Rajnath arrives on 2-day visit to J&K, traffic comes to a halt in Srinagar

The traffic in south Srinagar city came to a grinding halt on Thursday due to security arrangements for Home Minister Rajnath Singh's two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The roads leading to Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Complex at Wazir Bagh here have been sealed as the home minister is scheduled to attend the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Conclave 2018 organised by the state sports council.

The vehicles are being checked by security forces at Rambagh intersection before being allowed to pass which has caused a massive traffic jam.

Rajnath Singh is being accompanied by Union Home Secretary, Rajiv Gauba, Joint Secretary Jammu and Kashmir, Gyanesh Kumar and Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office, Jitendra Singh.

The traffic jam spread to areas like Gojgi Bagh, Bund side, Jawahar Nagar, Batamaloo, Rambagh and Lasjan, eye witnesses said. They said traffic cops are trying to ease the traffic, but have not been successful so far. This is the peak hour for traffic in the city because of the office hours as well as schools which open at 9 am.

The Rajnath-led delegation will also be inspecting security arrangements in lieu of the Amarnath Yatra.

Kashmir Inspector General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Ravideep Singh Shahi said the visit of the Home Minister was very important for the state, adding that adequate security arrangements have been made for the visit.

"The visit of Home Minister (Rajnath Singh) is very important for us and we, in coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, have made elaborate security arrangements. Our jawans will be on the ground, patrolling the area. Apart from that, all the important ingress points to Srinagar will have deployments," Shahi told ANI.

Meanwhile, residents of the state, especially the ones close to the border in places like RS Pura, have pinned their hopes of stability in the state lives on the delegation's visit.

"I am hoping that there is change following this visit. Our lives are disrupted time and again due to ceasefire and such incidents. We hope Rajnath Ji's visit makes a difference," said a resident.

The state has been witnessing a tense situation, with incidents of stone pelting and terror attacks increasing by the day.

Last month, 19 CRPF personnel were injured after their vehicle skidded off the road due to stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar.

In the same month, a tourist from Chennai died after being hit by a stone during clashes in Narbal area.

On Saturday, grenades were lobbed at security forces deployed at Pulwama's Tahab Chowk, with three separate grenade attacks taking place within a span of around four hours in Srinagar.

Meanwhile, three suspected terrorists were killed as security forces foiled an infiltration bid in Kupwara district's Machhil sector on Wednesday.