Residents say Indian-administered Kashmir still far from normal

Residents in Indian-administered Kashmir are resisting attempts by authorities to show some signs of normalcy returning to the Muslim-majority valley, a month after New Delhi government scrapped disputed Himalayan region’s autonomy.

Many students are still boycotting classes, shopkeepers are not opening up and public and private sector employees are not turning up for work.

In posters across Kashmir's main city of Srinagar, shopkeepers have been asked to only open late in the evenings and early in the mornings to enable residents to buy essentials.

In the commercial areas of downtown Srinagar, the majority of shops remain shuttered and despite Indian forces asking owners to return to normal opening hours, many have refused.

"We were opening shops in the evenings for people," Mohammad Ayub, a Srinagar shopkeeper, told Reuters.

"For us, our identity at stake and its safeguarding is our priority," said Shabir Ahmad, a shopkeeper from the old quarter of Srinagar. "Let them restore it and we will re-start our businesses."

Rohit Kansal, the official spokesman of the Jammu and Kashmir state government, blamed "anti-national" forces for preventing shops from opening. "Security forces have taken note of it," he said.  

Kansal said 4,000 schools in Kashmir were functioning, and that attendance was improving, although it remained low in some areas.

But local residents say many schools are empty. "How can I send my children to school? There is a clampdown and we are concerned for the safety of our wards," Javed Ahmad, a Srinagar parent, said.

The shutdown and restrictions are having an impact across all areas of society.

SS