JAMMU Hundreds of stranded passengers from Kashmir Valley protested in Jammu on Friday urging government either open the highway or make arrangements for their airlift.
Government should air lift stranded passengers as there are women and children who are suffering badly,” protesters said. The Srinagar Jammu highway has been closed for last five days due to snowfall and landslides.
According to traffic department an estimated nearly one thousand people are stranded due to closure of highway, the only road link connecting Valley with India.
Stranded families who had assembled in General Bus Stand to find a cab for Srinagar turned hostile when they were told that the highway remains closed. They later staged protest asking authorities to take serious note of the difficulties they were facing. “What’s stopping government from airlifting people to valley. Will they only airlift the dead, they said.
Many stranded passengers said that the market prices of commodities have skyrocketed as there are no market checking squads visible.
Some of the shopkeepers are taking undue advantage of our miseries,” they said. “Many of us came here to see doctors or seek treatment in hospitals and we had not planned such a long stay”, said one Altaf Hussain Bhat from Ilahi Bagh, Srinagar. He said stranded people are running short of money as hotels and restaurants have increased the rates.
Some even questioned authorities for their indifference saying no one visited them to check how we live.
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