Snowfall restores normalcy in Kashmir
By Newsmeter Network Published on 13 Nov 2019 9:57 AM GMT
Srinagar: Snowfall in Kashmir seems to have restored a semblance of normalcy in Kashmir, almost 100 days after shutdown against the scrapping of Article 37 0 on August 5.
The flow of public transport on the roads has increased over the last couple of days and shops and business establishments are open for longer hours in Srinagar.
Before Thursday’s snowfall, shops were kept open only for three hours in the mornings and evenings. However, heavy snowfall seems to have changed that pattern.
“I was doing business from my home for the last three months but now I have opened my shop,” said Ghulam Nabi who runs a provision store at Shaheed Ganj in the capital.
Meanwhile, heavy snowfall has thrown life out of gear. There were massive disruptions in electricity across the valley. Electrical poles were uprooted and transmission lines broke down.
But snow has also come as a blessing in disguise, particularly for the business community.
“We have increased working hours to compensate for the losses due to general slowdown of activities across Kashmir because of untimely snowfall,’’ said Muhammad Sultan, a shopkeeper at Barbarshah Srinagar.
Kashmir witnessed a shutdown after Article 370 was scrapped on August 5. Following the development landline and mobile communication was suspended and internet services blocked. While the landlines and post-paid mobile services were eventually resumed, internet continues to remain suspended in Kashmir.
Public transport has also remained off-roads for the past 100 days. Now, there is some activity in the form of mini buses that are back in Srinagar.
Whether signs of normalcy will be permanent feature or not, thanks to the snow, is not clear, but what is clear is that snow has helped the administration at a time when it has failed to induce confidence among the people even after taking several measures like reopening of educational institutions.
