Srinagar:
Most shops
and other business establishments in Kashmir were closed on Friday, the third
consecutive day of a Valley-wide shut-down following a brief semblance of
normalcy.
On Wednesday, posters warning shopkeepers against opening
their shutters as well as public transport operators appeared at several places
in the city and elsewhere in the Valley, officials said. This ended the sense of the last few weeks that life
was getting back to normal.
Main markets in the city and most other areas in the Valley were
shut and shops did not open even for a few hours in the morning as they had
been doing for the last few weeks. Public
transport was also largely off the roads and there were fewer private vehicles
than usual, officials said. However, some auto-rickshaws and inter-district
cabs were plying.
Jamia Masjid, the grand mosque of Kashmir, was closed for
prayers for the 16th consecutive Friday — ever since August 5 when the Centre
announced the revoking of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370
and its bifurcation into two union territories. Authorities fear that vested interests might exploit
large gatherings at the grand mosque to fuel protests, officials said.
Pre-paid mobile phones and all internet services continued to
remain suspended since August 5. Most
top level and second rung separatist politicians are in preventive custody
while mainstream leaders, including two former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah
and Mehbooba Mufti, have been either detained or placed under house arrest.
The government has detained former chief minister and sitting
Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah under the controversial Public
Safety act, a law enacted by his father and National Conference founder Sheikh
Mohammad Abdullah in 1978 when he was the chief minister. (PTI)
