Srinagar: From the past 19 days, people in Kashmir are facing a complete lockdown resulting in residents resorting to the analogue way of communicating with their near and dear ones.
Srinagar residents, who are yet to have their communication clampdown removed, have started writing letters in order to interact with their family and friends. The General Post Office has become their next hope.
Talking to ETV Bharat, a resident of Srinagar said that they are unable to contact their relatives, because of which they have been pushed to go to post offices and communicate with their people.
Further, people said that due the ban on the communication system, authorities have pushed them into the dark age.
However, not only locals, for the past several days, the post office staff is also facing difficulties in performing their tasks.
Staff present in the general post office say that the department has resumed their work from past three days and yet are unable to dispatch any post.
Due to the restrictions in the valley, they are unable to do their work because of which the posts are stuck. It has become near to impossible to dispatch the posts outside the valley.
Normal life remained affected on Friday, the 19th day, with marketplaces and business areas wearing a deserted look.
Public transport remained non-functional, though slight vehicular traffic could be seen in Civil lines and a few other areas of the city.
However, barricades and concertina wires were erected at many places, reportedly to prevent people from marching to Lal Chowk and Sonawar, where the UN office is located.
The road connecting Dal Lake to Sonawar area was completely shut, with heavy deployment of troops. Barbed wires were also put up, with only security vehicles being allowed to pass. Even pedestrians were not seen on the road.
Security forces have been deployed at strength at various other places to maintain law and order, while internet and telecommunication networks mostly remained shut, even as the government claimed that communication services are slowly being restored in Jammu and Kashmir.
Several leaders in the Valley have been kept in preventive custody after the Centre had on August 5 revoked almost all the provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to the state, and bifurcated it into Union territories.
Read: Journalists in Kashmir struggle to be heard amidst the clampdown
