Normal life hit in Kishtwar as curfew continues for sixth day

Curfew continued for the sixth day without any relaxation in Kishtwar town on Wednesday. In the other seven districts of Jammu region affected by communal tensions, it continued for the fifth day after periodic relaxations on Tuesday.

Authorities in the tension-ridden Kishtwar town said they had decided against giving any relaxation in curfew on Tuesday, and would continue the same Wednesday too.

"We keep on reviewing the situation on a regular basis and a decision to relax curfew would be taken keeping the ground situation under consideration. There was no untoward incident anywhere in the district on Tuesday," Basheer Ahmad Khan, district magistrate of Kishtwar, told IANS.

Reports reaching Kishtwar said people in the town were facing massive shortage of essential supplies because of indefinite curfew.

In Jammu city, curfew was relaxed on Tuesday after three days for three hours from 4 pm to 7 pm.

In the districts of Kathua, Samba, Reasi, Rajouri, Udhampur and Doda, periodic relaxations were given in the evening. No major incident of violence occurred anywhere during the curfew relaxation period.

Although the Amarnath Yatra resumed Tuesday after a gap of three days, traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway continued to remain disrupted.

Besides arresting 11 people for allegedly inciting communal passions in Kishtwar, police has also arrested 120 people from other parts of Jammu region for their role in the incitement of communal hatred.

Full dress rehearsals were held in the state's winter capital, Jammu, and all other district headquarters of the region on Tuesday, in connection with Independence Day celebrations of Thursday. School children, however, did not participate in these on account of the tension in the area.

Authorities have ordered closure of all educational institutions including schools, colleges and universities in Jammu region on Wednesday too.

Inspector General of Police (Jammu Zone) Rajesh Kumar told reporters that although there has been an escalation of tension on the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border in the Jammu region, there was no terror threat to Independence Day celebrations.

Internet facility on mobile phones and dongle appliances remained suspended for the fourth day on Wednesday across Jammu and Kashmir. The internet speed on broadband services was also reduced to ensure that miscreants are prevented from loading objectionable material on Facebook and other social networking sites, official sources told IANS.

The Jammu Chamber of Commerce has decided to extend the bandh by 48 hours.