Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus attacked, normalcy elsewhere in Kashmir

SRINAGAR - Except for a few incidents of stone pelting in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district including on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus, life across the Kashmir Valley passed normally as the holy month of Ramadan began Thursday.

A mob smashed the window panes of the ‘Caravan-e-Aman’ bus that carried passengers from Srinagar, travelling across the Line of Control (LoC) to Aman Setu in Baramulla.

“Miscreants pelted stones at the Carvan-e-Aman bus at Palhalan village on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway, but they were immediately chased away,” a police officer in Baramulla district said.

“The situation across the Valley was peaceful today (Thursday) except for a few stray incidents of stone pelting by miscreants in Baramulla town this morning,” a senior police officer said here.

There was no curfew anywhere in the Valley Thursday and the separatist Hurriyat group headed by Syed Ali Geelani had asked people to resume normal activities.

Shops, banks, post offices, educational institutions and other business establishments opened in Srinagar and other towns of Valley after four days and public transport plied on the streets.

Dates were in high demand throughout Srinagar city as Muslims prefer to break their daily fast during Ramadan with the fruit.

People were seen buying dates, fruits and other essentials of life as markets bustled with shoppers.

Traffic at some places in the city troubled commuters as the traffic police had a tough time in clearing jams at some major traffic intersections like Jehangir Chowk, Hyderpora crossing and Radio Kashmir crossing.

People also thronged automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Srinagar city and other towns of the Valley.

“The ATM in our area did not have enough cash during the last two days, but today I was able to withdraw cash from it,” said Manzoor Ahmad, 45, a trader living in the old city area here.