[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ID-ul-Adha remained a quiet affair in Kashmir Valley with markets in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley shut. As barricades and security personnel dotted the streets, NSA Ajit Doval, police chief Dilbag Singh and other Army commanders undertook separate aerial surveys to take stock of the security situation.
Even though authorities eased restriction in five districts of Jammu region, curfew was reimposed in several parts of the Valley soon after the morning prayers in mosques. Residents were not allowed to hold big congregations amid security lockdown.
Notwithstanding the government claims that the situation was peaceful, communication clampdown continued for the eighth consecutive day on Monday after the abrogation of state’s special constitutional status and its bifurcation into two Union Territories.
Kashmir police said in a tweet that Eid festival prayers “concluded peacefully in various parts of the (Kashmir) Valley. No untoward incident reported so far.”
In Delhi and several other parts of the country, many Kashmiri students could not go home due to curfew or touch base with family members back home. Even though some helpline numbers have been set up by the authorities, they are proving scarce to cover an entire state.
Due to restrictions, traders in Jammu and Kashmir have incurred a loss of almost Rs 1,000 crore whereas the average daily loss of business in Kashmir stands at Rs 175 crore, according to a member of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries. Bakeries and livestock traders have been adversely affected, media reports stated.
Earlier on Sunday, the security forces continued to shift political prisoners outside the state. Senior National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar has been shifted to a jail in Bareilly Uttar Pradesh.
Sagar was arrested on August 5 along with former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, who have been detained in separate guest houses in Chesmashahi and Hari Niwas Palace respectively.
Kashmir High Court Bar Association president Mian Qayoom and an office-bearer of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce Mubin Shah have also been airlifted with 20 other “trouble makers” and shifted outside the state.
Meanwhile, responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call, chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd, Mukesh Ambani on Monday said his company was going to take several development initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh region soon.
