New Delhi: The government is likely to relax prohibitory orders in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday even as imposition of an unprecedented communications blackout in the region has left many residents miffed.
Top government sources told News18 that the first prohibitory relaxation in J&K would be effective on Friday as "the government is committed to give all day-to-day necessities to residents on priority".
A source added that so far the situation in the Valley is "absolutely normal" and the government has asked state administrations to work out a roster of relaxation.
According to a report in Reuters, Kashmiris complained that the Centre's attempt to control the flow of information had made it difficult for them to find out what was happening in the state, let alone air their views.
Mobile and internet services have previously been cut off in Kashmir at times of turmoil, but this time the government also blacked out landlines and cable television networks.
In some parts of the state, authorities invoked a law that allows them to ban gatherings of more than four people, and some local political leaders were put under house arrest.
Some historians and senior Indian journalists were also highly critical.
"A straight question: what do you think of shutting down an entire state and detaining former chief ministers before taking a fateful decision that affects that state and its peoples?" asked prominent historian and columnist Ramachandra Guha.
Journalists working from the summer capital Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir struggled to get information out.
"Other than blocking journalists' access, the government has humiliated the people of Kashmir by shutting down their entire state," said Sagarika Ghose, an author and the consulting editor of the Times of India newspaper.
The government said the clampdown on telecommunications and media services, which began late on Sunday night and was still in effect almost 48 hours later, was needed to curb any potential violence.
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