Local Kashmir residents say life remains paralyzed after two weeks of lockdown
Last updated on: 20 August,2019 04:21 pm
Armed police and checkpoints remained ubiquitous throughout Srinagar on Aug 20.
SRINAGAR (Reuters) - Residents of Srinagar city said they are becoming increasingly frustrated as the Indian government-imposed lockdown in Kashmir entered its third week on Tuesday (August 20).
Telephone and internet links were cut and public assembly banned in Kashmir just before New Delhi removed the decades-old autonomy the Muslim majority territory enjoyed under the Indian constitution. The Indian government has claimed the measures were aimed at preventing protests.
"There is every kind of problem. Nobody can come or go anywhere. Everything is shut. There is a curfew. They are saying it is Section 144 (unlawful assembly), which is a lie. It’s not true at all," said local resident Maqbool Bhat.
Armed police and checkpoints remained ubiquitous throughout Srinagar on Tuesday morning.
Local officials said on Tuesday that security forces detained 30 people overnight in Srinagar, seeking to keep a tight lid on protests over the federal government’s decision to strip the region of its autonomy.