selling vegetables and medicines opened.

Tags: ajit doval, article 370
Location: India, Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar