The communication curbs in Kashmir had been eased to some extent and landline telephone services restored in most places across the Valley in view of the improving situation, officials said on Sunday.
No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the Valley on Saturday, they said. A few more telephone exchanges providing fixed-line phone services, including in Srinagar, were restored on Saturday evening, they said.
The process of fully restoring the landline connectivity, barring in a few pockets, was under way and more telephone lines would be restored soon, they added.
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However, the services continued to remain snapped in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Press Enclave here.
On Saturday, Principal Secretary and government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said eight more exchanges having 5,300 landlines would be restored over the weekend.
However, mobile telephone services and Internet, including BSNL’s broadband and private leased-line Internet, remain unavailable. They were snapped on August 5 when the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370 and reorganised the State into two Union Territories.
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Restrictions had been lifted from most areas of the valley but the deployment of security forces continued on the ground.
Markets across Kashmir continued to remain shut for the 21st consecutive day while the public transport also was off the roads, the officials said.
The weekly flea market also did not open.
However, some vendors put up stalls in a few areas of the city, they said.