Kashmir continues to be Shut, Board exams begin across Valley

• Kashmir remained shut for the 128th consecutive day
• Massive protests in Sozeith against arrests, police excesses
• Cops beat elderly women; damaged LCDs, refrigerators: Locals
• Board exams begin today amidst shutdown
• Rush in Sunday Market, thick transport on roads
• 12 wanted stone pelters arrested: Police

Kashmir remained shut for the 128th consecutive day on Sunday even as people thronged the famous Sunday Market to buy winter stuff while private and public traffic remained thick.
All shops and commercial establishments across Kashmir remained shut. The private traffic and pedestrian movement witnessed fair increase.

In the city centre, all the shops remained shut. However, the Sunday Market— a weekly business activity conducted on pavements— witnessed a huge rush of people from Zero Bridge to Amira Kadal.
“Today we had some good business,” a vendor said. “People are buying blankets, coats, jackets and socks for the winter season.”
Witnesses said that pedestrian and private vehicular movement increased after 4 pm, on the relaxation call given by the joint resistance leadership.

Inter-district cabs were also seen plying on the roads. Traffic jams were witnessed at various points in Srinagar which include TRC, Amira Kadal, Jehangir Chowk, and Residency Road.
On the Srinagar-Jammu highway, public vehicles could be seen ferrying passengers. Similar reports came from Srinagar-Baramulla road. Reports from all the district headquarters said that while the shops remained shut there was an increase in the pedestrian and public traffic movement. Streets in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district witnessed rush of people.
Meanwhile, reports from Central Kashmir’s Budgam district said that at least 12 youth were detained during nocturnal raids at Sozeth, Narbal.
Residents alleged that forces resorted to heavy tar gas shelling and barged into residential houses in Makdam Mohalla and Gori Mohallah.
“The security forces smashed window panes, damaged television sets, refrigerators and other household items. A few women were also beaten during the raids,” the residents alleged.
The police admitted that it arrested 12 youth from the area but rejected the allegations that residential houses were damaged and inmates, especially women were beaten.

Meanwhile, annual board examinations scheduled to begin in Kashmir on Monday will be an acid test for the PDP-BJP coalition government which remained firm to hold examinations despite opposition from various quarters, including the student community.
All arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the examinations for classes 10 and 12 scheduled to start on November 14 and 15, respectively, officials said, allaying fears of any trouble or inconvenience to the students appearing.

“All arrangements are in place for over one lakh students scheduled to appear for the 10th and 12th class examinations. While 484 exam centres have been set up for about 48,000 candidates for class 12th examination across Kashmir division, as many as 550 exam centres have been established for 5,5000 candidates for class 10th examination,” an official of School Education department told PTI.
Schools in the Valley went on a two-week summer holiday on July 1 but could not resume functioning due to the unrest which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani along with his two associates in an encounter with security forces in a village in Kokernag area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on July 8.
The unrest has left 96 persons dead and thousands injured while hundreds of people including students were booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) for participating in the protests.

The official decried the burning of schools, saying it should not have happened. At last 31 schools have been targeted by unknown persons since the unrest began in Kashmir on July 8.
The official said over 98 per cent of students have already collected their admit cards to appear in the examinations – an encouraging development attributed to the government decision to provide 50 per cent relaxation in syllabus.
The government has also decided to hold separate examination for class 10 and 12 in March next year if they fail to appear in already scheduled exams in November but the students have to attempt 100 per cent of the question paper.
For the first time, the school education department has categorized the examination centres into sensitive, hypertensive and normal categories given the apprehensions of law and order situation around exam centres.
Also, most of the exam centres were shifted from schools to new locations on basis of security inputs given by JK Police.
“We shifted most of the exam centres on basis of inputs given by JK Police. We changed the location of exam centres wherever we had apprehensions of law and order situation,” said Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) Ajaz Ahmad Bhat.
He said holding exams was linked with 1.5 lakh students in Kashmir for which all the “preventive measures” have been taken by the government.
“Government will deploy ROPs on all the routes to enable students to reach their examination centres. Security arrangements will be made outside the exam centres throughout Kashmir,” Bhat said.
“We should not rely on protection of police for appearing in exams. Society should play a role as it is a student issue.”
Interestingly for the first time, government has appointed Magistrates for exam centres to handle the law and order situation.
“Government has appointed magistrates at cluster or zone level to handle the law and order situation around exam centres,” a senior official in administration said.
Meanwhile education offices shall remain open on November 14. According to an order issued by the Director School Education Kashmir, keeping in view the conduct of 10th and 12th class examinations commencing from 14 November 2016, the Directorate of School Education, Chief Education Offices and Zonal Education Offices in Kashmir valley shall remain open on 14th November 2016.