KNZ NEWS DESK
Srinagar, Mar 05 : There were 195 incidents of stone pelting in Kashmir Valley post abrogation of Article 370, Ministry of Home Affairs said on Thursday.
Replying to a question in parliament by Shiv Sena’s Anil Desai about the details of stone pelting and militant attack cases reported in Kashmir in 2018 and 2019 after abrogation of Article 370, the minister of state for MHA Krishan Reddy said 802 incidents of stone pelting were reported in 2018. Regarding militancy, the minister said that 48 incidents were registered from 5 August to 31 December 2019. In 2018, there were 409 such incidents, the minister added, according to GNS.
To Desai’s another questions, seeking to know the general “law and order” situation in Kashmir after removal of Article 370, Reddy said that initial restrictions imposed under section 144 Cr.PC have been lifted from all areas of Kashmir Valley. “So far, no major L&O incidents have been reported,” he said.
The minister said that shops and business establishments, including hotels and restaurants are open while public transport is plying normally. The train services are also running regularly, he said.
Reddy said all the Government offices including educational institutions are functioning normally, with regular attendance of the employees and the students. Private tuition and coaching centres are also operational.
“Annual exams in respect of Primary/Middle/High/Higher Secondary Schools have been conducted successfully and the attendance has been more than 98%. Exams in respect of Professional Colleges, Combined Defence Services (CDS)/Service Selection Board (SSB) and the Degree/PG exams of University have also been conducted successfully. University of Kashmir has started functioning from 03.02.2020.”
He said all Health facilities including Tertiary care hospitals –SKIMS Soura and Medical Colleges and Health Institutions are fully functional. “The Medical shops are open with sufficient availability of medicines.”
To a query whether there is any difference between Kashmir and all other States in respect of civil, criminal and other laws under Indian Constitution, the minister said: “By virtue of Constitution Order (C.O.) 273 dated 06.08.2019, all provisions of the Constitution of India, as amended from time to time, have been made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.”
Further, he said, by virtue of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, all the Central Acts, which were not applicable earlier in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, have also been made applicable to the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir and the UT of Ladakh. (GNS)
