Is Kashmir a new Palestine in making?
Shahana Butt
Press TV, Kashmir
Since August 2019 with the scrapping of Kashmir’s special status, New Delhi has started to implement new laws and amend the previous ones with an aim to what it calls ‘mainstreaming Kashmir’ to rest of India, a statement that has been repeatedly questioned by the people of Kashmir.
After opening domicile residency for non-locals in Kashmir, New Delhi in its recent move has amended the law controlling building operations act 1988 and the Jammu and Kashmir development act, 1970 to provide for special dispensation for carrying out construction activities in strategic areas.
The government says the amendment will pave way for notifying certain areas as strategic areas in terms of requirements of the armed forces and in such areas, the regulations of construction activity shall be through special dispensation. However, the move has stirred skepticism.
While the local population of Kashmir has been advised to stay indoors a huge number of non-local workforce is being pumped into the region also Kashmir has opened up for tourists and Hindu pilgrims who come for annual amarnath cave pilgrimage.
Local media reports say 11,000 non-local laborers have entered Kashmir in the past one week and none of them has been tested for Coronavirus, thus overloading the already fractured health care system of Kashmir.
Health care practitioners say Kashmiri people need to strictly follow the standard operating procedures while the government must immediately stop the influx of outsiders before Kashmir enters the helpless stage of COVID-19.
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