People of J&K, Ladakh to benefit immensely: Prez
NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday expressed confidence that scrapping provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories will be of "immense benefit" to people of those regions.
Delivering his Independence Day address to the nation, Kovind also said the changes made in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh recently will enable the people to access and enjoy the same rights, same privileges and same facilities as their fellow citizens in the rest of the country.
Restrictions in Jammu have been completely lifted but will continue for a while longer in some places in Kashmir, a senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer said on Wednesday and emphasised that the situation is totally under control.
Additional Director General Munir Khan said there were localised incidents in various parts of Srinagar and other districts in the Valley, but these were contained and dealt with locally.
There have been no major injuries to anyone, he said at a press conference.
He added that there were a few pellet injuries in the Valley that have been treated.
Jammu and Kashmir Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal, who also addressed the media, said the overall situation in the state remained calm.
"Further relaxations in prohibitory orders have been given in a large number of areas, including in Srinagar, and these relaxations will continue to be given till this afternoon," he said.
Meanwhile, former IAS officer Shah Faesal on Wednesday was sent back to Kashmir from the Delhi airport and detained here under the Public Safety Act, officials said.
"Abolition of Article 370 has finished the mainstream. Constitutionalists are gone. So you can either be a stooge or a separatist now," the 35-year-old former bureaucrat tweeted on Tuesday. See inside