Tears in heaven: Unreported protests and blinding pellets

Srinagar: Muhammed Yusuf Khan, 30, a shopkeeper, lay motionless in a bed in Ward No. 8 of SHMS Hospital in Srinagar, his eyes covered with dark glasses; Id-ul-Zuha is on Monday, and life, both for him and his family, has suddenly turned dark.

A resident of Soura locality in Srinagar, Khan was rushed to the hospital on Saturday afternoon after a pellet hit him in his left eye. He collapsed, writhing in pain. He was also wounded on his left hand by multiple pellets, which spread right up to the shoulder, indicating that he was hit many times.

A surgery was performed by a team of doctors on Saturday evening but his family members are unsure if he would get back his eyesight.

Since August 5, when the central government had announced the scrapping of provisions of Article 370, and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir, changing its status from a state to a Union territory, SHMS Hospital has been getting between five and 10 young Kashmiri patients with pellet injuries every day.

Even as an uneasy calm prevails across the Valley on the eve of Id-ul-Zuha, the fact that several Kashmiris were suffering from pellet injuries and getting treated at the SHMS Hospital over the past one week paints a grim picture of the prevailing situation, that is quite contrary to the claims made by the administration, which insists there have been no protests or violence.

The main thoroughfares of Srinagar city witnessed thin traffic. Lots of people who came out to buy essentials had to contend with a majority of shops remaining shut. But downtown Srinagar is simmering. Monday’s Id is expected to be a tense affair. The forces are fully gearing up even as strict restrictions on the movement of people were reimposed by Sunday evening.

“Yusuf was standing at the door of his house, when suddenly, from nowhere, a stray pellet hit him, piercing his eye,” narrates Mubashir, a relative.