Security Build-up
Blockade of Ravi bridge irks residents, travellers
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Lakhanpur, January 25
Nine-year-old Vikas Sharma stands bewildered and angry at the Jammu end of the Ravi bridge. He is unable to understand the massive security built-up at the bridge that has virtually cut off the state from the rest of the country.
He was spotted arguing with the police on what the entire hoopla was about. A considerate CRPF jawan tried to explain to him the cause of the blockade. Trying his best to understand why the National Flag could not be hoisted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, Vikas asked why schools had been closed and why children were not allowed to go out by their parents?
He said, “I am getting increasingly sick in this place. Every other day there are strikes and closures. And now even this bridge has been blocked. We had a cricket match in the school today. We had also planned a Republic Day party.”
Vikas said he managed to sneak out of his house, evading his ever-vigilant parents and the elder sister. “No other friend was allowed to come out by their parents. So, I have come to the bridge to ask officers and politicians why they don’t let us study and play in peace.”
The innocence of Vikas exemplifies the misery of several residents of Lakhanpur, Kathua and Pathankot who have to cross the bridge daily to go for work, education or occasionally, to meet relatives and participate in happy or sad occasions.
Sanjana Kaur of Kathua was another resident who was upset over the prevailing conditions in the state. She, along with her family, was stopped from crossing the Ravi bridge. “A death has occurred in a close family relation in Dinanagar, a town between Pathankot and Gurdaspur. But we can’t go. It is a loss of face for us,”she lamented.
Deepak, a resident of Chandigarh, tried in vain to cross the river under the bridge. But the cops did not allow him. “I had come to attend a family function here and wanted to go back to Chandigarh to attend my college, but am stuck here,” he said.
The District Magistrate, Kathua, Zahida Khan, said no one would be allowed to enter or leave the state. But ambulance services and funeral processions were exempt from the restrictions.
Vigilant cops let this UP man cross Ravi bridge
Jupinderjit singh
Tribune News Service
Lakhanpur, January 25
He is not a member of any political party. And patriotism seems to be his only driving force. He is Vijay Kant Chauhan, aka Junior Bhagat Singh, as he prefers calling himself. He is from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and is heading towards Lal Chowk in Srinagar, riding his motorcycle with a bust of Shaheed Bhagat Singh in tow.
The motorcycle decorated with the National Flag and patriotic slogans looked apart today as Vijay pulled it across the Ravi. The vigilant cops too let him pass through and he was soon speeding towards Jammu when The Tribune caught up with him. “I am going to Lal Chowk. I would hoist the National Flag there, as I am an Indian citizen and do not represent any political party.”
Badly bruised while crossing the Ravi and tired due to the week-long journey that he began from his hometown, Saharanpur, Vijay has vowed celibacy and to devote all his life to the propagation of the ideology of Bhagat Singh.
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