Jammu: Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting, the situation was ‘comfortable’ in all the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said here Wednesday.
Security forces had arrested over 100 people, including political leaders and activists, as they were considered a threat to peace and tranquility in the Kashmir valley, the officials added.
The arrests came hours after the Centre announced abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and proposed bifurcation of the state into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. There is a communication shutdown and certain other restrictions have been imposed in the valley.
Some shops had opened in Srinagar and the movement of people on the roads had picked up despite the restrictions, a senior official of the state administration said the ‘situation is comfortable now’. Stating that there were ‘very few incidents of stone-pelting’, he added that people were moving on two-wheelers and cars as well.
Several video clips from Kashmir have gone viral on social media platforms showing people opening shops, walking, driving motorcycles and cars on the roads of Srinagar.
One clip showed people purportedly from the border district of Kupwara saying they wanted peace and were happy at the decision of the government to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 in the state as it would remove political corruption. They also said the situation was peaceful in their area.
An incident of stone-pelting was reported from Poonch district’s Baflaiz area during protests against the government’s move, resulting in minor injuries to a police officer, a police official informed.
A shutdown was observed in Kargil town in protest against the scrapping of the provisions of Article 370.
Ratan Lal Zutshi, a Kulgam resident, said the situation was peaceful and the highway traffic normal as he drove from Srinagar to Jammu. Private taxi drivers were fleecing people, mostly outsiders, by charging them Rs 2,500-3,000 per person for a trip to Jammu, but instead, they were being dropped at the Jawahar tunnel, Zutshi said.
PTI