Following strict directions by the state administration, all the public and private schools in Kashmir opened on Thursday. However, no classes could be held as students continued to remain away due to lack of public transport, reports said.

According to reports received from several high and higher secondary schools in Srinagar, Budgam, Kupwara, Bandipora, Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Bandipora and other districts of Kashmir Valley, students continued to stay away from schools, nearly two months since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 plunged Kashmir into uncertainty.
However, in the volatile south Kashmir districts of Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam, all private and government schools continue to remain locked since the abrogation of Article 370. It is not clear whether they will open at all.
“The situation is not good. Our fruits are rotting on the trees and we are not carrying any trade activity. We are facing huge losses. There is no question of opening schools in the absence of normalcy,” said Muhammad Lateef, a resident of Pulwama.
The authorities had announced that schools up to the higher secondary level would be opened on Thursday, but uncertainty continues to loom large as many parents are not convinced about sending their children to schools amid the tension prevailing in the region.
Particularly in south Kashmir districts, residents say it is impossible for schools to open as complete shutdown is still in force.
On Thursday Divisional commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan directed all the Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir and officials of the Education Department to open the higher secondary schools.
At the prominent government higher secondary schools of Srinagar like SP Higher Secondary School, Boys Higher Secondary School Jawahar Nagar and Girls Higher Secondary School Rajbagh, only staff members were present but there were no students in any of these schools.
SP Higher Secondary school in Srinagar has been converted into a CRPF camp with several companies of the Central Reserve Police Force deployed there. "There are 24 classrooms in the school, which have all been taken over by the CRPF," a teacher at the school said.
Staff members were present but not the students in Higher Secondary School Jawahar Nagar with a strenth of over 1,100 students and Girls Higher Secondary school Rajbagh with over 300 students
When the state administration opened other schools last month the outcome was similar. The move drew an extremely poor response. Only the staff members showed up in the schools as most students stayed away.
Shutdown completed two months on Thursday in Kashmir valley, where people are protesting against scrapping of Article 370 and 35 A, besides dividing the state into two Union Territories on August 5.
Officials said there were no curfew restrictions on Thursday in any part of the valley, where restrictions under Section 144 CrPC, banning assembling of four or more persons, continued as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, situation remained by and large peaceful barring reports of few incidents of stone pelting in the valley, where train service, mobile and internet connectivity remained suspended since August 5.
Historic Jamia Masjid in the Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), stronghold of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, remained closed for devotees since August 5. Large number of Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) remained deployed in the Jamia Market and outside the Masjid to maintain law and order. No prayers could be offered in the Masjid, including on Fridays, due to restrictions.
Shops and other business establishments remained closed in summer capital, Srinagar and its adjoining areas for the past two months while public transport, including State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC), was off the roads on Thursday. But, private vehicles were plying on most of the routes in the city and outskirts while a number of cabs were also seen plying on district routes from Srinagar.
Educational institutions still wore a deserted look as students continued to stay away though teachers and other staff remain present. Shops and business establishments were seen functioning for about three hours from 0600 hrs to 0900 hrs in the summer capital, including historic Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of the city and other civil lines areas. However, the number of such shops was very less as compared to previous days.
Armed with automatic weapons and lathis, CPMF were seen deployed in strength in the city to prevent any law and order problem. Though there was no restriction on any road, security forces remained on high alert to close any road with barbed wire within shortest notice. Work in government offices and banks on main roads, particularly in the ground floor, remained affected.
Elsewhere in the valley, there was no change in the situation and life remained paralysed with all shops and business establishments closed and traffic off the roads on Thursday.
The internet and mobile connectivity of all Cellular companies, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) also remained suspended for the past 58 days in the valley. However, landline telephones are working normally.
Jammu and Kashmir is currently under President's rule. The state Assembly was dissolved on November 2018 after the ruling coalition between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) fell apart in June 2018.
The Valley has remained under lockdown for nearly two months since the abrogation of the Article 370 by the BJP-led Centre and a sweeping crackdown on not just militants but even mainstream parties like National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party with former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti under detention.
An array of political leaders, businessmen, lawyers, activists and others have also been confined to Centaur Hotel on the banks of Dal Lake which has been declared as a sub-jail by the state administration. No announcement has yet been made on the charges under which the mainstream leaders and others have been arrested, and whether and when they will be released.