Shops in most parts of Kashmir open till noon, movement of public transport increases

Shops and other business establishments opened for a few hours on Thursday and the movement of public transport also increased in most parts of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar city, officials said.

They, however, said most of the shopkeepers downed their shutters in the afternoon to join the protest against abrogation of Article 370, even as a few, in the civil lines areas, remained open for longer hours.

The movement of public transport has also increased, they added.

While there was a semblance of normalcy in the Kashmir valley over the past few weeks after over three months of protest shutdown over the abrogation of Article 370, the fresh shutdown started on Wednesday last week as threatening posters warning shopkeepers and public transport operators appeared at some places in the city here and elsewhere.

The officials said pre-paid mobile phones and all internet services continued to remain suspended since 5 August when the Centre announced the decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution and to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.

Most of the top-level and second-rung separatist politicians have been taken into preventive custody while mainstream leaders including two former chief ministers -- Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti -- have been either detained or placed under house arrest.

The government has detained former chief minister and sitting Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah under the controversial Public Safety Act, a law enacted by his father and National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1978 when he was the chief minister.