'J&K govt offices to be open from Friday, easing of public curbs to be mulled after days' namaaz'

The Jammu and Kashmir government secretariat and other offices will start functioning from Friday while easing of public curbs would depend on day's development after the 'namaaz', a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said on Thursday.

Governor Satya Pal Malik directed the resumption of normal functioning of the government secretariat and other offices after a review of the security scenario in the state on Thursday evening, he added.

The governor also ordered for making arrangements to facilitate the government employees' movement to work, he said.

Governor Malik took the decision after a review of the security scenario in the state that ensured peaceful Independence Day celebrations across the state, including in its various district headquarters and elsewhere, the spokesperson said.

He said the government would be watching the situation during Friday prayers (namaaz) and based on the day's developments, relaxations could be considered for the general public as well, he added.

The governor conducted the security review in a high-level meeting attended by his advisor and the state government secretary amongst others at the Raj Bhawan here in Srinagar and expressed satisfaction over the security scenario in the state, said the spokesperson.

"There were no untoward incidents anywhere. Strong security arrangements were in place which thwarted any attempts to disturb the celebrations," he added.

The governor also thanked the people for being cooperative during the period of restrictions and assured them that the same would be be reduced gradually, he said.

The governor also reviewed the conclusion of the Shri Amarnath Yatra, which was formally closed on Thursday after the customary worship of the holy mace (chhari) of Lord Shiva at the Amarnath cave shrine. The mace was taken to the holy cave on Wednesday by a helicopter and was brought back to Srinagar after the worship today.

"There was no untoward incident whatsoever during the Amarnath yatra this year and even in a shortened span of 30 days, over 3.30 lakh pilgrims had the darshan of the holy Lingam. This was higher than the figures in the last three years when it was open for a much longer duration," the spokesperson added.