SRINAGAR: A total bandh, marked by burning of the Tricolor and hoisting of black flags, was observed in the Kashmir valley on the 47th Independence Day. The separatists had given a call for observing a black day.
Srinagar and other towns of the Valley were deserted as people stayed indoors in response to the call. All shops and commercial establishments remained closed while vehicles stayed off the roads.
An official report from Sopore in northwest Kashmir said the BSF fired to foil an attempt by a group of people to hoist a black flag in the Iqbal Market recently. There had been an intermittent exchange of fire between the militants and the paramilitary forces in the town.
In Srinagar, the militants ambushed a vehicle of the security forces hear the Hyderpora bypass, killing a CRPF man on the spot and wounding 12, said an official spokesman. The authorities had made extraordinary security arrangements for the official Independence Day function at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar where the governor, Gen. (Retd) K.V.Krishna Rao, unfurled the national flag and took the salute. In his address, after unfurling the national flag, the governor reiterated his resolve to put down militancy. Blaming Pakistan for the militancy in Kashmir, he warned that Pakistan should remember the consequences of the 1971 war. “When Pakistan could not fight India with five lakh Army, tanks and aircraft, can 10,000 militants weaken this country?” he asked. He congratulated the security forces for the “commendable work” done by them.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 20, 1993
