JKPCC, CPI(M), KCCI demand revocation of ban for two days on J-K highway

The JKPCC and CPI(M) Thursday demanded immediate revocation of the order banning movement of civilian traffic on the Jammu-Kashmir highway for two days a week, saying the move would "add to the miseries" of people.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) vice-president G N Monga said the party understands the security concern, but that does not mean people will be left to suffer.

According to the order issued on Wednesday by state Home Secretary Shaleen Kabra, no civilian traffic will be allowed to move from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Udhampur in Jammu region on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31.

The restrictions on civilian traffic on the 271-km highway will remain in force from 4 am to 5 pm, said the order, which follows the suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. The highway passes through important towns such as Anantnag, Awantipora, Pampore, Srinagar, Pattan and Baramulla.

"The ban will add to the miseries of common people who are already suffering immensely due to the prevailing situation in the state," Monga told reporters.

He said, "There must be other methods which can ensure the safety of security convoys, but it should not be done at the cost of a lot of inconvenience to the common people".

The Congress leader appealed to the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir Governor S P Malik to immediately revoke the order and find out an alternative.

"How will patients reach to hospitals during these two days of ban? How will employees reach to their offices and how will students attend schools and colleges. Stopping traffic for two days looks difficult to manage, because there will be lot of hue and cry," he said.

Senior CPI(M) leader and former MLA M Y Tarigami too asked the government to offer alternatives before imposing the ban.

"The decision must be a security issue, but why should a common man be put to avoidable hardships for whom all this security bandobast is meant?" Tarigami questioned.

In a statement issued here, the CPI(M) leader said, "What will be the fate of those patients, who have to be brought from the other districts of the Valley and need immediate treatment in hospitals in Srinagar? What kind of logic is this? A patient can't wait till a pass is issued, as in some cases it can prove disastrous and life threatening."