Mobile phone services in J&K will be restored in 15-20 days: Reports

New Delhi, Sep 03: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today held a meeting with a delegation of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Association. Shah has reportedly assured that the communication clampdown in the Valley will be lifted in 15 days.

Mobile, landline and internet connectivity were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 when the Union Government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

PTI quoted Zuber Nishad Bhat, a sarpanch from Harvan in Srinagar district, as saying that the home minister has assured them that the mobile phone services in the state will be restored in the next 15 to 20 days and Rs. 2 lakh insurance coverage will be provided to them.

Several nations have expressed concern over the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir.

The government earlier said that communication lines had to be snapped to prevent terrorists from communicating with each other and misleading the people. The phone lines are being restored now in phases. The Centre has said that restrictions will be withdrawn in phases, depending on the ground situation.

"We had a good meeting with the Home Minister, he assured us about our concerns," CNN News18 quoted Manoj Pandita, a sarpanch from Pulwama, as saying. "On the communication blockade, we have been told that it will be lifted in 10-15 days."

As part of his Sampark Abhiyan, Shah is expected to meet more Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri leaders over the next few days to spread government message about Kashmir.

The BJP has embarked on a month-long 'Sampark and Janjagran Abhiyan' exercise to seek people's support on the decision to end Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution, with its leaders and workers asked to fan out across the country to hold meetings.

Meanwhile, posters of banned terror groups like Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba were reportedly seen pasted on walls and electric poles in Kashmir warning people to fall in line or face consequences.

The Union government on August 5 abrogated provisions of Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.