Non-Kashmiris flee Valley

JAMMU - As violence continues unabated in the Kashmir Valley, people from outside the state working with central government organisations, particularly the railways, banks and insurance companies, have started fleeing the area, while travellers are wary about visiting the state.

The threat perception among the non-Kashmiris, who were working in different parts of the Valley, has increased after a series of attacks on the railway stations in Sopore and Budgam.

More than 100 employees of railways working in the Valley have come to Jammu as they were “scared” to stay there.

“There was stone throwing and the crowds would move menacingly. It was becoming difficult for us to survive there,” an employee of the railways working in Sopore railway station that was torched by a mob, told media persons here. He requested that his name should not be revealed.

These employees have sought transfers from the Valley, where they believed “nothing is safe”.

Sources also confirmed that employees of nationalised banks who hail from outside Jammu and Kashmir, too have shifted out. “We face a threat to our lives. There is no security for us,” said an employee of a nationalised bank.