Valley spends night in the open

For 15 years, they have been witnessing violence, but perhaps for the first time, fear of death made them spend an entire night out in the o...

For 15 years, they have been witnessing violence, but perhaps for the first time, fear of death made them spend an entire night out in the open. The people of the Valley, fearing fresh tremors, remained awake the whole night. The playgrounds of Srinagar, crowded on Sundays even when encounters are on, were deserted. And there was no Sunday market,

“This is terrible,” says Akhtar Hussain Malik, a university student. Malik spent the night in the lawns of his house. “It was cold and raining but I was scared. I could not sleep the whole night.”

The residents of Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara, Srinagar, were out on the roads, in parks … any place that made them feel safe.

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“I spent the night in my car,” says Aijaz Ahmad, a geologist. As Ahmad was talking to the The Indian Express, a fresh tremor jolted the city, sending residents rushing out of houses and shops. “How can we sleep after witnessing the death and destruction of yesterday? The government too has issued a warning and asked us to stay outdoors. The tremors continued the whole night.”

“My mother doesn’t allow me to go to play,” said Shadab Firdous, a Class IX student. “I am frightened too.”

The city’s main roads saw little traffic. And the Sunday market, that gives colour to the otherwise dull Sundays, is missing.

Bashaarat Masood

Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. ... Read More

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