Nightlife makes a return to Srinagar after three decades

With semblance of peace in Kashmir, nightlife is returning to Srinagar after more than three decades with shops, restaurants and other establishments remaining open till late in the evening and even public transport plying on various routes.

Even the volatile areas of old city Srinagar, which used to be hub of stone-pelting, are buzzing with activities till late in the night. Football and cricket matches are being played under floodlights with hundreds of people watching future stars in action.

“Not long ago the fear and threat that used to prevail with the sunset have disappeared. Terrorists carrying guns and grenades and mobs carrying stones seem to be a thing of the past. Normalcy returning to Kashmir has led to a common man heaving a sigh of relief,” Khalid Bhat, a shopkeeper from the old city told DH.

He said they are performing their daily chores in a peaceful environment. “The revival of nightlife has led to the business establishments remaining open till late hours which has enhanced the sales and profit margins,” Bhat added.

Also Read | Pakistan in penury, terror ebbs, hope swells in Jammu & Kashmir

The moving shikaras (boats) with their illuminated lights shine like jewels in the Dal Lake. The move has increased the working hours of shikara owners, which means more business for them.

“Kashmir has become a tourist destination rather than a place for killings, protests and stone pelting. We work from morning till night, seven days a week and 365-days a year now. Earlier, it was at the mercy of militants and separatists when to allow us work and when not,” said Mohammad Shaban, a shikara walla (boatman) in Dal Lake.

While rowing his shikara, he said, “Me and my son work in two shifts. While I start early in the morning, he takes over the shikara in the afternoon and works till 10 in the night. We are earning good after many years,” he added.

As the violence is ebbing, the modes of entertainment like cinema halls are also making a return to the valley.

Last year Inox, the first multiplex of Kashmir, was inaugurated in Srinagar, where cinema halls were forced to shut on December 31, 1989 soon after the insurgency broke out. The Inox, which was earlier known as Broadway cinema, at Sonawar in Srinagar has a total seating capacity of 520 people and consists of three movie theatres.

Soon buses for night transport services in Srinagar city will be available on the major routes of the city with directions from authorities to operate till 10pm at night. It will be after 33 years that night bus services have returned to Srinagar city and the people have welcomed the move.