Delhi eases restrictions in Kashmir for festival
NEW DELHI: Authorities in Indianadministered Kashmir said that they eased restrictions yesterday in most parts of Srinagar, the main city, ahead of an Islamic festival following India’s decision to strip the region of its constitutional autonomy.
Magistrate Shahid Choudhary in a tweet said that more than 250 ATMs have been made functional and bank branches opened for people to withdraw money ahead of today’s Eid alAdha festival.
There was no immediate independent confirmation of reports by authorities that people were visiting shopping areas for festival purchases as all communications and the internet remain cut off for the seventh day.
Authorities appear to be acting with utmost caution because of a fear of a backlash from residents who have been forced to stay indoors since last Monday.
India’s main opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said there are reports of violence and “people dying’’ in the region. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Gandhi said “things are going very wrong there’,’ and called for the Indian government to make clear what is happening.
Authorities in Srinagar said there have been numerous instances of stone-pelting by protesters but no gun firing by security forces in the past six days. Television images showed the movement of cars and people in some parts of Kashmir.
State-run All India Radio quoted the region’s top bureaucrat, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, as saying that people were coming out of their homes for Eid shopping. He also said that Srinagar and other towns witnessed good road traffic on Saturday.
On Thursday, Mr Modi assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that normalcy would gradually return and that the government was ensuring that the current restrictions do not dampen the Islamic festival.