CRPF starts removing bunkers in Srinagar

The UCH meeting,held on September 29 and headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,had,in consultation with the police top brass,identified 16 CRPF bunkers for removal as part of the Centres eight-point peace initiative.

CRPF spokesman Parabhakar Tripathi told The Indian Express that half of the bunkers identified for removal have been shifted,adding that the troopers manning them have been re-adjusted at other places.

The remaining bunkers would be relocated within next few days, he said.

In the morning,when several CRPF men assisted by labourers started removing tin sheets and barbed wires from a decade-old bunker located at the citys prominent business centre,Magarmal Bagh,people described it as a good beginning.

People are eagerly waiting for the removal of the bunkers at downtown Sazgari Pora area. It will be a great relief for locals who have to dodge concertina wires and iron barricades while driving through the road. In the night,one would bump into the barricades laid by security forces, Arshid Ahmad,a shopkeeper in the area said.

In Central Kashmirs Srinagar,Budgam and Ganderbal districts,more than 21 CRPF battalions are currently deployed. Many battalions have set up bunkers inside the residential areas,main markets and on road intersections. In the city alone,CRPF has more than 100 living bunkers.

Besides the CRPF,the Jammu and Kashmir Police,too,is manning dozens of bunkers,including armoured mobile ones.

In 2004,when the CRPF took over the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the city from the Border Security Force,they replaced sand and brick bunkers with concrete as well as wooden and iron ones.

Both hardline and moderate separatists have been pressing for removal of bunkers from civilian areas. The moderate separatists have put it as one of their pre-conditions for resumption of dialogue with New Delhi.