Adil Lateef
SRINAGAR, Aug 21: The supply of milk and veggies has been severely affected here due to round-the-clock curfew imposed by Government in Srinagar city to quell the ongoing protests that began last month after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and his associates.
The residents said that despite violence and curfew there was no dearth of milk and vegetable supplies in Srinagar city till August 13, but the situation started turning grim after Government imposed night curfew as well and continued deployment of security forces and police personnel. The security forces are deployed in shifts to ensure strict imposition of curfew.
Though, the deployments of security forces are withdrawn from old city neighbourhoods – except near police and paramilitary installations – in the evening but the civil lines and uptown areas continue to remain under curfew. The supply of milk and veggies from rural areas to the city has been affected due to strict imposition of curfew as security forces disallow vehicles to enter into summer capital.
“Earlier when there was only day curfew, we used to receive supplies at around 4 am in the morning and by 7am, people were done with purchasing. But with the imposition of night curfew, the vehicles carrying supplies are subjected to obstructions and it has created problems for us as well as for people,” said Zahoor Ahmad, a milk-seller of Old Srinagar area.
A vegetable-supplier of Parimpora on city outskirts said that the security forces at times disallow their vehicles carrying supplies to city neighbourhoods even as they show their curfew-passes. “The things have become really difficult since the imposition of night curfew and the supplies to city have been affected, resulting in crisis-like-situation,” he said.
“Before the imposition of night curfew, we easily used to fetch milk and buy vegetables till 7 am but now there are total chaos and that because on the one side there is night curfew in civil lines areas and on the other the deployments of forces arrive too early at 6 am here,” said Imtiyaz Ahmad, a resident of old city’s Nawab Bazar area.
The milk and vegetable supplies to Srinagar mainly come from districts like Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla. While fewer areas of Srinagar suburbs do produce vegetables but not in sufficient quantity and the dependence is largely on other districts of the Valley. The residents meanwhile asked State Government to ensure hassle-free movement of supplies to city.
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