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Curbs lifted, J&K limps back to normalcy
Markets and shops opened partially in Srinagar, particularly in the business hub of Lal Chowk, while public transport also resumed in many parts
Businesses opened partially and traffic started plying in Jammu-Kashmir on Monday, five days after separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani’s death. Restrictions were eased on Sunday evening.
Markets and shops opened partially in Srinagar, particularly in the business hub of Lal Chowk, while public transport also resumed in many parts.
“Many markets opened partially in Lal Chowk by the afternoon. Transport services have also resumed,” said Javaid Ahmad, a shopkeeper in the city centre.
In the Old City, some areas continued to remain shut. “Normal life is still affected. From Nawhatta, Hawal and Eidgah side, the shops are mostly closed while most of them on Khanyar, Rainawari and Khayam side opened today,” said Muzaffar Ahmad, a resident of Downtown.
Security forces are still deployed in good numbers on the roads.
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“In Anantnag, Pulwama and Shopian towns in south Kashmir, shops and transport were open. However, Kulgam district observed a shutdown,” said an Anantnag resident.
Authorities imposed a clampdown across Kashmir after Geelani’s death on Wednesday. Streets were barricaded and key roads sealed to restrict the movement of people in the clampdown. Internet connections and mobile networks were snapped and only the post-paid mobiles of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and its broadband services were allowed to work.
Geelani, the face of separatism in Kashmir for over three decades, died at 91 after a prolonged illness. The leader was largely confined to his residence because of ill-health since 2010. He was buried on Thursday in a quiet funeral at a graveyard near his residence in Srinagar’s Hyderpora with his family alleging that the police forcibly took away his body.
