SRINAGAR, Aug 15: After a two-decade hiatus, hundreds of Kashmiris flocked to the Independence Day festivities on Tuesday at Bakshi Stadium in this city, with officials this year lifting restrictions on public movement imposed in the past due to the fear of terrorism.
The lack of concertina wires or barricades, which had come to be associated with the strict security measures imposed on Independence Day and Republic Day in Kashmir, came as a welcome surprise to the 1.5 million residents of Srinagar city.Men and women of all ages filled the Bakshi stadium stands, carrying the national flag, with a sizable number of children also visible. Since the estimated 20,000 people who saw the parade in 2003, this was the largest civilian crowd at a Fourth of July event at the stadium.
The mood was joyful as several spectators took selfies in the stands to commemorate the event.
In a notable change from the previous 33 years, when many would choose to stay at home, many schools were open early in the city for rituals honouring the flag, and stores were also open to serve the public in several districts of the city, including Lal Chowk.According to officials, traffic was unimpeded in most areas of the city despite the deployment of sufficient security forces to maintain law and order, with the exception of a few locations close to Bakshi Stadium, the location of the main event in Jammu and Kashmir.
For the third year in a succession, mobile and internet services—which were previously shut on August 15 and January 26—were not affected.
Thousands of citizens entered the newly rebuilt Bakshi stadium to watch the Independence Day parade and cultural performance while waving the tricolour. Although officials withheld attendance statistics, sources said that the event was attended by about 10,000 individuals.”We appreciate that there are no limits and that no special passes are required to attend. Abid Hussain, a young man in the stands, stated, “This is how it should have been in the first place.
For the parade, Shaista Bano travelled from the Ganderbal district.
“I had been wanting to watch the parade for a very long time. I made the decision to come this time after learning that anyone can enter the stadium,” she stated.
The authorities of Jammu and Kashmir has requested that many people attend the event. Only legitimate identity documentation, they had stated, needed to be transported.Since Bakshi Stadium once again hosted the Independence Day celebrations after a five-year hiatus, the event’s enormous turnout was appropriate for the occasion.
The procession was moved to Sonawar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium after the stadium was closed in 2018 for reconstruction and upgrade work.
During the Independence Day celebration in 2003, the then-chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was charged with “managing” the throng by transporting attendees from other areas of the valley and packing the Bakshi stadium stands with security personnel wearing civilian clothing.
