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Jammu and Kashmir opens up for tourists but valley remains mostly cut off

While some of the restrictions have been eased, particularly in Jammu, the Valley remains largely cut off without mobile and internet services.

New Delhi: From today, Jammu and Kashmir will be open for tourists ending the prolonged lockdown. The tourist movement in the state- now UT- was halted after the govt issued a security advisory asking them to leave the state immediately due to a “terror threat” two months ago. On Monday Governor Satya Pal Malik held a security review meeting and lifted the restriction on entry of tourists.

On August 5, the Parliament effectively scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution that allowed special status to the state and divided it into two union territories. The administration had also imposed restrictions on movement, snapped phone and telephone lines, arrested the state’s political class and deployed additional troops to prevent any backlash to the controversial move.

Earlier in the month of August, before the move was announced, authorities called for holiday-makers to leave “immediately” over “terror threats” to the Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage, sending thousands scrambling for places on planes and buses.

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