Political leaders in Kashmir are fuming with anger as additional forces of CRPF have occupied several community and marriage halls in Srinagar where bunkers have also reappeared after the chain of civilian killings by terrorists.

Additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) were rushed to Kashmir following the recent spate of civilian killings across the valley.

The community centres have been established by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) that claims it has not been consulted by the administration on the issue of stationing the CRPF in these centres located mostly downtown.

A CRPF officer clarified that they have not occupied these centres at their own. They have been lodged there by the administration.

Taking to twitter, former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said; “My Government built community/marriage halls & demolished bunkers in Srinagar. It’s disappointing to see the security situation in the city has now regressed so far that new bunkers are being constructed & the marriage halls are being used as barracks for security forces”.

My Government built community/marriage halls & demolished bunkers in Srinagar. It’s disappointing to see the security situation in the city has now regressed so far that new bunkers have are being constructed & the marriage halls are being used as barracks for security forces.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 6, 2021

Another former chief minister and PDP leader, Mehbooba Mufti tweeted; “After placing security bunkers at every nook & corner of Srinagar, CRPF personnel have been pushed into marriage halls which is the only private space left for people here. Every day more draconian laws are brought in with the sole purpose of suffocating people into silence”.

After placing security bunkers at every nook & corner of Srinagar, CRPF personnel have been pushed into marriage halls which is the only private space left for people here. Every day more draconian laws are brought in with the sole purpose of suffocating people into silence. https://t.co/INmx3IoS7Q

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 6, 2021

CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Sunday said that taking over of even marriage halls by the CRPF in Srinagar and coming of new security bunkers across the Valley has punctured the BJP government’s ‘normalcy’ claims in Jammu and Kashmir after the “unconstitutional abrogation” of the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370.

While addressing party workers in south Kashmir’s Kund area of Qazgind, he said security bunkers are coming up at every nook and corner of Srinagar and new paramilitary companies have been called in Kashmir. The situation has reached a stage where additional CRPF personnel are being stationed in marriage halls which is the only private space left for people here.

BJP’s “fake narrative” about progress and development in J&K post 5 August 2019 gets trashed by such incidents. Every day more draconian laws are brought in with the sole purpose of suffocating people into silence.

The only progress that has been made in the last three years is the creation of more tools of repression, Tarigami alleged.

J&K has been made a model police state with no redressal mechanism or constitutional institution. The highest unemployment rate of 21.6 per cent and a staggering inflation rate of 7.39 per cent in J&K belies the claims of the BJP’s “growth and development” in the region post-2019. J&K is a political issue and needs a political outreach and not additional forces, more draconian laws and repression. When the already available forces and draconian laws could not control the situation how can additional forces and new draconian laws do, he asked.