Srinagar, India, Mar 6 (EFE).- India-administered Kashmir was under a thick security blanket on Wednesday as thousands of armed soldiers lined the streets for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first public rally since the revocation of its semi-autonomy in August 2019.
Simultaneously, hundreds of workers from Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are adorning the streets of Srinagar, the regional capital, preparing to welcome the prime minister, scheduled to address a public gathering on Thursday.
Authorities have deployed drones for surveillance, erected additional checkpoints and barricades, and intensified frisking of pedestrians and vehicles as part of the beefed-up security operation for the visit.
“Extra para-military personnel along with sniffing dog squads have been deployed on round-the-clock patrol, while digital surveillance has also been increased in the city,” a police officer told EFE.
“These kinds of security arrangements are normal for such a high profile visit,” said the officer, requesting anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media,
Several eyewitnesses told EFE security personnel were conducting house-to-house searches and frequent frisking of individuals and vehicles.
Modi’s visit to the Muslim-majority region, ahead of crucial parliamentary elections where he seeks a third term, is significant.
He visited the Hindu-majority Jammu region of the troubled territory last month to kick off a series of development initiatives as part of his nationwide campaign to woo voters with his government’s achievements after a decade in power.
The rally at a sports stadium in Srinagar, once a center of urban Islamist insurgency against Indian rule in the 1990s, holds particular importance. It will be Modi’s first public meeting in the city in a decade, following one in 2014 shortly after assuming office.
Regional BJP chief Ravinder Raina anticipates over 200,000 attendees at the rally, although the Bakshi Stadium, the venue, has a capacity of only 30,000.
Government employees have been ordered to attend the rally, officials told EFE, showcasing Modi’s support in the Muslim-dominated region, despite simmering anger over the government’s heavy-handed approach to Kashmir separatism.
Imran, who gave only his first name, told EFE he was among the government employees assisting BJP workers to make arrangements for the high-profile visit.
Another employee said farmers were told by the agriculture department that they had to “participate in a peasant fair in Srinagar on March 7.”
Parts of Srinagar have been fortified, with snipers positioned atop buildings and armed soldiers patrolling roads. The administration has ordered school closures and exam postponements.
India stripped Kashmir, often classified as the world’s most militarized zone, of its semi-autonomy on Aug. 5, 2019.
The decision was accompanied by harsh security and a communication clampdown that confined seven million Kashmiris to their homes for months.
Modi maintains that his policies aim to benefit ordinary Kashmiris, who have long endured violence and underdevelopment.
The idyllic Himalayan territory has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since partition in 1947, leading to multiple conflicts, including the armed insurgency in Kashmir since 1989.
India accuses Pakistan of abetting the Kashmir insurgency, calling it terrorism, a charge Islamabad denies. The over-30-year-old conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives. EFE
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