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| Protesters defy curfew in Udhampur, valley paralysed | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu/Srinagar | Aug 6
Protesters on wednesday defied curfew in Udhampur in Jammu region, hit by violence over the Amarnath land row, even as life in Kashmir valley remained paralysed for the third consecutive day following a strike call given by a separatist group.
Twelve people were injured in pitched battles between police and protesters in Kathua town overnight as agitation on the land issue showed no signs of abating.
Defying curfew, protesters hit the streets in Udhampur town this morning, demanding immediate restoration of land to the Amarnath shrine board, official sources said.
Soon after the curfew was re-imposed at 1000 hrs after a three-hour relaxation in Udhampur, over 400 agitators staged a rally chanting slogans against the state administration. The protesters had staged torchlight processions in the town on Tuesday night. In the valley, life was thrown out of gear following a strike call given by the Syed Ali Shah Geelani-led hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference.
Geelani gave the call in a bid to pre-empt the Centre from carrying out any possible amendment of the order which cancelled transfer of nearly 40 hectares of forest land to the Amarnath shrine board.
Shops, business establishments, schools, government and private offices remained closed across the valley, official sources said in Srinagar. Vehicles also remained off the roads.
Clashes broke out between police and protesters in Kathua overnight leaving 12 injured, the official sources in Jammu said, adding heavy stone-pelting was also reported from the town.
Curfew was also relaxed for varying periods in Jammu and Baderwah districts while it remained strictly in force in rest of the Jammu region which has seen violence since June-end over the land controversy.
Meanwhile, rail traffic on the Jammu-Pathankot section, which was affected on Tuesday after agitators uprooted a portion of the track, was restored on Wednesday morning.
Most trains left for their destinations after several hours of delay as para-military forces kept a strict vigil along the track.
Officials in Srinagar said through no major incident was reported during Wednesday's strike, small groups of youths pelted stones at police in Maisuma and burnt tyres in Maharaja Bazaar.
Additional police and paramilitary contingents have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order. |
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