Martyrs Memorial Row : Pulwama to open from today as demands accepted’

SRINAGAR: A protracted tussle between residents and the administration over a proposed memorial for militants ended Wednesday after an hour long meeting with Divisional Commissioner Kashmir who according to them assured that they will be allowed to install ‘Martyrs Memorial’ in the coming week.

South Kashmir’s Pulwama district will open for trade and other activities from Thursday after a deadlock of 14 days between locals and administration.

Pulwama district had been witnessing shutdown from the last two weeks after civil and police administration did not allow the locals to erect ‘Martyrs Memorial’ in the Shaheed Park of the town.

Reports said that the representatives from Auqaf Committee and Traders Federation Pulwama have a detailed meeting with the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Asghar Samoon in Srinagar. “During the meeting Divisional Commissioner appealed the representatives to call off their strike. He assured them that administration will allow them to erect ‘Martyrs Memorial’ in coming week,” a privy to the meeting said.

Soon after the meeting ended, Grand Imam Molvi Muhammad Akram Dar informed the people about the development and it was finally decided to call off the strike for a week. “We will again go for an indefinite strike if administration will not allow us to erect the Martyrs Memorial,” said a trade leader.

He added that Divisional Commissioner Kashmir requested them to bring some changes in the design and shape of the hoarding, which they agreed.  “We have decided to call off the strike and surely we are going to erect the ‘Martyrs Memorial’ in Shaheed Park. It has become a point of prestige now and we will erect it,” he said.

Earlier, authorities were trying to reverse the lockdown by imposing the Essential Commodities Regulation Act, 1955, which compels stores selling essential items to remain open, but to little effect.

Other than a few pharmacies, almost all shops, business houses, banks and even most government offices remained closed.

“Normal life as well as trade has been hampered to a great extent. Every day, there is a loss of around Rs 43 lakh,” said Bashir Ahmad Wani, president of the Traders Federation Pulwama.

The shutdown has been riddled with clashes between residents and security personnel. People alleged police night raids and arrest of about 20 young men who were subsequently released.

“Traders, shopkeepers and businessmen are suffering the most, apart from education and health sectors. They want to open their shops but not going ahead fearing a backlash,” he said.

 “Militancy is penetrating the districts of southern Kashmir. The support base for militants is also spreading. That’s why you could see a large crowd at the funeral of a militant rather than former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed,” political scientist Noor Ahmad Baba said.

For many young men, 21-year-old Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani is the latest “great hero”.

“Things have changed for south Kashmir after the likes of Burhan have come out. South Kashmir is increasingly seen as a resistance hub. Almost 15 boys from the district have been killed since July-August in encounters,” said Sideeq Baba, a Pulwama-based researcher associated with the Unicef.

The Pulwama shutdown reflects the growing drift in south Kashmir.

Police officers say “unemployment, frustration and disillusionment” push the youth towards militancy.

But a college student in Pulwama dismissed the police theory, saying the real reason was the brutal “crackdown of Indian security forces on innocent residents”.

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