J&K Guv directs officers to take stock of situation

New Delhi: A day after the Parliament adopted a resolution revoking the special status of J&K and passed a bill bifurcating the state into two union territories, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik directed Deputy Commissioners of respective districts to take stock of requirements of the people.

In a meeting at the Raj Bhavan, the governor was informed that emergency services in hospitals were functioning normally, people were seen in markets buying daily provisions and electricity and water supply was also satisfactory.

A Raj Bhawan spokesperson also said if tourists and other people in Kashmir feel any kind of distress, they should contact the nearest police station or go to the magistrate of the area.

Over 500 important political workers and leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, have been detained in Jammu and Kashmir since the Centre decided to revoke provisions of Article 370 and divide the state to two union territories, officials said.

Activists across the political spectrum have been detained in Srinagar as well as other parts of the valley, they said.

According to latest reports, about 560 such workers have been lodged in makeshift detention centres in Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar and other such centres in Baramulla and Gurez. Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP have been detained at Hari Niwas on Gupkar road.

However, the situation in all the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir was "comfortable", PTI quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday undertook a whirlwind visit to the militancy-infested south Kashmir and assured the locals that their security is the government's responsibility.

Doval arrived in Kashmir on Tuesday, a day after the Centre revoked the provisions of Article 370, which gave special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. He is reaching out to the local population in the Valley as a confidence building measure (CMB).

"Everything will be alright. Your safety and security is our responsibility," Doval told people in Shopian district.

An unprecedented security cover and several restrictions are in place in Kashmir. All modes of communication have been snapped in the Valley.

Doval was seen eating food on a footpath outside closed shops and talking to locals. He exchanged views with them on the security situation and the government's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories. "Your children and their children will continue to live here. They will make their name in the world," the NSA told people. After the government's move, Poonch district witnessed protests and stone-pelting resulting in minor injuries to a police officer, PTI quoted officials as saying, while Kargil town observed a shutdown in protest against modifying Article 370.

However, after an intense period —from the time the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill was introduced to the time Parliament passed it— some shops had opened in Srinagar, PTI reported. The movement of people on the roads picked up despite restrictions, PTI quoted a senior official of the state administration as saying. The official also said that the authorities were extending assistance to people who had a marriage in the family, PTI reported.