Srinagar, July 15: Amid sit-in on the Shahr-e-Khaas streets Thursday, many a local preferred to keep their domestic stoves off as they raised roadside community kitchens to prepare Tehri and Kehwa, which they shared with each other. After several days of siege, the police had lifted restriction for the day.
 The community kitchens could be seen active in the lanes and by-lanes of congested old City areas like Gojwara, Nowhatta and Chinkral Mohalla while similar scenes were also seen in civil lines areas like Maharaja Bazar.
 In the old City, while the men were seen busy preparing the meals on firewood, some women helped them by chopping onions and washing rice.
 As people took to streets in response to the call by Hurriyat (G) led by Syed Ali Geelani and Dukhtaran-e-Millat, they rolled out mats there to stage sit-in for the day.
 Almost everybody in these areas; be it young, old or the children, participated in the sit in, the locals said.
 While some raised freedom and pro-Islam slogans, their counterparts spared some time for the kitchen activities.
 The youth collected firewood which some residents contributed out of the stock spared for events like marriage functions.
 Some Masjids Intizaamiyas also volunteered to donate firewood out of the last year’s dump for Hamam.
 “We had some spare firewood which we donated for the cause of the people,” said some members of a Masjid Intizaamiya in Nowhatta locality.
 After collection of firewood, the residents took out Deigh(traditional big cooking pot)s to prepare the Tehri (Haldi Rice). The rice was contributed by the locals.
 Some community kitchens also prepared Kehwa as refreshment for the protesters.
 The cooking continued for the day while there was a break for Zuhr Nimaz after which food was served.
 The servings were made in traditional Tramis at some places while elsewhere the residents took out plates or other utensils from their homes for eating.
 The residents of Nowhatta said they didn’t cook their meals at homes so that “the people practically share their joys and sorrows with each other by having meals jointly.”
 “Sharing meals made us realize that all of us were the part of the same situation and nobody was different,” said an elderly man Ghulam Ali.
 Ali said it was after a long time that people shared their meals with each other.
 “Such situations, I had confronted in childhood when Kashmir was ruled by Dogras,” the oldie recapped.
 The sit- in, by and large, as per the police, went on peacefully. But the cops seem annoyed at the public behavior as they termed it “breach of trust”.
 The police said on Wednesday, the Superintendent of Police north  City, Showhat Shah made a door-to-door campaign in 10-15 Mohallas in old City asking the residents to resume normal activities.
 “But the locals told the SP that the only hindrance in the resumption of normal life were the restrictions,” said a senior police official.
 “We are willing to open shops and other establishments provided the restrictions are lifted,” the police quoted residents of having said.
 On this the police is understood to have decided to lift the restrictions.
 But today as the police and CRPF deployment was lifted from the Shahr-e-Khaas streets, the people instead of resuming business, came out to stage sit-ins.
 “We kept our promise and lifted restrictions but they proved hypocrites,” said a police official posted in Shahr-e-Khaas.
 When contacted the SP north confirmed that the restrictions have been lifted.
 “We have lifted the restrictions and dumped them   (police and CPRF) at our installations,” the SP told Greater Kashmir adding that the sit-in till afternoon was peaceful.
 “Still, we’re prepared…ready with full might and it won’t take us more than 10-minutes to resurface on the streets if any law and order situation takes place,” the SP maintained.
 He appealed the people to maintain peace.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST