The Centre asserted in the Supreme Court on Friday that the situation in the strife-torn Valley has shown a “remarkable improvement.”
The Centre’s report card in the Supreme Court about the violent fall-out of the killing of three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including Burhan Wani, is returning to normal despite hartal calls from separatist groups.
“Due to the persistent efforts of the security forces and the J&K Police, the situation has shown remarkable improvement, with number of incidents declining progressively since the outbreak of violent protests and clashes. Compared to 201 incidents on July 9, only 11 incidents were witnessed on August 3,” a 15-page status report filed by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) before a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur said.
The Centre accused the social media of inflaming passions about the slain terrorists. Stressing that the Centre and the State has not failed the people of the Valley, the MHA said the curfew was initially imposed in 10 districts out of 22 in the State, but was now reduced to restricted areas Srinagar downtown, Anantnag town, Pulwama.
In further proof that the situation was under control, the MHA said the Amarnath Yatra was going on smoothly and over two lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance till July 29. However, statistics in the report reveal how violence took a heavy toll on life and liberty.
It said security forces and civilians clashed 872 times between July 9 (the day after the trio were killed) and August 3. The period saw 2,656 civilians hospitalised and 58 major eye surgeries done to save them from blindness.
The report said 470 of these injured underwent surgery. Of this, 240 had injuries to and around their eyes – the report makes it a point not to mention how so many had injuries concentrated on their eyes or around them. Another 194 were subjected to preliminary eye procedures.
The Centre said 48 “high-end” retinal surgeries were done by a team of doctors from Mumbai between July 26 and July 28. It said the State made arrangements to shift four patients with eye injuries for specialised treatment to AIIMS, New Delhi on July 23.
Responding to the apex court's query about the law and order situation in affected areas of Kashmir, the MHA said protests had erupted particularly in rural and far-flung areas. Skirmishes targeted security installations of south Kashmir and parts of central and north Kashmir. It said two security forces personnel were killed and 3,783 injured. Twenty-eight government establishments were set ablaze and 49 damaged.
