Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 11: Authorities today removed a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bunker constructed soon after the onset of militancy in early nineties at the busy Hari Singh High Street here.
The locals, hailed the move which, they said, was their long-pending demand. Mohammad Waseem, a local said, “We used to offer funeral prayers here a long ago but after the situation turned worse in 1990’s, a bunker was erected here and then it was not possible for us to held prayers here. We used to stop the traffic and held the funeral prayers on the road whenever someone dies in this area. We were facing various hardships due to the non-availability of a funeral prayer ground. Today, we are very happy that the place was given back to us after so many years. We are thankful to the residents of the area, local Auqaf Committee and Srinagar Municipal Corporation who approached the concerned authorities and gave back this place to us”. Click here to watch video
Locals and businessmen gathered at the spot and were elated to watch the demolition of the bunker, which they said was constructed on the Auqaf land. “Children used to take a bathe in the Jhelum to cool themselves off during the summers before this bunker was established. There was a small mosque too where we would offer prayers,” said a local.
General Secretary, Auqaf Idara-e-Gousia Sarai Bala Mehraj-ud-Din Wani thanked the authorities for demolishing the bunker. “We are happy. It was a long-pending demand as we had to face a number of issues because of the bunker,” he said.
A prominent fisherwoman vending at the Amira Kadal bridge for over three decades said a grenade once hurled at the bunker bounced back from my fish basket and hit an auto-rickshaw. Luckily, I survived. I feel very happy today,” she said.
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