Life in Kashmir Valley on Saturday returned to normal as authorities lifted the curfew and the hard-line Hurriyat Conference exempted the day from its schedule of protests and strikes.
Curfew was lifted from the entire Valley, except Kangan town in Ganderbal district, on Friday night as the law and order situation across the region remained peaceful, official sources said.
The sources said restrictions were not eased in Kangan town as a gun-battle was raging on there between militants and security forces at Chak-Akhal, 45 kms from Srinagar. A police spokesman on Friday night said there will be no curfew in Srinagar city on Saturday. He advised people not to take out any processions without prior sanction from authorities.
Shops, business establishments and private offices opened early in the morning while public transport was plying on all routes of the Valley. Schools and government offices, however, remained closed on account of Gandhi Jayanti.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the ongoing unrest in the Valley on Saturday rose to 105 as a youth, injured during clashes with security forces in Sopore in September, succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Srinagar on Saturday morning.
Omar Suleiman Shiekh, 20, who was injured on September 16, died at SKIMS Hospital at Soura. Kashmir Valley has witnessed violent protests since June 11 when a 17-year-old boy was killed after he was hit by a tear smoke shell during clashes at Rajouri Kadal.
