A breath of life in Kashmir

Srinagar: Normal life limbs back to normal today in Kashmir valley for a day on Sunday after separatists’ relaxed the shutdown for a single day and authorities have decided not to impose curfew or restrictions anywhere in the Kashmir Valley.
 
“No curfew or restrictions are in place anywhere in the Valley today (Sunday),” a police officer told Agence India press.
This is the first time in the last three months that authorities decided not to impose curfew or curfew-like restrictions anywhere in the region after the present unrest started June 11.
Meanwhile, in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir, the shops, business establishments, resumed work normally as shoppers thronged markets to buy essentials.
 
Traffic police had to face a tough time regulating the movement of public and private vehicles as they blocked most major roads in Srinagar city.
 
 Locals came out in large numbers to shop for Eid (a holy festival of Muslims that falls around Sep 10) after the current fasting month of Ramadan ends.
 
 Bemused Mehraj-ud-Din, who sells fruit on Residency Road in Srinagar, said: “Each time (APHC (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani ) Geelani sahib appeals for a day’s normalcy to allow some breather to us in the otherwise unending saga of shutdowns and protests, the authorities here readily oblige by removing restrictions.
 
“This has been the practice for the last three months now.”
Geelani has announced a fresh resistance programme as part of the breakaway Hurriyat group’s Quit Kashmir campaign.
 
As per the latest resistance calendar, people have been asked to resume normal activities on Sep 3, 5, 9, 10 and 11 while they have been asked to observe protest shutdowns on Sep 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15.       
 
The valley’s educational institutions, business activities and the operations of local transporters have been following the resistance programme announced by Geelani’s group. As a consequence, huge losses have been suffered by the traders in the last three months.
Kashmir has been facing unrest since June 11 and at least 65 people; mostly teenagers have died in police and paramilitary CRPF firing in Kashmir, triggering massive anti-India protests.