Anantnag: Amid the lockdown Kashmir valley has been witnessing since August 5, dozens of new bunkers have sprung up at several places along the Srinagar-Qazigund stretch of the newly constructed highway (NH-44).
A drive along the stretch reveals that dozens of new, concrete bunkers have been constructed or are in the process of being constructed for government forces.
Such bunkers can be seen dotting the NH-44 starting from by-pass in Srinagar, Pampore, Galandar, Lethpora, Barsoo, Awantipora, Sangam, Bijbehara and many other places till Qazigund.
Temporary bunkers along NH-44 were first constructed in the run up to Amarnath Yatra of 2018, a year after a militant attack on Yatris in Batengoo area of Anantnag district. Seven pilgrims were killed and many others were injured in the attack.
With the completion of NH-44 in 2018, the route changed and NH-1A was by-passed but the threat persisted. Since the February 14 Pulwama suicide blast, which brought India and Pakistan on the brink of war, commuters on the highway were worst affected. The government imposed restrictions and a blanket ban for civilian twice a week for two months to allow forces convoy hassle free travel.
While the ban was revoked, a police official said, the attack changed the entire scenario. “The highway needs to be secured more than ever and that is why the new bunkers are being constructed,” he added.
Bunkers in Kashmir, by subsequent governments, were associated with the situation in Kashmir. Removing of any bunkers from any parts of the valley was shown as an indicator of “normalcy” in the region.
But with the construction of new bunkers now on the highway, commuters are left wondering about the future.
“I wonder how our commute in the coming days is going to be. If removal of bunkers was normalcy, does construction of new bunkers mean we are going downhill,” a lawyer from Anantnag district told Kashmir Reader, requesting not to be named.

Suhail A Shah