R-Day Special: Heavy Security Marks Republic Day Celebrations In Kashmir

On Sunday, the road outside the traffic police headquarters in Srinagar stood empty, and the usual buzz on the pavements, which remain the venue for the flea market, was missing. Across Kashmir, security was beefed up, and barricades were put up as part of the security arrangements that were undertaken for the Republic Day celebrations in Srinagar.

Deputy Chief Minister Surendra Choudhary unfurled the tricolor at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar amid heavy security restrictions that began several days ahead of the celebrations in Kashmir. Later, talking to reporters after paying tributes at the Balidan Stambh in Srinagar, Choudhary said that the people have full faith in the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the Home Minister, Amit Shah, that the statehood will be restored. He said that the Supreme Court has also reiterated this assurance and “we are hopeful that the promise will be honored soon.”

Across Kashmir, restrictions remained in place, particularly in the districts of Budgam and Srinagar. Mohammad Irshad Ansari, 49, a resident of Bihar, says that before the Republic Day, security force personnel asked him to return to his rented accommodation before 4:00 pm in the Central Kashmir’s Chadoora area, where he works as a door-to-door vendor selling bangles and women’s accessories.

Irshad says he suffered losses due to the restrictions. “While working in various villages, several security personnel told me to return home early,” he says.

Mohammad Sharif-ud-Din, 25, who sells peanuts and snacks from a handcart in Chadoora town, says he was forced to shut his business nearly three hours before his usual closing time of 6:30 pm, and the restrictions remained in place from mid-January only.

“Because of the restrictions, my daily income has fallen by almost half, from about Rs 600. I live here away from my family in Bihar and am already struggling to meet my expenses,” he says.

M D Rehmat, 19, says he faced similar restrictions and was also forced to shut his vending business early during the day.

Ahead of the Republic Day, the top security officials reviewed the arrangements here in Kashmir and made elaborate arrangements for the peaceful celebrations.

Security was particularly beefed up in Srinagar, where the main function was held at Bakshi Stadium, while it was also strengthened in district headquarters as well as tehsil offices where the tricolor was unfurled by deputy commissioners and the respective tehsildars.

Security was strengthened around the venues where the non-locals have been putting up at rented places in view of the previous incidents of militant attacks on them that has killed several people.

Earlier, police said that security was stepped up in the North Kashmir areas of valley as well. A police spokesperson said that as part of the arrangements in North Kashmir, “ intelligence inputs were thoroughly analysed with special emphasis on thwarting attempts by anti‑national elements to create disturbances.”

Part of the security arrangements involved the CCTV monitoring, “protection of vital installations and minority pockets, monitoring of social media and VPN usage, preparedness for handling local law and order situations, and continuous analysis of local intelligence reports,” the spokesperson added.

A police official posted in Budgam area said that while the tehsildar unfurled the tricolor at his office the national flag was also hoisted by the headmasters in several schools. “ The security arrangements were fully in place at the tehsil office venue,” he said.

Ahead of the Republic Day, searches were conducted in different parts of Kashmir as well, in view of the stepped-up militant activities in the recent past.

For the last few months, security officials, including in the main Srinagar district, have been conducting raids at several places and have detained several sympathisers of militants, while raids were also carried out at the residences of members of the band outfit Jamat-i-Islami as part of the beefed-up security arrangements.