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Thousands take board exams in J-K amid shutdown, clashes
Though the restrictions imposed on public movement and after August 5, when the special status of the state was revoked, have been eased across Kashmir, a spontaneous shutdown against the government’s decision has continued in the Valley.
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir board examinations for Class 10 started on Tuesday amid a shutdown across the Valley and sporadic stone pelting.
Accompanied by their parents and acquaintances, students reached examination centres in cars and on bikes; many walked because public transport was off the roads.. Many parts of the Valley, including the old city of Srinagar and South Kashmir reported incidents of stone pelting on a day a delegation of European parliamentarians visited the city.
Though the restrictions imposed on public movement and after August 5, when the special status of the state was revoked, have been eased across Kashmir, a spontaneous shutdown against the government’s decision has continued in the Valley. On Thursday, shops did not even open in the morning and during the evening relaxation hours. Pre-paid mobile calls and internet services are still blocked.
The deputy commissioners of different districts had asked the students to contact them to use special transport arrangements put in place for those appearing in the board examination.
Officials said some 88,932 students had to appear in the examinations across the state with 65,000 of them in the Valley. Some 911 examination centres have been designated– 615 in Kashmir and 296 in Jammu.
Chairperson J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) Veena Pandita said that the examinations had been conducted smoothly.
“Everything was good. There was no untoward incident anywhere and the attendance was above 99%. Examination centres were not disturbed anywhere by stone pelters,” she said.
In the Valley, security forces were deployed in strength on the roads and outside the exam centres. Groups of parents were seen outside the centres waiting for their wards to finish the exams.
Outside the Shri Pratap Higher Secondary School in the city centre, parents expressed anger against the media as well as the government. “Nothing is normal here and government has announced these exams. There were no classes for the past three months, our children have not studied the syllabus fully and they are so worried,” said a female parent.
Another woman said the government seemed to have asked European delegation to visit the city on Tuesday when thousands of students and their parents would be a the exam centres.“They want to show that Kashmiri people are going on with their normal activities. See how the situation turned tense. This has put our children under so much stress,” she said.
A 20-member group of European lawmakers is in Kashmir for a two day visit to assess the ground situation emerging after the nullification of state’s special status on August 5.
Some students and their parents had a hard time reaching the examination centres amid the stone pelting. “I was accompanying my son and his cousin on a bike when we reached a point where youth were throwing stones. God saved us, otherwise we all would have been injured,” said a woman outside an examination centre on the premises of Kashmir University.
