Srinagar: The government on Monday sealed the Srinagar office of Kashmir Times, one of the oldest newspapers published from Jammu and Kashmir.
Its executive editor Anuradha Bhasin told Kashmir Reader that the office was locked from the outside by the Estates Department on Monday evening without any eviction or cancellation notice.
“There was no technical reason on which the office could have been sealed. However, it was due to me speaking up for press freedom. We are going to fight it,” she said.
Earlier, Bhasin’s government accommodation in Jammu was sealed without sending any notice. She had accused the brother of a former legislator from Jammu of forcibly barging into her government-allotted accommodation last week and vandalising her valuables.
The DAVP advertisements of the newspaper were stopped in 2010, Bhasin said, adding that the J&K’s information department had also stopped sending advertisements too.
“So, the newspaper was suffering for a long time, but we just kept it alive anyhow. After the cut in government revenues, which are the main source of revenue, we had to close our other editions too including Dogri,” said the outspoken editor.
Bhasin said the Srinagar edition of KT was not being published since March this year due to Covid lockdown. Last year, too, the publication was suspended after the abrogation of special status which led to shutdown of all communication channels. These days KT is published from Jammu only.
After the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year, Bhasin filed a petition in Supreme Court challenging the communication blockade in Jammu and Kashmir.
The office of Kashmir Times has been sealed days after the government-allotted office of Kashmir News Service (KNS) was sealed in Srinagar without serving them an eviction notice.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz