Day 4: Curfew in Jammu, protestors block highway

New Delhi: Situation continued to remain tense in Jammu on Wednesday morning as the curfew - imposed on Tuesday in parts of the city – was extended throughout.

However, authorities say the pilgrims travelling to the Vaishno Devi shrine will not face problems and their railway tickets and bus tickets will be considered as curfew passes.

All schools and colleges in Jammu have been shut for the day but essential services (such as doctors) will function and government employees will be allowed travel.

According to morning reports on Wednesday, police opened fire in Mutthi area to disperse crowd. Mutthi was under curfew since Tuesday.

Protesters also blocked Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Patoli chowk in Jammu city.

BJP agitation to continue

On Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP said they will continue the agitation in the state till the disputed forestland land is not transferred to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.

"BJP and like-minded parties will continue agitation in Jammu till return of land to SASB and restoring all powers to it," President of the state unit of the party Ashok Khajuria told reporters.

"We also demand recall of the newly-appointed governor N N Vohra because he took unilateral decision under pressure of separatists and returned the forest land to the state government," Khajuria said.

Govt calls for calm

The state government on Wednesday appealed to the people of Jammu to maintain calm and not fall pray to the designs of "communal and anti-peace" elements in the wake of clashes over the transfer of land to the Amarnath Shrine.

"We appeal the people to restore normalcy and not to get misled by vested interests who want to create disturbance and destroy the peace and tranquility," Higher Education Minister Gulchain Singh Charak said in a message.

He said the Amarnath Yatra was going on peacefully and about four lakh yatris have visited the holy cave in South Kashmir Himalayas.

Government was committed to ensure all facilities to yatris for peaceful and secure pilgrimage at the 3,880-metre high holy cave, the minister said.

(With PTI inputs)