Curfew in parts of Kashmir as separatists call for march

Srinagar: Curfew remained in force in parts of Kashmir, including in some areas of Srinagar on Sunday in view of the separatists call for a march to the three districts of Bandipora, Ganderbal and Shopian, even as normal life in the Valley remained disrupted for the 72nd straight day. Curfew has been imposed in Shopian district, while it remains in force in five police station areas of downtown (interior city) and Batamaloo in Srinagar, a police official said. [caption id=“attachment_2930296” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] He said curfew-like restrictions on the movement of people have been imposed in the towns of Bandipora and Ganderbal, while the restrictions on the assembly of people continued to remain in force for the rest of the Valley. The official said the curbs have been imposed to maintain law and order in view of the separatist’s call for a march to the three districts. The separatists have called for a march to the three districts Bandipora (in north Kashmir), Ganderbal (in central Kashmir) and Shopian (in south Kashmir) on Sunday. Meanwhile, normal life continued to remain paralysed in Kashmir for the 72nd consecutive day due to restrictions and the separatist-sponsored strike. The separatists have extended the protest programme till 22 September. They have not announced any relaxation in the strike even in the evening hours for the week. Shops, business establishments, and petrol pumps continued to remain shut, while public transport was off the roads. Mobile telephony, except the postpaid connections of BSNL, and the mobile internet services continued to remain snapped across the Valley. The broadband services were restored late last night after working journalists yesterday protested against the communication ‘gag’. These services had remained snapped across the Valley for five days. As many as 81 people, including two cops, have been killed in the unrest that broke out a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces in South Kashmir on 8 July.