Amid lockdown restrictions, Friday prayers remain suspended

The Friday prayers remained suspended amid strict lockdown restrictions which continued across valley in wake of Covid19.

Most of the mosques and shrines across the valley including those in Srinagar city remained closed on the appeal of the administration to avoid large gatherings for Friday prayers. The management committees had also agreed to suspend the congregational prayers.

   

Officials here said that people prayed at their homes and no congregational prayers were reported from anywhere in valley.

Markets and other businesses establishments across the valley remained closed while the public transport was off the roads. A few pharmacies and grocery shops remained open to cater to essential requirements.

Sources said that roads across the valley remained dotted with barbed wire and contingents of police and paramilitary forces to check the movement of people.

Since Friday morning, police vehicles fitted with public address systems went around the residential areas in the city and elsewhere in the valley announcing that restrictions under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were imposed and urged people to stay indoors.

Police officials said that scores of vehicles and shopkeepers were fined in various parts of valley for violating lockdown.

Meanwhile, agriculture, horticulture and construction activities continued in accordance with disaster management guidelines. The movement of goods carriers, LPG and oil tankers also continued unhindered. It may be mentioned that while the union territory administration had first announced lockdown across Jammu and Kashmir on March 22 as part of its efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, restrictions were imposed in many parts of the valley including in the city on March 19 after the UT saw its first positive case from Srinagar. The lockdown was gradually eased in June and the markets in the city had reopened after about three months in the second week of June. But soon due to spike in the covid19 cases, the authorities had to re-impose the lockdown restrictions.

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