The residents of Karnah valley in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday staged a protest shutdown on Tuesday to press for their long-pending demand of construction of a tunnel at Sadhna Pass on Kupwara-Tangdhar highway.
Reports said that all colleges, schools, shops and other business establishments remained closed in the area as a mark of protest.
“We were told by the authorities that the construction of the tunnel will soon be started but it seems that they haven’t done the paper work yet,” said a protester.
“We have closed all the business establishments, schools, colleges to mark our protest, but authorities have turned deaf ear to our grievances,” he added.
The residents of Karnah have been demanding the tunnel more vigorously since 5 January when 11 persons died in a snow avalanche near the Sadhna top, which connects Karnah with the rest of the Valley.
The construction of 6.5-km Sadhna Pass tunnel would connect Karnah, a far-flung area near the Line of Control, with rest of the state during winter.
In absence of the tunnel, thousands of residents of Karnah remain cut-off from rest of Jammu and Kashmir during rains and snowfall.
The road from Kupwara to Karnah traverses through Sadhna Pass which is prone to avalanches, landslides, shooting stones and mud washes.
People in Karnah face immense hardships during winters due to road closure that causes shortage of essential commodities and medicines.