Geelani calendar killing businesses, offices & day out in Valley

NEW DELHI: Hurriyat ( Geelani) calendar, which has virtually rendered the accepted Roman version redundant in the Kashmir Valley, has dedicated 11 days of this month for protests and shutdowns. According to the calendar, business establishments and offices in the Valley will only work on two days during the next 11 days — on September 19 and 22.

The hardliners have asked people of the Valley to carry out their normal activities from 7 pm to 7 am on strike days. “All business establishments, including manufacturing units, flour mills and cement factories will remain open from 7 pm to 7 am,” a statement issued by the Hurriyat said. It also said shops and other business establishments can do normal business during night hours. Transporters can ply normally during night, it added.

The calender, planned by second-rung Hurriyat leaders like Masrat Alam and defiantly enforced, is publicised in local dailies. The first Hurriyat(G) protest calendar, issued on July 4, had marches and strikes planned for all but three days of the week.

The second, taken out on July 11, allowed two days of peaceful protests while civil curfew and marches were scheduled for the remaining days. The third calendar, issued on July 16, had no normal working day, having laid down a schedule of non-stop protests starting with a strike post-2 pm on July 17.