Srinagar, Aug 1: With no relaxation in curfew in the summer capital for the past three days, the City dwellers are facing shortage of essentials and medicines.
 The people complained that the police and paramilitary CRPF didn’t even allow the milkmen to move out for business while many a family couldn’t get bread since Friday.
 “Earlier we would manage getting Naan (traditional morning bread) from the local baker. But today the cops didn’t allow us to move out,” complained some residents of Ram Bagh.
 A family said despite request before the cops on guard in the area, they were denied permission to get milk for their baby from adjoining Barzulla.
 “We begged before the cops that our child doesn’t take anything other than milk, but they paid a deaf ear to our pleas,” the father said. Similar was the scene of adjoining Chanapora where a youth was critically wounded in alleged police and paramilitary firing Friday.
 Shafat Ahmed, a local said there domestic stock of edibles had exhausted.
 Shafat gave an interesting reason to the depleting stock.
 “We had stocked edibles in line with the Hurriyat calendar but as the situation turned worst than expected we ran short of the stock,” he said adding they had no vegetables to cook for meals.
 While this was the scene in Civil Lines, the Shahr-e-Khaas plight was no better either.
 The residents living near vegetable growing areas of Eidgah-Anchaar belt said the troops didn’t allow any vegetable vendor to venture out nor was anyone allowed to go their for the essential shopping.
 “This is the height of atrocities that even though in the past we could get access at least to the vegetables grown in the adjoining areas, now even this basic facility is being denied,” said Ghulam Muhammad, a resident of Narwara.
 The residents of Nowhatta said given the shortage of vegetables they were preferring to consume Tehri, Haldi rice.
 “But we wonder what will happen when the stock of Haldi and Rice also gets exhausted,” said Ali Muhammad of Nowhatta.
 Pertinently, police has been saying that any relaxation could further the turmoil because they don’t have a nod from the District Development Commissioner Meraj Ahmed Kakroo to lift curfew.
 “We don’t want to take any chance by allowing the people to venture out of their houses because it’s a fully declared curfew,” said a police official posted in the Old City.
 Meanwhile, many complained that they couldn’t get vital medicines.
 “I couldn’t get medicines for my ailing mother because the cops didn’t allow me go out,” complained Javed, a Maharaja Bazar resident.
 Another family said they couldn’t take their patient for some surgical dressing to B&J Barzulla accusing the men in uniform of denying them the entry.
 Pertinently, the authorities didn’t give any relaxation.

‘CURFEW BEING ENFORCED IN LETTER AND SPIRIT’
 A senior official in the City police said the curfew was being imposed in “letter and spirit” in line with the government directions.
 The district Magistrate Srinagar has directed the City police Chief to enforce curfew in its “letter and spirit”.
 The DDC vide order No DMS/PS/Misc/10/858-76 dated July 30 has issued the curfew orders: “In view of the prevailing law and order situation in Srinagar district, its apprehended that same may continue.”
 “I Meraj Ahmed Kakroo in exercise of powers vested in me … do hereby impose curfew till further orders,’ the orders further reads.
 “The SSP is directed to implement the order in letter and spirit,” the order adds.
 A senior police official said with such stringent orders in place, nobody could be allowed to venture out under any circumstances.
 “We are imposing curfew and we aren’t doing anything illegal or inhumane. We are simply maintaining law and order otherwise miscreants will take to streets and risk public life and property,” pleaded an official in the City police.
 “Still we are allowing people to move in lanes and by-lanes,” he added.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 1 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 1 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST