SRINAGAR: Kashmir and parts of Jammu region are facing the worst communication blockade since the eruption of militancy in 1989. All means of communication - landline, mobile phone, internet, mobile internet, broadband and internet service provided by lease line providers - have been blocked since August 5 after scrapping of Article 370.
The Valley has seen communication blockades in 2010 and 2016 and during the floods in 2014. In 2010 and 2016, mobile phones and landline services were restored within a few days while internet services remained suspended. During the September 2014 floods, landline and mobile phones and internet services remained suspended for a fortnight but some landline services and mobile phones in some areas worked.
“This time it is a total communication clampdown. We don’t have any information about over relatives living in the same town, so there is no chance of communicating with those living in other towns, Jammu or abroad,” said a worried Abdul Majid, a retired government employee. His daughter and son-in-law live outside the Valley and he has not been able to contact them since Monday.