Rediff

Jammu, Sep 1: Jammu city and adjoining districts on Monday returned to normal life as market places opened and traffic plied on roads, 64 days after being hit by the Amarnath land row. 'Normal life has been restored in Jammu and adjoining areas of the province on Monday as all market places, government offices, schools, banks and universities reopened and traffic plied on the road as usual after an over two-month long shutdown," police said.

Shopkeepers cleaned their shops and reopened them in Raghunath Bazar, Residency Road, Purani Mandi and Jain Bazar areas of old city, which was littered with spent tear-gas shells, half burnt tyres and effigies during the agitation. Shopkeepers and Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) officials cleaned the city of tonnes of partially burnt effigies, tyres, tear-gas shells and other garbage that was littered across the length and breath of the city.

"The city has been given a clean look, particularly market places, and all the garbage was removed," a JMC official said.

The police removed all the temporary barricades and barbed wire fencing yesterday as authorities lifted curfew in Jammu, Samba, Udhampur, Kathua and Reasi last night, police said, adding that there is no night curfew in these districts. CRPF and police are continuing to maintain a close vigil in these areas. However, curfew continued for the tenth day in Poonch and 21st day in Kishtwar.

Authorities have decided to relax the ban orders in these two places for seven hours and over 13 hours respectively. The twin districts are returning to normal life after witnessing communal riots during the agitation over the Amarnath issue.