New Delhi :
Tourists and Kashmiri locals who reached Delhi on Tuesday appeared relieved at being out of the uncertainty sweeping the Valley but expressed their angst at the situation there, with some saying it is akin to the Stone Age without lines of communication.
They also rued the heavy security deployment in the Valley as tension persisted in the region over revoking of the provisions of Article 370, which gave special powers to the state.
“The decision and its aftereffects have made everything stand still in the Valley,” said Zehra Bashir, visibly angry at being unable to inform her parents that she has reached Delhi safely.
“Forget about Internet, even the phone lines are dead,” Bashir, who had come to the national capital to pursue her MBA, said.
Asked for her views on scrapping of the special status to J&K, she replied, “Bomb phenk diya jaise unhone (It was as if they dropped a bomb)”.
She said it took her four hours to reach the Srinagar airport from her home in Shalimar Bagh to fly to Delhi.
Authorities have suspended Internet and mobile services in several areas and banned public gatherings in Srinagar district under Section 144, apprehending trouble.
In Srinagar city, there is a virtual communications blackout. But the situation across the three regions Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh is peaceful and people who have urgent work or report emergency are allowed to move from one place to another despite the restrictions.
All educational institutes across the state remained closed for the second consecutive day. Most roads are barricaded in Srinagar city and traffic is being regulated.
“I can’t explain how I managed to reach the (Srinagar) airport, may be because I was going to Hajj that they allowed me. But the situation is bad, pretty bad,” said Khursheed Ahmed after reaching the Delhi airport.
“It is back to the Stone Age for Kashmir. There is no means of communication whatsoever,” he said.
Farooq Sheikh, 32, who works in the corporate sector and travels frequently out of the state for business, appeared deeply apprehensive.
“We felt caged inside in our own city. Our mobile phone connection has been snapped, Internet shut, even cable TVs and landlines are down,” he said.
Imtiyaz Ahmad Khan, 55, a Srinagar-based state government employee, is among the 40 odd Hajj-bound travellers who arrived in Delhi on Monday, a day ahead of their schedule.
“We are deeply apprehensive about what is happening, so we all came a day earlier. Kashmir is burning. We are going to Hajj, but with no peace in mind,” he said.
A Kashmiri woman from Srinagar, who did not wish to be identified, said, “The security situation is very tense. No one is leaving their homes”.
“Our Kashmir is burning. But no one can see or get to know as lines of communication have been cut. Our Valley is burning beneath a cover,” she said.
Ganie Abdul Ahad, 68, a businessman from Ganderbal who is also going on Hajj, said, “People outside are not getting to know what is happening in the Valley. Everyone is keeping home. There is an atmosphere of fear, no J-K police deployment but troops and CRPF personnel are moving around, even in lanes. People are in grip of fear.”
He alleged that there was “no dialogue” held with the Kashmiri people and a massive decision was “imposed” on the people of the state. “Is this democracy,” he asked.
Many fellow Hajj pilgrims, including women, said there was no mobile network even after landing in Delhi.
“My children are staying in Delhi and Kota, but I have been trying to constantly reach out to them, all in vain. We are very worried about them,” said a woman Hajji from Srinagar, on the condition of anonymity.
Khalid Ahmad Khan, 65, from Baramulla, said, “I do not what will happen eventually. But Kashmiris are anxious to hit the streets, in this tense situation. We are not afraid of dying, even if they fire at us”.
Zunair Sheikh, 38, a businessman, who also reached Delhi on Tuesday from Srinagar, said, “This is not like any other shutdown in the Valley and you know why I am saying so. I have a house in Delhi, I thought it is good if I move here with my wife and kids for the time being, say 2-3 months”.
“I did ask my parents also to join us but they told me ‘they can’t leave Kashmir’. In fact, my father was here in Delhi till yesterday but decided to return. I have little kids and I feel worried about them,” he said.
A few non-Kashmiris were also among the people who arrived here from Srinagar via flights.
Rizwan Alam, a cleric at a madrasa in Bihar’s Araria district, had gone to Kashmir in June to teach students there, but he and his two younger brothers who accompanied him, decided to cut short the visit owing to the troubled situation.
“We were to stay there till September, but, situation is not normal,” he said.
Meghna Negi, who also returned on Tuesday from Srinagar, said, she had waited for long to undertake the Amarnath Yatra with her mother and sister.
She said she got the news of the curtailment of the yatra and the subsequent shutdown in the Valley only after they touched down at the Srinagar airport.
“I am extremely thankful to the people of Valley, they all were very, very helpful throughout. I wish things turn back to normal soon and we get to visit the Valley and the experience the hospitality of its people once again,” she said.
