Srinagar, October 03, 2019 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, no respite for the people even after completion of 60 days of military clampdown coupled with communication blackout in Kashmir valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu region.
The residents continue to live in a state of fear due to heavy deployment of Indian troops with main markets shut, traffic off the road and offices and educational institutions although open yet devoid of any individual presence. The authorities’ decision to reopen higher secondary schools, today, proved a non-starter as hardly any students showed up at the institutions in Srinagar and elsewhere. The absence from attending schools is also being seen as being part of the civil disobedience movement against the abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP-led Indian government on 5th of August.
As communication clampdown persists, the hospitals have turned out to be the worst hit with hundreds of tasks, including the clearance of cases under different health schemes lie pending. A hospital administrator told media in Srinagar that they had constantly been asking the concerned authorities to consider their case for having a lease line for communication at the hospital, but they have given us a cold shoulder.
Meanwhile, the losses, as per the estimates of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, have crossed over Rs 5,000 crore in the past two months. Areas around Mughal Gardens along the Srinagar’s Dal lake, a hub of Kashmir tourism, wear a deserted look, something which had not been seen in the past three decades. There are no cabs carrying tourists or shikaras floating in the lake. Hotels on the either sides of the Boulevard road are vacant.
On the other hand, Indian troops arrested over a dozen youth in different areas of the territory. The troops during massive siege and search operations arrested several youth in Kishtwar, Ramban, Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu region. Search operations were also conducted in Gandarbal, Bandipora and several other districts of the occupied territory.
Kashmiri journalists, today, held a sit-in protest in Srinagar against the unabated communications blackout imposed by the Indian government. They strongly protested against the curbs on media imposed by the authorities. A large number of students of University of British Colombia in Canada held a rally to express solidarity with the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir. Echoing across University Boulevard were chants of “Free, free, free Kashmir!” and “Hear our voices!”
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