Shutdown in Bhadarwah, Kishtwar over Srinagar poll violence
11 April 2017 5:41 PM GMT
Normal life was affected in Bhadarwah and Kishtwar towns of Jammu region on Tuesday due to a shutdown called by a religious organisation to protest the killing of eight people in election-day violence in Srinagar.
Shops, other business establishments and some private schools of a particular community remained closed. However, government schools, offices and banks are functioning normally and traffic was plying on the roads as usual. "We have given a call for a peaceful bandh to lodge our protest against the killing of innocent civilians in Kashmir," said president, Anjuman-e-Islamia Bhadarwah, Pervaiz Ahmed Sheikh. "For how long can we keep our emotions, especially those of the youth, in control... We are being pushed to the wall. The retaliation is bound to happen," he said.
Pervaiz said the government was testing their patience and it will be responsible if any untoward thing happened. Elaborate security arrangements were made in all major towns of the district including Doda, Thathri, Gandoh, Kahara and Bhadarwah. "The jawans and officers have been advised to practice maximum restraint, but to deal with any untoward situation, we have deployed columns of police, JKAP and CRPF at all sensitive places and outside the mosques," said SDPO Bhadarwah Brijesh Sharma.
Oppn slams PDP-BJP govt for 'misusing' power
After only 6.5% voters turned out for Srinagar Lok Sabha by-polls on Sunday, the opposition parties are calling it as the failure of the incumbent PDP-BJP government and claimed that the incumbent parties have misused their power and it has been suppressing the people's anti-incumbent voice. It is the worst after the 5% of 1989 in the valley of J&K.
While speaking to Millennium Post, National Conference leader Junaid Mattoo said that, "In 2016 unrest, 100 youths lost lives who didn't even have any political connection in the valley." "The time of conducting polls was not at all conducive, but still overwhelming voters came out to vote. As their voice was against the incumbent government, the leadership used their power in hand and created violence deliberately," he also added.
Earlier on Monday a verbal spar emerged between the Home Ministry and the Election Commission of India over holding of the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-poll, which became a large-scale violence. Both the center and the state leadership are blaming EC for conducting the elections in a non-conducive atmosphere. While speaking to a state officer of J&K, he told Millennium Post that, "When the elections are held, EC operates the administration, not the state. So, it is not state government's responsibility, and it has nothing to do with it."
But at the same time he also called the worst vote percentage as "unfortunate". "The 7% is not at all healthy," the official added further. At least eight civilians were killed and scores injured in firing by security forces as mobs tried to attack some polling stations in Srinagar parliamentary constituency. The wide-spread unrest across three districts of Srinagar, Budgam, and Ganderbal was reported with nearly 200 incidents of violent protests took place in central Kashmir on Sunday.
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