Jammu and Kashmir highway closure: Chaos on day 1 of ban

SRINAGAR: There was chaos on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway (NH) on Sunday, the first day of implementation of a state government order that said only security forces’ convoys would be allowed to move between Baramulla and Jammu on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31.

Civilian traffic was kept off the highway to allow military convoys passage from Jammu to various parts of Kashmir even as National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged separate protests demanding the revocation of the order.

The order on the restrictions was notified four days ago in the light of the Pulwama terror strike and the abortive attack on a CRPF convoy at Banihal on March 30.

Calling the move “dictatorial”, NC president Farooq Abdullah demanded its immediate withdrawal. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also led a protest march to the highway, urging people to defy the ban.

“The PDP will approach the court against this highway ban. Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris and they should have the right to move about freely,” Mehbooba said.

Former J&K CM and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah tweeted: “Driving to Uri I’m getting to see first hand the extent of disruption & inconvenience that is being caused to people because of the mindless highway closure order that is in place today (sic).”

On April 3, the government banned civilian traffic movement from 4am to 5pm for two days — Sunday and Wednesday — every week until May 31 on the highway stretch from Udhampur in Jammu to Baramulla in north Kashmir to facilitate the movement of security forces’ convoys.

The move aims to facilitate unhindered movement of the military convoys and eliminate the possibility of fidayeen attacks during the ongoing poll process, the government order said.

The ban on civilian traffic is effective from Baramulla to Udhampur through Srinagar, Qazigund, Jawahar tunnel, Banihal and Ramban. In case of an emergency requiring passage of a civilian vehicle, police and administrative officials would take appropriate decisions in line with the provisions of movement of civilian traffic during curfews, the notification said.

Though the state government on Friday evening had announced several relaxations on the ban like allowing patients, students and tourists to ply their vehicles along with the convoys, civilians suffered a great deal while attempting to reach hospitals and other healthcare institutions. Many patients weren’t able to reach the Jhelum Valley medical college and a hospital at Bemina on the highway, as security forces had placed spools of razor wire barricades to stop civilian vehicles from entering or exiting the stretch.

“My mother fell in the bathroom and seriously hurt herself. I managed to take her to the JVC hospital with great difficulty,” said Riyaz Ahmad Wani, a Budgam resident. He added that a junior doctor gave some medication and somehow managed to lessen his mother’s pain, even as doctors were allowed to reach the hospital with their vehicles.

Tourist buses and cabs too were absent from the roads in view of the ban, which has drawn flak from both mainstream and separatist quarters. Hundreds of distraught pedestrians were seen requesting policemen and Army soldiers to allow them passage through the crossing points on the highway. A heavy contingent of forces in small groups was deployed along the 300km highway to enforce the ban.

The stretch appeared deserted apart from security personnel manning intersections. Junctions and link roads connecting the interiors were barricaded. Several government officials were posted as magistrates to regulate traffic and grant exemption to emergency cases.