SRINAGAR Shopian town in south Kashmir remained under curfew for the thirteenth consecutive day on Thursday even as restrictions were relaxed late in the afternoon allowing towns people to make quick purchases for the essentials.
Curfew was later re-imposed later and is likely to continue on Friday with more stringent measures to thwart proposed march to town by the Hurriyat Conference.
Mirwaiz Umer Farooq led Hurriyat has called for solidarity march to Shopian on Friday.
Deputy Commissioner Shopian, Bashir Ahmad Bhat said authorities will only take steps for further relaxation after assessing the situation on Friday evening.
Curfew restrictions were eased on Wednesday evening which passed off peacefully.
Restrictions were eased at 3.30 in the afternoon on Thursday allowing residents to buy essentials. However residents said there were acute shortage of essential items, including medicine and baby food as the shop owners have not been able to recieve these supplies.
Residents engaged in horticulture in this apple producing district are also not allowed to visit their orchards. “Apple produce forms the back bone of economy in Shopian and this is the time we should have been harvesting our produce, said Muhammad Iqbal Yatu, an orchardist.
Curfew was clamped in the town following the killing of 4 persons on September 7 by CRPF from the Gagran camp. The CRPF personnel of the same camp shot dead another civilian on September 11 sparking widespread demonstrations calling for removal of the camp.
KCSDS Flays Continous Curfew
Kashmir Centre for Social and Development Studies (KCSDS) meanwhile has condemned the continued ‘back breaking’ curfew in Shopian after the carnage of civilians in the area.
Demanding an immediate lifting of curfew and restrictions in the town and adjoining villages and ensuring the supply of essential eatables to the inhabitants of Shopian who are facing acute scarcity of food items and medicines, KCSDS said in a statement that, “It has become apparent that the state is hell- bent on terrorizing Kashmiris into submission”.
“We deplore and denounce in strongest terms the forces repressive measures of barging into many Mohallas and breaking of window panes and ransacking many residential houses .We demand stern action against crimes against humanity and subseguent restrictions on the movements of the civilians. All these methods smack of barbarianism and far from the claims of democratic rule of law” it said.
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