| Normalcy returning to J&K; schools reopen, mobile, health, banking services normal | | |  Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sept 11: Nearly four weeks after the Centre's move to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday said that normalcy is fast returning in the state due to the easing of restrictions.
Sharing crucial information on the situation in J&K, the MHA said that all landline connections have been restored, while schools and health institutions are fully functioning. All banks and ATMs are also functional and over 1.08 crore have been withdrawn from the J&K bank.
According to an official release, post-paid mobile services were restored on Wednesday in Kupwara district of J&K. Mobile numbers of officials working in essential services and other government offices have also been restored.
Last week, the J&K administration had restored all landline connections across the Valley with the activation of various telephone exchanges.
Kashmir Valley has been subjected to a communication blackout since August 5 after Parliament withdrew the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and divided the erstwhile state into two union territories.
By the third week of August, 2G mobile internet services had been restored in the districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi.
According to the J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik's office, health services are functioning normally, while schools have also started functioning.
"Schools started functioning, initially with primary schools, then middle schools and followed by High Schools. The attendance of teachers is around 75 per cent. However, the attendance of students is still thin," the statement said.
The government has further claimed that the Kashmir Valley has adequate stock of petroleum products and grains.
The stock of petrol and diesel available as on Wednesday was 3,700 and 12,114 kiloliters, respectively. The stock of kerosene and LPG cylinders, respectively, in the Valley stood at 4,138 kiloliters and 2,56,972 units.
Ten Internet kiosks have been created in all district headquarters with minimum five terminals in each district for departmental purposes like e-tendering, submission of scholarship forms and job applications.
Besides, 12 ticketing counters have been set up for tourists and the general public at the Tourist Reception Center in Srinagar airport.
Banks were also functioning normally across J&K.
''All banks/ATMs are functional. With regard to ATMs, an amount of Rs 1082628300 has been withdrawn by general public only in respect of J&K Bank. Details of SBI, HDFC, PNB, EDB, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, BOI etc were awaited which put together would be more than the amount disbursed by J&K Bank for the period,'' the statement said. |
|
