Excelsior Correspondent
ANANTNAG, July17: At least 21 people, including Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Anantnag, Ghulam Rasool Wani, were injured during protests in Kulgam district of South Kashmir when villagers resorted to stone throwing during a protest to seek repair of a dilapidated road in their village.
Officials told Excelsior that hundreds of villagers in Kulgam blocked the railway track to seek repair of a dilapidated road in their village, Checherhama, for at least two hours.
The villagers were demanding the Railways to macadamize the road from Novwathoo to Checherhama as they had been promised by them, said G.M. Dar, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Anantang.
Dar said a team of district officials including Assistant Commissioner Revenue, Assistant Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings, went to the spot to pacify the agitating villagers. However, the villagers were not convinced.
Soon police swung into action to disperse the protestors, but they resorted to stone throwing and scuffling with the police personnel. Police resorted to tear shelling and fired some gunshots in air.
Policemen who have been injured are Assistant Sub Inspector Majid Ahmad, four selection grade constables Zaffar, Ahmad, Sareer Ahmad, Shabir Ahmad, and Feroz Ahmad, one constable Bashir Ahmad, and two SPOs Mohammad Abbas and Nisar Ahmad. Two commuters who were travelling in train were also injured as few window panes of the train were damaged in stone pelting.
Dar added that the authorities have floated a tender for patch filling of the road to make it traffic worthy.
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