Shops open, traffic increases in Srinagar

After a second episode of shutdown in the valley last week, shops have opened up and public transport traffic has increased as well.

Most of the shops in Srinagar opened for a few hours on Monday and the movement of public transport also increased, officials said.

Shops opened at several places across the city, including in the areas around the commercial hub of Lal Chowk here, and some places elsewhere in the valley, the officials said.

They, however, said most of these shops downed their shutters around the noon to join the protest against the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The public transport increased on Monday as intra-district as well as inter-district cabs, auto-rickshaws and mini buses plied, the officials said.

There was increased movement of private cars, leading to traffic jams at several places in the city, they added.

While there was a semblance of normalcy in the Kashmir Valley over the past few weeks after about three months of protest shutdown over the abrogation of Article 370 provisions, the fresh shutdown started on Wednesday last week as threatening posters warning shopkeepers and public transport operators appeared at some places in the city here and elsewhere.

Police said they have taken note of these incidents and several such modules have been busted by arresting several people.

Meanwhile, pre-paid mobile phones and all internet services continued to remain suspended since August 5 when the Centre announced the decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution and to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories.

Most of the top-level and second-rung separatist politicians have been taken into preventive custody while mainstream leaders including two former chief ministers -- Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti -- have been either detained or placed under house arrest.

The government has detained former chief minister and sitting Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah under the controversial Public Safety Act, a law enacted by his father and National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1978 when he was the chief minister.