Srinagar, Aug 5 (IANS) Authorities have decided to impose restrictions across the Kashmir Valley from early Monday morning.
Heavy deployments of local police, along with contingents of paramilitary forces, will fan out so that they are in place when the loudspeaker-mounted police vehicles make the announcement early morning.
All universities in the Valley have ordered cancellation of class work and exams scheduled on Monday without announcing any future dates for the same.
Mobile internet facility has been snapped across the state and sources said that even call facility on cell phones are likely to be snapped across the Valley soon, adding that this was being done to prevent anti-social elements from spreading rumours.
All police stations, district and sector magistrates deputed on law and order duties have been provided satellite phones to maintain official communications.
Service provider BSNL is offering satellite phones to media persons at Rs one lakh a piece to file stories from the Valley.
All available indications suggest the locals have already stocked enough rations, medicines and other essentials to survive any eventuality even if this means remaining indoors for long.
All top officers of state police, paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies are supervising the situation to ensure that there is no major law and order problem if any major decision is announced in New Delhi that would alter the constitutional relationship of the state with the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, District Magistrates across the Valley, worried about uncontrolled rush of buyers at petrol pumps, on Sunday imposed restrictions on sales.
For the last three days, the administration had acted as a mute spectator not even stepping in to control the unending queues of vehicles outside virtually every petrol pump in Srinagar city and in other districts.
Interestingly, when buyers filed the tanks of their vehicles, they also carried a couple of jerry cans to be filed before they moved out. The result was that queues of cars and motorcycles did not relent unless the filing stations went dry.
Authorities finally realised that such mobs at petrol pumps cannot be satisfied even if the authorities kept tankers full of fuel to refill the pumps, and finally ordered on Sunday evening that dealers will not to sell petrol/diesel without permission from the District Magistrates.
–IANS
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