Kashmir LIVE: More than 50,000 landline phones have been made operational today after services in 17 telephone exchanges of the Kashmir Valley were restored on the 13th day of lockdown, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying. The restoration of exchanges has enabled landline services in Budgam, Sonamarg and Manigam areas of central Kashmir. In north Kashmir, the services have been restored in Gurez, Tangmarg, Uri, Keran, Karnah and Tangdhar areas. In south Kashmir, the landline services have been made operational in Qazigund and Pahalgam areas, officials added.
Schools and colleges in Kashmir will reopen “area-wise” next week, as authorities hope to gradually bring back normalcy in J&K after a two-week lockdown. Telephone line services, including mobile phones and landlines, were suspended in the early hours of August 5 when the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Telecom connectivity will be gradually restored in a phased manner, keeping in mind the constant threat posed by terrorist organisations in using mobile connectivity to organise terror actions. Preventive detentions are being continuously reviewed and appropriate decisions will be made based on law and order assessments,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subhramanyam had said on Friday.
In implementing the decisions taken last fortnight, this history of cross-border terrorism required the government to put in place certain preventive steps as a precautionary measure, he had said.
An important factor in doing so were credible inputs that such terrorist organisations were planning to undertake strikes in the state in the immediate future, the chief secretary had said.
“A few preventive detentions of individuals were also made in accordance with the provisions of the law to maintain law and order and avoid breach of peace. Similar measures have had to be taken in the past following violent incidents,” he had said.
Restrictions on the movement of people in the Kashmir Valley were eased on Saturday, with landline services restored in some areas of the city, even as stringent security arrangements continued to be in place, officials said.
The restrictions were eased on Saturday morning to facilitate the movement of government employees towards their offices, they said.
The officials said the security forces continued to remain deployed, while barricades remained on the roads, but people were allowed to move after checking their credentials.
Landline services were restored in some areas like Raj Bagh and Jawahar Nagar, but remained suspended in most parts, including the commercial hub of Lal Chowk, Press Enclave and other areas around it, they said.
There was increase in movement of private vehicles in the civil lines area and other district headquarters of the Valley, the officials said, adding that some inter-district cabs were also seen plying in Dalgate area of the summer capital.
Some shops in the civil lines areas of the city opened on Saturday morning, the officials said. However, most of the business establishments, including fuel stations, remained shut.
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